Benefits of Repeat Customers

I have been in the car business now for 7 years (I still have lots to learn) and most of my business is comprised of repeat owners and referrals from those repeat owners. I have become good friends with most of my clients and this has more benefits than just monetary. One such example is flexibility or lieniencey in the event of an error-on my part.

A previous customer (bougth 2X vehicles from me) phoned me up expaining that they had written off their 2005 Honda Civic that I sold them and that they were in need of another vehicle. He mentioned that they were interested in a Hybrid, more specifically the 2010 Honda Insight partly b/c Honda has some great incentives and they are looking for great gas mileage. We set up a time to meet and go over their options.

Now, I got to say, these people are a true pleasure to deal with, and when they came in for the meeting it was like we picked up right from the last time we saw eachother. Needless to say I showed them the car, went over the options, had some laughs and genuinely enjoyed ourselves. Now came the time to work numbers and when I did that I combined promotions that should not have been combined! $4,000 off of the car OR lease at 3.9%, but I gave both. My mistake entirely. I was very embarrassed, I pride myself on accuracy. This took them from looking at a lease to a finance where the payment went up. I was up at the managers desk when he pointed out my mistake. I felt terrible and was dreading going back to tell them of my mishap.

They understood my mistake, in fact they didn't make as big of a deal about it as I did, and went forward with things (still got a great deal).

Had we not had a previous (positive) relationship, they may have not been so forgiving.

So here's to another benefit to dealing with people that you've already developed a relationship with.

The Value Of Building Rapport

Here is an excellent article by Joe Love on the importance/ways of building rapport, not only useful in sales but also a key cog that should be in everybody's everyday lives....

At some point in your life, you've probably met a person who is book smart and people stupid. This person is a valuable company asset, but is kept out of meetings because he or she can't communicate effectively and doesn't seem to listen to the ideas of others. He or she is sincere, but knows nothing about etiquette and manners. He or she can be interesting to talk to but has no sense of humor. He or she is very intelligent, but lacks even the most basic social skills.

In general, this person makes everyone uneasy and standoffish. In particular this person doesn't try to establish the rapport needed to create a lasting relationship, either in his or her personal or professional life. And unfortunately, it's costing this person dearly.

Now is the time for this person to mend his or her ways. Like it or not we all have to deal with others to achieve any degree of success. This is true regardless of our position in life, and no matter what our objectives may be. The more successful we are in getting others to cooperate with us, and the more people we can call our allies, the greater our chances are of achieving success.

The dynamics of human relations are pretty simple: If you relate poorly to others, you will most likely have a problem-filled life, and success will come hard, if at all. If you relate well to others, you will most likely have a pleasant life, and success will come easier. And that's where the art of creating rapport comes in.

The ability to create rapport is the ability to create a harmonious relationship based on mutual trust or emotional ties. It is the art of making someone feel comfortable and accepted. It is friendship and camaraderie; it is a special bond or kinship.

It all starts when you first meet someone. Remember the old saying, "A first impression is a lasting impression." It's true. If you cannot communicate effectively, then you won't be able to sell yourself to others or build rapport. Your overall goal should always be to make the other person feel important or at least liked and understood. It takes time, but successful people will agree that it's time will spent.

You may not realize it, but judgments are made about you by the way you look, your clothes, hair, facial expressions, and your posture. And unfortunately, decisions are made by others based on whether or not they find you appealing. The other person will usually make these decisions within five seconds upon meeting you.

Before you even open your mouth, people are sizing you up. At first people will listen to what they see, not what they hear. Other people will judge you by how you stand, how you walk, how you shake hands, how you smile, and how you sit. That's why it's important to plan your clothes, and even how you comb your hair before a meeting, if you can.

You can help influence a person's impression of you. For example, darker clothing colors suggest authority. Lighter colors suggest friendliness or a sense of humor. If you want to come across as innocent, you should wear white. And wearing a lot of jewelry suggests power or wealth.

Dressing carefully and thoughtfully for a meeting shows respect for the other person. When you dress with care, walk with command, extend your hand, smile, and greet a person with a secure tone of voice, you are letting that person know you are a person worthy of respect. You are saying, "If you respect me, I'll respect you." And that is a very good starting place for a relationship.

People who have mastered the art of rapport, know that the visual can be misleading. There is an old adage that says, "You can't judge a book by its cover." To get past the cover and into the contents, you must employ the art of conversation. Some people are good at it. Others don't have a clue as to where to start. It begins simply with the sharing of information.

When you first meet someone, you should always try to learn something about that person that you can relate to an experience in your own past. It's fun to talk to someone with whom you have something in common, an event, a mutual acquaintance, or some other shared history. You can find some common element with everyone, and you should always try.

Casual conversation does have its place so you shouldn't be too eager to jump directly into business or some other agenda. It's important that you don't come to a meeting or negotiation with one agenda. Rather, you should always go into these situations with an open mind. You miss a valuable opportunity to build rapport if you are inflexible or don't listen. Being an active listener is often more important in building rapport than being an active speaker.

If you have a relaxed view of the world and have a sense of humor, it will engender people's confidence in you. Confidence breeds respect, and respect builds trust. The ability to laugh at yourself has a deep, psychological appeal to others. And this is a great quality to possess.

One of the hardest situations in which to establish rapport is the telephone conversation, because you cannot see the face of the other person with whom you are speaking. Even if you know the person on the other end of the line, you cannot see his or her facial expressions, which can provide you with a mountain of information. If you don't know the person with whom you are speaking, you are even more handicapped.

Before you even pick up the telephone and place your call the first thing you should do is put a smile on your face. Although the other person cannot see your smile, the warmth and friendliness will come through.

Then, you should identify yourself immediately, and explain the purpose of the call, if it's not known. It's important to be businesslike, but some people confuse that with being impolite or stern. You should convey your message, whether it's business or not, in a manner that is considerate and gets the point across. Too friendly will be unprofessional; too businesslike will be considered rude.

You should never talk down to people, no matter how many levels down the corporate ladder they are, or how much younger they may be. Remember, you'll get further with a person if he or she thinks you care. Even if it takes time, you should always try to create an atmosphere of caring. The time will have been well spent, if you make a new friend or reassure an old one.

Creating rapport has many benefits. Think of it as a basic human-relations skill that can further your own goals or objectives. And you can establish rapport simply by taking the time to make a person feel comfortable in your presence.

Here are 10 points that will help you create a good first impression and establish rapport:
1. Dress well and to the other person's expectations.
2. Smile when you first see the person.
3. Establish and maintain eye contact.
4. Be the first to say hello and extend your hand.
5. If the meeting is in your office or home, greet the person at your door.
6. Deliver a sincere greeting.
7. Use the person's name
8. Don't speak too softly or loudly.
9. Do any necessary homework about the person you are meeting.
10. Do more listening than talking.

When you are putting together the elements that create an inviting and pleasing atmosphere, don't go overboard. Make sure that what you do is appropriate for the occasion, or you'll make your guest feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, just the opposite of your intentions.

With a little fine-tuning, anyone can become a person of warmth, concern, and charm. By learning the art of rapport and making it a part of your everyday life, you will become a person who makes friends, influences colleges, and rises to the top.

Copyright© 2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many of America’s largest corporations, on the subjects of leadership, self-esteem, goals, achievement, and success psychology.

Source;
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Value-Of-Building-Rapport&id=89160

My First Business Role Model

First off, I think it is very important to have a role model, someone to look up to, someone to emulate. When I played hockey, I wanted to be like Scott Stevens, when I played Soccer, I wanted to be like the great Gazza, and when I moved into my Business Carreer, I wanted to be like Harvey MacKay.

I've never been very big on the 'I gotta read every new business book' out there, don't get me wrong, I am sure you could take something away from every book, but that's just not what I'm about. When I was 17, (man, that's 19 years ago!), I read two books that literally changed my life. It was the book below, "Swim with the Sharks and Survive" followed by the book below that "Beware of the Naked Man who offers you his Shirt". These books are extremely well written, short, precise chapters (I hate wordy explainations) with examples of how they worked, and with a ton of USABLE knowledge. I won't go any further, I don't want to spoil it for you.

Every year, I pick up these books and give them a read, they are simple ideas that work. I hope by passing these two books as recommended reading they help you out.
Here is Harvey MacKay's website, so you can see for yourself what I mean before you buy the books.

http://www.harveymackay.com/

What Are the Things That Make a Car Salesperson Good OR Bad?

Found this article that I think some of you might fing a good read, and by the way, I can't stand pictures like this one ....
The men and woman who sell cars across this country get a bad rap. The butt of many a joke, the profession as a whole has been dragged down by more than its fair share of people who should have never been salespeople to begin with.

The fact is, a good salesperson can make a great income selling cars. The successful ones treat it as a career striving to learn the products and understanding the premise behind customer service as they strive to serve their customers and their needs.

But what is it that makes a salesperson successful?

I have bought more than my fair share of cars throughout the years, and I like most of you have had both good and bad experiences.

For me there have been 2 salespeople who not only went above and beyond, but have continued to do so multiple times earning the Holy Grail of cars sales, a repeat customer.

Knowing and understanding the needs of the customer has to be #1 in my opinion when it comes to sales. Several years ago I was looking to buy a new car and my wife and I were having a bit of trouble coming to an agreement as to which of 2 almost identical cars to buy. As we left the dealer I told the sales guy to prep the car I wanted stating I would be back tomorrow to buy it, however he knew that my wife and her opinion would prevail and he went ahead and actually prepped the other car.

The following day I called the dealer and told the salesperson that we had decided to choose the other car. He chuckled telling me he thought that as well and he had gone ahead and prepped the car and that it was waiting on the showroom floor.

He has since assisted in 2 other vehicle purchases including my current car. His approach is low key and low pressure allowing customers to make the decision serving more as a source of information than a shark looking for the next kill. The ability to listen and learn the needs of the customer is paramount in earning the respect and eventual business, fundamentals which apply across the board.

Of course we don't make a big fuss when we receive lousy service at other places, it is almost expected when venturing into a big box store. What makes car sales special is the fact that it is not an everyday occasion. Most people only buy a car every couple of years, and given that fact when a good or bad experience occurs we are quick to tell our friends.

So how about you? What things do you look for when buying a car?

What are some of the good or bad experiences you have had when buying a car?

And is there a person you return to based on the quality of service received?

And since we know there are a few car sales people on here, why not share some of your secrets to success with the rest of us.

I'll leave you with this...

A couple of years ago I went with my brother in law to buy his first car. We had spent the weekend looking and he decided he was going to buy a Ford Focus SVT. As this was his first new car purchase, he was obviously excited and honestly probably would have signed his name to just about any deal presented. The sales guy could smell the score.

After literally dragging him off the Ford lot, we went to my house and did some research as to invoice, dealer hold backs and interest rates. Ford was running a lot of 0% rates, however the sales person told us the SVT products weren't eligible for the 0% rates.

He was lying.

I put together some numbers including the monthly payment and said this is what the car should cost you. The following afternoon we returned to the dealer, the salesperson figured he had baited the hook and reeled in the score. We went to his cubicle and he immediately went for a credit application to which I told him that prior to that we needed to negotiate the price.

He agreed and was presented with the purchase price along with payments on the sheet I had written up for my brother in law. The salesperson laughed and said that there was no way he could do that deal.

I thanked him for his time, nudged my brother in law and proceeded to get up and started to leave. He was surprised and insisted that he be allowed to try to make that deal.

He took the sheet and disappeared for a few minutes returning again stating that there was no way they could do the deal.

Again thanking him for his time, we got up and left the dealership.

We drove 5 miles to the next Ford dealer, and there parked right out front was the same exact Focus SVT. Of course we weren't even out of the car before having a salesperson on us, I told him that my brother in law would purchase the Focus SVT parked in front of th dealership if they would do the deal I had written out. Looking at the sheet of paper, he asked for 5 minutes and disappeared to a back office.

While he was gone, we took note of the fact that the car they had actually had more equipment than the car we were looking at at the other Ford dealer. Within a few minutes the salesperson returned and stated that they would do the deal.

It took about an hour and a half to complete the deal and prep the car, but my brother in law drove away in the car he wanted with a deal that was great for him.

Perhaps it was the fact that the salesperson at the first Ford dealership laughed at the proposed deal, but we drove back to the first dealership and told the salesperson we got the deal we wanted.

He was shocked and in disbelief.

It took showing him the bill of sale to make him believe we got what we wanted.

Laughing at a customer probably isn't a great idea, and in this case it lost a sale that was his to lose.

In preparing for this story, Agent 001 reminded me, "...buyers are liars and sellers are storytellers."

There is a lot of truth to that statement, it is the true salesperson who is able to weed through to get to the truth.

So go ahead, have some fun and tell some of your stories making sure to tell the good and bad you've experienced.

Here's the source of the article, it's intersting to read some of the comments too;
http://www.autospies.com/news/The-SPIES-Want-to-Know-What-Are-the-Things-That-Make-a-Car-Salesperson-Good-OR-Bad-39136/

Have Fun

In today’s world we work longer and harder than any other generation before us, so you’d think it would be nice to have a little fun spending that hard-earned money. Instead, so many people come in the dealership as if buying a car is such a chore.

Think about it-think about what is perceived as the biggest expense you’ll incur in your lifetime, what comes to mind? For most people, a house is the first thing that pops into mind. Think about how fun it is to go house hunting, you’re imagining how a house will look with personal touches, ‘ooh, the curtains would go here’ or ‘ah, the garage will be built here’. It can be exciting! Now, I can make a case of how vehicles in general will be the biggest expense you will incur in a lifetime; the car’s themselves, the insurance, the gas, the oil changes, the insurance claim deductible(s?), the depreciation when trading it in, and so on. So, with this being such a major expense in our lifetime, why can’t it be just as exciting as buying a new house? We work hard enough for it. Don’t get me wrong, some people have figured this out already, but they appear to be the minority.

It’s not the customer who is at fault for this reaction, it is the salesperson’s. A person’s experience is only going to be as exciting as the salesperson lets it be and a salesperson is only going to be as successful as they let it be.

Smile, have some fun, make it fun, don’t be a joker or a clown, but get enthusiastic about what you are selling! Smile a lot and don’t be afraid to laugh.

Welcome to the Salespersons Quarterback

Well, I think that I have enough time to contribute to this blog on a somewhat regular basis (I expect to post once every 3 or 4 days to start). If there is anything that you'd like to see posted sales tip related, please let me know via comments or email which is located on the right hand side of this blog 'contact me'.

Positive Mental Attitude

The most basic element to any outlook in life, not just sales. In sales we have to stay positive, because we can deal with alot of rejection. Keeping positive will allow you to see things in a different light. Instead of seeing an issue as a problem, you can look at it as an opportunity to 'fix' something.

I find that there is a direct relation to the level of positive thinking to my level of confidence, and patience level. Let's face it, at times in sales we have to be patient, whether you are showing the benefits of your product or just waiting for someone to get back to you on their final decision.

To stay positive, I take the thought that no matter what happen, I will ALWAYS 'land on my feet.' I actually take great comfort in that fact. I think about my past success's and don't dwell on my failures. I also find that having a positive attitude allows me to take a failure and turn it into a learning experience. Cutting down on making a failure twice increases my success rate.

One such example is as follows;

I sell cars in Canada. The Canadian dollar is worth more than the US dollar as I speak. This also makes some cars cheaper in the US, some by $11,000! Did I mention that I live in a city close to the border and a US town with a dealer that sells the same product as me? Anyway, at the beginning of the month, I was helping people out to my fullest ability in hopes of earning their business, only to see a few of the people go down across the border and buy the very same car that I councilled them on. After losing out a few times to this, I started feeling negative and started taking a negative approach. I was starting to go as far to say "If you are just here for me to show you the car with the intention of buying it in the US, then, do me a favour and go to the US and make the dealer who is going to get your business, earn it." Never won a sale after that one, in fact, I turned the people off of me more than anything. I sat back and analyzed what I was doing and I could either let the news reports of people going south of the border get me down, or I could look for a solution. I decided that I should look at the US dealer, just as another competitor, and came up with a sheet on the benefits of buying Canadian that I go over with people who express interest in buying in the US. I even go as far to say that "even if you are going to buy the car in the US, I am going to help you out!" They may not buy a car from me now, but I am in this for the long haul, there is a good chance that they will be in the market sometime again, and if I turn them off of me now, I'll turn them off forever. Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster and farther. I find that I feel alot better about the situation and my results have really picked up on the back half of this month.

Expect a negative result - you get a negative result, expect a positive result - you get a positive result.