Go for the Gold!

You gotta love it. The rush and excitement of the competition, the cheering and the fun that these athletes had during the Olympics was fantastic. They gave it all. My wife Mary Jane and I found ourselves being motivated by the incredible, gutsy performances these women and men provided.

The interviews with these athletes almost always included comments about their commitment to training tirelessly and their dedication to doing their personal best made all the work worth while. Even if they didn’t win the gold, even if they didn’t medal, they felt going for the gold made them achieve far more than they might have.

Are you going for the gold?

From our point of view, as sales professionals, we are in a similar competition every day. We need to keep on top of our game too or we can trail the field. Our business takes courage and gutsy performances. When our customers come in to our arena there is a ‘golden’ opportunity to score.

The big question—do we give our gold medal sales presentation to our customers? Do we work to improve our performance as sales professionals or do we coast to the finish line?
Remember: Everyone wants to have lots of money, but few people want to work hard and smart enough to earn lots of money. You can!

We are rated on our performance.

In the car business you only can win the gold. For us there is no silver or bronze—you win or you lose. You can’t almost sell a vehicle and take home the commission. Training for athletes or professional development for sales professionals is the key to success. When you give your sales presentation to your customers they do give you a performance rating. You either score high on the scale or you don’t. The gold medal victory comes with a sale now or with effective follow-up as a be-back sale. But in either case you win.

But so does your client win. When you deliver your best presentation every time, you give each customer a better buying experience than the competition and they declare you the winner. It is a ‘win-win’ situation. The bonus—you will have more FUN! We are in a competition.

It is obvious you are in a competition every time you go out and meet a client. You are in the game against every other sales person your client has met in their buying cycle and somebody is going to win…or lose! Your client is NOT the opponent. They are the reason we exist. They just want to buy or lease a vehicle but are we up for the opportunity? Do you deliver a gold medal sales presentation or are you listed in the also rans? You either inspire your customers to buy or you don’t.

We need to train for this game too. You and I can’t take for granted that we will deliver a strong presentation just by showing up. If we are going to stand on the sales professional podium and receive the rewards of our efforts we have to train. You don’t get the metal just for showing up!
Coming to work dragging our butt and complaining doesn’t work for champions. We have to be developing specific skills to succeed.

I coach many sales people who practice the specific skills required to be at the top of their game. They win far more competitions against the other sales consultants because they are simply better equipped to handle the challenges. Champions have more FUN and make more money.

The challenges to champions are obvious.

• The road to a sale requires bringing tension filled clients into their natural comfort zone.
• The twists in the road can be successfully handling the price shopper or the person who is worried about their trade value.
• The fear factor for some clients is the payments will exceed their budgets or they will select the wrong vehicle.

Just like on the mogul run, you expect bumps but that is why you train. Our game plan has to be all about helping our customer make a comfortable buying decision especially when they start of the game “just looking”.

Casey Stengel: Sport Quote
Most games are lost, not won.

You can stop losing sales with challenging customers by improving your sales skills.
You will sell more vehicles and make more money…if you receive the right type of professional training. Skill Specific Coaching is available. I will be having a series of “Skill Specific Boot Camps for Sales Professionals”. These boot camps will fine tune your game for more sales success. Plan to attend one even if it means travelling or giving up a day on the sales floor. Get yourself ready for a gold medal performance this spring.

You already know the value you receive from the AUTOMOTIVATOR Dealer newsletter and the articles on the http://www.automotivator.com/ website.

Now you can experience the live training that will give you the insight of:

• what works with your clients
• why it works, and
• how to do it.

You will be able to incorporate the missing knowledge in your sales process that will help you sell more and raise your personal income to your personal best.

Now you have the opportunity to get the kind of intensive training that will help you create gold medal sales presentations. The next “Skills Specific Boot Camp for Sales Professionals” is in Ottawa, Ontario.

If you live in the area, you owe it to yourself to check it out and register today. Just email dave@automotivator.com for the registration form, give your fax number or we will email the registration. Phone FREE for details 1-800-668-0362.

If you don’t live in Ottawa area you still need to think about traveling to be there (others have already decided it is important enough to do so). And if you are a dealers or sales manager, call us for an in-house session right at your dealership. I hope to see you there.

Go for the Gold this year in your sales career. Commit to improving the buying experience with your customers and start to live your dreams.
Go for it.

Great Success, Dave.

Dave Kemp, the AUTOMOTIVATOR