At this stage of automobile sales training on the sales process for car sales, you’ve got 3 objectives.

• Build a relationship
• Gain information
• Achieve an appointment

We all look for businesses and sales people that we can trust.

Understand this and you will understand this section of the automobile sales training.

If it was an emergency and I needed a plumber I may go straight to a directory and choose a local business that I didn’t know.

But if I want a gardener, or a decorator, I don’t look in the yellow pages or search the internet. There is no time pressure, I can take time to make decisions.

First I ask friends and relatives. I look for recommendations. The gardener has done a great job on someone else’s garden, I can expect the same.

The decorator impressed my neighbour, if I use the same one I won’t be making a mistake.

Build the trust, gain their respect

You cannot sell a car to a customer before you have built a trusting relationship.

Don't try and sell too soon.

You will not get an appointment with a potential buyer until you have at least started to gain their trust, and their respect.

They must also start to like you.

Your objective is to gain an appointment so you can use your sales skills.

Go for the sale too soon, before you’ve built a relationship, and you’ll blow your chances.

If you were considering buying a new computer, and you didn’t have any technical knowledge, which of these would you take notice of:

A sales advertisement that’s shouts in your face sales offers.

A revue of the major products on offer by an unbiased expert.

A recommendation from someone you know that has already bought one.

So when you're selling: Give information as an expert

Get recommendations from happy customers

Don’t try and sell by hitting the buyer with sales pitch

Actions to get you thinking differently

Try this automobile sales training technique.

The next time you speak to prospect on the telephone focus on building a relationship. Use a notepad and tick it every time you say something that attempts to build trust, and gain their respect.

Try and increase the number of ticks on every call you take. Do this and you will increase the selling opportunities you get. I’ve trained many people in sales roles and this has worked for them.

2. Gain information

You should also have secondary objectives so that if you miss the main target you still come away with something.

Look at your objectives this way

Main objective

Gain an appointment with all the information you need and want to prepare for the meeting.

Secondary objectives

Agree a follow up action that will lead to an appointment
Understand what’s stopping the appointment now
Gather information for future contact
Leave the call with the foundations of a relationship in place

If you get the appointment

What information do you want from the prospect so you can make the appointment great for them? Have you got a list?

Or, are you just going to do your standard old sales pitch that every customer gets. Use the automobile sales training and bring everything you do into conscious focus.

What do they want a car for? Are they meeting you on their own? Can they make a decision on their own? You need to know how to show them exactly what they want.

What cars have they considered? Are they part exchanging? Have they seen a particular deal? What else should you be asking?

If you don’t get an appointment

Have you got a list of information that you want if you don’t get the appointment?

In sales, when it comes to questioning a customer have a list of information you want, not a list of questions. A lit of questions can turn into a question and answer session, or worse an interrogation.