Would you like a new car?

Help your clients fall in love.

Would YOU like a new car? Really, would you? I have randomly asked people if they would like a new car, and I have not heard one person say "No." Not one! I have asked strangers at the table next to me in a restaurant or in an elevator, people I am barely acquainted with, and I have never had anyone say "No."

If you want to hear a "No," however, just add a word like "buy", "Would you like to buy a new car?" or, "Would you like to lease a new car?" Get it? As soon as we add the word "buy" or "lease," they immediately think about money, and the logical side of the brain rationalizes the thought away. They MUST fall in love with the vehicle first before they are shown the costs of the wedding, or this budding romance is over. You say "buy" and they say "bye".

Speak to their Desires.

We don't so much sell or lease vehicles as help people achieve their greatest desires. One of those is driving a new vehicle. And most people desire to change often, some very often. Most would like to change much more often than they do. Why don't they, then? Often it's lack of understanding how simple it is and/or a lack of opportunity, as they aren't being asked to enough. That's where we come in. But they must be asked in the proper way.

There is an old saying: "You have not, because you ask not." It goes on to say: "You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss." The second part not only speaks to our way of asking, but also our motivation for asking. If what we are offering is perceived to be for our benefit and not the client, we will not be as successful. Don't worry about how much their present vehicle is worth or what they owe on it. When they fall in love with the new one first, it is amazing how they can find more money.

When I got in the car business 25 years ago, one thing I enjoyed was constantly driving something new. Everyone close to me was thrilled to see, ask about, and ride in, my latest car. The world has a love affair with its wheels. That's why people sometimes play "hard to get." They know about their tendency to "fall in love" and that they are prone to "love at first sight." So, we should never say we will "sell" or "lease" them anything, but instead show them how easy it is to "get" or "have" another vehicle.

We should be in touch with our customers like they are family, offering our expertise in all areas of their car enjoyment. We don't just show up for the "big family dinner" once every few years. We are constantly in a relationship that is offering "new to them" vehicles that they or their friends might be interested in. Undoubtedly, you've been to occasions and told people what you do, and all were happy to talk about cars. Try saying to them, "You are really into fine cars, you must know someone who would love a…? Oh, YOU would like it? Great!" Then arrange for them to hear and see more about the vehicle.

Don't Talk Price

There are three types of restaurants. There is the one that after the main meal asks if you would like to see the dessert menu, the one that brings you a dessert menu, and the one that rolls out the dessert cart. I don't know about you, but the last one gets me every time, and I have never seen any price tags embedded in the chocolate mousse. The good ones never remind me of the price, or even tell me unless I ask. The desire is raised first, then the commitment to have it as I order it, and the bill always comes last.

Unlike real estate or furniture, cars have wheels on them, and we can roll out a new one to our existing or potential clients continually, not just when their term is almost (or completely) up.

We guide them to and through their dreams by showing them how to get more of what they want. If we are good, we are like the best servers in the finest of restaurants. And if we are great, we know that this is all about them. We are servers, not sellers. Do you ever feel like you're being listened to too much? People are hanging on your every word, wanting to know what matters to you most? Not likely. So take the time to listen to and hear your customers. Be their car counselor. Ask them what they want, and then really listen. Simply put, there are only two ways to get more business:

1. Find more clients.
2. Do more with your clients.

When we talk with clients, we don't want to use words like "sell," "buy" or "lease." We talk to them about getting a new vehicle like it's a gift. Well, it is a gift, a gift to themselves. I want to be the one to make them happy by introducing them to their next new love, their next new vehicle.

This isn't a new idea. It just isn't being done, or at least it isn't done enough. Serving others in this way, first becomes what you do and then becomes who you are. When it becomes who you are, then you are not "working" or going to "work." You're not working from this hour to that; you are continually talking about cars to everyone, everywhere. Almost everyone likes to talk about them, has one, and would "take" a new one. If you like people and you like cars, the attitude of serving becomes simple. Now, that doesn't sound like work to me.

Don't focus on the money, either the money they pay or the money you make. We don't follow money. It follows us.

Ask "Care" Questions

Seek each buyer's desires by asking many care questions that show each client that we care about what they care about, and don't reduce it to money. Most clients who are concerned about "how much" will ask. I want to select the right vehicle for them first. Ask "care" questions, please and not "scare" questions.

If money isn't asked or mentioned, start by offering the least expensive vehicle you have that fits their requirements. If they feel they can afford more, they'll tell you, and if they can't, this is your best shot. Then have them truly experience that vehicle. Experience is my word for the combination of a full presentation and a long demonstration. Let them know what you and your company's edge is, as added value to them. After they are completely in love with your vehicle, your company and you, their server; present to them a menu to choose from. A "Do you want to get it this way or that?" question is presented to them instead of "Do you want to get it?"

It all comes down to this:

The People (the clients and us)
The Process (the plan we follow each time)
The Product (the perfect match to their desires).
And then AFTER all this . . .

The Price (these terms or those?).
The process is the absolute key. It makes the perception of the product and us better, in the client's eyes. It makes the client better for us and look better to us. The value of anything is only as good as that person's perception, and we change people's perceptions (or don't) by the way we serve them. Remember, do the "full pull," all-out, best-ever process on each and every client; each and every time to "turn them into" serious, and not just "IF they are" serious. This process makes the amount they pay, when they see it in the end, seem smaller, as it has been totally justified by the value. That is why it must be last, after they have experienced the value of the product, and the place and person they are getting it from . . . to the maximum.

"The worst time to think of what you'll say next is
when it's already leaving your mouth." - Art Sobczak

Automotivaters is highly recognized and one of the most respected automotive training and consulting companies in Canada. Since 1987, the company has acquired an international client base throughout Canada, the United States, the Philippines, Indonesia, French Polynesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and New Zealand.

See us at: www.automotivaters.com

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Psychology of Selling

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