Minute details can make major differences when it comes to having a successful sales career. It’s not the mountains that break your sales career; it’s the molehills- the tiny fundamentals you have let slide throughout your career. One such technique is the write-up; every dealership has an 8-10 step Road to the Sale program that literally walks a salesperson through the entire sale-from the Meet and Greet all the way to following up after the sale. When a salesperson’s career gets off track, he tends to lay blame on external situations such as the curse of the bad credit gods, poor inventory selection, or not having enough rebates to “dig” a customer out of a negative equity situation. In other words, a salesperson blames anything other than themselves and their eroding fundamentals. The car business is 10% physical and 90% mental; it takes little exertion physically, but a tremendous amount of mental energy. In this month’s article, I would like to address the significance and importance of a write-up, but before I do, let’s address what a write-up is not. A write-up is not writing a customer’s name on a scrap piece of paper on the hood of their car just before they burn off. A proper write-up is bringing a customer inside, seated at a desk, and professionally asked to buy a car.  Shockingly, many salespeople have not because they ask not; they spend hours with a customer and never write them up and ask for their business. Before we move forward, remember, a write-up is not scribbling a customer’s nickname on piece of paper torn from the yellow pages and walking into your manager’s office saying, “Hey boss, I got this guy…” (No, he’s got you!) Let’s talk about the why, the how, and the result of an effective write-up.

The Why: Most salespeople do not know why they write up a customer; they think it is only a power kick from the management staff. In order to make a write-up work for you, you must know the why so you can effectively learn the how. Think of the write-up as the throttle of a sale; if a customer is ready to buy, the speed can be adjusted to move the progress of the sale along. Conversely, if the customer is not ready to buy, the speed can then be adjusted to slow the process down in an effort to address and overcome a customer’s objections.

The How: Want to know the secret to getting more customer’s inside and written up? The better you are outside, makes it easier inside. When you know what you are selling-I mean you eat, sleep, and breathe your product, you can then concentrate less on the facts and stats and begin to focus more on becoming a real person to your customer. Remember, many customers are not saying “No,” they are saying, “Know;” they don’t know enough about you, your product, or your dealership. Most customers are resistive to coming inside for two reasons; the first reason is because you have not done an effective job in qualifying and landing them on the right vehicle and the second one is they simply don’t trust you. Think of the transition from the demo to the write-up as a first date. It’s awkward when you first pick your date up, but if you are sending out the right vibes, listening and getting to know them, the kiss goodnight is not an awkward moment it punctuates a great evening. The framework of an effective sale is much the same way, awkward at first, but with the right mixture of listening and effective communication, you’ll be kissing a 60 day tag in no time. Too many times, we try awkwardly to kiss our customers goodnight after a terrible, rushed presentation. Our customers opt to shake our hand and leave instead of coming inside for a “night cap.” If you find your month at an impasse, chunk your areas of improvement into bit-sized, 20 minute daily goals and begin working on them. Work each week on your weaknesses such as product knowledge, qualifying techniques, negotiating skills or any other areas in need of improvement until you have mastered them. The more comfortable you are with your skills and techniques the more you can focus on becoming YOU instead of your job title. Effective selling requires an outside in focus, emphasizing on doing the right things outside in order to become prosperous inside.

The Result: Two of the biggest misconceptions to be successful in the car business is having the “gift of gab” and being an ace closer. While it is important to be personable and effective at communicating the advantages of your product, you do not have to know 112 different closing tracts in order to make a sale.  Selling is all about leverage; he who has the most leverage makes the sale- albeit the customer selling you on why they need to leave or you selling them on why they should stay. The speed of the sale depends on the concerns of your customers. Your presentation may have blown the doors off of the dealership; you may have given a Broadway-like presentation of your product, but your customer may still be hesitant in committing to buy. A write-up allows you to slow the speed of the sale down in order to address their concerns. Some customers may need reassuring in their purchasing decision, while others may need to hear more information as to why your product has a distinct advantage over your competitors’. Virtually every car company makes a good product; the write-up is the platform in which you make yourself unequal to your competition. Every company may make a good product, but not every dealership has a great salesperson; it is up to you to differentiate yourself. When you are able to control the speed of the sale and mix it with your expert knowledge, effective communication and listening skills, and add a dash of your personality, you will produce more effective write-ups that will convert to more sales.

There is no “magic pill” in making more sales; if there were I would have OD’d on them years ago. Instead it takes the flexibility in making necessary adjustments in controlling the sale, disciplining yourself to stick with your fundamentals, one of which is the write-up, and vowing to stay committed to your plan even when things are not going well.  When you commit to a plan, everything else will change accordingly- the first of which is your bank account. I will see you next time on the black top.

**Originally published in AutoSuccess Magazine