What the customer really wants, and how you can sell it.
Sure, you can take every sale you make and only ever look at it from face value. The customer came in, they wanted a car, they bought a car – and that’s it. You made the sale, which is what matters at the end of the day, but what about what matters at the end of the season? The year?
The Soulful Art of Persuasion, an award-winning book by Jason Harris, emphasizes that in order to truly be persuasive, one must understand how originality, generosity, empathy, and soulfulness come into play.
When a customer comes into your dealership and says they’re looking for a new vehicle, are you just focused on selling them the best machine? Are you looking at the big picture? Do you even know what the big picture is? You should.
The big picture here is making a customer for life. It’s them falling in love with how you can give them whatever they need. It’s them seeing past the price.
You need to show them the value your dealership brings to the table. Oscar Wilde once said that everyone will run into clients who “know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
But how are you supposed to sell a concept?
It starts at the end of the deal, actually. Why do they want what they want? What are they really looking for? Ask them. Is it just a minivan, or is it a vehicle that fits Jimmy and Stella, and Stella’s best friend, and the dog the kids keep asking for? It’s something that will get everything the customer cares about, safely, from point A to point B.
You know what they’re really looking for, now you have to explain why what you’re trying to sell them is better. Give them options, let them choose between X and Y, show them everything and help them figure out what’s best for them. Remind them that they’re free to choose whatever they’d like, regardless of your opinion, but you just want them to be as informed as possible before they make such a big purchase.
In being your realest, most authentic self, you can help your customers see the value that you want them to see.
The most important thing is that you need to want more for your customers. You need to look past your commission and see a commitment.
You need to show them that your big picture aligns with their big picture, and that everyone wins when they make an informed decision.
When you sell what really matters, they’ll always come back for more.