3 Things You Are Missing Out On During the Walk Around

Trading in a vehicle for the customer can be just as complicated and frustrating as it is to purchase a car. But it does not have to be this way! Rather than make it complicated for the customer - or a painful process - here are the top 3 ways to handle the walk around & appraisal. Offering the customer an excellent experience.

Online Trade-in Value

Instead of rolling our eyes at the customer who brought in an estimated trade-in value - as we know very well more often than not the customer fails to mention that the vehicle had an accident, bald tires, dented door panels, stained seats, wrong trim level, etc. use it as an opportunity to work with the customer. And while not all customers will oblige there is a way to approach this situation.

For example, if the customer says their vehicle is worth “7,500” dollars, but we know very well that we could not give more than $3,750 - then we need to walk around the vehicle and review the offer with them. Showing and explaining to them why we cannot give them the $7,500 which just so happened to be the “retail” value. Not the trade-in value. Not to mention they put that their trade-in with 86k miles on it was in Excellent Condition.

In this case, it is best to work with the customer re-doing the appraisal process. See below as to how to handle the appraisal with the customer.

Less than 3% of Vehicles are in Excellent Condition

Everyone has their own version of what “excellent” condition entails. And more often than not the customer views their vehicle as an investment. So when it comes time to trade it in they forget about the stained seats, the dents, the scratches, the bald tires. So instead of getting frustrated with the customer, we can say “Mr. Customer, I understand. However, less than 3% of the vehicles we trade-in are in excellent condition. For the vehicle to be classified as the excellent condition, it has to be showroom ready. Do you mind if we take a look?” Once you walk around the vehicle with the customer - as outlined below - you can start to point out the items they have forgotten about.

The Walk Around Appraisal: Bring the customer with you!

Nobody likes a Wizard behind the curtain! But that is exactly what happens more often than not. Where the customer - with their offer in hand - is waiting on the showroom floor looking at their phone. Possibly even at the offer. All while the sales manager - the Wizard behind the curtain - is creating numbers. All of which will frustrate the customer when you come back out with numbers that do not work!

So instead of taking this approach, it is best to include the customer in the walk around. Review the questions with the customer. One by one. In some cases, the customer might even point out some of the flaws! And by doing it this way, the customer is much more likely to trust you as they felt apart of the process. Understanding that for the dealer to sell the vehicle again, it will need new tires, brakes, etc. Whereas, before, they were sitting in the showroom waiting for the manager - the Wizard - to give them numbers. Not knowing why the trade-in value was lower.

So next time you are dealing with an online offer or trade-in take the time to walk around the vehicle with the customer. Let the customer be apart of the initial process. All of which will also help the sales consultant build rapport with the customer. As that rapport built - with trust - will make it that much easier to sell the vehicle.