Selling is by no means an easy task, especially today where people are aware they are being sold to. This makes potential customers very wary of any textbook sales techniques, and are looking for any triggers that they are being sold to, in order to walk away.
Being in the automobile industry myself, I have seen countless of selling techniques used on customers, some more successful than others, but across the board of all the salesmen I have had the privilege of working with, there are 4 common techniques that are used throughout:
It’s Now or Never: This is hands down the #1 technique used at car dealerships. You engage a prospect, and enter a negotiation phase, throughout which your aim is to convey the message that this is a one-time offer only. Such examples can be “It’s the last one in our stock”, “This offer is valid only for today”, “It will be gone by tomorrow” etc.
Sum it Up: Looking at a car or cars, can be a lengthy process, with information coming in at sporadic moments, failing to give the complete value picture for the potential customer.What you need to do is to take a moment and sum it up for them. Make a list of all the benefits and repeat them out in one go as if you are citing a poem. This would give a clearer picture of the value in the purchase.
See Feel Drive: It is easier said than done, but as a salesperson you need to stick to the process. First, you show the car to the potential customers. Then you allow them to touch it, sit in it, feel it, get comfortable with it. Lastly is the “Test Drive”. That’s the icing on the cake if you have a proper SEE – FEEL sequence. The longer you prolong the SEE-FEEL phases, the greater the anticipation to take it down the road.
Options A & B: Never give only one option, and never give too many options. Ideally, it needs to come down to two options. These options can be with regards to two product choices (two cars), or even two payment plans. Giving two options, is more likely to get you one or the other, and less likely to get you a NO.
Needless to say there are much more specialised techniques at car dealerships from professional sales people who excel at this (car dealer advanced sales guide coming soon). However, if you are simply looking for easier ways to get ahead and close more deals, these four are the most commonly used techniques.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you have found it useful and helpful. Please leave your comments below.