How Emotional Intelligence Impacts Sales Performance and Employee Retention in a Dealership

One of the mysteries of the auto dealership world is why general managers and general sales managers assume that low productivity and the resulting high turnover are inevitable with their sales teams. Research has shown it is appropriate to apply the Pareto principle to salespeople whereby 20 percent of all salespeople now make 80 percent of all sales. That means 80 percent of the sales force fights over the remaining 20 percent of the business not produced by the top sales pros.

With so many salespeople competing for shares of such a small pie, the turnover rate in sales is obviously very high. But many auto dealer executives are willing to accept, as a cost of doing business, the unending expenses of recruiting, selecting, and training the continuing flow of newcomers into the sales rank. They should, instead, recognize that the poor sales productivity and high turnover rampant in the industry are the result of faulty hiring practices.

Research has shown that 80 percent of the essential competencies required for success in the workplace are emotional intelligence, which is far greater than IQ or personality traits. Emotional intelligence (EI) has been a