We’ve seen it - everybody does this the easy way, calls the three names, checks the box, and moves on. It feels like due diligence, but it usually isn't. The best operators don't stop there.

When dealership leaders try to figure out why a top performer walked, the conversation almost always starts with pay. Should it have been higher? That's rarely the real story. The more common culprit: the pay plan got changed. 

Here's something that gets missed all the time. A dealer decides to grow their fleet and commercial business, and the first move is pulling somebody off the retail floor and handing them the account list. Come on. That's not how this works.  

The groups that wait until the GM's resignation is on the table are the ones making the decision under the worst possible conditions, with the least time and fewer good options.  

Here's the thing about a counteroffer. It's not a fix. It's a reaction. The dealer isn't solving whatever made the person want to leave in the first place. They're just trying to stop the bleeding right now

The next time a search stalls because nobody with the “right” brand background is available, ask a different question.

At some point, many dealership managers are presented with an opportunity to move. Maybe it's from a single-point dealership to a large dealer group. Maybe it's the opposite. Most people immediately think about the compensation. The better question is whether they're prepared for the change. 

A management hire is one of the most important decisions a dealership makes. 

The goal is not a stack of resumes. The goal is to find great talent that will help your dealership thrive and grow.

Certain searches require a different level of specialization, discretion, and industry access, especially when it comes to leadership hiring.

Ask any dealership owner or operator about one of their biggest ongoing challenges, and eventually the conversation lands in the same place: finding and keeping great managers