The salesperson is the most vital part of the transaction. Always. There is no exception. If you don't get along with the mook that's trying to sell you a cell phone at the cell phone store, do you buy? Probably not.
Interesting story about that, actually. I needed to buy a new cell phone a couple years ago. I left work early with the express intent to purchase a phone. I went to the carrier store (not going to name names, but it starts with a "V" and rhymes with "Horizon"), The waits are notoriously long at that particular location, and that day was no exception. After waiting about 15 minutes or so to for some help, a dapper chap who was in his 40's came over and asked me a few perfunctory questions.
"Hi, how can I help you?" he asked.
"Well, I'm just looking. I think I need a new phone." I replied. (How many people tell the salesperson that they're just looking, even though they have every intention of purchasing? Raise your hands.)
"Have you thought about what kind of phone you wanted?"
"I kind of like this one." I said, pointing at the new razor-thin cell phone du jour. "But I don't think that's the price that I saw online."
"Well, we sell a value package that includes some accessories." he said, curtly. The price was more than I wanted to pay, but only by a few quid.
"How much is it without the accessories?"
He gave me the price, one that I had been anticipating. I pulled my ballcap down lower over my head. I'm not feeling this guy's mojo. He made me uncomfortable, and I'm a salesman.
Bad move.
I wandered over to a newer phone, one with a few more features than the one I was planning to buy. I picked it up, got a good feel for it. I looked at my salesman. He was checking his watch. I put the phone down, as he reached into his pocket.
"When you're ready to buy something, come back and see me." He handed me his business card. Seriously? Remember, I went to the store with the intention to buy. I had the money in my pocket, at least a couple hundred dollars, cash. And here the guy was, bouncing me out the door with a business card instead of a shiny new cell phone.
I was pissed.
I thanked him for his time and left without further incident. Still, I had no cell phone. I got in my car and went to the big-box store across the street from the carrier store, remembering that there was a kiosk in the store. I walked up to the kiosk, and started playing with a same razor-thin phone I had started with. Right away, the salesman looked at me with disapproval.
"I wouldn't recommend that one." he said.
"Why is that?" I asked, surprised.
"Well, we have to replace them all the time. It won't survive a drop."
"Really? What would you recommend, then?" He motioned me over to the same keyboard phone I looked at in the carrier store.
"I'd get this one. I have one, and it has survived a lot. And with the full keyboard, sending text messages is a snap."
I picked up the phone. It had a nice, solid feel. I envisioned sending frantic texts to my buddies and girlfriend. This would work. "How much for this one?" I asked him, my respect for him growing.
He gave me the numbers. Ballgame. Write it up.
The moral of this story? The salesperson is the most important part of the equation. Even myself, as a salesman, needed to be sold something in order to buy it, and I also needed to be treated with respect. The fact that the salesman showed interest was enough to sway me, and telling me the features won me over. I looked at two identical sets of phones at two very different stores. The only thing different was the experience. The first guy couldn't sell me something that I came there to buy. The second guy made me want it enough to buy. As salespeople, we need to make sure that we are presenting ourselves in the best way possible. You consumers, make sure you test-drive your salesperson. The right salesperson makes everything easier.
3.11.2010
Ever Meet A Lottery Winner?
I met a guy who won the lottery.
Seriously.
The lucky guy won a "second chance" lottery by sending in tickets that had previously lost. I won't go into super-specific terms, but he won a million dollars. A million. Dollars. As in, $1,000,000.00. So what has he done with the money?
Well, he paid for his kids' college tuition, for one. He's paid off all his debt. He's building a house. He bought his daughter a new car. And....nothing else.
No extravagant purchases. He didn't buy 3 or 4 new cars (as I would have). He didn't buy a bathtub made of elephant bones and fresh whale baleen. This guy displays remarkable restraint.
He's coming in to buy a Camaro, though. Naturally. Who wouldn't?
I know exactly what I'd do if I won the lottery. There would be a get-together with my girlfriend, my family, and my closest friends. Depending on the amount, I would buy them all new American cars. I would buy myself a Corvette, a Buick LaCrosse, and a Silverado 2500HD Diesel Crew Cab. I'd buy a house. I'd pay off all my debt, and my girlfriend's school debt.
Would I try to save the world? Probably not. There are people that have way more resources than me to do that. I would do what I could, though. I'd probably donate a bit of it to the American Heart Association. I don't know.
It's nice to dream, though, isn't it?
Seriously.
The lucky guy won a "second chance" lottery by sending in tickets that had previously lost. I won't go into super-specific terms, but he won a million dollars. A million. Dollars. As in, $1,000,000.00. So what has he done with the money?
Well, he paid for his kids' college tuition, for one. He's paid off all his debt. He's building a house. He bought his daughter a new car. And....nothing else.
No extravagant purchases. He didn't buy 3 or 4 new cars (as I would have). He didn't buy a bathtub made of elephant bones and fresh whale baleen. This guy displays remarkable restraint.
He's coming in to buy a Camaro, though. Naturally. Who wouldn't?
I know exactly what I'd do if I won the lottery. There would be a get-together with my girlfriend, my family, and my closest friends. Depending on the amount, I would buy them all new American cars. I would buy myself a Corvette, a Buick LaCrosse, and a Silverado 2500HD Diesel Crew Cab. I'd buy a house. I'd pay off all my debt, and my girlfriend's school debt.
Would I try to save the world? Probably not. There are people that have way more resources than me to do that. I would do what I could, though. I'd probably donate a bit of it to the American Heart Association. I don't know.
It's nice to dream, though, isn't it?
3.04.2010
The Trading Game
Bill and Jane come into the dealership, looking to buy one of our shiny new sedans. They are currently driving an earlier version of the same model. I greet Bill and Jane. They tell me what they're looking for. We find the perfect car, I do a perfect demonstration, and they take a test drive.
They come back bubbling about all the new features that the new car has versus their old car. Bill mentions that they want to trade in their old car. I do a write-up on it, and give it to my manager for an appraisal. We put together the purchase package for them, which on a new car, that first write-up is pretty close to our final offer.
Bill scrunches his face when I get to the trade-in portion of the write-up.
"What's wrong, Bill?" I say, knowing full well what is about to happen next.
Bill and Jane look at each other. "We thought we were going to get more for our trade." Bill says, sitting back in his seat and folding his arms.
"Well, how much were you thinking you were going to get out of it?" I ask.
"Well, ABC Motors said they would give us $1500 more than that." Jane says, looking at Bill afterward for approval.
Pause. If I'm lucky, Bill and Jane like me better than the goofball they dealt with at ABC Motors. After all, they didn't buy from that guy, they came to me. If I'm unlucky, Bill and Jane will go back to ABC Motors to buy from them.
Unpause. "Well, how about if I split the difference with you?" I ask, hoping to keep the deal in a profitable position. More often than not, this doesn't happen. But it doesn't hurt to try, does it?
"We need $1,000 more for our car." Bill tells me. This will drive our deal down to the red.
I write up their offer. The manager accepts it, and I get to deliver a car.Why would we take a deal that loses us money? Because in new cars, a dealership needs all the deals it can get to hit various performance goals set for us by the manufacturer.
I've seen the above situation play out literally hundreds of times. More often, the customer makes some ridiculous demand for his trade that we can't reasonably accommodate and we lose the deal.
What am I getting at? We don't like trade-ins. Trades are an easy way to make a deal go sideways. It seems you can never give someone enough money for their trade, and you end up putting way too much money into their car than the market would normally dictate. My easiest deals are with customers that either don't have a trade-in, or have a lease vehicle that they need to turn in.
My advice? Stop going to Kelley Blue Book, NADA, and all those sites. None of them are accurate enough to use as a guide. Kelley is 2 months behind the market, and NADA is 3 months. Most dealerships use auction reports to gauge the value of a trade; basically, we look for what a vehicle like yours would cost for us to replace. Using a mix of auction reports, wholesale reports, and good old intuition, we then use arcane alchemy to put a number on your trade.
Which you won't be happy with. But then, that's part of the game, isn't it?
They come back bubbling about all the new features that the new car has versus their old car. Bill mentions that they want to trade in their old car. I do a write-up on it, and give it to my manager for an appraisal. We put together the purchase package for them, which on a new car, that first write-up is pretty close to our final offer.
Bill scrunches his face when I get to the trade-in portion of the write-up.
"What's wrong, Bill?" I say, knowing full well what is about to happen next.
Bill and Jane look at each other. "We thought we were going to get more for our trade." Bill says, sitting back in his seat and folding his arms.
"Well, how much were you thinking you were going to get out of it?" I ask.
"Well, ABC Motors said they would give us $1500 more than that." Jane says, looking at Bill afterward for approval.
Pause. If I'm lucky, Bill and Jane like me better than the goofball they dealt with at ABC Motors. After all, they didn't buy from that guy, they came to me. If I'm unlucky, Bill and Jane will go back to ABC Motors to buy from them.
Unpause. "Well, how about if I split the difference with you?" I ask, hoping to keep the deal in a profitable position. More often than not, this doesn't happen. But it doesn't hurt to try, does it?
"We need $1,000 more for our car." Bill tells me. This will drive our deal down to the red.
I write up their offer. The manager accepts it, and I get to deliver a car.Why would we take a deal that loses us money? Because in new cars, a dealership needs all the deals it can get to hit various performance goals set for us by the manufacturer.
I've seen the above situation play out literally hundreds of times. More often, the customer makes some ridiculous demand for his trade that we can't reasonably accommodate and we lose the deal.
What am I getting at? We don't like trade-ins. Trades are an easy way to make a deal go sideways. It seems you can never give someone enough money for their trade, and you end up putting way too much money into their car than the market would normally dictate. My easiest deals are with customers that either don't have a trade-in, or have a lease vehicle that they need to turn in.
My advice? Stop going to Kelley Blue Book, NADA, and all those sites. None of them are accurate enough to use as a guide. Kelley is 2 months behind the market, and NADA is 3 months. Most dealerships use auction reports to gauge the value of a trade; basically, we look for what a vehicle like yours would cost for us to replace. Using a mix of auction reports, wholesale reports, and good old intuition, we then use arcane alchemy to put a number on your trade.
Which you won't be happy with. But then, that's part of the game, isn't it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)