BECKY'S BLOG
@rchernek
TREAT THEM AS INDIVIDUALS
No two snowflakes are exactly alike. The fingerprints of no two people are alike. The customers who step onto your lot are not exactly alike either. So why are you still treating them as though they were?
Perhaps you’re not capturing more product sales for this very reason. Effective closes are based on effective rationale, and the underlying principal of selling to all of your unique customers is to first get to know them and then sell to only their needs with an individualized presentation.
Not only has the car- and product-selling environment changed over recent years, so have your customers.
What you did years ago — and even last year — to obtain the sale no longer works as efficiently.
If you were to approach your customers sporting a 1970s-style mutton sideburns and wearing bell-bottom slacks, you wouldn’t be taken seriously.
If you were to approach your customers as though they had just won the state lottery, they would turn on their heels and run.
If you still take your customers to your office, shut the door, and force-feed them memorized hard-sell lines, such as “You need all these products and I’ll tell you why,” you’ll only succeed in losing the sale altogether.
These days, most customers come to you well prepared. They know what they want and why and how much they can afford to spend. They’ve become product savvy through hours of online investigation.
What should you do? Research the same online sites they do. See what they’re reading. Learn everything they do. Know why your products are equal or better and why buying from your store is better.
Think about how you can present this information without being a pushy know-it-all salesperson; the kind most buyers dread.
Then, greet all your customers at the sales personnel desk with friendly and unhurried interest. This is the time and place to review their information.
Verify the transaction details, without interrogating them with rapid-fire questions. Be engaging and unscripted. Establish a friendly rapport while learning about your customers’ buying habits and perceived needs.
Don’t assume anything. Encourage them to talk and then listen! Without solid information, it’s difficult to effectively overcome objections.
You are accustomed to beginning a memorized product pitch the second your buyer is seated. After a year of slow sales, you are even more eager to squeeze it all in.
Your customers, however, are counting their pennies. They’ve had a rough year, too. They must never feel that you are trying to sell them things they don’t need or want.
Present your products confidently, but with heightened decorum. It shouldn’t pain you to hear any customer say, “No, I’ll stick with the base payment.” That response should never persuade you to end the conversation. Having done an effective interview you know what products will benefit the customer. Value always outweighs cost in the customer mind. Sell value!
So, ask the customer why they chose not to take advantage of the product.. be prepared for the answer. “Always get the customer to tell you how to sell them… never assume”!
Today’s customers can adapt to a higher payment for added value products, but not to surprises. Win them over through effective value closes based on an easy-to-understand rationale – a well thought out process- for each product presented. They will buy, thank you and return next time.
