Training is of course important to becoming a great salesperson, but sometimes a person just has the knack for it. That seems to the case with Auto Dealer Monthly’s 2009 Sales Professional of the Year, Darrell Lee of Hare Chevrolet in Noblesville, Ind.

Lee, who came to Indiana from South Dakota pursuing a degree in communications, was advised by his car salesperson that he should look into a career in car sales. Apparently, that salesperson’s intuition was right on the money; in Lee’s first full month of car sales, he sold an impressive 39 vehicles.  

He had no explanation for how he was able to do so well straight out of the gate, but he hasn’t let up since. Lee, who started at Hare Chevrolet in 2003, has been the dealership’s salesperson of the month every month for at least the last four years. He also has the distinction of being the top salesperson for GM in Indiana every year since 2005, an achievement that has earned him some very fun experiences like a trip to the 2006 Super Bowl and a ride around the racetrack with NASCAR Driver Jimmie Johnson.

Part of Lee’s success can be attributed to his competitive nature and an innate sense of discipline. “I’ve always been very competitive, even as a teenager,” he said.  “I just did not like to lose. It didn’t matter if I was playing my mom at checkers,” he laughed. For about five years, Lee channeled some of that discipline and competitive drive into something quite different from the car business—bodybuilding. In 2002 and 2003, he even placed third and fourth in the state open. “It was just something I always wanted to do,” he said, and when Lee decides to do something, he does it to the absolute best of his ability.

Much like bodybuilding, his push to be the top salesperson is more about being his best rather than competing with others. His goal is to sell at least 30 vehicles each month. “Anytime I don’t do that, I feel like it’s a failure,” he said. Lee’s customers aren’t likely to catch him flexing his biceps, however, and he has no plans to grace the cover of Muscle & Fitness because he’s left that hobby behind in favor of a very different pastime. Lee is now an avid golfer.

It’s difficult to imagine that someone who consistently sells at least 30 vehicles per month would have much time for golf, but Lee manages to work it into his schedule. “I try to sell eight cars a week,” he said. “If I get five or six out by Wednesday or Thursday, I’ll take an afternoon off and go out and play golf, and then if I sell a couple more I’ll take Saturday off and go play.”

He has his priorities straight, however. “If I’ve got cars to sell, I will not go out golfing,” he said, adding, “but if there’s a way to [find time for golf], I figure it out.” It’s not all about fun, though. He sees golfing as a great way to network and prospect for new customers. He belongs to a private golf club and estimated that an average of five sales per month result from his involvement there.

In addition to using his favorite pastime to build his customer base, Lee has made some other adjustments to stay at the top in sales despite the changes in the new car market over the last couple of years. “I’ve really become active in our community here, like with the Chamber of Commerce, things like that,” he said. “When the economy and everything really started going down is when I started becoming more active in that.” He said he wants as many people as possible to think of him first when they need a car.

Additionally, “I’ve gotten a lot better at … working with people on the phone and online as opposed to just standing out on the sidewalk waiting for them to show up.” Lot traffic, he said, is almost non-existent these days compared to a few years ago. “Standing out on the sidewalk and waiting on people to come up is not the way to do it anymore.” Stepping up his game and being more aggressive in cultivating his customer base and pursuing leads has helped Lee continue to excel and achieve above-average sales numbers.

Even with his adaptability and drive to succeed, the desire to be number one is not enough to guarantee continued success. How a salesperson relates to his customers makes the difference between a closed sale and a lost prospect. Lee said the key is listening. When he’s talking to a customer for the first time, he lets them do all the talking. “Obviously, they’re here for a reason—they need a car,” he stated, “and I’ll just ask a couple of simple questions … then let them tell me what they need, and then I’ll kind of try to steer the whole conversation towards a vehicle that I know will work for them.”

Lee thinks many salespeople get caught up in trying to make the sale and forget to listen.  “I think the biggest problem [is] that a lot of sales guys … want to be the hero. They want to tell the customer everything they’re going to do, and in reality it should be exactly the opposite,” he said. “The customer will tell you what they need, and they will sell themselves if you’re willing to listen and, at the same time, guide them in the right direction.”

Looking toward 2010, Lee expects to have another great year and still looks forward to each day on the job. “It’s very rewarding. You get what you put into it,” he said. “As many [vehicles] as I’ve sold, there’s still nothing better than selling a car and going home feeling like I did a good job on it.”

The staff of Auto Dealer Monthly congratulates Darrell Lee, 2009 Sales Professional of the Year, and thanks go out to Courtney Cole, vice president of Hare Chevrolet, for bringing Lee to our attention.

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Vol 7, Issue 1