From time to time you will see a “Green Pea” (new car salesman) come out of college and come onto the sales floor with their newfound car sales knowledge and start selling cars. This person follows their sales training and the car salesman’s tips to the letter and begins doing business right and left. They are excited and quite proud of their success in their new career as a car salesman. They smile all the time and enthusiastically greet their customers while driving in more sales and commissions.
Then, over time, they start thinking that they can shorten the steps of their workout and save some time and energy. They also begin to believe that they can pick a safe sale at first sight and begin to pick and choose their customers. Then, before they know what hit them, their sales start dropping and with them their commissions. The new car salesman is scratching his head trying to figure out why no one is buying from him. This is because they need to get back to the basics of their car salesman training and sales tips. Read on to discover the most basic and essential car salesman tips to be a successful car salesman.
#1 Essential Car Salesman Tip: Discovery
The basic meet and greet is the first meeting of the car seller and the potential car buyer and is a very important step in selling cars. They know what they say about first impressions and it’s no different when it comes to selling cars for a living. Introducing yourself quickly and professionally is the right thing to do, but if you’re poorly dressed or smell like an ashtray, you have a good chance of making a bad first impression. You must look, act, dress and speak like a pro to make a good impression. This car salesman tip will put you on the right foot.
#2 Basic Car Salesman Tip: Choice
This tip for car salespeople may seem obvious, but making the right choice is often overlooked by inexperienced car salespeople. You will never sell and the buyer will never buy the wrong car at the right price. All car buyers want the top of the range car at the price of a base car. Spending some time talking and identifying their needs will save you a lot of heartache. If you show your customer the full-featured model and they can only afford the base model, you risk embarrassing them. However, if you show them the base model and they can afford more, they will bump into themselves. It’s easy to upgrade them to the nicer models, but very difficult and inconvenient to bring them back to a model that fits their budget.
#3 Basic Car Salesman Tip: Cherry Pick
Cherry picking is the practice of a car salesman who believes they can determine a customer’s creditworthiness or buying potential by just looking at them. Then they decide whether to serve that customer or have another salesperson help them. The downside to cherry picking is that clients often dress and intentionally try to look less desirable as a defense strategy. They want the seller to pretend they have no money or credit so they don’t get pressured. I’ve seen many sellers miss out on very nice commissions through cherry picking. The moral of this car salesman tip is that you can’t tell the buyers and onlookers by looking at them. The more people you help, the more you will sell; It’s all about the numbers.
If you find yourself in a slump in car sales, go back and read these very basic but very important tips for car salespeople. You have to act like a professional from the start and know your customers and their needs. Talk to as many potential customers as possible, stick to the basics, and your numbers will continue to grow, as will your commissions.