T.O. to Who?
By Jack Bennett
One of the most important steps in the road to a sale is the turnover. We know there are two types. First there is the turnover, or T.O., of a customer the salesperson cannot close, to the sales manager. Then there is the turnover of a customer that has bought, to the business manager. I will talk today about the turnover to the business manager; in the next issue, we'll cover the T.O. to the sales manager.
In all my years in retail I have never seen a manager sit down and explain to a new salesperson the process of handling a customer once the deal is closed; what should be said, when it should be said and why.
Note: The salesperson should always check with the business manager before doing T.O. Business managers are very busy and the last thing they need is some new salesperson dumping Ma and Pa Kettle and their six kids in his office before he is ready to work with them.
Back to the salesperson's office. The salesperson has just told the customer, "Great news Mr. Jones. My sales manager has OK'd your offer of $12,550 dollars. Now I am going to introduce you to our business manager."
Now, here is the crucial part of this dialogue and must be said correctly. The salesperson continues, "My business manager will compute the tax, give you the bottom line and tell you about the extended warranties that are available for your new car. Follow me."
Then when the salesperson gets to the business office, he sits the customer down and basically repeats the same line.
The salesperson continues, "Mr. Jones, you sit here, Mrs. Jones, you sit there. Bill, this is Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Mr. and Mrs. Jones, this is our business manager, Bill. He is going to compute the tax, give you the bottom line and tell you all about the extended warranties available for your new car. I'll see you shortly." And the salesperson exits.
That is a perfect T.O. Everyone is thinking extended warranty, aren't they? Now if at your dealership the salesperson sells the extended warranties, obviously you would have to change that line. Something to the effect of, "I told you all about those excellent extended warranties that are available to protect your new car and Bill will compute exactly the couple of dollars a month that having the warranty would add to your payment."
Business managers are much more qualified to sell the warranties in my opinion. Plus, if there is room to negotiate the price of the warranties and the business manager is authorized to do that, you won't have salespeople giving them all away.
After the salesperson does the T.O. they should know not to leave or take another up. Unless, of course, there are customers wandering all over the place not being served, in which case the salesperson would simply tell the customer that.
"Mr. and Mrs. Jones, we are awfully busy so I'm going to help some other people right now; but Bill, be sure to let me know when you're done so I can see them before they leave."
There have been countless times when the customer, after spending an hour with the business manager, forgets the salesperson's name because they never see him again. As the used car manager, I get a call and the customer says, "Yeah, I'm picking up my car today and I need to get the extra set of keys cut."
"Fine, who is your salesperson?"
"Oh, I don't remember, it was the guy with the big computer who figured out our payments."
Of course they are talking about the business manager. Don't let your salespeople let customers leave without seeing them one more time.
Train your salespeople to do good T.O.s and they'll sell more warranties and have happier customers.
Next issue, T.O. to the Sales Manager!
Good luck and great 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
