How often have you asked a customer, ‘when are you looking to buy’? 

If you are like most car salespeople, probably a lot.  But how often do you get an honest answer?  I’m guessing the answer is ‘not very’.

Genuine buyers tend to hide the fact that they are looking to change.  They’ll tell you it’s “early days,” or “I’m just looking”.

Different approach

So perhaps we should phrase the question differently as we certainly want to know when a customer is looking to change.  

In fact, it may well be one of the questions on your dealership’s Customer Requirements Form.  A lot of manufacturers include it in their mystery shopping criteria as well.

To get the answer you are actually looking for, try this:  “How do you normally change your car?  Do you keep it for a certain amount of miles, or a certain length of time?”

Depending on which answer they give you (and provided you have done your qualification correctly), you can easily establish how long they’ve owned the car by asking a simple follow-up question.

Check out my video on this topic here on dealerelite