There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of programs, videos and books about “closing the sale” available today. Your email inbox probably has a message right now from someone who can double your closing rate and make your life a series of Instagram photos from vacation with all the extra money you’ll be making from their can’t-miss program. Just fork over the credit card and they’ll teach you their tricks to get the customers to hook up today!
Now, I am all for lifelong learning and continuous improvement. I am constantly reading and trying to improve my skills each and every day. And I study some of the greats in this business – Joe Verde, Dave Anderson, Grant Cardone, et. al. They have excellent thoughts and programs that teach you the skills and habits that can lead to a very successful career in the automotive industry (or any other sales related profession).
The mistake that salespeople get caught up in, however, is thinking that they are going to learn some magical phrases that will get the customers to say “I’ll take it!” as if they were in a hypnotic state or something. “Look into my eyes and breathe deeply while I show you which car you’re going to buy…”
The real truth is that salespeople (in any industry) don’t close anyone, rather the customer must close themselves. I suppose you could hold a gun to someone’s head if you really wanted to, but I don’t recommend this as a long-term method of sales or customer retention!
The customer must make the decision to actually buy what you’re selling. And how do they make that decision? With information. No one makes any decision until they feel they have the necessary information to do so.
Think about all the decisions you make on a daily basis, what/where to eat, what to wear, what route to take to/from work, etc. You don’t make a decision until you feel you have all the information needed. Take the Yelp app, for example. It’s popular because people are hungry and need to make a decision about where to eat! The restaurants don’t “close” the customers, rather the information and reviews are posted right there so you and your family/friends can decide where to go.
But back to the dealership. That doesn’t mean we just need an app or splashy website and the customers pick their car and away they go. No, the customers are doing more research than ever online, but they need this information confirmed and validated before making a purchase.
The “average” customer (whatever that means) these days is spending almost 15 hours online researching their next car or truck. This is a painstaking process for them and requires that investment of their time. I don’t know about you, but I feel my time is extremely valuable. When I am researching a big-ticket purchase for my family, I take it very seriously and don’t want to have my time wasted.
Once the customer has narrowed their focus and actually wants to call/email/text the dealership, they want the information they have gathered to be validated by a competent professional who will lead them (not close them) to making the right decision.
Basically the goal is to not screw it up, but too many times the salesperson does just that by not asking the right questions, not finding out what information they’ve already gathered and not providing third-party, independent evidence as to why they should buy from them.
For example, most new car shoppers come to the showroom having already researched how much the car “should” cost. They may be right or they may be mistaken (the internet is not always right!), but a salesperson who doesn’t take the time to honor the research they’ve already done, find out what sites they’ve been looking at and what equipment they need is doing both parties a disservice.
The effective salesperson, after asking questions, building rapport and providing a proper product presentation (including test drive), then provides vehicle choices from the inventory that most closely match the customer’s preferences and a market-based price using third party tools. It’s not a good deal because the salesperson says it’s so, it’s a good deal when the customer’s expectations are in alignment with what they’ve already discovered on their own.
In essence, when that happens, the customer “closes” themselves. Stop learning cute tricks and phrases and start learning ways to provide value to the customer.
What say you? I’d love to get your feedback.
Make it a great day!
Dan
