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Show Auto Show Talents
If you are working at your local auto show this year, it's critical to have a strategy on how you are going to maximize your time and contacts. Have a game plan. Don't go in blind. The auto makers and show staff have spent hundreds of hours and sometimes millions of dollars to get people to see your product. I've worked at many auto shows as a sales person and sales manager. I've trained sales people
Hiring, Keeping Staffers
A human-resources manager in charge of hiring sales staffers for a dealer group of 12, asked if I could direct 60 new people to him every month. I asked why so many people. He said they have a 21-day turnover of sales staff. I asked him what they were doing and why it wasn't working for them. He quickly went into how much money his managers and top sales people were earning, big dough of course. He
How To Work the Deal (Part 2 of 2)
I once spent more than two hours with a nice couple on a limited budget. They kept telling me they didn't want to get over their heads in buying a new car. I sympathized with them and wanted to get them a great deal. I asked what they could afford. The MSRP was $20,000. They offered $17,000. I asked them if they could go $18,000. No, they said. I negotiated with my manager. I was good at getting him
Be a Great Negotiator (Part 1 of 2)
A co-worker once complained to me about the dealership's pay structure. He had delivered 14 vehicles that month and had only made $2,500. I asked him about his grosses. They were mostly flat. He asked how much I made that month. He was shocked when I said $5,000 and had only delivered 10 vehicles. Obviously, he had a negotiating problem. He also had the lowest CSI/SSI in the dealership. His customer
The Art of Prospecting
My first sales manager asked me to list all the people I knew, then contact them and ask if they or anyone they knew were in the market for a new vehicle. I was worried that the next thing he was going to get me to do was go door to door. I thought my job description was to answer incoming sales calls and talk to walk-in customers. Customer prospecting? Forget it. Most of us hate it. But manufacturers
Be Cool But Ask!
I remember my rookie year selling cars. In my first month I delivered 11, second month eight, third month six, and downhill from there. I'd handle every customer differently, go hard with one and back off on others. Consistency was not in my strategy. It may have been that first month with 11 deliveries and a big pay check that made me realize the income potential in this new career. The problem was
Work with the F&I Dept.
Here's another reason the job of dealership salespeople is critical: if they don't sell the vehicle, then F&I managers lose the chance to sell their products. Here's an F&I rundown for people who don't know how critical that department is to a dealership: What is the job of the F&I manager? To sell customer vehicle protection, get credit approvals and much more. Why should the salesperson promote
Track Your Performance
Track me, no way This used to be my response to any sales manager who tried to implement a sales tracking system at the dealership. If you can track me, then you will know if I'm a bad, average or good sales person. I guess I can handle you knowing that I'm an OK sales person but I definitely don't want you to know if I'm no good or need help. This is America, land of the free; Big Brother certainly
Words to Close By
Closing a car sale is exciting. But some people panic and drop the ball at the last second. They also leave a lot of money on the table. This is due in part to not finalizing the sale with effective and practiced closing lines. Last month, I offered you some closing lines to work with. Those centered on closing the sale so you can start negotiating. This month, let's go over some closes that you can
Keep the Close Simple
Early in my automotive sales career, I studied other dealership sales people. I watched which ones were the best and why they sold a lot of cars and others didn't. What were the best sales people saying to close the sale? I noticed one major point: they keep it simple. I use to call other sales people I can't believe Scott got four deals today, man is he lucky. Jenny always gets the easy customers,
Put on a Great Show
The saying presentation is everything started in the restaurant industry. Good food is important. But how it's presented distinguishes a great dining experience from being just another meal. Presenters at auto shows are well rehearsed and trained. They deliver top-notch product presentations to the crowds. If you take the same approach at your dealership you will see a consistent increase in demonstration
Know Thy Customer
Before you became an automotive salesperson, you were a customer. How did you feel about the car purchase process? What type of research did you do? How long did it take before you decided to purchase? Did you call any dealerships for information and pricing? How many dealerships did you go to before you bought? Did you care where you purchased your new vehicle? Was the product a concern? Was the
Closing Price Shoppers
Price shopping is not new. We all do it. It always boils down to who's going to be the last sales person the buyer will deal with you or someone else. Consider the following two examples when handling price shoppers. Example one: Possible sale now if done right: Price shoppers are bold and brisk. They will tell you exactly what they want package numbers, color, options, etc. and that they are not
SALES MEETING
I realized, again, at a family reunion how knowledgeable and wise my older relatives are, especially if you're under 50 and still considered one of the I mention this because I was having a discussion about some of the new things out in today's market and then my uncle flared up and asked if younger people think they invented everything. He and other family members started listing things that I thought
SALES MEETING
I can do it without my sales manager. I'm not incompetent, I know my customer better than my manager does. If I introduce my manager I will look as if I lack authority. My customer will dislike the pressure. My manager will just scare or push the customer away. Then I'll have no chance of them ever coming back to buy. I'm better than my manager; I should even have his job. I'm the greatest sales person
SALES MEETING
I can still hear the ringing in my ears. I'll be back......, I'll be back......, I'll be back....... For a new sales person these words are the sound of hope, a possible sale. I remember my rookie year, talking with customers and trying to find them the right vehicle to buy. When we final found one that they seemed to want, I would discuss briefly the price and then they would say: I'll be back or
SALES MEETING
You are usually at your best when you start a relationship with a person you might want to spend your life with. You dress to the nines, your manners are impeccable, you go to nice restaurants, movies, the theatre and concerts. If everything is going great with this person, you eventually introduce him or her to friends and family. You show this person all the great reasons why you are the only person
SALES MEETING
I remember being told by my sales manager to follow up on my sold customers. I was reluctant and procrastinated for as long as I could. He said my future sales and income depended on it, but I was young and unfocused on long-term success. Wake up and smell the coffee for me literally meant smell the coffee. By my first year in the business, I realized how the senior sales people made $100,000 plus
SALES MEETING
Some dealers and manufacturers may disagree with this month's sales meeting, but it's for those of you who are concerned about your sales people giving out discounted numbers prematurely. That, as we all know, leads to customers taking our price and having it beat down the street. One of my sales management positions was at a Chrysler dealership that had a one-price policy. Isn't this what a lot of
SALES MEETING
When I was a new salesperson green pea customers would ask me, what was the best price on every vehicle. I remember telling the customers the MSRP, and then, in a whisper, telling them I sold one yesterday for $2,000 less. The customer would look at me and smile. So off on a test drive we would go. After we had completed the demo drive the customer would ask again, So Darin come on, tell us, really
