Over the last 2 or 3 years, it’s become increasingly clear that consumers across all industries are sick of being sold to. Fewer consumers are visiting showrooms when they research because they don’t want to be badgered into a sale. Although this is something that we’ve elaborated on pretty early on here (for automotive), it’s become abundantly clear that consumers outside of the auto industry are always looking for insights.

Think about it for a moment… When you visit a cell phone retailer like Sprint, AT&T or Verizon, what’s actually happening? If you’re actually in a store, you’re likely pretty close to making a purchase. You did all your research online for a new plan, a new phone and you just want to sign up for the service in person. Now, here’s the major difference between the experience in the cell phone provider’s shop and most automotive dealerships.

Typically, my experience at a store like Sprint or AT&T consists of an associate acting less like a salesperson and more like a guide. Sure, there’s some upselling in the mix (For example: warranties, protection plans, more data, etc.), but for the most part, they’re there to answer questions. The consumer has already indicated that they’re wanting to purchase, so the most logical thing a sales rep can and should do is make the experience as helpful as humanly possible.

Now, this isn’t to say that there aren’t dealerships who have applied these “guide” principals. There are quite a few auto dealerships out there who have begun replacing their high commission sales people with low commission sales people who act more like “product specialists.” Doing this has proven to be quite successful for a lot of dealerships — and as more dealerships experience this type of success, more dealerships decide to adopt this type of “selling” or “guiding.”

Although “guided selling” has been validated in the showroom for a lot of dealerships who have adopted this method, it unfortunately hasn’t been fully adopted on most dealership websites. There are still a ton of dealership websites out there that remain focused on selling to the consumer as opposed to guiding them.

When I think of a website “selling” to someone as opposed to guiding, I think about those ol’ static lead forms that I’ve consistently discouraged. To me, selling on a website means trapping a customer’s information without providing any sort of value to them in return: the “Contact Us for More Information” or “Reach Out to Schedule a Demo.”

It’s essentially a way of trying to gain an advantage over the customer so that they have no choice but to listen to your spiel and get the information they’re looking for. That might have worked about 5-10 years ago (both in the showroom and online), but it’s proving even more difficult now. Consumers don’t want to sign on the dotted line when they’re trying to figure out what it is they want. They need a guide — not a salesperson.

During the research phase of their shopping journey, consumers want the opportunity to educate themselves — and your dealership’s website can do this by simply providing information to them that they’ve requested. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with getting contact information from your consumers (prior to providing real-time information), you want both parties to hold some sort of advantage. It shouldn’t be one-sided.

The whole point of online guided selling (or online guided shopping) is to provide the means for a consumer to empower themselves with information. If a consumer requests specific information from your website, they should be able to find it almost immediately.

A salesperson doesn’t even need to be available to chat. All that’s required is that information that the consumer is seeking. By providing consumers with an opportunity to find information on their own, this opens up more opportunities to have an actual discussion with someone in the showroom regarding specifics.

What are some of the ways you currently guide customers online and in your dealership? Let me know in the comments below!