How to sell more cars and become a better sales person
Ryan Daniel
What Customers Really Want & How You Can Use That Knowledge To Sell More Cars.
Car buying can be a daunting and confusing experience for consumers. While salespeople spend much of their life inside a dealership, the average person only visits once or twice per decade.
Anxiety tends to rear its ugly head when doing something you rarely do and purchasing a vehicle is no exception. For car buyers, it typically starts when the buyer enters the showroom as salespeople hover looking for their next up.
Don’t do this.
Buyers need to feel comfortable. They’re prepared to make the second most expensive purchase of their lives, and they want a knowledgeable salesperson who treats them with respect. In this article, we will examine how you can do just that while also leading the board and generating high CSI scores.
How To Sell More Cars
You may want to wheel and deal like your favorite sales mentor, but all your customer wants is a good deal. And they, above anything else, want you to listen and answer their questions.
Online sites like Carvana and Carmax are gaining popularity in part because they appear hassle-free, with no salesperson gimmicks and a more passive approach to up-sells.
Take out the human factor: The good, the bad, and the inevitable wheeling and dealing, and what you get is pure and unfiltered objectivity. It’s just you and the website. No games.
That’s not to say human interactions aren’t necessary to move that Toyota Rav 4 from Carvana lots to the customer’s garage. And the inevitable back and forth personal interaction can be beneficial.
How Trust Plays Into Car Sales
Today’s car salespeople need to adjust their techniques and focus on the most critical issue: trust.
Let’s face it. It’s getting more difficult every day to trust anything. Social media has spawned disinformation. Fake reviews have created mistrust. And misleading ads have created animosity.
So, we need to turn to people and institutions that are reliable and tested. And much of what we determine to be trustworthy is a personal opinion.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is the perfect example of this. If Dr. Fauci were selling a car, many would buy without hesitation. They trust him and therefore trust what he would sell. They see him as a truthteller and an expert.
Conversely, many car salespeople are not looked upon as trustworthy. Take a look at this chart, courtesy of Forbes:
Only members of Congress score worse than car salespeople! And if you happen to be a Congressperson who moonlights at a car dealership, even your own mother won’t trust you.
So how does a salesperson earn a potential buyer’s trust? First and foremost, they need to know what they’re talking about. If they’ve done their homework, they’ll know that brakes are more important than tinted windows and that a steering wheel is included in the sticker price. They should be able to answer all the questions customers ask, even if they’re ridiculous.Â
In essence, they need to become authorities – experts of their craft.
Although knowing what you’re talking about is important, knowing how to listen is a close second. Salespeople love to talk, but their customers want to be heard. Listen to their concerns.
Nod your head from time to time. Say things like, “I understand what you’re saying.” Comment on more than just what they can do for you. All these things will engender trust.
F&I Matters Too
The same goes for those working in the finance office. Talking about money is always a bit awkward, so F&I folks need to make their customers feel comfortable. That $19,000 Kia Rio they want to purchase should be as important to you as a BMW.
What happens in the F&I Office matters just as much as what happened on the showroom floor. Resisting the urge to roll your eyes when a customer asks for a 10-year loan with no interest is a feat not natural for every person. Just smile and get to work.
Treat your customers with the respect they are due. Offer them options that match their income. If they have a trade-in, give them the best price possible. And be patient when explaining all the paperwork.
Whether in sales or finance, be sure you make your customers feel special. Yeah, that may require the acting chops of Sean Penn, but pretending to care isn’t that difficult. You do that all the time with your in-laws.
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