For Car salesman- Most of my students are always asking me if I could show them a new close. First of all there is NO one close that works all the time. What you fail to understand is that closing is one of the last steps to sale. But in disguise it starts at the beginning. What do I mean by that?

Basic outline of steps to a sale:

• First impressions

• Greeting

• Rapport building

• Qualifying

• Presenting the vehicle

• Demonstrating the vehicle

• Asking for the order

• Getting a commitment to purchase

• Pre-Closing

• Re-Closing

If you notice above, closing is one of the last steps to a sale. So me teaching you to perform a quick close will not be effective. If you want success, then stick with the basics and stop skipping steps. You see, all of those steps are some form of closing disguised as another step. So closing starts the minute you established a first impression with your customer. So you must thoroughly go through the basic step before you can close the sale.

But more importantly, if you don't follow up or prospect then you will have pretty much have no one to perform the basic steps to a sale on. So in order for you to get customers in front of you, you must prospect and follow up effectively.

Stop Skipping Steps

The problem I see with most salespeople is that they want to take shortcuts and skip steps. Greet them properly, establish rapport with them and find their wants and needs. Present and demonstrate the product to build value etc (Building value will almost always justify the price of the vehicle). If you haven't completed the basic step how can you expect to close the sale properly? You must work your way up to the close.

Let's say you greet a customer, they tell you what they want, then you just jump right to the lot to show your inventory. You're still skipping steps. You didn't build rapport or qualify. Then chances are you'll lose an opportunity to close the sale. And if you do close the sale, it will be a grind out process based on price.

TIP: If you're closing on price then you're leaving a ton of money on the table.

Difficulty In Going Slow

It is rather a difficult task sometimes to slow down a customer. But this is also a technique you must master. Some customers will just walk right in and say "I only have 5 minutes, do you have an ABC vehicle in a XYZ color?" You got to learn to slow these people down. The way to do this is to ask a lot of questions to gain control over the conversation and slow them down.

In conversing with these customers you'll soon find out if they truly must leave in 5 minutes or not. And if they are in that much of a hurry, then just say "You know it's going to take some more time than 5 minutes to show you this vehicle properly. Did you really have to go in 5 minutes OR would you prefer to come back at a later time?"

Notice how this sets up for a perfect appointment? Just ask a serious of controlled either/or questions and set a solid appointment. Get as much information as you can so you can follow up if needed.

Setting the appointment is a good idea because if they TRULY didn't have the time then chances are you're not going to sell a vehicle in 5 minutes. And don't forget to T.O. over to your managers if needed. Just touch base with them and explain the situation and the manager should be able to handle it from there according to dealer policy.

But I always liked the idea of introducing them to my manager. I felt it made them feel more comfortable with the dealership. You can say something like "Mr./Mrs. Customer, When you come in and if by any chance  I'm a bit tied up with another customer, this is the person you want to see". Just make sure you get a much info you can get from the customer.

Building Value In Your Dealership

If this is the first time a customer has come to your dealership, ask yourself "Why they should buy from you?" A good exercise would be to copy this question and take a few moments to thoroughly answer it.

Earlier I gave you an outline of 10 basic steps to a sale for car salesman. Also I gave you a good idea of what a sale means and what creates a sale. Just to refresh your memory, creating a sale consists of selling yourself, the dealer and the product. Now on the first 6 steps of the basic steps you are actually selling yourself and the product.

But the last 4 steps of the sale are where you prove to your customer everything you told them earlier. How do you do that? You do that by building as much value as possible on your dealership. If you have a service department, a good way to do this is to do a service walk.

Most average salespeople do the service walk. But they do it after they close the sale during delivery. Why not doing it before you close the sales to build value in the dealership?

A good time to do a service walk might be to do it after a presentation or demonstration, especially if you're near the service department. Just tell the customer, "Mr./Mrs. Customer, while were here let me just show you our service department."

Then start showing the customer all the conveniences of the service department they can have if they buy a vehicle here. The body shop, parts department etc. Just get them familiar with the place so they feel more comfortable. But what's most important is you're building value in your dealership which would ultimately help you close the sale.

Keep building value in yourself as a professional car salesman, your dealership and your product and you'll increase your income easily. 

See you on the next article and have a great selling day!