Friday, November 03, 2006

Closing the Sale: Why People Really Buy!

Closing the sale is not a matter of trick closes or manipulation. It is not using fear or hard sell tactics. Closing the sale is the natural conclusion to everything you have done in an effective sales process. No matter what your car customers says about waiting, shopping around or not buying today, often they don’t mean it.

You gotta know why people buy. People will buy things they don't need, but you can't make people buy things they don't want. So what do they want? What they want may surprise you. It is not just a better looking car with more features. It is not just more fuel economy. It is not just more performance. It ‘s not just a vehicle more suitable to their current family size. It is these things, but more.

The real motivators.

People buy to solve problems.

The most common motivation to buy is the unsafe mechanical state of their vehicle. The impending expense of tires, brakes, exhaust or suspension forces people to finally decide to buy rather than repair.

People buy because of the accumulation of expensive repairs they have already made to their vehicle. People buy to solve problems.

A strong motivation to buy comes when convenience features are no longer operating and the aggravation level is increased. Air conditioning not operative in warm weather, power windows that malfunction, CD players that skip, alloy wheels lose their looks, these things cause people to act sooner than later.

One of the most motivating reasons to buy:

Your customer has a pressing personal dead-line to make a decision. Customers postpone buying decisions. They simply procrastinate until they are forced to make decisions. This works in your favour.

The above repairs combined with family travel plans cause people to buy sooner than later. For instance, needing a reliable vehicle for a planned family trip on a long weekend or annual vacation or travelling five hours to a child’s university graduation or a nephew’s wedding forces people to make buying decisions.

Don’t underestimate the power of personal timelines in helping people make decisions. People naturally procrastinate until their immediate situation or need forces them to buy. Most of your customers need this personal incentive to act. You just need to find out the real motivator and push that button!!!

Poor salespeople try to sell price to turn their prospects into customers or clients. Good salespeople discover the real reasons people buy. It is not just fair prices or comfortable payments. That is what they want after they have made the decision to buy. You need to discover the reason they are at the dealership in the first place. You will make a lot more money.

If you are a dealer and you want to increase your sales results by closing more sales, consider having a Skill Specific Coaching workshops in your dealership. Theses courses are limited to only your sales people and managers so that we have maximum time for coaching one-one. Call me. 1-800-668-0362

This is a New Year and a great opportunity for you to really kick your sales into gear.

Have a great selling day! Dave .