Coach the Middle 60%: Where Your Next 20% Growth Hides

Amanda Acio, SVP, Dealer Solutions at Solera

The month our curve finally moved, we didn’t hire a unicorn and we didn’t invent a miraculous new comp plan. We simply put the effort into coaching the middle, and watched it pay back dividends. Back when I was running a BDC and a sales desk, the top 10% didn’t need a pep talk—and the bottom 10% also didn’t need a pep talk, but for different reasons. The real opportunity we were missing lived with the solid, coachable people hovering around the middle of the group.

As a leader now helping dealers modernize operations, my view hasn’t changed. In fact it’s only been further reinforced: coach the middle, and the whole curve moves. When that middle lifts, your forecast gets quieter, your closes get cleaner, and the month stops coming down to two hail‑Mary Saturdays.

Why the middle sets your ceiling

Your middle 60% performers determine how predictable your month is going to be. Stars carry spikes; but the middle carries the plan. Most of the friction that holds them back isn’t talent—it’s clarity, repetition, and handoff (or TO’s to be more precise). In the showroom, that looks like slow response times, missed second touches, customers repeating themselves on every call, and deals that “restart” over simple things that could’ve probably been avoided with better qualification early on. The good news: these things are fixable with standards, practice, and technology that removes friction instead of adding tediousness. Move the middle and you’ll raise the ceiling, because the middle is the true ceiling.

Find your middle (and what’s blocking them)

Start by identifying the people who are close: advisors and reps who are at 85–95% to goal, month after month. Then inspect the work, not just the results.

– Sales/BDC: response time to new leads, second‑touch rate, appt‑set → show, pencil‑to‑close.

– Service: calls answered in under 20 seconds, schedule fill rate, show rate, RO per advisor, promise‑time accuracy.

When I look at these sorts of metrics inside Solera’s DMS and CRM user base, patterns jump out. The middle needs specific plays, fewer systems to click through, and smoother handoffs between BDC ↔ and sales advisors. They don’t need more pressure; they need less friction. Establish a baseline, highlight one or two chronic bottlenecks, and make them the next 30‑day priority. That alone brings calm and focus to the floor.

The coaching system: clarity → reps → feedback

Clarity beats charisma. Give every role a one‑page standard. For example: “New lead = response in 10 minutes, two touches on day one, specific close steps by day two.” In service: “Answer by 20 seconds, confirm VIN and concern, offer the first open appointment and pickup/delivery option, confirm promise time.” Then just practice it. Ten‑minute huddles during the morning meeting. Two call reviews per person using actual transcripts. One behavior to improve per week, it’s all of these little steps that will amount to big movement.

Close the loop with simple scoreboards. In Solera CRM and DMS, I want managers to see today’s response times, second‑touch compliance, appointment show rates, and RO dollars at a glance. Weekly one‑on‑ones should target one behavior tied to one KPI, with one agreed experiment before the next check‑in. On a busy Saturday, everything can feel like a priority. That’s exactly why we pick one.

The goal shouldn’t be a motivational speech or a chorus of throwaway one-liners to test on working deals; it’s a repeatable operating rhythm the middle can live in every week of the year.

When your process is iron-clad and your technology partners remove tedious and forgettable work, the middle has more time and energy for the human work—listening, setting expectations, and following through. That’s where customer experience and compliance both improve.

Lead by example and build diverse teams

My career crossed the showroom, the BDC, and national leadership roles in automotive technology. The common thread behind every performance jump wasn’t a speech, it was standards, reps, and removing friction. Diverse teams make this a lot easier. Different backgrounds mean different ways to overcome objections, build trust, and see the whole customer journey.

Managers & leaders, go first: make calls with the team, review transcripts in the huddle, and share one “miss →fix” story every week. Create psychological safety so people try new behaviors without fear of getting roasted.

This level of consistency from leadership turns sporadic coaching into culture.

Amanda Acio is Senior Vice President, Dealer Solutions at Solera, leading growth and client success across sales, service, and digital retailing. A former BDC and sales manager at Serramonte Ford and Novato Ford, she later led sales teams at the top SaaS companies in Automotive. She brings over two decades of front‑line retail and SaaS leadership, known for pragmatic execution, building diverse high‑performance teams, and deploying road-tested strategies to grow revenue and better serve her customers.