Let's Talk Trade
By Jack Bennett
The customer's trade-in is always an issue in negotiations. We have all gone through the experiences of everything from what the banker told them their car was worth to, "I can sell it on my own." In this issue I would like to specifically address customers selling their cars on their own.
Much of it starts with qualifying. A customer comes in and the salesperson says something like, "That's a very nice car you've got there Mr. Jones, are you thinking about trading it in?"
The customer says, "No."
The salesperson says, "Why not?"
The customer says, "I can sell it on my own." Or, "You guys won't give me enough."
The salesperson says, "Well we might sir, let me have my used car manager take a look at it."
The problem the salesperson has now is they are getting way ahead of themselves. We've got the Used Car Manager involved and we haven't even found a car yet!
Make sure all your salespeople understand that in most cases, we don't care one way or another whether the customer trades in his car. UNLESS selling their car dictates when they can buy a new one.
Let me explain the best way to handle scenarios for the above encounter, beginning with the salesperson:
"Nice car there sir, are you thinking of trading it in?"
"No."
"Really? What are you going to do with it?"
"Sell it on my own."
"That's great Mr. Jones, but let me ask you one quick question. Would buying a new car today be contingent upon you selling your car first?"
"Nope, I've got a buyer all lined up."
"Great, were you looking for a light or dark color on your new car?"
Now the salesperson can move forward with the sale.
However, if the customer says yes, the salesperson MUST ask for the opportunity to take the car in:
The scenario continues in this manner:
"Well, of course I'll have to sell my car first. I don't have the money to keep two cars," the customer says.
"Well sir, would you at least give us the opportunity to look at your car and see what kind of a deal we could make? It doesn't cost anything to ask, and quite possibly we could save you an awful lot of work in attempting to sell you car privately" (more on this later).
"You guys never give enough for trade-ins!" the customer says.
"Mr. Jones, as you can see, we have over 150 used cars on our lot and nearly 70% of those are local cars, traded in by people just like yourself. Let's find you the perfect car to buy today and we'll get the Used Car Manager to drive your car. Were you looking for a two door or four?"
As simple as this seems, it is a much better way to move past the trade-in objection without getting into big discussions with the customer. Whenever a salespeople ask why or why not, they get into an area that they can't win.
Have your people try this technique when qualifying and they will have fewer headaches later on in the sale.
Good luck and good selling.
A 25-year veteran of the automotive industry, Jack Bennett is the author of You Can and Should Sell Cars, 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
