Green Pea Diary: Let's Review!
By Jack Bennett
I've been writing articles for DEALER magazine for several years now and have touched on nearly every aspect on the road to a sale. Obviously, it would take several more years to get every single one. I could fill a book, and, as a matter of fact, I have. But when you get right down to it, there are still only 10 steps, 12 if you count follow-up and prospecting. In this review article I want to run down the whole list again.
And for just a few minutes try to forget the Internet. Forget the Web sites, the dot-coms this and www dots that. I am a firm believer that when it comes right down to it, people still want to buy cars and trucks from nice, personable, entertaining, smart, and knowledgeable salespeople that they know will be there for them.
Now, when you have your next sales meeting, share these steps with your sales staff and management:
- 1) Meeting and Greeting
- 2) Qualifying
- 3) Presentation
- 4) Demonstration Drive
- 5) Representation
- 6) Transition
- 7) Negotiating
- 8) Closing
- 9) Turn-Over
- 10) Delivery
- 11) Follow-up
- 12) Prospecting
Put together a plan to focus on one of these in each of your next 12 sales meetings and then let the salespeople run them. Under your guidance, you can find out some wonderful things about how good your sales staff really is.
Need some help to get started? Have your most personable salesperson do the meeting and greeting session. Have your product knowledge expert do the presentation step. Have your strongest closer do the closing step, etc.
Have your managers help the salespeople through this. It will help them be better managers that run better sales meetings.
The managers should sit down with the salesperson responsible for running the next meeting and help him/her write an outline of what they want to cover. Have the salesperson use short videotapes of some of the good trainers in action (keep this segment short).
Then give out spiffs CASH, to the salespeople who participate the most. Not only will it get everyone more engaged, it will help diffuse any possible animosities that salespeople have with each other. It will also help curtail the barbs that a lot of salespeople like to throw at each other.
Then give small gifts or prizes or time off to the salespeople who use the information best, first, most completely, etc., when they hit the floor.
If you get the staff involved your sales meetings will be more entertaining, productive and the time will probably go more quickly. With everyone's time at a premium, that's music to anyone's ears.
Before you assume that your salespeople will have nothing to do with a sales meeting that covers the basics, try this little exercise. It just may change your mind.
Good luck and good selling.
Next month, the future of the Internet.
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
