Check out Kimberly Roselle's latest blog as she talks all about how your body language can or cannot help you make that sale!

The human body is capable of so many incredible things. Recently I watched a TV show called Lie to Me. It reminded me of how I used to try and watch actors on stage to see if their “true selves” could be seen or if they could fully embody the character. Most people are capable of lying with their words, but not with their body language. So, what does this have to do with sales?

Without realizing, your body language might be sending the wrong signals. You might be communicating mistrust or offending your potential customers without meaning to. If you know how to use body language, you will be able to avoid sales pitfalls and convey body signals that make your customers say “yes!”

I recently found this fascinating infographic: http://dailyinfographic.com/improve-attractiveness-with-body-language-infographic

Some important take aways from this infographic are:

• Words account for only 7% of our overall effective communication
• Body language accounts for 55%

How can you apply this information to your sales technique? When a customer comes onto the lot, don’t rush out to them. First, read their body language and take your cues from them. Do they have a closed posture or are they open? Are they keeping their head down and moving quickly or are they looking about and lingering over vehicles? Understanding your customers’ unspoken signs can go a long way to helping you build trust and a positive relationship with them.

In the first four seconds, people will make judgments about you and will subconsciously decide:

• I will (or will not) buy from this person.
• I will (or will not) like this person.
• I find this person kind (or not).
• I find this person intelligent (or not).

As you approach your customer they are also unconsciously reading your body language. Are you standing tall? Do you look them in the eye? Is your smile genuine? Be aware of yourself. While you can’t lie with your body, you can project the confidence and friendliness the majority of customers are looking for while shopping.

Check out Kimberly Roselle's latest blog as she talks all about how your body language can or cannot help you make that sale!

The human body is capable of so many incredible things. Recently I watched a TV show called Lie to Me. It reminded me of how I used to try and watch actors on stage to see if their “true selves” could be seen or if they could fully embody the character. Most people are capable of lying with their words, but not with their body language. So, what does this have to do with sales?

Without realizing, your body language might be sending the wrong signals. You might be communicating mistrust or offending your potential customers without meaning to. If you know how to use body language, you will be able to avoid sales pitfalls and convey body signals that make your customers say “yes!”

I recently found this fascinating infographic: http://dailyinfographic.com/improve-attractiveness-with-body-language-infographic

Some important take aways from this infographic are:

• Words account for only 7% of our overall effective communication
• Body language accounts for 55%

How can you apply this information to your sales technique? When a customer comes onto the lot, don’t rush out to them. First, read their body language and take your cues from them. Do they have a closed posture or are they open? Are they keeping their head down and moving quickly or are they looking about and lingering over vehicles? Understanding your customers’ unspoken signs can go a long way to helping you build trust and a positive relationship with them.

In the first four seconds, people will make judgments about you and will subconsciously decide:

• I will (or will not) buy from this person.
• I will (or will not) like this person.
• I find this person kind (or not).
• I find this person intelligent (or not).

As you approach your customer they are also unconsciously reading your body language. Are you standing tall? Do you look them in the eye? Is your smile genuine? Be aware of yourself. While you can’t lie with your body, you can project the confidence and friendliness the majority of customers are looking for while shopping.

What features do you promote when trying to sell a car? Even with the large amount of automotive information available on the Internet, many people still purchase new cars within only a few days of making the decision to buy. What is the single most important thing to promote to a consumer interested in purchasing? Here are some insightful tips you may want to expose your customer to when trying to help seal the deal.

• Styling – I feel it’s very important for you to understand your customer’s vehicle style. What does the vehicle say about them? Are they looking for a family car with a lot of storage space to take cross country trips, or maybe an open top convertible to cruise down by the shoreline. The possibilities are endless, but narrowing down the shopping list gives you a better idea of the inventory you might want to show them to during the limited time spent on your lot.

• Safety Features - Safety plays a significant role to consumers when choosing the right car for them. Many people want a safe and reliable vehicle that they can trust to keep both them and their families safe on the road. For the safety-conscious shopper, try showing vehicles that rank high on the top safety pick list, and explaining the reasons behind it.

• Fuel Economy – Many of us just want to save money! To a lot of consumers, finding a car that offers great fuel efficiency is key. Finding out if your customer drives excessively is important to know. With that information you would be able to introduce them to particular cars that helps stretch their MPG.

• Cost – When consumers consider a new vehicle for purchase, the lines of affordability can easily become blurred due to the varied financing options available. A wise buyer shops for a new vehicle based upon what he or she can truly afford. Many if not all of us search for the lowest possible prices available to get yourself from point “A” to point “B”. But, there are also those of us who want a good price, but are willing to pay for quality. The key is to find out what your customers budget is; this will eliminate their fantasy from reality.

Does your dealership have a sales team that can help customers get the information they are seeking?

What features do you promote when trying to sell a car? Even with the large amount of automotive information available on the Internet, many people still purchase new cars within only a few days of making the decision to buy. What is the single most important thing to promote to a consumer interested in purchasing? Here are some insightful tips you may want to expose your customer to when trying to help seal the deal.

• Styling – I feel it’s very important for you to understand your customer’s vehicle style. What does the vehicle say about them? Are they looking for a family car with a lot of storage space to take cross country trips, or maybe an open top convertible to cruise down by the shoreline. The possibilities are endless, but narrowing down the shopping list gives you a better idea of the inventory you might want to show them to during the limited time spent on your lot.

• Safety Features - Safety plays a significant role to consumers when choosing the right car for them. Many people want a safe and reliable vehicle that they can trust to keep both them and their families safe on the road. For the safety-conscious shopper, try showing vehicles that rank high on the top safety pick list, and explaining the reasons behind it.

• Fuel Economy – Many of us just want to save money! To a lot of consumers, finding a car that offers great fuel efficiency is key. Finding out if your customer drives excessively is important to know. With that information you would be able to introduce them to particular cars that helps stretch their MPG.

• Cost – When consumers consider a new vehicle for purchase, the lines of affordability can easily become blurred due to the varied financing options available. A wise buyer shops for a new vehicle based upon what he or she can truly afford. Many if not all of us search for the lowest possible prices available to get yourself from point “A” to point “B”. But, there are also those of us who want a good price, but are willing to pay for quality. The key is to find out what your customers budget is; this will eliminate their fantasy from reality.

Does your dealership have a sales team that can help customers get the information they are seeking?

How do you develop a customer’s relationship with your brand when they are always in a hurry? It is no secret that technology and social media have allowed the consumer to be in a power position. They can fast forward through advertisements, subscribe to satellite radio, and simply search (or not search) whatever and whenever they please. Basically, they are too busy to see what they don’t want to see.  Selectivity has become the norm. 

So, how does an advertiser brand an organization to this type of consumer? The secret is to utilize the very same media in which millennial are employing.These people are busy, so as an advertiser, we need to fit neatly into their day. General branding, as a focus, should come to the forefront of an advertisers strategy.  For instance, develop a remarketing strategy that utilizes cookies. Once a potential customer visits a site, they will then have a cookie placed on their device, and a remarketing advertisement will continue to pop up wherever they go.This simple and non-intrusive tool will enable consumer targeting during their evaluation and purchasing stages of the buying cycle.  They visited your site for a reason, so why not remind them why?

How do you develop a customer’s relationship with your brand when they are always in a hurry? It is no secret that technology and social media have allowed the consumer to be in a power position. They can fast forward through advertisements, subscribe to satellite radio, and simply search (or not search) whatever and whenever they please. Basically, they are too busy to see what they don’t want to see.  Selectivity has become the norm. 

So, how does an advertiser brand an organization to this type of consumer? The secret is to utilize the very same media in which millennial are employing.These people are busy, so as an advertiser, we need to fit neatly into their day. General branding, as a focus, should come to the forefront of an advertisers strategy.  For instance, develop a remarketing strategy that utilizes cookies. Once a potential customer visits a site, they will then have a cookie placed on their device, and a remarketing advertisement will continue to pop up wherever they go.This simple and non-intrusive tool will enable consumer targeting during their evaluation and purchasing stages of the buying cycle.  They visited your site for a reason, so why not remind them why?

Check out this great new blog by Stephanie Hunter, a member of our creative video team at Potratz, as she talks about the technology in new vehicles.

There’s nothing better than realizing you’re starting to sound like your grandparents.  The other day I caught myself throwing it back to the ‘old days’ when car technology was a much simpler beast…

‘Back in my day you had to roll the car window down with a hand crank, none of this motorized window stuff you kids have these days. And oh, our idea of in-car entertainment was singing along to a cassette tape, do you even know what that is?’

So, it wasn’t exactly yesterday when the motorized window was created or the cd player (which is even now almost obsolete) was built into cars, but I can remember when we considered the ‘fancy windows’ a big perk.  Or the relief it was when we were able to get rid of that crazy tethered cassette tape that allowed us to magically play cd’s through our speakers.

While these seemed like big developments when I was a kid, today, it doesn’t even hold a candle to the new amenities that are being thrown into vehicles.

What was once just an AM/FM radio is now a hub for SIRIUS, IPod connectors, and even hard drives designed specifically to hold thousands of songs downloaded at the owners delight.  A clock used to stand alone in the center of the dashboard.  Now it’s filled with a touch screen navigation system fully armed and ready to bring you wherever you need to go and even capable of telling you where you might be interested in traveling to next!  And I must admit, I remember when only crazy people talked to inanimate objects.  Today that just means you are summoning a contact on your Bluetooth for hands-free driving.

There were no rearview cameras or irritating beeps, just a chiropractor waiting to fix that nasty snap-your-head-around-as-far-as-you-can neck pull you got after attempting to back into a tiny parking spot.  And I can only imagine how permit wielding teens everywhere are jumping for joy at the prospect of a driver’s test where a car can parallel park itself.


Stow and go seating… genius!  My muscles twinge just thinking about all the times we pushed, pulled, yanked, and tore seats clear out of the minivan just to have to push, pull, shove, and jam them back in. Not to mention self-closing doors, who knew they could actually exist in places other than hotels and malls?

And with all this new technology we may just see the demise of the backseat driver. Your rearview mirrors can now signal you when there’s someone in your blind spot – which means dad won’t have to yell at you for merging into the truck next to you (oops).  Mom can breath a sigh of relief with adaptive cruise control which acts as a ghost driver to keep you at a safe distance from the car in front of you – so she doesn’t have to blow a gasket about tailgating.  There are even cars that will alert you if you are about to get in an accident – which means no more pesky friends screaming in your ear as you soar ghastly close to the big rig on the highway.

Truck with no keys?  Way back when that meant a hunk of metal sitting in your driveway until you found your spare set.  Now it’s a luxury for drivers, with push-button start. Car turns off while driving?  Back in the day you’d have to call a tow truck. Today, it’s just your car saving gas at a red light. And no gas? No problem! Just plug it in!  Electric cars still seem like a crazy futuristic dream to me, but there they are chugging along right beside me on the road.

It seems to me, the future is here.  Anything and everything we thought would be cool for a car to do, it does.  No more pipe dreams of what life COULD be like, it’s what life IS like now with a new generation of vehicles.

Congratulations we have made it to the future!

Check out this great new blog by Stephanie Hunter, a member of our creative video team at Potratz, as she talks about the technology in new vehicles.

There’s nothing better than realizing you’re starting to sound like your grandparents.  The other day I caught myself throwing it back to the ‘old days’ when car technology was a much simpler beast…

‘Back in my day you had to roll the car window down with a hand crank, none of this motorized window stuff you kids have these days. And oh, our idea of in-car entertainment was singing along to a cassette tape, do you even know what that is?’

So, it wasn’t exactly yesterday when the motorized window was created or the cd player (which is even now almost obsolete) was built into cars, but I can remember when we considered the ‘fancy windows’ a big perk.  Or the relief it was when we were able to get rid of that crazy tethered cassette tape that allowed us to magically play cd’s through our speakers.

While these seemed like big developments when I was a kid, today, it doesn’t even hold a candle to the new amenities that are being thrown into vehicles.

What was once just an AM/FM radio is now a hub for SIRIUS, IPod connectors, and even hard drives designed specifically to hold thousands of songs downloaded at the owners delight.  A clock used to stand alone in the center of the dashboard.  Now it’s filled with a touch screen navigation system fully armed and ready to bring you wherever you need to go and even capable of telling you where you might be interested in traveling to next!  And I must admit, I remember when only crazy people talked to inanimate objects.  Today that just means you are summoning a contact on your Bluetooth for hands-free driving.

There were no rearview cameras or irritating beeps, just a chiropractor waiting to fix that nasty snap-your-head-around-as-far-as-you-can neck pull you got after attempting to back into a tiny parking spot.  And I can only imagine how permit wielding teens everywhere are jumping for joy at the prospect of a driver’s test where a car can parallel park itself.


Stow and go seating… genius!  My muscles twinge just thinking about all the times we pushed, pulled, yanked, and tore seats clear out of the minivan just to have to push, pull, shove, and jam them back in. Not to mention self-closing doors, who knew they could actually exist in places other than hotels and malls?

And with all this new technology we may just see the demise of the backseat driver. Your rearview mirrors can now signal you when there’s someone in your blind spot – which means dad won’t have to yell at you for merging into the truck next to you (oops).  Mom can breath a sigh of relief with adaptive cruise control which acts as a ghost driver to keep you at a safe distance from the car in front of you – so she doesn’t have to blow a gasket about tailgating.  There are even cars that will alert you if you are about to get in an accident – which means no more pesky friends screaming in your ear as you soar ghastly close to the big rig on the highway.

Truck with no keys?  Way back when that meant a hunk of metal sitting in your driveway until you found your spare set.  Now it’s a luxury for drivers, with push-button start. Car turns off while driving?  Back in the day you’d have to call a tow truck. Today, it’s just your car saving gas at a red light. And no gas? No problem! Just plug it in!  Electric cars still seem like a crazy futuristic dream to me, but there they are chugging along right beside me on the road.

It seems to me, the future is here.  Anything and everything we thought would be cool for a car to do, it does.  No more pipe dreams of what life COULD be like, it’s what life IS like now with a new generation of vehicles.

Congratulations we have made it to the future!

Warren Buffet recently announced he is leaving the board for the Washington Post Co. after almost a 40 year run.  On another note Rupert Murdoch's News Corp just launched the first i-pad only newspaper last week which it plans to charge 99 cents per week or $40 per year to read.  There has also been talk that the New York Times, the most visited news publication on the internet, will also start charging for it's on-line paper.

Dealers and agencies both know traditional newspapers have been losing revenue for years.  It's no surprise that we are going to see more of a shift toward completely digital publications.  It's cheaper to produce, it's "greener", it's easier, faster and cheaper to distribute.  The only down side is that they still don't have the readership of regular papers :)  I personally feel newspapers will eventually all go digital, if not for at least the most basic environmental and cost reasons.  You already have paperless offices, why not paperless "papers".  But something that will never change is that people will always need to go somewhere to get news and information from a place they know and trust.  As to where that will be and how much it will cost to advertise there still remains to be seen.  Plus until everyone has a smart phone, tablet or computer there will still be plenty of people reading papers.  And even then some people still prefer paper to screen.  I am a huge "techie" for example.  But I refuse to get a kindle.  I don't get to read as much as I would like, so I prefer the feel of a real book. I enjoy visiting the library, the quiet rustle of pages, the smell of paper after it has aged for decades in the care of hundreds of readers.  To me reading a book is a visceral experience as well as a mental enjoyment.  You can't replace something like that with technology.

A younger associate of mine recently asked me "why do they even have newspapers anymore?  I only read things on-line anyway"  My answer was pretty simple... Where else can you find all of the dealerships in your area in one place so you can compare prices side by side?  Most dealers have a great web presence these days but comparison shopping on-line is  much harder than just opening the local paper.

So what does this all amount to for dealers?  Well as much as dealers have wanted to finally say goodbye to the papers it looks like they are here to stay.  As long as people need news, no matter how or where they go to get it, there will probably be a place where dealers will have to advertise.  Especially if on-line publications move from just national to regional or even local publications.

Warren Buffet recently announced he is leaving the board for the Washington Post Co. after almost a 40 year run.  On another note Rupert Murdoch's News Corp just launched the first i-pad only newspaper last week which it plans to charge 99 cents per week or $40 per year to read.  There has also been talk that the New York Times, the most visited news publication on the internet, will also start charging for it's on-line paper.

Dealers and agencies both know traditional newspapers have been losing revenue for years.  It's no surprise that we are going to see more of a shift toward completely digital publications.  It's cheaper to produce, it's "greener", it's easier, faster and cheaper to distribute.  The only down side is that they still don't have the readership of regular papers :)  I personally feel newspapers will eventually all go digital, if not for at least the most basic environmental and cost reasons.  You already have paperless offices, why not paperless "papers".  But something that will never change is that people will always need to go somewhere to get news and information from a place they know and trust.  As to where that will be and how much it will cost to advertise there still remains to be seen.  Plus until everyone has a smart phone, tablet or computer there will still be plenty of people reading papers.  And even then some people still prefer paper to screen.  I am a huge "techie" for example.  But I refuse to get a kindle.  I don't get to read as much as I would like, so I prefer the feel of a real book. I enjoy visiting the library, the quiet rustle of pages, the smell of paper after it has aged for decades in the care of hundreds of readers.  To me reading a book is a visceral experience as well as a mental enjoyment.  You can't replace something like that with technology.

A younger associate of mine recently asked me "why do they even have newspapers anymore?  I only read things on-line anyway"  My answer was pretty simple... Where else can you find all of the dealerships in your area in one place so you can compare prices side by side?  Most dealers have a great web presence these days but comparison shopping on-line is  much harder than just opening the local paper.

So what does this all amount to for dealers?  Well as much as dealers have wanted to finally say goodbye to the papers it looks like they are here to stay.  As long as people need news, no matter how or where they go to get it, there will probably be a place where dealers will have to advertise.  Especially if on-line publications move from just national to regional or even local publications.