Are Old School Tactics Costing You New Car Deals?

It is amusing when I hear a sales manager training their sales team to use canned closes like the puppy dog close, the Ben Franklin close, and any other canned closing technique. The sales consultant tries it and it doesn’t work and the manager says “You didn’t say it right”. No, they said it perfectly! The problem is that today’s buyers go online and arm themselves with as much preparation that their mind can bare. They read the same canned closes online that the sales manager did. They then come into the dealership and dare the sales rep to try any of those 1980’s closing techniques on them and when they do the customer is turned off.

There is so much misinformation online about how to sell cars that it’s no wonder why many dealerships struggle to keep good people and consistently hit numbers. Lucky dealerships have one maybe two people that have been there over 5 years years but the rest of the teams time of employment range between 90 days – 9 months. The reason turnover is high is because the newbies try to use the managers old school techniques that worked when “they” were selling before the explosion internet. Time after time they are shot down or have to give the car away just to make a sale and not get fired but they didn’t make any money. Now the sales consultant is confused and not making any money because they believed that using canned closes was selling and found out it wasn’t when they didn’t get a commission check. The one size fits all approach to selling doesn’t work anymore.

Each customer is different and each circumstance is different, even though they may seem similar to other people’s situation they are unique for this individual. This means that you have to tailor your approach to each person and their situation. Focus on what’s REALLY going on with the customer(s) and work to identify their transportation problem. This will allow you to provide a solution specific for their situation and when you present the benefits it solves specific problems. You don’t need canned closing responses when you are committed to ONLY helping people buy the vehicle that best fits them rather than selling a vehicle that pays you the most.

Ask questions, listen, and confirm. When you feel like you understand what the customer would like to accomplish confirm it with them by saying “If I understand you correctly you are looking for a vehicle that…”. Do not move on until they either confirmed or denied because without clear direction you can find yourself spending hours selling them on the wrong vehicle. Be progressive but don’t rush because they can tell when you’re rushing and I have never seen it close a sale. It does the opposite!

Take the time to get to know your customers, listen to them intently, and ask questions often. If you do this effectively you won’t need canned closing responses because when you present them a solution it will seem like it was made just for them and guess what…it was!

Brian Maxwell is a nationally recognized recruiter and sales trainer for the automotive industry. If you’d like to improve your sales skills and make more money take advantage of the online training modules.