Are You Following the Right Process to Improve Gross and Volume?

The best sales managers do not focus solely on gross or volume. They focus on balancing both. Gross and volume are two of the numbers that can have a significant impact on dealership performance, but improving one should not automatically mean sacrificing the other.

The challenge for sales managers is knowing when to protect gross, when to pursue volume and, most importantly, whether the sales process has been followed before a deal is negotiated.

When a salesperson asks for a discount, a manager should not immediately look at the numbers and decide how much gross they are prepared to give away.

First, ask a more important question: Has the sales process been followed?

The more steps that have been completed correctly, the greater the opportunity to protect gross, create value and convert the customer without unnecessary discounting.

If the process has not been followed, reducing the price may simply be compensating for a missed sales opportunity.

Follow the Process Before Negotiating

One of the biggest mistakes a sales manager can make is becoming involved in the numbers too early.

A customer says the price is too high, the salesperson approaches the manager, and the conversation immediately becomes about how much can be taken off the deal.

• But what happened before the customer raised the price objection?

• Was the customer properly qualified?

• Did the salesperson understand what they were looking for?

• Was the vehicle presented around their specific needs?

• Did they complete a proper walk-around?

• Was the value of the vehicle established?

• Did the salesperson conduct a meaningful test drive?

• Was a trial close used?

Were concerns uncovered before the customer reached the negotiation stage?

These questions matter because price is often only one part of the customer's decision.

Before adjusting pricing or negotiating a deal, go back through the process. If important steps were missed, there may still be an opportunity to improve the deal without immediately sacrificing gross.

Ask What Happened Before You Look at the Numbers

When a salesperson brings a deal to a manager, it can be tempting to focus on the figures first.

Instead, ask the salesperson to explain what happened.

Questions such as these can provide useful insight:

• "What did the customer tell you they were looking for?"

• "What did you establish during the qualification?"

• "What did they like about the vehicle?"

• "How did the test drive go?"

• "What concerns did they raise?"

• "What happened during the presentation?"

• "What did you ask in the trial close?"

• "What is stopping them from proceeding today?"

This approach gives the manager context before making a decision.

For example, if a customer has clearly identified the vehicle as meeting their needs, completed a positive test drive and indicated they are ready to proceed, but the salesperson has not confidently asked for the business, the answer may not be another discount.

There may still be an opportunity to close the customer at the current level of gross.

On the other hand, if the salesperson has followed the process, established value and genuinely worked through the customer's concerns, a manager may have more information available to make an informed decision about the deal.

The goal is not to refuse every discount. The goal is to understand why the discount is being requested.

Use Deal Reviews as Coaching Opportunities

Every deal that reaches a sales manager is an opportunity to coach. A deal review should not simply result in a manager saying "yes" or "no" to a price.

It should help the salesperson understand what happened during the interaction and what they could do differently next time.

If a salesperson regularly needs to discount heavily to close customers, look for the pattern.

• Are they failing to establish value?

• Are they presenting too much information and asking too few questions?

• Are they moving to price before the customer is ready?

• Are they avoiding the trial close?

• Are they giving up too quickly when a customer raises an objection?

• Are they relying on the manager to close the deal for them?

These patterns are much more valuable than looking at one individual deal in isolation.

A strong manager uses deal reviews to identify behaviours that can be improved across the team.

Over time, better sales behaviours can create better outcomes.

Know Your Average Gross Per Unit

You cannot effectively manage gross if you do not know where you currently stand.

Sales managers should have a clear understanding of their dealership's average gross per unit and how individual salespeople are performing against the team's expectations.

Look beyond the headline figure. Consider:

• Average gross per unit

• Volume sold

• Gross by salesperson

• Gross by model or vehicle type

• Conversion rates

• Discounting patterns

• Finance and aftermarket performance where relevant

• Month-to-date performance

• Performance against previous periods

The purpose of tracking these numbers is not to create pressure around every individual deal.

It is to identify trends.

If gross is consistently declining, what is driving it?

If volume is increasing but gross is falling significantly, is that intentional or are salespeople discounting unnecessarily?

If gross is strong but volume is below target, are salespeople becoming too focused on protecting every dollar at the expense of converting customers?

The numbers help identify where the conversation needs to happen.

Improve Gross and Volume by Understanding the Balance

There is no universal answer to whether gross or volume is more important. The right balance will depend on the dealership's objectives, market conditions, stock position and overall business strategy.

There may be times when protecting gross is the priority. There may also be situations where moving a particular vehicle quickly makes strategic sense, particularly when stock has been sitting for an extended period or there is a specific volume target to achieve.

The important point is that these decisions should be deliberate. Salespeople should understand that "protect gross at all costs" is not necessarily the right approach.

Equally, "discount until the customer says yes" is not a sustainable sales strategy.

Managers need to give their teams clear expectations around when and why different approaches may be appropriate.

That creates consistency and reduces the risk of individual salespeople making discounting decisions based purely on instinct.

Do Not Let Discounting Replace Selling

Discounting can become a habit. When salespeople learn that bringing a difficult deal to the manager often results in a discount, they can start relying on that process rather than developing their own ability to sell value.

This can create a cycle:

• The customer raises a concern.

• The salesperson assumes it is about price.

• The salesperson offers a discount.

• The customer asks for more.

• The manager gets involved.

• More gross is given away.

The deal is eventually delivered, but the dealership has achieved the sale at a lower return than necessary.

The alternative is to ask whether the salesperson has actually addressed the customer's concern.

If the customer says, "I need a better price", what does that really mean?

Perhaps they have not seen enough value.

Perhaps they are comparing another vehicle.

Perhaps they are testing the salesperson.

Perhaps they genuinely have a budget limitation.

Or perhaps there is another concern that has not been uncovered. The answer should determine the next step, not the customer's first request for a discount.

Monitor Performance Daily, Weekly and Monthly

Strong sales management requires regular review. Waiting until the end of the month to discover that gross is down or volume is behind target leaves very little time to respond.

Daily monitoring can provide an immediate view of what is happening on the floor. Weekly reviews can identify emerging trends and give managers time to coach individual salespeople.

Monthly reviews provide the bigger picture and allow the team to assess whether strategies are producing the desired results. Each level of review has a different purpose.

Daily: What is happening right now?

Weekly: What patterns are emerging?

Monthly: What is working, what is not and what needs to change?

This creates a much more proactive approach to sales management.

Rather than reacting to the final numbers, managers can identify issues while there is still time to do something about them.

Coach the Behaviour Behind the Numbers

Numbers tell you what is happening. Coaching helps you understand why.

If one salesperson consistently achieves strong gross and another consistently relies on discounting, the answer is not necessarily that one salesperson is simply "better".

Look at their behaviours.

• How do they qualify?

• How do they present?

• How do they handle objections?

• How confidently do they ask for the sale?

• How do they use trial closes?

• How do they respond when a customer asks for a discount?

• How effectively do they follow up?

These are the behaviours that managers can actually coach and change.

Regular training and coaching can help sales teams build consistency across these areas. TSS provides automotive sales training designed around the practical skills dealership teams need to improve performance, with programmes available across sales, service and leadership.

For dealerships looking for more hands-on development, onsite training can bring training directly into the dealership environment, allowing teams to work on the behaviours and processes that apply to their day-to-day customer interactions.

The Process Comes Before the Price

The next time a salesperson asks you to approve a deal, do not look at the gross figure first.

Ask what happened.

• Was the customer properly qualified?

• Was value established?

• Was the vehicle presented effectively?

• Did the customer complete a positive test drive?

• Were concerns uncovered?

• Was a trial close completed?

• Was the salesperson confident in asking for the business?

If the answer to these questions is yes, you have much more information available to make a sound commercial decision. If the answer is no, the deal may present an opportunity to coach the salesperson before reducing the price.

The most effective sales managers know their numbers, understand their team's performance and use that insight to drive both profitability and volume. If you want to improve gross and volume, start by looking beyond the final number. Look at the process that created it.

A strong process gives salespeople a better opportunity to create value, gives managers better information when reviewing deals and gives the dealership a more consistent approach to balancing gross and volume. The objective is not to win every deal at maximum gross.

It is to build a sales team capable of making better decisions, following a proven process and knowing when a deal genuinely needs flexibility and when it simply needs better selling.