From Hero to Zero

I wrote this years ago, but the lesson has stayed with me.

Anyone who has spent time in automotive sales knows the rhythm. As month-end approaches, everything accelerates. Sell. Close. Push. Every salesperson is on alert. Every manager is trying to scratch out one more deal before the clock runs out.

The buying public knows this cycle too. Today's customers are armed with more data than ever, and they understand the urgency that dealers feel as the calendar flips. In many ways, we trained them.

I remember the day after month-end vividly. The pipeline felt drained. Every prospect had been worked. There was a sense of relief, but also exhaustion. Even if you had sold thirty cars the month before, you woke up to zero on the board. Hero to zero overnight.

Momentum rarely returned until the second week of the month. Slow starts created anxiety, and before long everyone was gearing up for the same end-of-month push all over again. It became a tradition we accepted without questioning.

At some point, I started asking a simple question: why does the calendar drive behavior so completely? What if we could create the same urgency earlier in the month? What if the twelfth felt like the twenty-ninth?

The idea was straightforward. What if, internally, month-end moved to the fifteenth?

Not on paper. Not for accounting. Just for how the team thinks and operates.

The benefits became obvious quickly. Salespeople felt real urgency earlier. If a bonus hinged on hitting a number by the fifteenth, deals moved faster. Managers saw steadier pacing instead of slow starts and frantic finishes. Customers benefited too. When urgency exists throughout the month, deals feel more authentic. Buyers sense honesty when a salesperson is working toward a real deadline.

There was an unexpected benefit as well. The back office felt relief. A more balanced flow of deals meant less chaos at the end of the month and cleaner books.

The natural question, of course, is what happens after the fifteenth. Interestingly, not much changes. Customers still believe the end of the calendar month is the best time to buy. Other dealers continue to advertise month-end urgency. That pressure still exists, and it spills over naturally.

What you end up with is something better than before. Two closing cycles. One early. One traditional. And a more focused, intentional atmosphere throughout the entire month.

The calendar does not have to dictate behavior. Sometimes a small shift in how we define the finish line changes everything.

Maybe two month-ends really are better than one.

~ Bryan