I would argue that the majority of salespeople are unsuccessful in their chosen field (automotive or otherwise). Turnover abounds and people hop from job to job, hoping to find the right fit where sales are “easy.”
They’re unsuccessful because they blame everything and everyone around them for their situation. In the car business, they will blame a lack of floor traffic (which is a terrible source of leads, but that’s a topic for another column), not the “right” inventory, the weather (it can apparently be “too nice” as well as bad), the managers, the economy, and on and on. Pretty soon it’s a situation where a salesperson has actually talked themselves into having a bad week/month/year/career.
What it takes to turn this thinking around is a shift in mentality. Yes, you need to have a positive attitude when attacking the day. That should be a given no matter what you do. And a professional salesperson needs to know their product, which in the car business means both the new and pre-owned cars on the lot.
The shift in mentality, though, is rooted in how a salesperson approaches their job. What is it that they do? I would argue that they don’t sell anything, they instead are problem solvers.
When someone starts researching a new or pre-owned car, it’s not because they have nothing better to do with their time. They are trying to solve a problem. Let’s be honest, most customers do not put car shopping high on their “must do” list. It’s sort of like the dentist. You can put it off, but only for so long.
They are trying to solve problems like:
- A lease that expires in a few months.
- A repair bill that’s more than the value of the car so they need a replacement.
- A child turning 16 who needs a good, reliable car.
- An addition to the family that necessitates a bigger vehicle.
And so on.
The key in trying to sell more cars is to actually find out what the customer’s problem is and solve it for them.
The same is true in the service department, by the way. Customers don’t want to be there and they definitely have a problem (check engine light, maintenance required, low tire pressure warning, manufacturer recall, etc.), so that needs to be addressed first before any other items can be handled with the car.
So how do you find out the problem? Simple, just ask! That doesn’t mean literally asking them “What’s your problem?” because that may get some icy stares back at you. Instead, control the discussion by asking relevant questions and gaining the customer’s trust.
Unfortunately, many times the salesperson will “meet & greet” the customer, find out what the vehicle of interest is and then start right in on telling the customer how much they know about the car. Like I said before, product knowledge is necessary but they don’t care about ALL you know, they only care if you can solve their problem for them.
And some customers won’t even tell you what the real problem is, oddly enough, or they won’t tell you until way later in the process. You have to be patient in asking, assessing and adjusting the sales process as you discover more about them.
As you start narrowing down the choices for the customer (models, colors, options, etc.), ensure it fits into the framework of solving the problem. If the customer doesn’t care about horsepower, leave it out of the discussion when selecting a vehicle! If it has “enough” power for them on the demonstration drive, confirm and move on.
Admittedly, I have made this mistake in the past and either brought up items that “sold past the close” or were totally irrelevant to what the customer wanted. This led to either lost sales, lost gross profit, lower CSI scores or a combination of all three.
However, when you and the customer have narrowed it down to the BEST choice for them to solve their problem, they WILL buy a car from you. Why? Because they will know that you genuinely care about them. The old adage about customers not caring how much you know until they know how much you care is true!
Be that problem solver and watch your sales go through the roof.
What are ways that you solve problems for customers? I’d love to get your feedback.
Make it a great day!
Dan
