Have you ever thought of teaching sales in general?
Thanks!
I have taught a lot of salesmen over the years.
I train them right.
I train them to be polite, honest and to actually listen to the customer (so important and so few do it).
I train them to NEVER lie. Never. If a buyer catches 1 lie, he'll never trust him again during the process.
I train them that the best way to make a deal happen is to allow the customer to feel as being part of the process.
I teach them how to structure the deal so the customer understands what is going on.
Many trainers train the salesman how to confuse the buyer to make the most money.
I have read, many times and from many different sources, that 80% of the reason someone buys from you (no matter what it sold) is because the buyer likes you and trusts you. 80%. That means you don't have to be the cheapest, just the best.
It is true, from my experience.
When everybody sits down to begin the process, the buyer is ready to jump out of their skin because they know that the screwing is about to begin. 90% of the salesmen are anxious (in a bad way) because the manager told them that if they lose this deal they're probably going to lose their job (a common motivational tactic. Motivational? Really?) Talk about shoving a stick up his backside and telling him
to be polite to the buyer. A buyer senses when a salesman is tense. The buyer wonders why. The salesman is not himself. His personality doesn't come out because he is afraid to mess up this deal. It is truly a tense time.
When the buyer sits down to get to business, the manager assigned to that salesman watches from (what is called) the tower. It is usually a desk or 2 on a raised platform near the center of the deal working area. The tower is where the numbers are worked (unless the salesman is one of the aces we talked about. They can work their own deals. When a salesman has a customer at his desk, the manager is said to be "working the deal" with the salesman. The salesman is an extension of the manager and usually works all his deals with him. They know each other. The manager usually knows the salesman's weakness and strengths and works him that way ( a good manager, that is).
A lazy manager makes the salesman work the deal exactly as he is told by the manager. Word-for-word. The manager listens to make sure he does as he says. The good manager allows the salesman to use his natural abilities and personality to get the same result. Hey, whatever works is how it's done but the old school guys don't care, they do it their way.
So, everybody is super tense. The buyer trusts nobody and their head is on a swivel, watching for the bad guy to come out at hurt them.
Really, they look around and around and around waiting for the ambush. No trust what-so-ever.
Working the deal (as a manager) is the heart of the sale. A manager may have 7 or 8 salesmen that he is working with on a busy day.
Some are pros and need no help. Some have experience but like the manager to be the bad guy. Some need to be guided every inch of the way.
Some have people in finance and some have people who just got there. Some are mid-deal. The manager has to juggle them all and not lose any deals (upper management is watching). It is a demanding job but I always enjoyed it. I liked the pace and the action and I ike people and they felt it.
Every dealer has their own way and own process. You've seen me mention "the process" many, many times. The process is just that. From the time a customer walks in until the time they leave, every dealer has a process which must be followed, especially for new cars. Used car have a different process so we'll cover that in the used car thread.
I like my process but if I work at a dealer that has a different one, I have to do it their way. I usually work for dealers that do it the way I prefer.
Sometimes (many times) the dealer fires the GM (poor performance, poor CSI, missing important stair steps, not enough improvement over last year, etc. You know you are at a good dealer when the same GM is there year after year. A lot of dealers have a different GM every 6 months, 9 months or (usually) a year. The GM determines the process used. A new GM usually has his own management staff of guys he has worked with over the years, who he trusts with his live and who know the process he prefers and uses. So, if you are a good manager at a dealer and a new GM comes in the chances are that you will be replaced within 3 months is pretty great. Of course, a new GM will see what he has on staff
while he recruits "his guys" and if a manager just shines like the sun, he will keep him and probably put him under his buddy who he already contacted for the same job. It's an ugly business. It is very similar to a new head coach in football being hired. He has "his guys" who he wants on his team. He may keep someone who is there or the owner loves but chances are everybody goes.
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