Comment

Comment by Roger Williams on March 30, 2015 at 11:23am

Ricardo,
Thank you, I do believe being cognizant of the sales life cycle and knowing where they are would definitely be beneficial to growth and success in sales.

Comment by Ricardo Rondinelli on March 30, 2015 at 10:25am

Mr. Williams this is just great information. Every car sales person must see this video. Every person that is considering a career in auto sales should be aware of The Sales Life Cycle.

Comment by Roger Williams on March 29, 2015 at 9:18pm

Brian
I love that commentary! As a true sales professional you get it.
I appreciate your feedback as I continue to teach from a servants heart learning all I can as I go! There is likely no way this video will reach enough stage 1 and stage II people
, but if we all all share it and spread it, one thing is sure, it will help everyone who hears it! Now let's do all we can to get this message out there!

Comment by Brian Bennington on March 28, 2015 at 11:30pm

Rog, my man, is this one of your training videos you're so kindly sharing with us?  It's damned good, but because I'm convinced that only an extremely small number of DE members are "Stage 1" and "Stage 2," this will never get to those who can benefit from it the most.  For me, I'd learned to sell long before I started in the car business so I can safely say I was "Stage 4" from the get-go.  Really, I could do everything including handwriting a perfect contract as I'd been an accomplished highline retail sale person and then business owner (organs and pianos) in my previous life.  (As to how that compares to vehicles, it's just like selling cars to people who can't drive.)  Frankly, I was surprised how little the reps and managers at the first dealership I worked knew about selling, but as I "jockeyed for position" at better and better dealerships, I met some really good sales reps.

I mention it only to establish my credibility, as there is one component of a "Stage 4" I don't think you stressed nearly enough.  That's consistency.  Personally, I was so disciplined I shoot a photo of me, with every customer and vehicle I sold, from day one, and then built a testimonial "share with my customers-to-be" selling tool so strong it guaranteed getting my next job just by sharing it with the interviewer.  And, I let it be known I absolutely did not want a management job ever.  I was offered plenty, but I'd "been there and done that," and I had a super hot young wife #3 I wanted to spend time with and I could make as much as a middle manager with a lot less hassle,

My only actual "working suggestion" to develop it (consistency) is to be "in competition" with the only person really worth competing with.  That's yourself.  A simple way to keep your "eye on this ball" (and man I like "simple") is to keep an accurate, no BS record of how many hours you work and then use that number to divide your gross pay to see how much you make a hour.  I did it monthly like everything else at a dealership, and it was never out-of-mind.  Of note, your comment about helping your co-workers at every opportunity can't be under appreciated.  Believe me, if you continually lead the board, you have to work extra hard at not letting your success breed "hatred" from your fellow reps.  (You can read how bad it can get in Joe Girard's "The World's Greatest (car) Salesman" bio.) 

While I've been in business for over 20 years doing my relationship centered marketing "speciality" for a small group of SoCal dealerships, a day doesn't go by that I don't reflect on just how much I loved the one-on-one interface of a car sale.