Auto Dealer Monthly, May 2015

OVER THE CURB In Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen wrote Vanity and pride diff erent things though the words are oft en used synonymously A person can be proud without being vain Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves vanity to what we would have others think of us Th is business can be diffi cult Im talking about those days or weeks or months when none of your closes are working customers cant seem to fi nd a car they want and third party pricing is ridiculous We have all been there and tough times cause us to ask tough questions Why do we do what we do Why did we get into this business Several months ago a customer bought a van from my dealership He mentioned that years ago he wrote a book called Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something How incredibly true is that Th ere is not a product on the market today that someone didnt sell From your smartphone to your lunch someone sold something to get the ball rolling As an auto retail professional this should give you pride Where would the economy be if we werent getting cars on the road Can this job be frustrating Absolutely But when those moments of frustration come you have to refl ect on the moments of gratifi cation Remember the time when a customer thanked you for taking a few extra minutes to walk them through the infotainment system or for taking great care of their child or their elderly parents Remember the customer who got emotional because the car you sold them represented a fresh start in their life Th at leads us to the 10000 question How can we create more moments of gratifi cation and fewer moments of frustration Th ere are three correct answers and each has everything to do with the customers with whom you choose to deal 1 ASK FOR MORE REFERRALS Always remember that there is a level of choice in the customers you talk to I know you would rather speak to referrals and repeat customers than wait for the next walk in But you have to continually follow up and ask to get them and not just from the folks who buy from you Th e lucky salesman at the dealership down the road may not bother to ask for their referrals Whats stopping 28 AUTO DEALER MONTHLY MAY 2015 you And while youre in referral mode ask your service writers technicians porters offi ce staff and anyone else who might have a lead on an in market shopper 2 DONT FOCUS ON THE PROBLEM CUSTOMERS Tough customers are part of the job and there are more to come so dont waste time and mental energy focusing on the last one Th e majority of customers will work with you if you demonstrate professionalism genuine concern for their wants and needs some product knowledge and good humor 3 STAY BUSY Th ere are always available customers Th ey could be in the showroom or the service lounge You could fi nd them by making phone calls sending emails or outside prospecting If you hit a lull in the day walk the lot Keep your energy level high Grab a motivational or training article and read it Role play with a co worker Whatever you do stay busy Base your day on productive activities and continual training and the sales will come Th is page wasnt designed to give you a 10 minute boost I want to remind you that what we do makes a diff erence in this world and I say that with all seriousness Every customer who walks into your store gets a paycheck from a company where a salesperson sold something Maybe it was an idea or a product but something was sold Well we sell vehicles We help people save money on gas drive their dream cars and keep their children safe We help them get fi nancing protect themselves with insurance products and keep their cars looking new with paint and fabric protection What we do is noble What we do is needed What we do is valuable Take pride in what you do shout it from the rooft ops and be proud of it And in the words of my author friend always remember that nothing happens until somebody sells something SHOW YOUR PRIDE Struggling sales pros should remember to take pride in their work and seek referrals wherever they may lie Aus are wor mo wit mo Jason Heard is the general sales manager at Frank Ancona Honda in Olathe Kan He is a 20 year industry veteran with extensive sales and sales management experience JHeard@ AutoDealerMonthly com By Jason Heard ISTOCKPHOTO COM COLOROFTIME