The Road To The Sale
By Doug Waikem
The reason some of us will succeed in this new economy is quite simple. We are survivors. We do business in the market and with the circumstances we are given. When the Internet came along, which totally goes against everything we were taught previously, some of us were able to get out of the box and adjust our selling process.
Anyone who is open to change can succeed selling cars on the Internet. What makes it difficult for some dealers to realize this is our peers: the leaders in our industry send a non-change message.
The only growing segment of our industry, I believe, is e-business. If we do not adjust our selling process, we will lose. Finance control is in jeopardy. Conventional auto sales will become less and less a part of our business as the Internet grows. Accessory sales will become more competitive.
Some people believe the Internet can be used as a technical way to sell, with which I agreeand disagree. The technology has changed, but not the game. Yes, the customers are more informed, better negotiators, and less loyal, but we can still close our share of deals by separating the showroom and the Internet selling process. The selling process is totally different because the buyer is different. The Internet buyers do not want to negotiate. They may already know our invoice and other incentives. They can now calculate their own loans or leases. They want an educated, informed conversation that leads to an agreement. They understand you need to make a profit, but you must convince them of the value in your process.
The selling process developed by myself, dealer Tom Vann, and consultant Danny Alkassmi is logical, practical, systematic and measurable. This selling process has been proven time and again, in small Dodge stores from Hillsdale, Michigan, to huge Lexus stores in Orange County, California. It is based on proven selling techniques, such as the four square system, and uses today's technology to win over the buyer.
From interviewing America's top Internet dealers, we have developed twelve steps to a successful selling process for the "Internet buyer."
1) Evaluate the request. In other words, read the lead. Most e-mails, or requests from consumers give you more information than we used to be able to get in twenty minutes in the showroom. Now you get name and address, day/night telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, trade, product desired, payment information, when to call and more. Evaluate it; then make personal contact.
2) Verbal contact with the decision maker is the only contact that matters, not the spouse, not the kids, not voice mail, not e-mail, not anything other than good old verbal communication. This will allow you to build the proper relationship with the buyer before you begin to ask for his/her business. You should be able to contact 75%, provided you have a good lead provider.
3) Go through the information exchange. This is where most salespeople fail. This is a gathering period, not a giving period. If you give too much information, your customer will use you as a shopping ticket, go to your competitor, and print out your quote as a reference with which to deal. Another reason not to give out too much information too soon is, it may not matter. Many times a customer said my staff, "if you can sell me this Honda Accord for this amount of money, I will buy it." We were able to do it, so we said yes. Then the customer asked what his monthly payment would be, we quoted a price, and the customer said he could not afford it. He was a payment buyer, but we believed he was a price buyer.
How about the customer who quoted an amount they wanted to pay, and your salesperson said okay, only to have the customer ask what their trade was worth. A trade buyer! In addition, let us not forget the get-me-done buyer or down-payment buyer. None of these three buyers are true price shoppers. They make up over 65% of our Internet business, yet we treat all Internet buyers as price buyers. Do not give information until you have gathered enough to determine the true buying terms.
4) Exploring the feasibility of the deal. Once you have the trade, payment, price, accessories, and other pertinent information, you can go to the fourth step, which is exploring the feasibility of the deal. Check the trade, financing, price, availability, and the factory programs. Can you save money in one area, say auto insurance, that can offset not meeting the customer's wishes in another? Once you have explored multiple options (at least three), then it is time to present the proposal.
5) The presentation must have three essential elements. It must be timely, effective, and it must finish with an assumptive question such as: do you want us to deliver or would you like to stop by and visit our store? You need at least twenty minutes for a proper presentation. In order to be truly effective, you must also be ready to overcome all objections. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes and anticipate his/her possible objections so you can overcome all of them. That is called salesmanship. Your managers can often help. You should be able to make an effective information exchange 25% of the time.
6) Achieving a win-win agreement. Now you are prepared for the most important part: achieving a win-win agreement. Now that you have determined the buyer's type, trade, price, or payment, you must use that information, by telephone, to form an agreement in principle on those terms. "If I can get you this car, for this price, at this payment and get you this much for your trade, will you give me your business?" Get the commitment. The win-win agreement should occur 25-30% of the time.
Once you have achieved this, the following steps are:
7) Secure funding.
8) Secure product.
9) Secure an appointment.
10) A VIP delivery
11) Thank them by sending a nice gift and follow-up with a telephone call.
12) Obtain a referral. We expect one referral for every delivery. Twelve deliveries, twelve referrals. Some people will not refer at all; others will give you two. If you have lived up to the customer's expectations, or better yet, exceeded them, you are entitled to a referral and you will get one. The buyers who purchase through the Internet selling process brag about the experience to family, neighbors, friends, and co-workers. They are proud of themselves, and are going to brag about it. They are the best bird dogs you will ever have. You should be able to close 20% of the referrals.
I close with this: In the old days (five years ago), our competitors were the dealers across town. Today, we are in competition with the direct dot-coms, the manufacturers and quite literally, dealers across the country. Whoever adjusts to the new market the fastest will win.
Doug Waikem owns and operates 15 new car dealerships in Canton, OH. Waikem's Internet department delivers over 1,000 per year representing $30million in sales. He is also co-founder of I-nettraining technologies. dwaikem@dealeronline.com
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