Automotive Sales Tips: Start Off on the Right Foot
Today we want to share with you our 3 tips on how to start interacting with auto shoppers that either contact your dealership or come to your lot for the first time.
1. Arrange for an information gathering visit
When a prospect contacts your dealership for the first time, they are basically sizing you up to see how pleasant it is to deal with you. They are carefully dipping their toes into the water so to speak.
To avoid scaring them off, you need to alleviate the pressure by addressing the main fear they may have: being pressured into buying a car from you, today.
Invite them to an information gathering session during which they can come to your dealership, look at some cars, take a test drive, and go home to think everything through. No strings attached.
You will be surprised at how it works with some people and makes them much more comfortable and relaxed.
2. Don’t do premature trial closes
Trial closes are great when you are already sitting with your customers at your desk. But by asking them a question like “Are you ready to buy this car today?” while being outside on the lot at the end of your presentation, you are just proving their fears to be true.
Car buyers always arrive with a defensive posture. They expect you to try and hit them with a trial close as soon as the silence falls. Take an opposite approach to this, be different. Don’t add to the negative perception of salespeople.
As a car dealer, your main goal is to lower the customers’ defensive posture and eliminate their apprehensions, not increase them. So don’t take your customers from “nice meeting you” to “let’s move in” in a course of two minutes.
3. Stay in a V-posture
Crowding your customer immediately after a handshake is not a good way to start off. When you get into a buyer’s personal space, they become very defensive.
Here’s what you can do instead: have a V-posture during your presentation. This way you can still maintain eye contact and speak directly to the buyer without crowding in on them.
Stay tuned for more automotive sales tips from Autoxloo!
