"People Buy Value Not Price!"
 Salespeople tend to overlook one of the best tools for closing sales: value ! Let's start with a question; have you ever sold a vehicle to a customer who could have bought it for less at another store? Of course! In fact, if a customer walked out of your dealership and went to another one would the other dealer beat your price? Yes. So how did you do it? You built enough value for them to make the decision to go ahead. Let's look at the best ways to create more sales by creating more value, every time.
Build Value through your Selling Skills
One of the first decisions a customer makes is whether they like the salesperson or not. People buy from people they like. Your customer is making a decision they will live with for several years and commit 20% plus of their net budget to. Whether they like and trust the salesperson will be a large factor in this decision. Here are a couple of tips to help your sales staff put the odds in their favor:
- Slow down in the beginning. Too many times they rush to try and find out what type of vehicle they want and whether or not they can buy. Instead, make friends!
- Ask open ended questions to find common ground. Find out:
- Where they live.
- What they do for a living.
- What size their family is.
- What their hobbies are.
- Where they like to take vacations.
- Listen less at the start and more as the sale progresses. In the beginning, customers will say a lot of things you need to redirect. Look at these examples and my suggested responses:
- I'm just looking. (I understand and I'll do my best to get you as much information as possible with the time you have today. Were you considering a car or a truck?)
- What will the payments be? (That's a great question and we'll lay out exactly what they are and all of the terms when we sit down inside. It obviously depends on your choice of vehicles and equipment. Are you looking for something with cloth interior or leather?)
- I want to use my trade-in equity to lower my payments. (No problem, in fact when we trade, we'll pay your vehicle off in full and apply any equity to the purchase. Speaking of your trade-in, do you want to stick with a two door or maybe go with a four door this time?)
- I'm not buying if you don't give me a great deal. (I wouldn't expect you to. In fact, we've been in business for over thirty years and we couldn't have done that without taking care of customers in all areas including price. Keeping that in mind, were you mainly interested in a new or pre-owned vehicle?)
As the sale progresses, they will give you better and more useful information about what their real wants and needs are and how you will be able to make the sale. Ignore the negative statements and ask another question. If you were making this major decision, wouldn't you resist as you go through the process of making it?
Build Value in Your Dealership
What are the reasons your customers buy from you? What type of investment has your dealer principal made in your dealership? Do you have an award winning service department? Can you schedule service appointments ahead of time? What about shuttles to work or loaner cars? What investments in the community have you made?
Once you answer the questions above, make sure you answer them for every customer that walks into your dealership. You see, if you don't build value in your dealership and the last dealership did, where will they buy? A service department presentation should be part of every sales presentation. When they come to you to work their transaction ask them who they have introduced the customer to in the service department. If the answer is that they haven't let them do that while you prepare the paperwork or numbers.
Build Value in the Product
It's amazing how many customers walk into your dealership to consider buying your vehicle and aren't given the opportunity to drive the vehicle. Most of the time in classes I hold, the average number of demonstrations out of every ten customers ranges between three and five. Are you serious about selling more new and used vehicles? Then get the customers behind the wheel. Here's how:
Teach your salespeople how to get around the most common objections to driving the vehicle:
I've already driven one. (You know we find that most folks want to make the best decision they can. Unfortunately it seems that maybe the last dealership didn't cover everything or you'd probably be driving one already. Let me take a couple of moments to show you a few of the interior features that set this car apart from the competition.)
I don't have time to drive it. (I understand, in fact we have a lot of customers today who are pressed for time. We've developed a short demonstration route to save you time and allow you to experience the outstanding qualities of this vehicle.)
When the salesperson comes to you when they are working the transaction, ask them: What did your customer like best about the vehicle when they drove it? They should be able to give you a complete answer and a lot of information. If not, have them take the customer on a demonstration drive before you go further. If you let them skip steps, you're likely skipping sales!
The Bottom Line
Customers buy for their reasons not ours. They come to us to make a major purchase and we owe it to them to help them make the best decision possible. The value you build in your dealership, the vehicle and the way you sell will help you grow your store and build profits. Train your staff to sell the value you have spent your career building in your store. Call me at 877-651-1032 and let me know how you are doing or if you have questions. In the meantime, Good Selling!
Email me at jimmy_atkinson@assurant.com |
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