David Lewis's Top Sales Tips to Gain and Retain Customers

A common challenge facing dealerships across the nation is increasing showroom-traffic.

Dealers everywhere know that the Internet is the #1 information source for vehicle buyers. That’s not news. What dealers everywhere continue to try and improve is how to train their sales team to sell in the information age.

Auto salesmen are perceived as notorious bad guys and trust is one of the top reasons customers turn to third-party sites to gather the information they want and need. In fact, over 75% of consumers who research cars online spend most of their time on third-party sites – they see third-party sites as more reliable and trustworthy.

A Forbes article titled, “Why is it so painful to buy a new car?” explains the problem. Consumers perceive experiences with a dealership as painful. They don’t want to deal with the distrust they have for car salesmen.

They also don’t want to deal with the time it takes to find and purchase a car from start to finish at a dealership. Because of this, they start their search online – away from direct dealership influence.

Dealers have come a long way to address the claims the Forbes article lists, many have started digital retail solutions but perception is reality and customers won’t be easily convinced.

Download this free case study on how the Triad Automotive Group uses Digital Retailing to differentiate their marketing message and offers!

David Lewis & Associates has been training dealers, general managers, service managers, sales managers, F&I managers, salespeople, and service advisors on the “Art of Inspiration Selling” since 1986.

David shared a few of his personal tips in a recent J&L Marketing blog so that you can increase your showroom traffic and sell more cars. In addition, he provides sales training videos specifically designed to help prepare our clients maximize their sale event's sales and profit potential.

I thought it would be helpful to share some of David's blog on here...

Win the battle of the mind

Winning the sales battle is largely a battle of the mind. In order to confidently turn prospects into loyal customers, you must learn how to mentally handle the ups and downs of a showroom floor.

Not everyone who walks into your showroom will buy a vehicle from you that day – or at any point in time. What you must do is learn how to handle disappointment and grow from your failures as you prepare mentally and physically for the next sale.

French chemist Dr. Louis Pasteur once said, “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” If you and your sales team hopes to change perceptions and sell more vehicles on a day-to-day basis, you must be prepared both mentally and physically.

If you’re preparing to host a private sale event and you know you’ll be dealing with increased traffic, crunched time, and pressure to sell, make sure you’re well rested and emotionally prepared to get the results you’re hoping for.

You’ll also want to make sure you know what’s currently on your lot and what your potential customers might want to know about your current inventory.

A big part of your success will be dependent on your knowledge of your inventory layout. Vehicle shoppers today have a plethora of information at their fingertips. You’ll want to present yourself as a professional in the field who is knowledgeable about your industry.

They should feel confident in your knowledge. The more prepared you are to answer industry questions and provide information about the vehicles on your lot, the more professional you'll appear and the more the customer will respect you.

The more you’re prepared and practiced in the art of customer-focused sales, the more natural it will become and the more likely you are to be successful. You can never be prepared enough.

Understand your customers

If your goal is to take opportunities on the lot and turn them into sales, you’ll have to address the shopper’s mindset as well as your own. This is the most important thing you can depend on for converting a shopper into a buyer.

Shoppers are always on guard against your advances. They’ve heard the stereotype... so be prepared for their defense walls to be up when it comes to your qualifying questions. You need to know what will motivate them to purchase a car from you, but you must be careful as you approach them.

You can overcome their defensiveness and hesitancies if you know what to look for. Listen closely to their words and body language. Unlocking the key to their trust depends on you.

No matter what their perception of you, salesmen in general, and dealerships might be, if you take the time to get to know their wants and needs, you’ll be able to earn their trust step by step. Don’t fulfill stereotypes by overlooking your potential customer and just trying to make the sale. Show you care about their needs and concerns.

Earn their trust – Ask the right questions

Less selling and telling and more listening will lead to effective dialogue that accomplishes exactly what both you and the shopper desire. Remember, they’re on the defensive because they expect you to pull out out the tricks to sell them a vehicle right now. They actually want to purchase a vehicle at some point in the near future, they just need you to earn their trust.

Your goal should not only be to make a sale that day, but your goal should be to earn their business for life. Gain their trust and you’ll earn their loyalty.

Focus on the questions necessary to understanding their basic wants. Don’t try to qualify them too soon. Ask them whether they want a new or used vehicle and what style of vehicle they want to have... more importantly "why".

These types of questions don’t threaten shoppers, they just show that you are genuinely concerned with helping them accomplish their purchasing goals.

Don’t ask them what their price range is. If they’re looking for a new four-door sedan, start by showing them the cheapest model. Observe their reaction to the sticker price. If they seem concerned, you’ve probably found their cap. If they ask to see a vehicle with more features, you’ll know they can go higher.

Pay attention to the verbal and non-verbal cues they will give you. They’ll reveal their budget to you as the process continues.

By starting with the lowest vehicle price you’ll let your customers feel that they are in control and they will lower their defensive posture. They hate the typical car-buying process because of stereotypes surrounding the industry and your willingness to listen to their needs will put them at ease and build their trust.

By connecting with your customers and avoiding common sales pushes, you’ll eliminate their need to go anywhere else! You can even reassure them that they have the right to shop around, but, if you have the right kind of vehicle they’re looking for, they’ll want to do business with you because you’ve developed a relationship with them.

You’ll earn their respect and become their preferred source for their transportation needs.

If you are considering a quick high-impact lift in quality showroom traffic...

These one or two day sale events can help you create a buying frenzy when powered by a potent combination of direct mail, email, and social media and are continually optimized to deliver the best results, time and time again.

Pro Tip: Successful private sale events must...

• Identify and target low-funnel prospects. Mid to upper-funnel shoppers will not respond to event offers the way they did before they could get all the information they wanted on the Internet. Low-funnel buyers will respond in droves! 
• Create an event offer that low-funnel buyers can't refuse. It must be different in order to drive high volumes of showroom traffic.
• Make you money before the event begins... so you can go into the event already profitable. This allows you to STOP worrying about the potential risk of you wasting all your time, effort and money into something that doesn't work.

By the way, if you really want to maximize your Sale Event traffic, sales and profits... we will lay it all out for you!

Just say...      "Yes! I want more information." and click here and schedule a quick call.

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Be unique... and show up like nobody else!

Scott

Scott Joseph is an automotive dealer and CEO of J&L Marketing. With nearly 3 decades of automotive sales, marketing and leadership experience, he helps automotive clients grow predictable sales with his engineered proven marketing process.