Over the last several months, it seemed like everywhere you looked, there were ‘”Help Wanted” signs and hiring fairs offering sizable referral and signing bonuses. According to the US Department of Labor, the economy added 263,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.5 percent as more people entered the labor market looking for work. 9.7 million jobs have been added since President Biden took office, including an average of 378,000 per month over the past three months. However, we’re already beginning to see hiring trends slow as companies prepare for a potential recession in 2023.
While powersports dealers have been setting record profits over the last few years, salespeople have shared in the bounty, raking in significant wage gains tied to their commissions. However, with a recession looming, and inventory on track to becoming right-sized within the next year, dealers are coming to the realization that the current sales-staff might be ill-equipped to adapt to the changing times ahead.
Rather than simply being order takers and counting the commission checks, salespeople will once again need to return to customer service and sales best practices. Those who manage that shift gracefully should do just fine. Those who lack the training, or the capacity to change, will most likely find employment elsewhere.