The Feel of the Wheel Seals the Deal!
I vividly recall receiving a telephone call from an elated Owner of twenty dealerships. He was overjoyed at the fact that he had received over 105 enrollments for my upcoming closing skills Masterclass.
I was flattered! None the less, under no illusion whatsoever that these fine folk were signing up due to a sense of duty. Had we been marketing a program on ‘prospecting’, we would have been blessed indeed to have had several sad souls sent by their sales managers as some form of penance for his or her sins.
Of course, all and all they were coming to collect the ‘close’ that would work with every prospect even the customer from hell. My opening at the seminar was a simple statement of fact “you will never close a sale that hasn’t been opened”.
Another fact is, there are a total of sixty four ‘closes’ known to man, beast and science. The average automotive sales consultant has by fair means or foul learned two – “If I could, would you?” and “What do I have to do to earn your business?”
Both of these so called ‘closes’ have become almost institutions in most salespeople’s closing vocabularies. The unfortunate reality however is they are killing sales and massacring gross.
I’ve dedicated this month’s tip to dispel a myriad of ‘age old’ myths on closing. First and foremost, I need you to understand that the sale isn’t ‘closed’ in the office – the sale is closed during the presentation and demonstration of the vehicle. In fact, a survey of recent car buyers concluded, and I quote, “eighty percent (80%) of the decision to purchase was based on the perceived ‘value’ of the vehicle”.
I have conduct classes in all 50 states in America. I quote statistics in my classes because they paint a vivid and accurate picture of what’s really happening, during the phases of the buying process.
? 78% of people who look at a vehicle...end up buying one!
? 83% respond with “I’m just looking” when a salesperson greets them. That “just looking” (conditioned response) is triggered by the average greeting of “How can I help you?”
? Even though 83% of Buyers walked in and said “I’m just looking” - 85% said they specifically came into the dealership to buy a vehicle.
? 88% of Buyers said the salesperson they spoke to didn’t investigate to find their driving wants, needs and desires didn’t build any rapport before they tried to sell them the vehicle.
? It’s unfortunate the average salesperson doesn’t build rapport quickly and collapse confrontation. Reason...71% of Buyers said they bought the vehicle where they did because they liked, trusted, respected and felt comfortable with their salesperson.
? The average salesperson doesn’t effectively present and demonstrate the vehicle either. 84% of Buyers said they received a poor presentation and demonstration.
? That’s unfortunate too...because 50% of the people who got what they felt was a good presentation and demonstration, bought on the spot. Note that last statistic - 50% of the people who got what they felt was a good presentation and demonstration, bought on the spot.
So whether you are selling Rolls Royce or Rolls-can-hardly (Rolls down one hill and can hardly get up the other) the demo is the catalyst to closing the deal. WHY? Because 99% of buyers said that they wanted to drive the vehicle at some point before they would sign on the dotted line.
If you want to go to heaven – you must die first! If you want to close more sales- you must demo first! So stop looking out the window and whining about the market or the weather. Start looking in the mirror and focus ferociously on the things you can control, and remember... the feel of the wheel seals the deal!
Make It A Champion Day!
“SALES TRAINING MATTERS”