Close Deals, Save Deals: 3 Game-Changing Tricks for Management Meetings

January, 2023                                                                                                    

Running effective management meetings is crucial for boosting productivity, closing more deals, and ensuring your sales process runs smoothly. Yet, many dealerships waste this precious time by going over old information or failing to focus on what truly matters—making deals happen. Here are three game-changing tricks for holding management meetings that will help you close deals, save deals, and optimize your entire sales process.

1.) Use the Central Desking Make A Deal Meeting Format

Let’s face it—most management meetings are boring and repetitive. But when done right, they can be the gears that keep your sales machine running smoothly. That’s why I recommend using the Central Desking Make A Deal Meeting Format. It’s not just a traditional “Save A Deal” meeting; it’s a Make A Deal Meeting—focused on deals that can still be made, deals that need saving, and maximizing every opportunity.

This meeting is not for everyone. It’s a closers meeting. Only the people in your dealership who have the power and responsibility to close deals should attend. This usually includes your top Sales Managers, your Product or Fit Specialists, and of course, the Owner or GM. This meeting allows you to track what happened with every deal, pinpoint where the follow-up needs to happen, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

The real power behind this meeting comes from understanding Step 5 Processes, which I detail in the second half of my book, Dealership Process Secrets. Step 5 is all about the sit-downs—those critical negotiations where a customer is ready to talk numbers but ends up walking out without signing. If you don’t have a system to stay on top of these Step 5s, you’re losing deals left and right.

In this meeting, you’ll review your hot sheet deals and yesterday’s Step 5s. This meeting is vital because these Step 5 customers are more likely to buy than 99% of the people sitting idle in your CRM. Don’t let your CRM become a haystack with needles hidden throughout. Your Step 5 customers are your needles, and without tracking them consistently, you’re flushing deals down the drain.

Actionable Tip: Implement the Central Desking Make A Deal Meeting Format immediately. Focus on your Step 5s and ensure every deal is tracked. This meeting is the key to making sure your dealership doesn’t miss out on closing high-probability deals.

2.) Consistency: The Backbone of Success

Consistency is just as important in your Make A Deal Meeting as it is in your daily sales meetings. If you want to close deals and save deals effectively, you need a consistent, structured approach. Every part of the meeting should follow the same format day in and day out.

Your meeting structure should be broken down into 5-minute increments, and you should always start with your hot sheet deals. Spend time going over the deals that need immediate attention, and then follow the same formula for reviewing Step 5s and other priority follow-ups. This consistency gives your Sales Managers and Closers clear expectations and ensures no deals fall through the cracks.

One thing I highly recommend is including F&I Managers in these meetings. Have them rotate so that each opener gets an understanding of where the deals are at. This is especially important for those challenging finance deals that need extra effort to get approved. By working together in this meeting, your Sales Managers and Finance Managers can team up to get more deals done.

Consistency in structure also means holding these meetings daily—no exceptions. This should be a non-negotiable part of your dealership’s routine. Right after your morning sales meeting, your closers should be reviewing the deals from the previous day and strategizing on how to move forward.

Actionable Tip: Build a consistent meeting structure that follows a strict schedule. Include both your Sales and Finance Managers in these meetings to ensure full collaboration on every deal.

3.) Daily Exercise: Role-Playing the First Pencil

To truly maximize your Make A Deal Meeting, you need a daily exercise that sharpens your closers’ skills. My personal favorite is role-playing the first pencil. This is where most closers need the most help, and it’s often where deals can be won or lost. By role-playing the first pencil, you can address real-life objections your team has encountered, practice preferred word tracks, and refine the strategies that will close more deals.

During these role-play sessions, your closers can use real objections they’ve faced from customers, allowing the team to learn and practice overcoming those challenges. The goal is to refine the first pencil process until it’s second nature. Remember, the first pencil is often the critical point where a customer either commits or walks away. If your team can master this, you’ll close more deals.

I’ve crafted custom word tracks for dealerships that have proven to be highly effective, and these can be tailored to fit your specific store. I even offer a 1st Pencil Training Course with role-play exercises that I customize for your team. While you might choose to vary your daily exercises, I believe role-playing the first pencil should be a staple in your routine.

Actionable Tip: Make role-playing the first pencil a daily exercise. Your closers will sharpen their skills, and your team will be better prepared to handle objections and close deals more effectively.

Conclusion: The Secret to Closing More Deals

At the end of the day, your Make A Deal Meeting is the key to closing more deals and saving those that might otherwise fall through the cracks. By focusing on Step 5 processes, maintaining a consistent meeting structure, and practicing the first pencil daily, you’ll create a culture of accountability and success in your dealership.

These meetings are not just administrative—they’re where deals are made. Don’t waste the opportunity to train, track, and motivate your closers. Implement the Central Desking Make A Deal Meeting Format, and watch as your dealership’s productivity and closing rates skyrocket.

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Philip Cheatham

Philip Cheatham – With over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, Philip Cheatham has become a leading force in dealership success and profitability. His career began with 12 years in Finance & Insurance (F&I) within dealerships, followed by 5 years in upper management roles from Sales Manager to General Manager.

For the past 5 years, Philip has dedicated himself to training F&I professionals and sales desks across dozens of dealerships, implementing proven sales processes that increase monthly income by six figures per 100 units on average. His hands-on approach includes working directly with customers—from deal structuring at the desk to closing on the floor and in F&I—and collaborating closely with General Managers and management teams to ensure effective, sustainable process implementation.

Philip is the author of Dealership Process Secrets and Slow Them Down: The F&I Master Notes and is the visionary behind Central Desking’s cutting-edge follow-up software and desk log system. As the creator of Finance Servant, the most comprehensive online F&I training program, Philip continues to elevate industry standards with his intense, practical training methods.

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