HARDISON’S TIPS – MARCH 17, 2021 – SELLING STRATEGIES TO TRY IN 2021
Understand What Motivates Your Buyers
Even when you’re armed with the best car sales techniques, you still need to understand who you’re selling to, what they value and how they shop.
That’s why this car selling strategy is all about understanding the motivations behind customers’ buying decisions – especially their objections. While thinking about the “psychology of selling” is nothing new in the retail sector, returning to the basics can help you find creative solutions to all sorts of car selling challenges.
Rather than rushing through the small talk, a strong sales team should relish the opportunity to ask qualifying questions that can help determine where a customer is on the path to purchase.
More than ever, car buyers want an easy path to purchase. On average, buyers are visiting fewer dealerships in years’ past before inking the deal. And Cox Automotive reports that 41% of buyers visit only one dealership – up significantly from 30% just two years prior. This means you likely have one chance to get it right when a new customer walks in your store.
Figuring out how to streamline your sales processes means getting to know customers on a more personal level. Every customer’s journey is unique, which is why generic sales pitches are quickly falling out of practice. Rather than rushing through the small talk, a strong sales team should relish the opportunity to ask qualifying questions that can help determine where a customer is on the path to purchase. By building a relationship with your customers, you also build trust and improve your credibility.
This process is perhaps best summed up by a popular quote from Zig Ziglar, a renowned author and speaker in the sales world: “Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” Learning how to overcome these obstacles is crucial for increasing new vehicle sales and cultivating the sort of profitable relationships that will extend beyond the point of purchase.
Create More Empathy in Your Sales Process
Whereas understanding your customer’s motivations is meant to help your sales team map out the buying journey, this car selling strategy is focused on how to meet them where they are. Modern consumers have developed a keen sense for picking apart marketing strategies, and many can tell when a sales rep is desperate to secure their business. Even if you can infer why a customer may be hesitant to follow through on a purchase, it often takes a high degree of empathy to truly understand their point of view.
Truth be told, that’s the foundation that nearly all effective car sales techniques are built on: Understanding your customers as people, not dollar signs.