We tell you how they are wired and where they perform before you make the offer.
Developed inside the dealership environment with 30+ years of real-world experience. Not adapted from another industry. Built here.
Your hiring process works. Until it doesn't.
You have managers with years of experience. You have a process that has produced good hires before. What your process does not have is a way to measure whether a candidate is naturally wired for the specific role you are putting them in.
The problem is not that you hired a bad person. The problem is you hired the right person into the wrong role. They may be naturally aligned for fleet, commercial, BDC, or service - but they get placed on the floor because that is the opening you had.
That gap between placement and alignment is where the cost lives.
"Patrick has created something that goes well beyond a traditional assessment. It is a leadership and alignment tool with the potential to help organizations hire smarter, develop stronger leaders, and build high-performing teams. Great work, Patrick. Go make a difference."
One misaligned hire costs a dealership $80,000 to $120,000.
Most of that cost is invisible on the day you make the hire. It shows up slowly as underperformance, management time, lost gross, and eventual turnover - followed by the full cost of starting over.
That is not a recruiting problem. That is a placement problem. And it is preventable.
For a dealership with 20 salespeople, reducing annual turnover by just 3 to 4 employees could preserve $250,000 to $500,000+ in gross profit annually.
Alignment is not an HR issue. It is a profitability issue.
Replace gut feel with measurable alignment.
AXIS is not a personality test. It is a behavioral alignment index built specifically for automotive retail - designed to score candidates across 6 departments and 48 roles simultaneously, revealing exactly where they are most likely to succeed.
Turnover
Low CSI Scores
Shrinking Gross Profits
From invite to placement report in 4 steps.
No guesswork. Just data on where this person is wired to perform.
Send the candidate a branded email with a unique assessment link valid for 7 days.
Candidate completes 60 behavior-based questions at their own pace. Takes about 15 minutes.
AXIS scores all 48 roles across 6 departments and identifies the candidate's behavioral archetype.
Full placement report with archetype, trait profile, coaching notes, best placements, and roles to avoid - ready to use for hiring, placement, reassignment, or coaching decisions.
Performance is behavioral. Experience is not enough.
Every revenue role depends on a specific mix of traits. When they are present, performance follows. When they are not, results stall regardless of how many years someone has been in the industry.
Does the role reward speed-to-close or careful sequencing? Rushing creates errors in some seats. Hesitation kills deals in others.
Volume roles require thick skin. A candidate who internalizes every no will not survive outbound. One who feels nothing will not last in service.
Some seats require exact execution every time. Others require improvisation. The wrong instinct in either direction is expensive.
Fleet, commercial, and retention roles are won over months, not minutes. Floor sales is the opposite. The instinct has to match the cycle.
Service advisors and F&I presenters absorb emotional pressure all day. A candidate who cannot regulate under load will burn out or create CSI risk.
Some candidates are wired to move people. Others are wired to get details exactly right. F&I needs both. Most roles need one or the other.
The floor needs hunger. Parts inventory needs stewardship. Put a high-drive closer in compliance and they will cut corners to create wins.
Can this person do the same thing well every day and find satisfaction in it? Or do they need new challenges to stay engaged? Both profiles exist. Both belong somewhere.
Choose the level of support that fits your hiring process.
Every option is powered by AXIS. No subscription. No contract. No commitment until you have a candidate in front of you.
See exactly what your team receives.
Every AXIS report includes a behavioral archetype, ranked role scores across 48 positions, an open seat assessment, trait scores, alignment summary, coaching notes, best placements inside a dealership, and roles to avoid.
View Full Sample ReportBuilt from inside the dealership. Not adapted from somewhere else.
Patrick Clounch is the founder of Vantage Alignment Recruiting and the creator of the AXIS Alignment Index. With more than 30 years of real-world dealership and commercial truck industry experience, Patrick has seen one of the most expensive problems dealerships continue to face: talented people being placed in roles they were never naturally aligned to perform in.
That experience became the foundation for AXIS. Not theory. Not adapted. Built here.
