 "It all Starts with Your Credibility "
“That's a good question; I will have to find that out for you.” Although these words have helped many salespeople out of a pinch when they did not know the correct answer to a question directed at them by a customer interested in buying their product, it doesn't excuse the fact that the salesperson should have known the answer in the first place.
I think it is safe to say that when most of us started selling cars we were sat down a few product videos or expected to read a stack of product source books and brochures to learn about the automobiles we intended to sell. That's right, the first thing we needed was knowledge about the product we were preparing to sell.
After that we hit the sales floor and sold a few cars. Mission accomplished, or so we thought. Then the management staff informed us that we must become “certified” by taking test's required by the manufacture. Sure these tests delved a little deeper into the product and forced us to due at least enough research to discover the answers required to pass the tests that the manufacture deemed important. But were we really knowledgeable about the products we were representing? Yes, to a certain extent. But to say we were experts on them may be overstating the level of knowledge we possessed about the vehicles we were selling. Maybe taking the “certification” test made us nothing more than “experts” on how to find information in source books, furthermore allowing us to feel comfortable with answering a question directed at us by a customer, with the car salesman's equivalent of, “I don't know” which as I stated earlier is, “That's a good question; I will have to find that out for you.”
For many of you this may be true regarding the current brand of vehicle you are selling now. Sure you may know the horsepower of all the engines that you sell and what the torque is but do you really know the vehicle inside and out? Do you know the towing capacity? If the vehicle can be flat towed? Will the miles continue to increase while being towed? Whether it has a timing belt or a chain? Or for that mater what the manufacture's given name for the color of the automobile is. Sure some of you may be thinking that a tan car is a tan car, but if your manufacturer refers to it as Sandstone, shouldn't you? After all you represent them and their product. Additionally if your customer comes to you knowing more about the vehicle that they are interested in purchasing than you do then all you will represent to them is the person that better give them the cheapest price in town because they certainly don't need you for anything else.
To many of you all of this may seem trivial. You may be thinking, “I sell a bunch of cars and I don't know the exact names of all the colors given by the manufacture. Heck, I don't even know the horsepower of all the engines.”
The point that I am getting to is that having product knowledge about the vehicles you are selling provides you with more than just the benefit of having “useless” knowledge. It gives you with the foundation you need to begin gaining an advantage over your competition; the advantage of credibility.
You see, if you talk to your customers and display a level of competent knowledge regarding the product you are selling you instantly begin establishing credibility. Furthermore if you are able to answer the difficult questions that your customers has then they even start to view you as a true professional.
Remember one ingredient that every true professional has is credibility. If you expect to get paid like a professional then it is advisable that you become one.
From Zero to Hero, How to Master the Art of Selling Cars.
Jeffrey F. Knott is the Author of From Zero to Hero, How to Master the Art of Selling Cars and can be reached by email: Jeff@Showroomtoday.com |
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