Is it Closing Time Yet?
By Jack Bennett
In the last issue we discussed what closing is and some specific closing techniques including the alternate of choice close, the assumptive close and the direct close. I would like to share with you a few more.
Triplicate of Choice. Triplicate of choice is very effective in two ways. As a closing technique, which we will discuss shortly, but also as a qualifying tool. That's right, it is a qualifying tool. The basis of triplicate of choice is start low, go high, and end up in the middle. It goes like this.
During qualifying, a customer may say something like, "What would my payments be on that Blazer over there?"
The salesperson would respond, "Well Mr. Jones, with a large down payment, a free and clear trade-in and great credit, your payments could be as low as $250 per month. Then if you only have a small down payment, maybe no equity in your trade in, or no trade in at all the payments could be as high as $600. Most people however, with average down payments and trade equity, usually end up in the $400-$450 range. Where do you put yourself, sir?"
Now naturally there are a lot of questions in the little scenario I've given you. How much do we know about this customer already? Are we at liberty to quote payment ranges? What would be the range on certain vehicles? And does the salesperson actually know this. The point is that this qualifying technique may help a salesperson move one more sale a bit further.
In a closing situation, meaning closing a customer on a particular car, triplicate of choice works like this. A customer comes in to look at an ad leader vehicle, which is fine. If the customer likes the car, the salesperson should do a great walkaround and demonstration and move the sale forward. However one of the problems I always found with ad leaders is they are never equipped the way a customer was hoping. "Sure Mr. Jones, for $4,995 you were hoping to get a one year old loaded low mileage car? Yeah, we're building those in the basement." Anyway, the customers many times want more equipment than the advertised car has. In which case MOST salespeople take the customer to the next car up, adding the air and the stereo and the nice wheels. The problem is that now they have to think about spending more money so, "I'll be back."
My suggestion is that the salesperson should take the customer to the fully equipped model in that line. Air, automatic, cruise, tilt, windows locks, mirrors CD. The whole nine yards. But we all know the problem with that one, right? It's too expensive. Then as the customer is about to leave, deflated that they couldn't get the car they had hoped for, his defenses down, the salesperson says, almost as an afterthought. "Oh, my goodness, I almost forget. I think I have the perfect car for you, follow me. THEN the salesperson takes the customer the middle of the road model in that line. They have a good chance of closing that sale and selling that car.
Understand that this is in no way some sort of bait and switch. If a customer comes in to buy an advertised car, show that car and sell that car. This is only designed to help people who do not want the advertised car. I always tell salespeople that as a rule, most dealers could care less what car they sell, as long as they sell something.
Aside from the fact. Another very effective close is aside from the fact. It is simple and can work in many situations. Before explaining it, though, I want you to remind your salespeople that used cars are "priced accordingly." That means when a customer sees a used car they like and it has a dent or a scratch or high miles, that the car is "priced accordingly." The salespeople should use that line often and it may keep them away from giving away the ranch and making promises they can't keep on used cars.
When a customer says, "I was hoping for green." The salesperson says, "Aside from the fact that the car is not green, how do you like it?" "Well aside from that it's fine." "Great, give me your license." Now sometimes a salesperson is going to have to make some concessions in price or equipment or whatever, but I hope you can see how much closer you are to getting a sale now that we ruled out everything else. What I heard this customer say is that the only thing keeping him from buying it, is the color. Did you?
Ben Franklin. The Ben Franklin close is used when we have a customer who can't decide whether or not to buy the vehicle. There is no specific objection, they are just vacillating. The salesperson simply pulls out a piece of paper and draws a line down the middle. On the left side at the top they write, "Why." On the top of the right side they write, "Why Not." Then they list all the reasons why the customer should or shouldn't buy the car. My feeling on this technique is contrary to most that teach it. Most trainers say that with the Ben Franklin the salesperson should help the customer with all the "Why's" and then not help them with the, "Why Nots," even going so far as to put the pen in their pocket.
I am not a big fan of this. I think the salesperson should help the customer list the "Why Nots." Because then, I have smoked out all the objections on paper for the entire world to see. Now I can help the customer overcome each one or I can show it to my manager and they can see exactly what's keeping the customer from buying today. It's very simple and very effective. Train your salespeople to do it often.
Good luck and good selling.
A 25-year veteran of the automotive industry, Jack Bennett is the author of ÒYou Can and Should Sell Cars,Ó a book which has sold thousands of copies and is being used in sales training by dealers from the Bahamas to Canada. jbennett@dealeronline.com
