Friday, June 3, 2016

I came across a piece from a couple years ago that was originated by a former GM of a car dealership who was consulting radio on automotive category sales and I thought you and your sales team might find it helpful:

How to talk to a car dealer....

FACE TO FACE. The only way. That's how they do business so that's how we do it.

WHEN SPEAKING WITH THE GM: Get him to let you sit down. If he thinks your have something worth discussing, they will sit. They will test you to see if you believe in what you do.

BE READY FOR A TIT-FOR-TAT: Car dealers especially love the give-and-take of a sale. Be ready for a bit of sparring. But keep it friendly. Use their "If I, Will You?" approach.

Then go through the four steps common with most sales:

Build Rapport - talk about them and their cars
C.N.A. - What's their message?
Ideas - "What about this?" What about that?"
Recap your assignment

Follow these rules and your closing ratio on automotive will improve.