One of the most popular discussions across showrooms, internet groups and forums, industry meetings and events, blog posts and articles written is that our old antiquated Road to the Sale must change.  It is looked at as out of touch and the reason for much of the retail automobile dealership's perception problems.  Many companies that make their revenue from the retail car business have full blown presentations that the biggest laugh lines and points of pain for the dealers is this horrible, ineffective and caveman like sales process.  I totally disagree.  The Road to the Sale is not the problem and never has been.  The problems have been and are, untrained salespeople, lack of accountability for salespeople and managers to ethical standards and the inability to adapt to each customer and their situation.  The way that the Road to the Sale is implemented depends upon the engagement of the consumer.  That fact hasn't changed since the first car dealership was established.  If the consumer called us first or sent in an internet inquiry, certainly some of the steps may have already been handled.  In this first post of several, I want to run through these 10 steps and as we go through them, let me know which ones need to be taken out.

The importance of a guest to our dealership being treated better than ever before by a professional who is better than good at taking a customer through this very effective process, is more vital today that ever before.  Think about it, the effectiveness of this sales process / Road to the Sale that I refer to is not about "holding gross" or "closing the deal" but mainly to create a fantastic customer experience.  

1.  Meet & Greet

It is always a key to any interaction that it begins well, so a perfected meet and greet is more important than ever to combat the public's negative perception of a car salesperson. 

2.  Qualify

3.  Product Selection

The qualifying & product selection steps are still very necessary but in some cases not to the extent it has been in the past and that is because of the enormous amount of information available to the consumer on the internet.  Our Sales Consultant must be trained on the right questions to ask and when.  I would prefer to see the customer's trade-in be addressed at this point.  In other words, let's find out if they have a trade, scan it in and get it to the appropriate person to evaluate while the sales consultant continues with the qualifying and product selection step.  Pacing the customer has always been a key.  Showing empathy and beginning to build some rapport are done here by listening to the customer and the sales consultant must also be very perceptive in the type of personality this customer has.

4.  Product Presentation 

5.  Demo Ride

The presentation and demo ride are vital.  This is where the sales consultant sets themselves apart as a product specialist.  They are able to aim the presentation of features and benefits directly to what the consumer has voiced as important. This is really where the sales consultant builds rapport today.  They gain the trust of the customer through listening and being a real professional when it comes to the features and benefits of their product.  The sales consultant must be conscious at this time if the customer is needing to move slowly or quickly.  Not everyone is the same.  Again, it is very important that the sales consultant be trained on being able to recognize different types of people.

6.  Trial Close

The trial close should not be in the form of a question like " is this the car your want to own today?"(I hate that by the way).  But, it is an assumption that if they feel this vehicle is everything they thought it was, from their research, then they will be purchasing it today.  So after the demo ride, the question is - " Do you have any questions at this point?"  We then answer any and all questions and then simply say "Here is what I would like to do now, go inside and I will verify a some information real quick and then I want to put a proposal in front of you letting you know what it will take to purchase this car/truck/suv, if it all looks good - we can get it ready, get you through the business office and you can take it home today or If you decide that it would be better for you, you can take the details with you and consider it, you are in control.  Sound good?"

7.  Write Up

The write-up should be done quickly.  With technology, license scanning etc - we should have numbers and options to the customer very quickly.  I believe that as long as they are printed and the presentation of the numbers is on a proposal that is clean and professional, it can be a 4-square, 2 option or 15 option matrix, it really doesn't matter.  This is another area that the sales consultant must be trained very well, if they are going to be asked to present the proposal to the customer.

8.  Negotiation

Most negotiations today are overwhelmingly about the trade-in.  Transparency is important here, but trying to justify to a customer that book values are just a guide, and that the market is not based on the book is a battle that is constantly evolving.

9.  Delivery

The delivery involves the Business Office and the physical delivery of the vehicle.  The Business Office is one of the biggest concerns of the consumer.  What happens in there from presentation of the numbers in contract form to selling products makes the customer very nervous.  A superior business manager is very valuable to the dealership and to the sales consultant.  One of the very first things they should do is find out if there are any concerns from the customer that they want to make sure gets addressed while they are in the business office.  Before too much time passes, the business manager needs to acknowledge that all of the details the customer agreed to with the sales consultant are correct, and then go into the process they have been trained to do.

The physical delivery should be the best the customer has ever received.  It should take just the right amount of time, be enjoyable and very informative.

10.  Followup 

This step needs to be removed, because it is part of the Business Development strategy every sales consultant has and that is the owner database marketing process.  

Again, the key to any process working in any business or setting is the training and proficiency of those that carry it out.  Some of these steps will go very quickly with some customers depending upon how they have engaged the dealership to begin with.  Also, we may change the order from time to time because of how the customer wishes to do business, but I will assure you that 98% of the time, every one of these steps will be touched when a dealership sells a vehicle to a customer.  Please go down below and give me your comments.

Be watching for the next installment and I will talk about how these 10 steps become 3 steps to followup that works.

Expect to Win!