Strategy. Execution. Achievement.
I don't know how many sales and management related magazines, newsletters, and e-zines you subscribe to but if you are a sales professional I'm betting it is 4 or more. Every year at this time the authors of these sales resources write articles about the importance of goal setting and strategies to make sure you achieve your goals.
The ability to explain the concept of cost of ownership is a skill that every successful sales consultant needs. It has been often said that people buy with emotion but pay with logic.
Helping a client make a positive buying decision means that we sometimes need to walk them through a logical cost of ownership discussion to:
• Resolve a price objection
• Make them comfortable paying more for a better product or
• Help the procrastinator make a decision to buy now
The ability to explain the concept of cost of ownership is a skill that every successful sales consultant needs. It has been often said that people buy with emotion but pay with logic.
Helping a client make a positive buying decision means that we sometimes need to walk them through a logical cost of ownership discussion to:
• Resolve a price objection
• Make them comfortable paying more for a better product or
• Help the procrastinator make a decision to buy now
The ability to explain the concept of cost of ownership is a skill that every successful sales consultant needs. It has been often said that people buy with emotion but pay with logic.
Helping a client make a positive buying decision means that we sometimes need to walk them through a logical cost of ownership discussion to:
• Resolve a price objection
• Make them comfortable paying more for a better product or
• Help the procrastinator make a decision to buy now
Every sales manager has goals. They are usually imposed on us from external sources like the manufacturer, our dealer principal, or general manager. These goals are highly visible, the data is readily available, and we are held responsible if we either hit them or not. Examples of these goals might be monthly sales volume or departmental gross profit.
We have said that the number one job of the salesperson is "Selection". By this, we meant that everything we do with the client or for the client is designed to help them get the best vehicle choice for their specific situation. That's why in training we focus so much time and effort in developing strong Consultation skills.
In the face of a mountain of research on the modern automotive shopper, no one is going to deny that shopping patterns have changed:
• Buyers research online and self-serve themselves farther than ever towards a buying decision - before they contact or visit us
• Buyers have a wealth of information and shopping tools at their disposal - even on their phone
• Buyers are visiting fewer dealerships before making a purchase
Who turned off the tap? We see in many markets a dramatic reduction in walk-in traffic. In some cases this is just a continuation of the pattern of highly researched shoppers who are shortening the list of brands or dealerships they will visit to 1-2. Other dealerships are in markets heavily impacted by economic shifts in the resource sector. Whatever the cause, salespeople suffer when traffic declines unless they have an effective and proactive strategy to create opportunities.
One of the most common objections that occurs in the automotive buying process has always been: "I'm not happy with what you're giving me for my trade-in." This one is almost automatic with some customers as soon as the figures are presented.
We spend a lot of time training and coaching salespeople on how to resolve this objection.
We get a lot of questions from dealerships who are starting to experience declining effectiveness with their direct marketing for invitation sales, behind the wall sales, or private sale events. When you dig into it a bit you soon find the answer. These events rely on their "specialness" or exclusivity. We see many dealerships market to the same list of customers 5 or 6 times a year.
