August has been probably the slowest month I have seen so far.  Although i have only been in Sales for about six months, I can tell when things are bad.  And this month is just bad. Our building is undergoing a facelift, and this week they finally put the front face of the building on, and I must say it looks awesome.  I am convinced that the contruction played a big role in this month's inactivity. Now that we actually look like a dealership again, I have high hopes for September.  I did a lot of "soul searching", so to speak, during this slow month.  I recently downloaded a program to listen to that claims to help grow your sales skills, social skills, etc.  You may wonder what exactly was in the program, that has not already been drilled into our head during our sales trining, sales meetings, or what have you.  Well, here it is...

   Although hesitant to admit this, the program is actually a self hypnosis program.  So I could not tell you in detail what was told to me, because I was pretty much "sleeping" during the whole thing.  I listen to it before bed at night, and if nothing else, it helps me sleep.  I have to admit that I feel more refreshed and ready to tackle the day every morning after I listen.  And one thing that I believe I got out of the program is how to put on my game face.

    I am normally pretty friendly, polite, and take the customer's needs, wants, and situation into consideration when I am working a deal.  In short, I have a pretty good peronality for doing what I do.  However, I think I lacked the "spark", or the enthusiasm needed to push me over the egde.  I wonder how many times I lost a sale simply because I failed to display the proper amount of excitement when speasking to the customer about the car, the dealership, and everything else.

    Yesterday I was with a couple interested in a used SUV.  Their credit score needs some TLC, and they have a minimal down payment if any at all.  She drove the vehicle, and loved it.  After getting the numbers from the sales manager, I saw that their payment would be about $100 more than what they were hoping for.  I put on my "game face" and showed excitement in what I was about to present to them. It went something like this:

    "Are you ready?"

Yes

    "You like the car?"

Yes

    "You love the car?"

Yes (smiling)

    "You want the car?"

(Laughing) Yes

     "Ok great! Based on the value of your trade, and the price of your new car, your monthly payments will be around $360 per month for 54 months! A $100 deposit will hopld the car for you while we submit everything to the bank for approval.  We should know by tomorrow what type of interest rate you can expect"

We then shook hands I took their deposit...

That was easy...textbook excitement and close!  I now see that my enthusiasm plays a huge role in setting the tone for the deal.  Seems like common sense I know, and I am sure all of you do it as well.  Here I thought just being an honest, nice guy was all I needed to do.  I look forward to using this from this day forward, and I am excited to reap the benefits from it.

Thanks for reading!