At a few select Kansas City area car dealerships, employees may not wear
their hearts on their sleeves, by they do wear their personalities on their
shirt fronts.
Looking for better showroom chemistry, three area dealerships have taken
to quizzing employees and would-be employees as to their true natures.
Those tested are asked to what extent each of 32 words, from industrious
to fussy, describe them, and to what extent 32 other words, from daring to
gentle, describe how they are expected to act.
They then fall into four categories: reds are dominant [now called
direct], greens are extroverted, yellows are structured, blues are paced.
In some cases employees wear a color-coded name plate that lets co-workers
know at a glance with whom, or with what, they are dealing. A four-point
graph line on the name tag further defines personality traits.
Dealers using the program believe it allows for better communication,
among their employees. Moreover, adherents say, the program helps
salespeople recognize the personalities, and inherent traits, in customers.
"A red doesn't want you to sell him a car, he wants to buy it," said
Sarah Cunningham, a principal with the Cunningham Automotive Group. "A
green wants you to be his buddy, and he wants to be yours. Blues don't
want to be pushed; they're the ones out on the lot kicking the tires. A
yellow wants tons of information."
"The program teaches you I to recognize body language and key words that
might let you know the customers’ traits to better serve them."
The personality program at Cunningham Automotive was designed by the
area-based Management By Strengths, which has charted and trained
employees in Kansas City and across the nation at corporate giants such
as AlliedSignal, Inc. But dealerships comprise the bulk of its clientele
the company has found work at 700 nationwide.
"A dealership is, I don't want to say brutal, but a hard place to work,"
said Mike Postlewait, president of Management By Strengths or MBS, the
Overland Park firm that sells the personality program and subsequent
training. "The hours are long, it can be stressful and that accounts for
high turnover. If you go against (employees') temperament, you lose them.
Then you're starting over."
While profiles of employees at companies other than dealerships tend to
be evenly divided among the four colors, showroom salespeople by and large
fall into but two of the categories.
"I'd say 95 percent of our salespeople are greens or reds " said
Cunningham. "But that's not to say we only hire salespeople high in
extroversion or high in dominance [directness]." History would prove that
to be a mistake.
The dealership once invited a psychologist to review its sales staff, and
the doctor concluded that the employees overall were high-caliber, but that
two were unlikely to make it. The two happened to be the dealership’s
top producers.
"We teach against stereotyping said Postlewait. "But it [the MBS Profile
Report] can be another tool, an effective tool, in hiring"
Beyond that, said Galen Boyer, owner of Galen Boyer Motors Inc., the
profiles, and proper training, "let you approach people the way they want
to be approached."
For instance, said Cindy Cavanah, an executive at Cable-Dahmer Chevrolet
Geo Mazda, "you know that if (an employee) is analytical, you need to
bring them all the figures; with others you know you have to get pumped
up to pump them up."
According to an MBS brochure, the program allows employers and managers
to better use workers' strengths and "learn how to predict behavior in
certain situations."
Said Cunningham, "It's kind of a crystal ball."
A rose-colored crystal ball. The profiles only flatter; a dominant
[direct] type might be described as "innovative, positive, self confident,
a quick thinker"
"It's all written in a very positive way," said Cunningham. "Almost
100 percent of our people agree with their profile. The ones who don't
are the ones who spend 30 minutes trying to figure it out. Almost
everyone says, "Wow, that's me.""
That sort of acceptance engenders cooperation, allowing the program’s
precepts to work, said Postlewait.
"The secret to success in all relationships is getting the focus off
yourself and onto the other person.," he said, "All really successful
people have learned that. Our program helps people do that."
While the techniques help management and staff get along, and otherwise
boost profits, they can also offer a sense for larger things.
"Nixon was a red, Carter is a yellow, Reagan [and Clinton are] green and
Bush is blue, very paced," said Postlewait. "The war (in the Persian Gulf)
was a classic example. Who ever heard of a war being on schedule?"
Colorful idea helps dealerships unmask personality