If you are looking to get better and make changes in the areas that would make the biggest impact on your production and business. One of the keys that you must use to direct you – is to focus on what you have control over.

A lot of sales trainers and consultants that are putting content out specifically for the consumption of salespeople are talking about process topics. The challenge with that for salespeople is that in many cases they don’t have control over the sales process used. Even though in many situations, that sales process needs everything from a little tweaking to a total overhaul. If salespeople focus on the organizational process then it becomes exasperating and unproductive.

So … Let’s talk about something you have total control over and something that will make the difference between your success and failure.

When one of my daughters was in her mid-teens, believe it or not, she had a little attitude problem from time to time. We regularly had the discussion about the fact that her attitude was totally in her control. She alone made a decision about her attitude, daily and moment to moment. That decision was whether she was going to choose to have a good or bad attitude. She actually took a sticky note and put it on her mirror. She saw this note every day, the first thing in the morning. The note said “Attitude – Good or Bad – what do I choose?” Why was the type of attitude she had important? So that she would get along better with her parents? That was certainly a reason, but it was bigger than that. Her attitude mattered when it came to her relationships with friends and teachers, how she approached her schoolwork, how she dressed and how she talked. It effected everything about her.

We have that same decision to make every day. We choose whether or not to have a good or bad attitude.

Salespeople can’t afford to make the wrong decision. It is extremely vital to everything that you do. We’re more dependent upon our mindset than any other person in society.

Many people in different occupations, can go to work with a sour attitude, punch in and punch out and collect their next paycheck. For example, Jane Lunchbox is having a horrible morning in part due to a bad attitude or just a poor way of handling things that have happened and she has a job where she goes in, punches the clock, she carries that horrible attitude through the morning then continues with it throughout the day until she punches out at the end of the day. If that doesn’t happen every day she can get away with it and collect her check on payday.

As a salesperson, it doesn’t work that way for you and me. Because the basis of what we do is connecting with people to establish trust – a negative attitude or sour outlook will be like hitting a brick wall with our prospects and customers. What does it take for someone to connect with you? They have to be someone you want to connect with. if there is no smile, no enthusiasm or no sincere friendliness then you aren’t going to be open to connecting. And here is a warning – you can’t fake it! People will see through the insincerity quicker than you can imagine.

Again, if you are a salesperson, you can’t afford to make the wrong decision about what attitude you will have.

Zig Ziglar said “I’m not saying you can do everything with a good attitude. I’m just saying that you can do anything better with a good attitude than you can with a bad one.” He also said that on occasion, we all may need “A checkup from the neck up”.

Here are 4 steps you must take every day to ensure that you make the right decision about your attitude.

1. You must create a morning routine that puts you in a positive mindset. Tony Robbins talks about your “state”. Your mindset and state of mind are affected by your posture and your physical stance. Create a morning routine that puts you in a positive and winning state. This routine can consist of:
   Read something encouraging, motivational and upbeat
   Workout
   Nutrition
   Listen to good music
   Pay attention to your posture – stand strong
   Everyone is different, but you must create this routine – it will ensure that you start your day with a positive outlook.
2. You must review your goals daily and commit to a plan for the day that has those goals at the front of your mind. This will put you in a state of focus. That focus is on what you are wanting to accomplish. You envision your achievement of these goals which is positive and motivational for the day. If you truly want to achieve these goals, you know that you must carry a positive attitude into the day.
3. You make a daily commitment to focus on others and be intentional about it. Commit to making a positive impact on the people you come in contact with. Look for opportunities to perform acts of kindness.
4. Finally, you must make a commitment to yourself to constantly be aware of who you are listening to and hanging around with. Are they a positive influence? If not, you must cut them loose – you must not hang around or listen to people who don’t add value to your life and that create stumbling blocks to your achieving your goals.

The most important investment you can make in your day is to take this time each morning to intensely address your mindset for the day. Do it! Expect to Win!

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!