Car sales techniques in a car dealership

Sales Master - a complex cocktail of professionalism, skills and knowledge - Car Sales Techniques

A modern sales specialist is a true expert in the field of consumer psychology, negotiations using appropriate technologies, a leader who is able to rationally substantiate his arguments and thereby attract buyers who, ultimately, are looking for authority and a knowledgeable adviser in the seller. A neat appearance, confidence in communicating with the buyer, but at the same time maintaining due respect and good manners, the ability to listen, analyze and find an approach to any person - this is the resource on which, among other things, a successful career of a professional in the sales industry is based.

The science of how to sell, in modern conditions of high competition and the flourishing of the formation of a consumer society, has developed to the degree of a mystery, containing a whole range of knowledge, skills and secrets. At the same time, as experts rightly note, the specifics of sales in each sector largely depend on what kind of product is offered to the end consumer (for example, the technique of selling cars in a car dealership is a whole separate science). The offered product will largely determine the tactics of the seller’s behavior, the “tricks” that he will successfully use for the benefit of the common cause and the psychology of communication with which he will captivate the buyer, so that he will ultimately leave the place of transaction “radiant with happiness” as the owner of new values.

It is also worth noting that a self-respecting professional, even having achieved impressive success in his business, will never stop there. It is our deep conviction, confirmed by hundreds of stories from leading world experts about their path to success, that a true sales expert will always invest in himself, invest in his knowledge and skills in order to achieve even greater heights. If you are involved in vehicle sales, go ahead and take a course for car sales managers ! If you sell production equipment, be kind enough to attend trainings on the intricacies of selling a specific product. High dynamics and strict requirements for the profession of a sales manager are another important side of the coin.

Secrets of selling expensive products (car sales techniques)

As we have already had the opportunity to see, you also need to be able to sell in order to

car sales training

In order to accumulate an impressive number of successfully completed transactions in your account, you need to work hard on yourself. Particularly complex work of cultivating a true expert awaits those specialists who have entered the field of selling expensive goods. This is facilitated by a number of reasons that are obvious and, nevertheless, require special attention, as evidenced by frequent mention even in expert publications:

a limited circle of people are interested in such goods (after all, you must admit, not everyone has significant sums of money, and certainly not everyone is ready to spend it on satisfying expensive whims);
the potential buyer is less impulsive and rarely enters a state of passion in which he is able to squander money. The buyer approaches expensive acquisitions from a rational perspective, carefully weighing all the nuances, considering and evaluating alternatives;
Well, in conclusion, as many have already guessed, the sale of expensive goods requires an appropriate, specific organization of tactics and sales progress (this also includes car sales techniques ).

Special knowledge, training, and training are indispensable attributes for the growth of a professional in sales of expensive goods.

We sell cars or how to cultivate a highly qualified car sales specialist

The technique of selling cars, as many specialists with little experience in this field know, has practically nothing in common with the technique of selling other groups of goods. Moreover, the use of generally accepted sales techniques here may turn out to be, if not harmful, then certainly ineffective.

The average buyer of vehicles, and this is important to understand, is filled with worries and doubts, since concluding a deal promises him significant financial expenses. Often, the necessary amounts, if not collected over a long period of time, were borrowed from relatives or borrowed at interest rates from financial institutions. This means that the purchase must not only justify the risks taken by the consumer, but also not create hassle during operation and provide maximum performance indicators.

Based on this, a consultant selling a car must be ready to conduct a dialogue and convince a rather skeptical buyer, and this already requires specific knowledge. It is for this reason that large companies are increasingly sending their specialists to car sales manager courses .

For the most part, no matter which company the final choice falls on for training, car sales training will consist of approximately the following semantic blocks:

consideration of the sales process from the point of view of a communication event;
creating an image of a successful sales specialist at a car dealership;
the stages that make up the process of concluding a deal;
technology for selling cars at a car dealership with a step-by-step consideration of the implementation of its components;
psychology of conducting a successful transaction;
psychological classification of potential buyers;
choosing a behavior strategy in accordance with the client’s psychological type.

Car sales techniques at a car dealership are also a favorite topic on many Internet resources, where feature articles of varying degrees of professionalism are designed to help train competent specialists accordingly.

Future Sales – a professional helping hand on the path to success in car sales

“ Courses for car sales managers ”, “ Car sales techniques ” or “ Car sales techniques in a car showroom ”, “ Car sales training ”, etc. and so on. car sales techniques are and teach them how to increase product sales rates.

In this variety of proposals, the Future Sales brings its own, fresh word to the system of helping businesses and increasing sales efficiency. The guarantee of success is, first of all, an individual approach to each case. Any suggestions, recommendations, advice from our specialists are based on a deep and comprehensive study of the internal and external factors of the company’s growth, obstacles standing in the way of effective development. Only after a thorough analysis of all the issues will we offer a separate training on car sales , “tailored” to the customer and his team, or a whole range of measures to improve sales efficiency.

Future Sales sales experts are so confident in their abilities that they are ready to return the money if their help does not bring the desired result. However, as practice shows, the success of an enterprise is not a rarity, but a systematic outcome if professionals get down to business.

find out in more detail about what car sales techniques are promoted by our specialists at any time convenient for you here.

Main services of Future Sales:

Car sales technique

A good salesman is distinguished by the fact that the client does not treat him as a salesman at all, but considers him to be his consultant

Competition in the field of car sales today is very high. Such a purchase is, after all, a serious investment. After all, car prices are much higher than the cost of other goods.

It is this fact that influences how sales go. And in such a situation, it is necessary to have information that can increase the level of sales and know in detail what car sales techniques can help in this matter.

The role of a consultant when selling a car

The main role in car sales is played by a consultant working in a car dealership. A lot depends on who offers the car and how. Competent actions lead a potential buyer to a purchase, and any oversight or wrong actions repel them.

The seller's main weapon is politeness and competence. In addition, he must be able to arouse the interest of the client, especially a doubtful client with whom it is necessary to work in a special way. The consultant must know everything about the cars being sold and provide any information upon request.

His ability to offer all available options will certainly lead to success, and the buyer will show interest, lose all his doubts and gain confidence in the action being taken. This is the technique of selling cars at a car dealership, which definitely increases sales.

Very often, inexperienced consultants do not pay due attention to such a sales tool as questions. It seems that they are afraid to ask them, but in vain. After all, correctly formulated questions will lead a potential buyer to a purchase much faster than all other information about the product.

There are often situations when a buyer leaves the salon because the manager failed to interest him or pay due attention. Even if there are many clients in the salon, it is necessary to get everyone talking, develop interest and satisfy their desires. Only in this case is it possible to increase sales.

How to increase sales without investing capital?

A successful manager working in a car dealership must know a lot. And if he strives to achieve career growth, he must apply various methods in his work to increase sales.

Having a universal formula, you can increase the income of a car dealership by several points, while the owner will not invest any additional financial resources. The entire path includes only three stages:

Inbound flow and conversion.
Average bill.
Repeat sales.

Stage one

At the first stage, it is extremely important to understand the current situation and analyze statistics for the required period. These actions determine the flow of incoming potential buyers and the number of completed transactions; conversion, the number of repeat sales, and the average bill are considered. All indicators are increasing.

By increasing the incoming flow with advertising, the car dealership, accordingly, increases the sales volume. But this option requires certain investments and there is always a risk that if advertising is incorrect, it may bring losses rather than profit.

But there is also a common way to attract clients. This is an increase in conversion. To do this, all actions of sellers, every stage of a conversation with a client are analyzed. From all this, conclusions are drawn and weaknesses of the activity are identified.

Stage two

Despite the fact that working with the average check indicator can actually increase sales, sellers simply do not pay enough attention to this stage. This is fundamentally wrong. Using Up-sell and Cross-sell sales technologies will increase them by a lot.

The first involves the sale of a more expensive item than the buyer requires, and the second technology is based on the sale of goods related to the main purchase. On average, by correctly using these technologies, you can increase additional profit by 10-15%.

But, despite all the positive aspects, we must not forget one of the important rules - everything should be in moderation. It is extremely important not to put pressure on the client. If the manager is able to sense the buyer's need, he must arouse his interest and desire. And then the client will make the decision to purchase additionally very easily.

Stage three

At this stage, we are talking about buyers who already have a car and, in theory, should be happy with everything. It would seem that here is how you can influence the situation? After all, everything is already there, everyone is happy.

But it turns out that it is very important for the client if they remember him. And the first thing you need to do is to periodically remind yourself, that is, ask how things are going there, whether the buyer is happy with everything, and whether any help is needed.

Attention is a vital thing. And even if everything is fine with the buyer, he will be pleased that he is remembered and taken care of. And if there are problems with the purchased car, then you can offer to solve them together.

This car sales technique, which you can read about here, involves using the well-known EAP formula:

Offer - a commercial offer.
Deadline - limited validity period of the offer.
Call to action.

Various attractive promotions that are arranged for regular customers play a big role in increasing sales. This could be a maintenance service, discounts on additional equipment, or purchases on special terms.

You can come up with a lot of different things. Moreover, it is much easier for a regular buyer to sell a product again than to find a new one and make a deal with him.

Five tricks of car sales managers

We’ll disappoint you right away; there are no 100% determination methods. And, of course, it is impossible to directly call the behavior of a sales manager deception or “scam”. These are rather tricks and tricks that do not cause real harm, and sometimes, on the contrary, only bring benefit, although they force the buyer to spend significantly more than planned. There are, however, some tricks that it is better for the buyer not to know about. But we will now tell you about the most common ones:

1. The seller’s persistent offer of a different configuration, engine, gearbox or color

Most likely, what the client wants is simply not in stock. You need to order and wait, which means postponing the transaction for an indefinite period. Or, on the contrary, a persistently offered car from the category of “hanging fruit” - one of those that for some reason was delayed in the warehouse and the sale of which promises the seller an additional premium.

When a buyer is ready to purchase a car with an expensive configuration, upgrading it to a higher-class model, as a rule, is not a big problem. Agree that a “stuffed” Volkswagen Golf remains a Golf, while for the same money you can buy a Passat. Even with a basic engine, even in the basic configuration, but you can’t see it from the outside. And the car is of a completely different class and status! Convinced? Here! Meanwhile, the manager's bonus has increased significantly.

2. The seller’s persistent offer of a more expensive model

3. The ordered car did not arrive on time

There are actually a lot of options. Including those who really do not depend on the car dealership, much less on the manager. But it often happens that the car has actually already arrived, only... with body damage. And in order not to upset the client, in order to save the deal, it is easier for the manager to come up with an excuse about a delay in delivery than to tell about the unexpected work that fell on the body shop.

4. Persistent offer to install additional equipment in the car dealership

Everything is simple here. The sales manager receives a good percentage of his salary from the sale of additional equipment. So he has a million “one hundred percent” reasons why it is absolutely necessary to install all this in the salon. As you know, everyone wants to eat. Therefore, the more additional equipment you install in the car dealership, the happier the seller will be.

By the way, the same applies to CASCO insurance, as well as to the choice of a specific bank. Almost all dealerships have mutually beneficial agreements with insurers and lenders. Therefore, you should not be surprised that the seller will have many arguments in favor of the fact that the third-party bank (or insurer) you have chosen will turn out to be “not the best place for lending (insurance).”

5. Postponement of the delivery date of the purchased car

A postponement of the date and time of car pick-up may (as well as a delay in delivery) be associated with a number of objective factors. Most often, the car simply did not have time to prepare, that is, wash, clean and install additional equipment (it may simply not be in the warehouse at the right time).

But it also happens that the car purchased by the client is damaged - the driver, for example, did not fit into the gate of the same additional equipment box. You won’t believe how much they can do in the body shop in one night. And how many reasons can the manager who was going to give out this car come up with!

Read also:

You must be logged in to comment.

Why didn’t they mention CASCO vending? This is another scam from car dealerships; when buying a Kia, they vehemently sold me comprehensive insurance for 59 thousand and lured me into lowering the interest rate on the loan. You realize that the manager gets his bribe from this too, without thinking about the fact that similar policies are cheaper from other companies. It seems that the very motivational scheme of managers must change so that the client does not feel deceived and is not constantly looking for a catch!

Cars sale

Due to numerous requests from readers, I decided to devote a separate article to the features of selling cars. Now we will not talk about the technical properties and characteristics of vehicles, but directly about the nuances of dialogue with the client and other techniques that professional sellers use to conduct a transaction on the most favorable terms.

The material is roughly divided into two articles, the first will be of more interest to professional sellers, and the second will be of more interest to readers who are not involved in sales, but want and do not know how best to sell their car.

How to sell a car, for sales managers

Anyone who sells cars knows well that most sales techniques that work perfectly for other groups of products are ineffective here and will do more harm than good. This is due to the fact that the cost of the car is quite high and in most cases amounts to more than seven to eight times the buyer’s monthly income. It follows that in order to make a purchase, the buyer will have to work for more than six months, saving all the money he earns and not spending a penny from his salary. In reality, this will not work and many take out a loan either for a car or for the missing amount in cash. This will be money that must then be given to relatives, friends or the bank. Also, a car is purchased for at least five years and any owner wants, during its operation, to invest a minimum of money and effort in the repair and maintenance of his iron horse.

Having analyzed the above picture, we can draw the following conclusions about the client’s concerns:

— The buyer spends a large amount of money

“He understands that if the investment is unsuccessful, he will not soon have the opportunity to change the car.

— In order not to throw money away, you need to carefully weigh everything and consult with knowledgeable people.

All these thoughts make the client be careful and skeptical about your every word. It is for these reasons that many sales techniques will not help here. In such a situation, it is impossible to sell the goods quickly. If you start putting pressure on the client or openly manipulating his opinion, you will simply fail the deal, and by delaying the completion of the sale, you risk losing the buyer, because he may leave you for competitors. As you have already noticed, when selling cars, we face many difficulties that are not present when selling other products. Believe me, it’s not for nothing that sales managers in the auto business have high commissions, and the monthly sales plan is a maximum of 10-15 cars. After all, they spend a lot of time on each customer and to fulfill the plan they need high competence and professionalism.

Unfortunately, there is no ideal recipe in sales; each client needs an individual approach, but to simplify the sales process, I have collected, in my opinion, useful recommendations that allow you to optimize the sales process and increase the chances of selling a car profitably.

Recommendations when selling a car:

Be sure to establish contact with the client, collect as much information as possible about the buyer’s expectations about the new car. Be sure to use the active listening technique; it won’t hurt to use the SPIN sales method.
Having identified all the expectations, take your time, ask a couple of neutral questions to the buyer, and in the time you gain, prepare a decent presentation.
After the presentation, do not rush to “pressure” the client; ask if there are any questions left after the presentation. Believe me, the buyer will definitely have many different questions for you!
When dealing with objections, be sure to offer the client a test drive so that he can independently verify the veracity of your words. If everything is done correctly, the buyer will agree to a test drive, during which experienced managers consolidate the success of the transaction in a very simple and effective way: while driving, we once again explain to the client all the benefits of purchasing a car. There is a little secret; all benefits must be announced in a timely manner. For example, if the buyer suddenly touches the car, mention the speed and acceleration time, in the case of emergency braking, the reliability of the braking system and the safety of the car, when turning and maneuvering, a well-thought-out steering system. In hot weather, consider climate control or air conditioning. The main thing is that the benefits you voice are relevant and timely to each situation.
If after a test drive the buyer does not decide to purchase a car, it’s okay, leave him a contact phone number and clarify that if he has any questions, you will be happy to help him figure it out. If the client does not call back within a week, you will call him back and clarify that if he purchases a car, the salon will help resolve the issue of registration and passing a technical inspection (in some countries there is no technical inspection, you can replace it with car insurance, etc.)

Finally, I also want to remind you about identifying needs. If the buyer is set on a certain car model, do not rush to say that you do not sell this car, find out what exactly the client liked about this model and, based on the information received, make a counter-offer? By agreeing to which, the buyer will win much more than he expected.

Sales stages

Probably no one thought that selling can be considered a kind of art. The ability to offer a product and communicate with customers is not such a simple science. In comprehending any art, you must first study some basic steps, basics, stages, based on which you can achieve success in this field. The same is true in the sales system.

Stages of the product sales process

1. Statement of idea or ideology

We are talking about what the seller will be guided by in communicating with his client, what guidelines he will set for himself before meeting with the buyer. This point is very important, since the client always feels the seller’s emotions.

2. Establishing contact with the client

This stage can be divided into several steps:

searching for clients. This is not just about effective marketing, but also about incorporating intuition into your work. In stores, this step may not be so important, but managers of large companies must work hard and think about who can become a client, who should be called and who should not, and how to offer a product to this or that potential client.
strategy The sales technique of a particular company is also very important in business. Here it is important to give in to the client on something in time or, on the contrary, to insist on your own; it is important to know where to start a proposal and when to give a compliment.
cold dating stage a . This stage got its name due to the fact that the client is not yet ready to communicate with the seller, he is not interested in this. The main task of the manager at this stage is to arouse the interest of the client, the opportunity to attract him. It's not that easy, as you have to try a variety of methods until you find the right one. These include calls, letters, emails, personal meetings, meetings with client secretaries, and so on.
searching for an approach to the client. The impression that the seller makes on the buyer at the first meeting is of great importance. At this stage, you need to take into account everything: facial expressions, gestures, appearance, the mood of the seller, his voice, the ability to give compliments. You should not fawn over the buyer too much, since in modern trade there is a lot of deception, this will look like a “swindle”.

3. Company presentation

At this stage, the manager must build a solid basis for future conversation. So, for example, companies selling electrical or lighting equipment must first of all prove themselves to the client as companies that deal with complex supplies of equipment useful for all kinds of construction and installation enterprises. It is also necessary to describe all the advantages and disadvantages. These may include quality of sales, reliability, and comprehensiveness of services. In short, the manager must paint the client a clear picture of the company he represents.

4. Getting to know the buying company

If at the previous stage the manager must introduce his company, then in this case his main task is to research the buyer company. It is necessary to find out what clients specialize in, what their needs and abilities are. All this can be understood simply by carefully listening to customers and observing them.

5. Basic presentation of goods and services

This stage can also be divided into several steps:

positioning That is, it is necessary to find some strong side of the product and advertise it in a favorable light for the client. So, for example, if it is a phone, player or laptop, you can indicate the duration of operation without being connected to the network.
influence on the client. In this case, the main technique of influence can be considered to convince the client of something, so the manager must develop talents of this type in himself.
presentation of goods and services. Along with the general presentation of the company, the manager must make a profitable presentation of the product itself. In this case, it is very important to understand not only the intricacies of marketing, but also all the technical characteristics of the product offered.

6. Fighting doubts and objections

When a selling company has competitors, customers-buyers begin to doubt and object when offering them any goods. In any case, customer objections mean that they are already ready to buy and are interested in the best deal. This step includes all sorts of trading, agreements on prices and discounts, and so on. A manager should always take this step into account and make it more of a game than a problem. Dealing with objections is also a very difficult matter; you need to study all sorts of books and manuals in order to hone this skill.

"Information

7. End of the deal

Naturally, the successful end of the transaction will be the purchase of the product by the client. Every salesperson should strive for exactly this end of communication with the client. In this case, too, not everything is so simple: when buying something, any client says goodbye to a certain amount of money. This is why many buyers very often delay the completion of the transaction. Every effective manager has his own techniques with which he convinces clients to complete a transaction. Among such methods are references to competitors, to persons who are authoritative for buyers, and conversations about inflation. We should not forget that each client requires a special approach.

8. Customer support by the seller after purchasing the product

In any case, upon successful completion of the transaction, the seller receives the client’s trust, and at the same time profit. A very important point is that you should not promise clients too much, namely, what you cannot deliver. Do not forget that the manager bears his own responsibility for purchasing goods, so it is in his best interests to give clients more advice on how to use this product. You should not reward customers with only formal phrases; they should feel that they are thanking them for the purchase they made.

All of the above points are called sales stages or active sales stages.

Sales funnel and its stages

If we talk about all the intricacies of marketing, then one of the important points is the concept of a sales funnel. This term refers to the sales process that has been established in a particular company. In most cases, a sales funnel is a very effective method of presenting information, a kind of report.

If you depict a sales funnel in the form of a graph, it looks very symbolic - narrow at the bottom and wide at the top. The thing is that not all of the company’s clients will reach the level of signing an agreement, so at the exit there will be much fewer of them at the entrance. The funnel can be divided into several stages or sections:

potential clients - the widest section
clients who have reached the first contact stage (even in the absence of feedback)
clients who are interested in the offer
discussion between the seller and the client about the price of the product. For some companies, this step is not necessary, since the prices are the same for all buyers.
drawing up and signing a contract
payment is the final stage. The signing of the contract should not be considered the final stage, since the transaction is completed only after the client makes payment.

Sales stages using a car as an example

The stages of sales can be considered using a specific example of the sale of company cars..

A sales manager calls a potential client - an organization that needs this equipment; it is imperative to politely say hello. In order to find an approach to the buyer and arouse his interest, it is necessary either to emphasize the specifics of the client himself and his capabilities, or to point out your own.

Thus, the conversation can begin with an introduction as a company specializing in the sale of company cars to companies. It’s not bad to report that the seller provides equipment to many well-known clients who leave positive recommendations and come back again, knowing that these are proven services. You should not start a conversation with a proposal for mutually beneficial cooperation and so on.

Further, after the client has shown interest in the product offered, the manager strives to identify the client’s desires and needs. He asks the client where it would be convenient for him to start the discussion. If the buyer cannot offer options, then the manager decides to tell a little about his company, asks questions about how the client feels about certain trends, what is important for him when evaluating service providers and goods, whether the client uses similar products, and so on. The main thing is that this survey does not become an interrogation for the client, so you need to listen carefully to everything that the potential buyer says.

Next, the manager proceeds directly to the offer of equipment. As mentioned above, the most important thing here is the talent of persuasion. Beliefs are based on facts. The facts in this case are the characteristics of the car, figures associated with this equipment, objective data, assessments of those customers who have been using these products for a long time. The main thing is that after rationally using the information received from the client, the manager must decide what is best to talk about: discounts, promotions, functionality. Briefly and talentedly, the manager can say that it is not the car that is being sold, but the safety and prestige of the company. You shouldn’t get by with just one fact, especially since in the case of automotive equipment there can be a lot of them. This will interest the client even more.

Next, the client begins to object. So, many say that sales begin with the client’s refusal. For example, the client is not satisfied with the price. The manager is interested in whether the client is guided by any other criteria other than cost. The seller also notes that the price corresponds to the quality and exclusivity of the goods.

It is possible that the client agrees to buy cars only with some discount, if both parties can make such a compromise, then the manager says that the company agrees to give in to the client and that the contract can be signed. In addition, the client may point out some details that he is not satisfied with. In this case, the manager can promise the buyer that the company will take into account all the mistakes, correct them, and the contract can be signed on these terms.