The phrase, "Welcome to the dealership, my name is... and you are?" may be costing you THOUSANDS!

In too many dealerships the "Hello" leads to a "Goodbye" rather than a "good buy". We all know that there are many lost opportunities that don't make it to the test drive, the write up, or even a T.O. because the sale was lost in the greeting. Yet another sale lost to the unspoken objection.

You’ve probably heard that body language is the first and primary language that we speak. Some studies have shown communication as 55/38/7 (55% nonverbal, 38% voice tone/inflection, 7% words/content) and whether the math is exact or not, we all know that we speak volumes before we say a word. So how does knowing this fact allow our salespeople to have a greater impact from the greeting?

The answer is as simply as remembering this little rhyme;

"Look at the feet to know how to greet."

Traditionally the "greeting" has been taught as a sentence that you say to welcome the customer to the dealership and begin the rapport building process. It's common for dealerships to teach what I refer to as the "professional based" greeting as the standard approach; "Welcome to our dealership, my name is ... and you are?" This is the "professional" greeting that is to be accompanied by a firm handshake, a welcoming smile, and a positive attitude. Sounds all well and good but managers share with me that they struggle to get their team to perform this simple task consistently.

Salespeople often attempt to "reinvent" the greeting into a technique that's less formal, or more personable.

This leads to the second type of greeting common to your lot; the "personality based" greeting. This adaptation by a salesperson is based on an attempt to connect with the customer by being funny, charming, witty, laid back, or some other non-threatening approach. Typically it starts with a comment about something relatable such as the weather, last night’s sporting event, an article of clothing the customer is wearing, or a bumper sticker they see on the car.

Either way a typical salesperson is trying to start the process in one of two ways; Professional or Personable. These two style are rooted in the salesperson's own comfort zone by either trying to establish the trust and respect of the customer with the professional greeting, or trying to open up the sale being liked and connecting with the customer by using the personality greeting. Unfortunately, neither of these approaches give the salesperson the highest likelihood of success because both potentially miss the message the customer was sending before either opened their mouths.

Stop guessing, winging it, or simply greeting out of habit when the customer is telling you exactly how to greet them through their body language. Remember, "look at the feet to know how to greet" and the feet (body language) will tell you in advance how to approach your customer.

There are only 4 possible postures a customer can have with their feet.

They are: Facing you - like a statue, turned away - looking over the shoulder at you, moving towards you, or moving away from you. That's it. Statue, Side-statue, Towards, or Away. And each one of these is a non-verbal indication of the customer's state of mind.

The beauty of this insight is that it immediately empowers an approaching salesperson to make an adjustment to his/her greeting by simply seeing what the customer's feet do when they see the on-coming salesperson.

Let's look intuitively at the 4 possible reactions and the implied emotional and mental state revealed.

The Statue customer represents the majority of customers on a dealership's lot. This is the customer who freezes like a statue when they see the salesperson approaching. The distance could be 30 feet or 30 yards - they aren't taking a step, the salesperson does all the walking. Their torso and feet are facing towards the salesperson, they just wait. The non-verbal message is simply, "I am willing to hear what you have to say, so please don't be an idiot."

The Side-statue customer is similar to it's cousin the "Statue" in that the customer is not moving. However the difference is in the position of the body and the direction of the feet. In this case the torso and feet are pointing away from the on-coming salesperson and the customer is simply looking over their shoulder waiting for the approaching salesperson. The non-verbal message is, "I would rather not hear what you have to say because you are probably an idiot."

The next two are straight forward once you think about it.

The Towards customer is someone who moves towards the salesperson once they see them and is clearly saying, "I want to talk to you and I want to hear what you have to say."

The Away customer sees the salesperson and starts walking away from them and is clearly saying, "I don’t want to hear what you have to say right now, because I know you are an idiot."

Okay, so I am adding the "idiot" part to emphasize what I think is a serious issue. Namely, we don't listen to our customers before they start speaking. If body language is in fact language, then should we be teaching our people how to speak it effectively? What is the take away from this insight into body language and non-verbal selling? Is it possible that the vast majority objections; whether spoken (just looking, no time, don’t need help) or unspoken (bad eye contact, forgotten names, bad body language) your salespeople struggle with are somehow related to this disconnect and miscommunication that starts before they even say “Hello”?

If the customer can only have 4 possible postures with their feet then maybe we should be teaching our salespeople 4 possible greetings!

Each of the customers; the statue, side-statue, towards, and away need a unique greeting to match the message from the customer. Consider how this simple and practical truth can impact your bottom-line. The average salesperson is taught to do the professional greeting I mentioned earlier which includes a handshake, welcome, and exchange of names. This approach works the best with the "towards" customer.

Now ask yourself a painful question.

What percentage of all first-time customers who show up on the lot WANT to talk to a salesperson and start moving TOWARDS a salesperson when they see one?

Most managers and salespeople I've met say less than 10% of customers move TOWARDS the salesperson.

So in effect we teach 100% of our people to do a technique 100% of the time that works really well 10% of the time?!?

And with a 10% success rate managers wonder why they can’t get their salespeople to do a “proper” meet and greet consistently.

Thoughts??

Do you struggle to understand how to deal with customers or coworkers who take advantage of you?

Most of us are nice, kind and caring people. But this could become a problem if those we work with or serve as our customers try to take advantage of our kindness.

This was a real challenge for me as a new salesperson who wanted to be liked by his customers and fellow coworkers. I sometimes found myself in situations when I was being taken advantage of by both. I felt like I was getting eaten alive by both.

My coworkers viewed me as a generous Christian man and some saw it as an opportunity to skate me on deals, have me running stupid errands and getting me to take half-deals that should have never been half-deals.

I remember one specific situation when I was showing cars to a couple when a senior salesman came out on the lot and told me that my Sales Manager was looking for me - and it was IMPORTANT!

I left my customers with him while I ran inside and went through each department trying to find my manager. I couldn’t find him and went back outside, only to realize that my customers were now gone. I finally found my manager in the wash bay area and he told me that he didn’t need me for anything. Moments later, my coworker returned from a test drive with my customers and sat them down at HIS desk. When I confronted him on it, he told me that they felt more comfortable with him, but that if I didn’t make a stink about it, he would leave me on half of the deal and he wouldn’t tell the manager what they had said about me.

I was #SharkBait.

Some customers can also be difficult to work with. Some will see blood in the water and your sale can quickly become a feeding frenzy. They go from being “BFF” to just wanting the BBD (Best Bottom Dollar)! This was also a problem I struggled with in the beginning of my selling career.

We have all had clients who seem to only care about what’s in it for them. Some are even so bold as to say it to your face. Others may even accuse you of all the negative stereotypes they think salespeople are. They expose their rows of teeth and begin to tear your gross to shreds.

How do you swim with the sharks without becoming the bait?

It starts with NOT CHUMMING THE WATER!

We chum the water when we let people think they can see us as bait. To avoid becoming bait, I learned to own my voice, own my time and own my value.

Own your VOICE

I began to own my voice when I began to speak up and speak out when I saw things my coworkers said or did that I considered ‘shark-like.’ I also began doing this with my customers.

This did NOT mean that I became unkind, defensive, or threatening back to them. In fact, I did quite the opposite. I appealed to a better version of them. I called them to be greater than what they were doing or how they were behaving.

I remember saying this (privately) to a coworker who had been a bully towards me: “I believe you are better than this. The way you talk to me and others doesn’t make you sound funny, it makes you look like you are a bully and I know that’s not who you really are. You are not hurting my feelings but you are hurting everyone’s opinion of you.” This salesman began to change his ways and we later became good friends.

I also started owning my voice with my customers. I had a client who said to me, “I don't care if you have to lose money, that’s the most I will pay!” I responded with something along these lines: “Sir, with all due respect, I don't believe you. You seem like a hard-working man, and you are older than me and have probably bought more vehicles than I've sold so far. But one thing I can tell about you is that you are a decent person. I don’t sincerely believe that you would ever ask a person or a business to hurt themselves just to do business with you. Getting a great deal? YES! I want that for you and for myself. But you just don’t strike me as someone who would ask a person to lose money. Fair and competitive – that’s what I will do. But I am not the sort of employee who will ask my employer to make a poor business decision simply because I failed to build enough value.” The customer retracted his position and then bought at an agreed upon fair value.

I have since used a similar approach with many other customers. If you appeal to their better versions of themselves and remind them who they are or want to be, it often turns sharks to sincere reasonable people.

Own your TIME

Owning my time meant that I began to take control of my day and my activities. Rather than showing up every day to see what happens and then leaving wondering what happened, I began to plan my day. The ultimate sign of owning my time was planning it the night before.

I made a list of my top priorities for the next day. It could be items like these: status on my top 10 hottest leads, recent sold follow-up, walking my inventory, knowing the current programs, long-term follow-up, prospecting, or product knowledge.

I also planned my workflow by paying attention to traffic and phone patterns at the dealership. A majority of customers pulled on the lot and called in at specific times of the day. So I needed to be at my desk working on follow-up when the calls were likely to come in, and on the lot doing my inventory and product knowledge training when lot traffic was higher.

Own your VALUE

Owning my value came later for me in my sales career. In the beginning I wasn’t confident that a customer would (or should) pay me more than to a dealer down the road. I often would cave in immediately when asked for a discount by saying, “Let me check with my manager”, “What number did you have in mind?” or “What would it take to earn your business?”

I realized that these phrases just CHUM THE WATER! They don’t build value, they diminish it. I became #SharkBait.

It wasn’t till I began to own my voice and own my time that I began to own my value. The more prepared I became (by planning my day), the more productive I became. The more productive I became, the more profitable I became. My product knowledge and inventory walks helped me understand the best fit for my customers quicker and allowed me to show them the value better. This increased my confidence that I was showing customer the right car the first time.

When I realized that I had been doing and saying things that diminished my value, I began replacing value diminishing techniques with value building ones. I started using language such as, “If my pricing were similar, or even if I was a little higher, wouldn’t you rather buy this vehicle, buy it from me, and buy it now?” Or I’d say, “It seems fair to me to pay a little more for something when I see more value in it, so is it fair to say you see value in me and what I’ve done for you today?”

Here is another example: “The goal of any good and healthy business is to be fair and competitive. After all, if any business is always the highest, they will go out of business, and if they are always the lowest, they would also go out of business. So let’s come up with a fair and competitive number so I can continue to serve my customers and community!”

If you want to swim with the sharks without becoming bait, stop chumming the water!

Ask yourself these questions:

1. How can I start owning my voice by appealing to people’s better versions of themselves and speaking up without being rude or defensive?
2. How can I start owning my time by planning my day and income producing activities?
3. How can I start to own my value by using value-building language and improving the skills that elevate my value?

Do you sell in a small town?

I started at a family-owned Toyota, CDJR, and Plymouth dealership in a small town in Kansas. We had between 5-7 guys and we were competing against the major metros of Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita.

Here are 4 strategies to build a big business in a small town:

1) Become a relationship builder

Smaller markets are more about relationship building than anything else. Create relationships with local business owners, teachers, pastors and community leaders. People of influence need to know who you are and what you do.

2) Become an industry expert

Skip TV, movies and other recreational activities for the next 90 days and devote yourself to becoming an expert on your product. Study, get certified (take the tests seriously), and invest time in watching YouTube videos on your product.

3) Become the “anti-salesman”

Pay close attention to your process and find ways to make it easier, more efficient and effective! People will always pay a premium for an effective process that’s entertaining and enjoyable. So have fun, make it your own, and break the stereotype. Be the anti-salesman!

4) Become a local celebrity

You can become a celebrity in your own town by building a unique and compelling personal brand and marketing message. Define yourself and separate yourself from other salespeople by having a unique persona or alter-ego. By creating a brand you can make yourself unforgettable and remarkable, while attracting more of your ideal customers.

Focus your business development efforts in these 4 areas to generate sales and create loyal customers.

~~Does your team struggle closing customers who object to payments being too high? Share the Payment Plus Closing Technique in your next sales meeting. This close is very easy to do and it is very effective in helping customers justify the value of a new vehicle.

My preferred method of applying the Payment Plus Closing Technique is to use it proactively with customers who are likely to be payment conscious. For example, if the new payment is higher than what the customer asked for, go ahead and use it. But it can also be used after a customer has voiced an objection saying, "This payment is too high."

The goal of this close is to help the customer justify the new purchase. Basically, you will show them that all they really need to do is pay the difference.

If I know my customer is payment conscious, rather than presenting the actual payment on the worksheet, I will write down the difference from their old payment to their new payment. You still have your standard information printed on the actual sheet. But before you present the numbers, just take the DIFFERENCE and write it on the back of the worksheet. Let’s say a customer is currently paying $395 a month, and the new payment is $475. The difference between $395 and $475 is $80. That $80 may not be much but that’s a huge difference psychologically to cross the threshold from the 300’s to the 400’s. However, if the first thing they see is just the difference, it’s a lot easier to process it.

So on the back of the worksheet write down the difference from their old payment to their new payment. In my example, it's $80. And then make a list of all the things they’re getting in the new car that they don’t have in the old one. Examples: a 3-year newer vehicle, losing 50,000 miles, Bluetooth and iPod integration, vehicle warranty and better fuel economy. The more things you can write down, the better. Consider adding things like the new color that they really want or even the new car smell.

When you show the back of the worksheet to the customer, here is what you might say: “Mr. Customer, I have fantastic news. I can get you into a vehicle that is 3 years newer, with 50,000 fewer miles, gets you back under warranty, has leather and Bluetooth integration, and is silver, which is the color you really want, rather than the blue one you have now but don’t like. Now, you’re getting all of that for $80 … more than what you’re paying now.” It’s important that you say $80 and then do a pregnant pause. A pregnant pause is when you pause a little bit longer than you should and then say “more than what you’re paying now.”

What you’re doing is helping the customer understand that all they have to justify in their budget is the difference. The truth is your customer already came in with a payment and will leave with a payment. They can continue to make payments on a car they no longer want, or for $80 more (or whatever the difference is), leave with a car they do want that has all the extras you listed.

The Payment Plus Closing Technique is easy to learn and implement. Share with your team and try it today. I'd love to hear your feedback!

The biggest objection salespeople will get in their sales career is not from a customer but from inside themselves. This is why I believe it’s critical for a salesperson to learn life skills in addition to honing their sales skills.

I use the word S.A.L.E.S as a memory word for some of the fundamental life skills needed to succeed in sales. Each letter in the word S.A.L.E.S. represents a life skill that salespeople need to practice.

S in S.A.L.E.S. stands for State

State is your physiological and emotional state of being. Unfortunately, most of us allow situations and circumstances of our day dictate our state. But if you do that, you will forever be controlled by your environment. I invite you to consider that you can learn how to bring on positive emotions and positive body language on demand.

Try this exercise. If your mood is neutral or frustrated right now, do this: rub your hands together really fast for 20 seconds. Then, yell “It’s show time!” out loud as you clap your hands. Next, put a big smile on your face or even laugh out loud. It’s okay if it feels fake at first – keep doing it and you’ll notice how after acting excited for a minute or so you’ll feel less frustrated. You’ve just actively changed your body language and emotions from neutral/frustrated to positive.

The key here is practice! If you practice, eventually you could do this type of a physiological and emotional switch without clapping your hands and in response to something more subtle, like finger snapping.

How critical is this skill of actively changing your physiology and emotions? Well, answer this – how critical is it to a have a positive mental attitude when you’re about to make follow-up calls? Or how critical is it to have a smile on your face when you go greet a new customer after you just learned that your customer from yesterday bought somewhere else? Or how critical is it to be positively charged for your next appointment if you haven’t sold anything in a few days?

If you do not learn to control your emotional and physiological reactions, then situations and circumstances of your day will control you. Practice changing your state from neutral/frustrated to a positive state actively and on purpose!

The letter A in S.A.L.E.S. stands for Attitude

I don’t need to tell you how important it is to have the right attitude in our profession. I teach my students these 2 key principles of attitude management: 1) attitude mastery is a skill, and 2) you can determine your attitude in advance.

1)      Attitude mastery is a skill

Without managing it, our attitude tends to be a reflection of our situation or circumstance. So when a customer acts a certain way, we then respond with a particular attitude. If the customer buys from me, in response to that my attitude becomes that of gratitude. However, if a customer doesn’t show up for an appointment, or if they have unreasonable expectations on pricing, my attitude tends to get negative and I get frustrated. Why? Because according to most people’s rules, when things go a certain way, they respond with a certain attitude.

We tend to be very reactionary with our attitudes. When this happens, it causes me to have this attitude.

I want to challenge you to change your attitude on purpose and learn how to master it. If you think of your attitude as a skill, you can learn to manage it and master it just like any other skill. In mastering your sales career, it’s expected that you practice your product knowledge, your negotiation skills, or your presentation skills. If you think of your attitude as a skill, then you develop and practice it just like any other skill.

2)      You can determine your attitude in advance

In my early sales career, I used to allow my attitude to be shaped by circumstances. For example, I often reacted defensively when customers told me my dealership was their 1st stop. I would assume they will take my time but then go buy elsewhere. This caused me to have a negative attitude.

I gradually began to realize the detrimental nature of having my attitude be determined by circumstances. And I decided to figure out how to be in control of my attitude.

The first step in learning how to master your attitude is to recognize the events or situations that trigger your negative attitude.

In the next few days, start paying attention to what causes your attitude to shift from positive or neutral to negative. Is it an event? Or specific words from a customer? Or a manager asking you to do something?

If you recognize a pattern, you can then begin to be proactive and actually change your attitude in advance. So in my example, I recognized that a customer saying this was their 1st stop was one of my triggers.

The next step in attitude mastery is to ask yourself, “What is positive about this situation and how can it help me change my attitude?”

I decided that going forward, I’ll think of the 1st stop response as having 2 positive outcomes for me.

The first positive outcome is that out of all the choices in the market, the customer chose my dealership as the most desirable place to go to first. Just think about it – customers typically dislike car shopping so wouldn’t it make sense that they would look for shortcuts to make the process shorter? So being chosen first is actually a positive sign because it tells you the customer thinks they’re likely to do business with you!

The second positive outcome of being the 1st stop is you get to set standards that all other salespeople or dealerships will have to meet. If you’re outstanding in your service, if you provide an unforgettable experience and if you offer solutions, the customer is likely to come back to you for the final purchase even if they decide to visit other dealerships.

These 2 steps of managing your attitude can be applied to almost any other situation that causes average salespeople have a negative attitude.

L in S.A.L.E.S. stands for mastering your Language.

The language we use is important because words carry meaning, and meaning defines how we should or would respond.

I often hear salespeople describe their customers using demeaning words. It’s common for some to say that customers are liars, for example. If you think using these words has no impact on your business, you’re deceiving yourself.

Other salespeople use negative language to describe themselves. They say things like “I’m not a good closer” or “I can’t hold gross” or “I am not good at getting referrals.” Using such words does not increase your motivation, creativity, or positive outlook on life.

So consider the language you use. Start using positive words to describe yourself, your customers, your day and your abilities. Make a decision today to master your Language so you can master SALES.

E in the word S.A.L.E.S. stands for Energy

You need to learn to master your Energy if you want to succeed in S.A.L.E.S.

There are 6 primary sources of energy:

1. Food – the food you choose will give you energy or take it away
2. Focus – what you decide to focus on, your energy will be directed there
3. Feelings – I define feelings as the filter by which we process our world
4. Faith – it could be spiritual faith or general faith in what you believe is possible in your career and life
5. Family – for many of us, our family is the driving source of energy behind our sacrifices and hard work
6. Friends – the friends you choose can infuse your life with positive energy and support or suck the energy out of your dreams and goals

Look at each source of energy and ask yourself: Am I being intentional at surrounding myself with positive sources of energy?

S in the word S.A.L.E.S. stands for Strategy

Having a strategy for success means that you have a plan by which you’re going to make adjustments in all these different areas: State, Attitude, Language and Energy. Here are just some examples of strategies for you to become a master of S.A.L.E.S.:

• Dedicate each day of the week to one of these 5 life skills. So on Monday, practice changing your state. On Tuesday, focus on deciding your attitude in advance, etc.
• Replace a daily or weekly 30 minute TV show with reading a blog or a book on self-improvement
• Ask someone to become your mentor or coach to keep you accountable

To summarize, in order to succeed at S.A.L.E.S., you need to practice the following life skills:

• State – You need to actively manage your emotional and physiological reactions
• Attitude – Learn to determine your attitude in advance
• Language – Use positive words to describe yourself, your customers, your day and your abilities
• Energy – Evaluate the 6 primary sources of energy in your life. Start being intentional at surrounding yourself with positive sources of energy.
• Strategy – What is your plan for success? How will you develop all these life skills?

Having the right attitude is so critical to success in sales, yet few salespeople and managers know how to get that “right attitude.”

In this article I want to share specific techniques to help you master your attitude. It will involve believing in and learning these 2 key principle of attitude management:

1. Mastering attitude is a skill
2. You can determine your attitude in advance

1.  Mastering attitude is a skill

Most people think their attitude is a natural and appropriate reaction to something or someone in their environment.

Our attitudes tend to be a reflection of our situation or circumstance. So when a customer acts a certain way, we then respond with a particular attitude. If the customer does what I want them to do it and if they buy from me, in response to that my attitude becomes that of gratitude. However, if a customer doesn’t do what I want, if they don’t show up for their appointment, or if they have unreasonable expectations on pricing, my attitude tends to get negative and I get frustrated. Why? Because according to most people’s rules, when things go a certain way, they respond with a certain attitude.

We tend to be very reactionary with our attitudes. When this happens, it causes me to have this attitude.

I want to challenge you to change your attitude on purpose and learn how to master it. If you think of your attitude as a skill, you can learn to manage it and master it just like any other skill.

In mastering your sales career, it’s expected that you practice your product knowledge, your negotiation skills, or your presentation skills. If you think of your attitude as a skill, then you develop and practice it just like any other skill.

When attitude management becomes a skill, it stops being something that happens to you reactively and begins to be something that you can proactively practice and manage.

2.  You can determine your attitude in advance

In my early sales career, I used to allow my attitude to be shaped by circumstances. For example, I often reacted defensively when a customer asked me a question, such as, “What is your best price?” I would justify my position and I would feel that in some way the customer’s accusing me of not providing massive value.

I gradually began to realize the detrimental nature of having my attitude be determined by circumstances. And I decided to figure out how to be in control of my attitude.

The first step in learning how to master your attitude is to recognize the events or situations that trigger your negative attitude.

In the next few days, start paying attention to what causes your attitude to shift from positive or neutral to negative. Is it an event? Or specific words from a customer? Or a manager asking you to do something?

If you recognize a pattern, you can then begin to be proactive and actually change your attitude in advance. So in my example, I recognized that a customer asking about best price was one of my triggers. Hearing that question would trigger my negative attitude.

That’s the first step - recognizing what affects your attitude.

The next step is to ask yourself, “What is positive about this situation and how can it help me change my attitude?”

I spent a few minutes reflecting on why a customer would ask about best price and decided that going forward, I’ll interpret this question as receiving 2 compliments!

The first compliment is the customer saying, “I want what you have.” You see, I’ve never asked for the best price on something that I didn’t have a genuine interest in. For example, I’ve never asked anyone in my life what the best price is for a life-sized garden gnome. My guess is that some places sell garden gnomes at more competitive prices, but I’ve personally never asked that question because my interest level in owning a life-sized garden gnome is incredibly low.

However, when I find something I really want, like a big screen TV, my interest level in knowing what the best price I can buy it for is much higher. And the more I want it, the more I want to know how I can buy it. So when asked about best price, I started thinking about it as the customer saying, “This is what I really want!”

The 2nd compliment is the customer saying, “I want to do business with you.” Again, I’ve never asked anybody for the best price that I didn’t want to do business with. Or I’ve never asked about best price if I didn’t believe they could give me the best price. For example, when do you ask someone for help if you don’t believe that person could help you?

So next time a customer asked me about best price, I would immediately smile. I would smile because I decided in advance to interpret this question as compliments. My new attitude caused me to smile instead of getting defensive or upset!

With a big smile on my face, I would say to my customers,” Thank you so much for asking this question. I really appreciate the compliment.” As I say that, they would usually have a completely confused look on their faces. I would then express to them what I just expressed to you: “You know, folks, I’ve never had anybody ask me for the best price on something they didn’t want, which tells me you like this vehicle and want it. It also tells me that I’ve done a really good job in helping you determine that this is the right vehicle for you. By asking about best price, you’re also letting me know that you believe I will help you get what you want. And so thank you for asking the question. Let me share with you why I believe this is a fantastic price.”

By having a positive attitude and approaching the conversation from that angle, it often completely changed the tone of the conversation. Instead of it being fearful and hostile, like in the past when I had a defensive attitude, it was now enjoyable and pleasant.

These steps of managing your attitude can be applied to almost any other situation that causes average salespeople have a negative attitude.

As an exercise, take a look at these common questions or comments from customers that can be interpreted as negative and could trigger a negative attitude. What is positive about them? And how can you use their positive aspect to determine your attitude in advance?

1. This is my 1st stop
2. I’m not buying today
3. The price is too high
4. The payment is too high
5. I want more for my trade
6. I want to check with my spouse
7. I want to think about it

To summarize, if you think of your attitude as a skill, you’ll start to work on it and develop it just like you do with any other sales skill. Determine the common triggers that tend to shift your attitude from positive to negative. Then ask yourself, “What is positive about this situation and how can I change my attitude accordingly?”

Going through these steps will help you change the definition of many situations and change the way you see things. If you practice it, you can develop a positive attitude, just like you’ve developed any other skill.

There is a great scene in the classic martial arts movie Enter the Dragon. Bruce Lee is being transported to an island where the top martial artists are competing for recognition as the best of the best. While on the boat to the island, an impatient fighter tries to pick a fight with Bruce’s character and asks him, “What’s your style?” Bruce quickly responds, “My style is the art of fighting without fighting!” Confused and curious by his answer, the bully offers to fight Bruce right there on the boat. Bruce at first declines but then realizes that this guy is not going to just go away so he offers the eager fighter to take a small dingy boat to a nearby island to show him his style. Once the bully gets in the boat, Bruce releases the rope connecting it to the main ship and slowly lets the bully drift off into the water. Bruce reattaches the rope and rests for the remainder of the journey, with the bully in tow 50 feet behind the ship. This is the art of fighting without fighting!

I recently I posted a question on my Facebook page that generated a great deal of comments and interest. Here is the original question I posted:

Dealing with the objection, "The Online Guide is the Bible and you're a liar!" What are some of your strategies when a customer is quoting an online guide and not "buying" your trade value?

In this article I will summarize some of the comments I received and then describe one of my favorite ways to address the 3rd party guide objection to your appraised trade-in value: The Internet Guide Close.

It was clear in many of the comments to this post that salespeople feel that some customers are like that bully on the boat trying to pick a fight. And many salespeople feel like they have to fight back.

The collective wisdom generated a list of ineffective responses that are used by some salespeople to address a customer’s objection of an Internet guide value.

Here are the top 10 ineffective responses salespeople and managers are using:

10) “That is just a guide and guides don’t have to be accurate!”
9) “Nobody knows where they get those numbers from.”
8) “Those guides are for consumers, so they are always inflated.”
7) “If I give you trade-in value, are you going to let me sell you mine for retail value?”
6) “We don’t use those guides at our dealership.”
5) “You can’t trust what you find on the Internet.”
4) “If you were selling me a house, could I use a guide to tell you its value?”
3) “We only use them if we aren’t familiar with the vehicle.”
2) “You probably entered the information there wrong.”
1) “They can say whatever they want, are they going to write you a check?”

I want to offer a more effective response to the “Internet guide” objection. This technique is based on one of the core principles of Sellchology – Selling through psychology. The principle is called proactivity, which means you introduce the objection FIRST so you don’t have to overcome the objection.

The technique is called The Internet Guide Close and it involves these 5 steps:

1. Pick a car, book a car
2. Print off the disclaimers
3. Be prepared
4. Discover the discrepancy
5. Help them see the truth

1. Pick a car, book a car – Once a week, book out a vehicle from your inventory using 3 online guides. For example, book out something like this: 2010 Ford F150 Supercab XLT 60,000 miles. Assuming you put in the same equipment, you’ll probably get 3 different values that could range up to $3,000. Print all 3 values and have these copies ready at your desk.

2. Print off the disclaimers – Every one of these guides has a disclaimer stating something like this: "We are just a guide, and we don't guarantee accuracy. Please visit a dealer for a real appraisal." This is in fine print so it may take some navigating to find it but it is there! Most disclaimers can be found under the “Visitor Agreement” tab at the bottom of the page. One site calls their values “opinions”, while another site basically says “we give NO assurance that any of our advice is ACCURATE.” Here is my favorite, “we assume NO RESPONSIBILITY for the accuracy of the information we provide.”

3. Be prepared – It’s time to be proactive! When you sit down with your customer and before you get an appraisal ask the customer this question: "Are you familiar with how we perform a fair market analysis to determine the actual market value of your vehicle?"

The customer may say, “I saw a guide that said my vehicle was worth $20,000.” Even if they don’t mention a guide, be proactive and share your 3 copies showing 3 different values on the same vehicle.

4. Discover the discrepancy – Let the customer look at the information and allow them to discover the discrepancy. You may say, “I want to show you how we do it here at ABC Motors because I know it can be confusing if you’ve looked at online guides and then dealership values, and you’re trying to figure out which one is fair."

Then hand them the copies of the vehicle you booked out this week and say,
"Take a look at this and tell me what you notice."

It’s important to let the customer discover the discrepancy!

5. Help the customer see the truth – Politely and professionally point out the fact that these sites are just guides, that most won’t write you a check, they don’t have to be accurate, and that these sites make their money from advertising, not accuracy. Once you’ve made your case, present your numbers and close the deal!

If the Internet doesn’t agree with itself, it’s reasonable that we may also have a different number, too.

Most customers presented with this information will agree that out of all of the opinions out there, the one writing the check has to be the one that matters the most.

Following all 5 steps of the Internet Guide Close allows the customer to be educated and better informed. And the sales consultant is now positioned as a resource that is more transparent than the online guides.

The point is, don’t argue with the Internet and instead let the Internet argue with itself. This is the art of fighting without fighting!

12 Areas That Make Up a Healthy Dealership Culture of Growth

When building the culture of growth in a dealership, there are 12 Key Areas that make up a healthy dealership. These following areas are not necessarily ranked in order of importance or of urgency.

These are 12 independent areas for developing a culture that is healthy and thriving in your store. Please consider each one of them separately and based on the score given, look for opportunity to grow and develop your organization.

With each area please look at the description and then assign a score/value for how your dealership is performing in that area on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest possible score. The highest total possible score is 120.

To get the best assessment it may be worthwhile to have several members of the leadership and even team members from different departments who have been with the company long enough to offer perspective on its culture.

12 Key Areas of Growth - Scale of 1 to 10:

___Culture – the overall mission, purpose and values that drive the store
___Plan – the future and on-going growth plan and strategy
___Team Members – the commitment to maximizing each indivdual position
___Processes – how effective and consistent we execute each process
___Merchandising – how we manage & market our inventory on the lot and online
___Perception – the mind of the marketplace - what people think and say about us
___Facility – how it maximizes the customer and employee experience
___Pricing – strategies for maximizing gross and profitability
___Marketing – strategies for creating and increasing leads and opportunities
___Pay Plans – how well the pay plan incentivizes desired behaviors 
___Resources – how we utilize our tools, vendors, & technologies
___Personal Development – Improving our personal life to become the best version of ourselves

____ YOUR TOTAL SCORE

 
This is a brief summary of a 15 page Culture Assessment.

For the complete assessment, including scoring guide and specific questions to ask your team, please email me: jon@sellchology.com

Scoring and implications:

12 – 36 suggests an unhealthy culture and a significant opportunity for improvement and an overall shift in the direction of the dealership.

37 – 60 suggests huge potential for growth and significant changes should be made in order to more effectively optimize the dealership’s profitability.

61 – 84 suggests the dealership is doing an average job and is operating at an effective level of production. Small changes can lead to significant improvements in the health of the culture and the dealership’s profitability.

85 – 100 suggests that the dealership is healthy and effective in capitalizing on its resources, opportunities and people. The culture is being intentionally developed and managed.

101 – 120 suggests an extremely healthy environment and business. There is intentionality by the leaders and the resources and culture are being maximized.

When you meet a new customer on the lot, where do you start your investigation process? I believe there is one best place to do it. But before I share what it is and why it’s the best, look at these typical places and pick the one where you usually start your investigation process:

a. Out on the lot
b. At your desk
c. On the show floor
d. Near the new car the customer’s considering
e. Near the customer’s car

Let’s consider the pros and cons of each one of these starting places.

Out on the lot
If you tend to investigate on the lot, I think you may like to ask questions in an environment that doesn't feel too constrained. You may also think it’s less intimidating for the customer to do it there. I’m going to challenge you, though, because I don’t think that this is the best place to start.

At your desk
I can see why you would choose to do it at your desk. If you were taught to "get control" as quickly as possible, the most controlling environment for the sale is at your desk. It’s also convenient because you can take notes there or access information. I understand why you’d want to be at your desk, but I’m going to show you that there is a better place to do your investigation.

On the show floor
If you investigate on the show floor, you probably do it for the same reason I used to do it there. I liked it because of the casualness of a conversation that happens on the show floor.  However, I’m going to suggest that it’s not the best place to start.

Near the new car the customer's considering
You’re probably trying to be as efficient as possible. By going to the new car and asking questions there, your hope is that the customer will share a lot of information because they’re standing next to something they’re interested in. However, I think there is even a better place to find out what the customer is looking for.

Near the customer’s current car
If this is where you usually do it, congratulations! Most salespeople would never pick the customer’s car to begin their investigation unless they were specifically taught to do it. Let me share why this is the best place to start.

6 REASONS to Start the Investigation at the Customer’s Vehicle

Going to the customer’s car at the beginning of the investigation process will give you a unique advantage in the sale. Here are the 6 reasons why I believe it’s the best place to start.

1. Their current car is the customer’s physical comfort zone. Because they spend so much time there, it is a place where they physically feel comfortable. Any place where we spend a lot of time feels very comfortable to us. If you’ve been employed at the same company for several years, it feels very familiar. Also, your home is your kingdom. This is the place for you to relax and spend time with your loved ones. Similarly, your car is a physical comfort zone because you spend so much time there. In your car you can sing out loud, listen to your music and do what you want. Going to a dealership is stressful for many customers, so when you invite them to one of their physical comfort zones (their car), they can physically relax. You will see their body language shift and become more open. They will become less tense and can talk to you casually like they talk with their colleagues or their family members.

2. The 2nd reason to invite the customer to their current vehicle is that it’s a conversational comfort zone for them. A conversational comfort zone is something they feel comfortable talking about. It’s easy for us to talk about things we’re very familiar with. When you ask questions about the customer’s car, it’s a natural way to have a conversation. You can ask questions like, “How long have you had it?” or “Has it been a good car for you?” or “What do you like most about it?” As you spend time talking about their car, the customer will begin to open up to you.

3. Reason #3 for starting your investigation near the customer’s car is because it will give you patterns of the customer’s current equipment and current situation. By looking at what they’re driving now, you’ll become familiar with what they are familiar with. For example, you’ll see if they have Bluetooth technology or if they have integrated stereo mounted controls. Their current level of equipment will tell you what you should emphasize in the next vehicle or what you don’t need to emphasize because they’re already very familiar with it.

4. The 4th reason to be at the customer’s car in the beginning of the investigation process is to find social and rapport building clues: bumper stickers, car seats, dog toys, tennis rackets, school stickers, or license plate brackets. All of these things will tell you a little bit more about your customer. Seeing these items will help you start a conversation and build rapport faster. Just think about - at your desk you’d have to ask someone if they have kids, but if you stand next to their car, you can tell by the Cheerios in the seats that they have small kids.

5. The 5th reason why you should go to the customer’s car first is because it will help you understand their financial situation. You can see what kind of car they have now and get an idea on their financial situation. You’ll also understand things like the condition of the car and how well they’ve maintained it. Asking financial questions is much easier if you’re standing next to their car. You can ask casually, “What sort of payment are you making on a car like this?” or “Did you put some money down in order to get that low of a payment?” Asking these questions while standing next to the customer’s car makes sense and will not be perceived as pushy.

6. The 6th reason is because it is their escape pod. Quite frankly, you want to go to your desk because it gives you "control." When we go to the customer’s car, we give them control. And when you give a customer control, you gain their trust. I believe the best position for a sales professional to be in is when the customer is in "control" but the sales person is leading the process.

I hope you’ll consider these tips and start your next investigation by your customer’s current vehicle. It will allow you to start the conversation naturally and casually in order to help the customer relax. It will also allow you to be efficient by learning about your customer’s needs and wants much faster.

As the end of 2014 is near, here are 3 ideas for sales people to finish the year strong.

  1. Be a SOLUTION and not just a salesperson

In order to solve a problem you have to understand it. Understanding comes from asking better quality questions. You need to know not just WHAT customers are looking for and HOW they will be using it, but WHY they are in the market and WHY they are considering this particular vehicle. When you know the "WHY" the HOW to sell them gets easy.

Asking WHY questions is all about uncovering motivations (and you don’t even need to use the word ‘why’ in your questions)

Examples:

• “Of all the vehicles in the market, what made you consider this one?”
• “After driving yours for years, how did you finally decide to replace it?”
• “If you decided to go forward today with this option, what would be the main reasons you would do it?”

2. Add MASSIVE value by SELLING instead of TELLING

Facts tell, but stories sell! During your walk-around presentation of the vehicle make sure to paint a picture that includes mental ownership language as part of the A.F.F.B.A. strategy:
 
• Ask – How familiar are you with … (name feature)
• Feature – This vehicle is equipped with (name feature) you are looking for.
• Function – What it does for you is … (describe how it works)
• Benefit – Why this is important to you is … (match the benefit to their personal situation/goal)
• Alternative – Compare having (feature) to not having (feature) while you are … (paint picture)

3. Practice ISOLATING objections rather than IGNORING them

Most objections are merely concerns or reflex statements when first stated. Isolating objections is done by using language that minimizes and separates the objection rather than ignoring it.

Examples:

• “Other than your question about the _____, is this a vehicle you would like to own?”
• “I’m confident we can work through _____. Assuming we do, would you like to be my customer?”
• “Setting the question about the _____ aside for just a minute, do you want to buy this vehicle, buy it from me, and buy it today?

Try these 3 ideas to finish the year strong!