Closing is a breeze when….

ROR, mental ownership and a commitment from your sales consultant to help people feel good about buying the right thing and the ultimate perception that they didn't pay too much. It is essential to adjust the steps and ensure the psychology of human instincts and personality types are addressed from the first contact. Do it the right way every time, even when nobody is looking.

Regardless of which type of first contact we made with our prospects be it via live chat, a phone call, a “lead” or as a guest on our property it is imperative that we understand and master commonality based rapport building. What I mean is when there is always enough money in the emotional and mental bank you can consistently make the proper withdrawals. This creates the commitment that leads to the art of closing. When I say closing I am referring to selling on a much greater scale then one person or one couple in front of us at a time. Vision must be from the beginning to not just sell them a vehicle, but to become their quote “I gotta guy”.

Referrals happen far more because of the stimulus and validation of liking someone, positive recall of their experience, and fundamentally how we made them feel.  It is a cycle. The timeless saying “people don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care” has never been more true. How many people reading this very article are someone’s “I gotta guy”? No matter the length of time in the industry we develop a friends and family program. Imagine multiplying that by as many sales representatives and business development representatives as you have representing your company.

Humanizing the conversation, sharing rather than telling and following through with strong “pacing” statements explaining why we understand and why things aren’t a problem. Include your own personal experience as well, i.e. I have kids too. This solidifies commonality, which is ultimately the rapport that you need to have the strongest ROR.

On returning from the test drive you need to relax the customer, take a service walk and then take them to the buyers pending area. Now is when I must say is when you will make or break your deal. Where have all of the evidence manuals gone? Would you rather have your customers sitting waiting for your “pencil” on their cell phone reading others emails, listening to voicemails and shopping online or reading a very presentable book that might have a picture of my boy when he was little titled “The Top Ten Reasons to Buy from My Dad”.

The point is an evidence manual will both solidify that they have made a good choice, because the first aspect validates that they are buying from good people through our about us, community involvement, charities, expert write ups from magazines and various other supporting evidence that they are buying the right thing with detailed consumer reports and comparisons on the vehicle of choice. It should include all of the thank you notes, pictures of happy customers, social networking posts, reviews and then lastly pictures of you outside of work with your family, your hobbies and your interests. It doesn’t matter if it is fishing or pictures at the beach that will bring commonality between you and the customer. Perhaps you include some pictures of a local area they might recognize. The point is to them viewing you and returning as a neighbor, as a peer, as a friend, as someone they can trust, all of which should be true anyway. Remember your body language speaks volumes, it is over 60% of communication and their decision process is being made based on how well you are presenting the options. Be it one price or negotiation, be it four square or going over the numbers and introducing them to finance the key is to not just say thank you and shake their hand. When, not if, they say yes validate. Tell them what a good choice they have made, what a pleasure it has been and how much you are looking forward to them being a part of our friends and family program.

CRM’s are only as god as the notation that goes in, be quick to notate all that you have learned about your customer. It won’t be long until you are making a taillight call, picking up the phone, staying in touch, and developing a relationship. Leave no question or pause to how they will react whenever they learn of anyone they know in need of a vehicle. Of course the same timeless response that you would give someone in any other industry that you know trust and enjoyed working with.   

Good selling my friends. Remember there is zero down time in the car business. Consistently practice and utilize all of the continuing education material at our disposal. I am baffled how the NextGen Automotive sales professional representative could ever be bored. We had found more than enough to keep busy way before there ever was an internet. Any questions in regards to these techniques, the basics or how in fact SMS, MMS, headshots, reverse TOs, Facebook uploads and all of today’s technologies with the classic steps to the sale, they’ve changed. We are happy to talk about it. Don’t hesitate to reach out as my friend did recently on me mentioning the four I’s of a sales call that ensure a show or to double national average.