By Mike Anderson
The road to the sale has shifted from a one-way road without passing lanes to a fast-paced highway with many on and off-ramps that allow the driver to enter and exit where and when they choose.
Throughout my 35-year career, I have experienced anywhere from as few as 8 to as many as 16 steps to complete a sales transaction. These “steps to the sale” suggest that there is a need for a linear sales process. Of course, there is a natural sequence of events that must take place during a vehicle transaction. As an example, it is very difficult to sell a Vehicle Service Contract if there is no vehicle selected or sold. There is also no trade difference without a value on the trade. In addition, a linear sales process is easier to understand and teach when training new sales associates on how to facilitate a vehicle transaction.
However, when you consider the changes that have already taken place regarding access to information and the new technologies available to the consumer, such as Roadster’s Express Showroom. It is now time to understand that sales professionals must adjust their process and meet the guest when they are in the sales funnel. It does not matter if your dealership has a digital sales tool on your website or not, the guest can and will research the purchase transaction prior to communicating with the dealership. Your sales associates need to be prepared.
This is bigger than just omnichannel, if we understand and embrace these changes. It is necessary that the sales team discover early on where the buyer is in the buying process and what the buyer has already researched and concluded independently. Sales professionals should respect the work and efforts that the consumer has completed, prior to arriving in the showroom or submitting an inquiry digitally.
Imagine how the consumer must feel after spending 9 to 10 hours researching their vehicle and then reaching out to the dealership, only to have the sales advisor ignore all that they have researched at the start with “hello.”
Embracing the opportunity to discover where the customer is in the sales funnel serves the sales team extremely well. Assuming the customer has concluded what vehicle they are interested in and has a general idea of their budget, the needs analysis process on the salesperson’s side can be expedited. This allows for the buying process to be more efficient, quicker and more importantly satisfactory to the customer.
The question is, how can we accomplish this task as sales professionals? One way is to change your greeting. Regardless if you are greeting the customer in the showroom or digitally, once you have established the connection, consider asking them if they have done any prior research on the vehicle of their choice. If so congratulate them for their efforts. You can then ask a few questions that will allow you to catch up on where they are in the process, so you can better serve them with their vehicle purchase.
Your greeting might sound something like this:
- Welcome to Anderson Auto, my name is and you are?
- Is this your first visit to Anderson Auto, it is, great.
- Do you have an appointment with a Sales Advisor today? No, that is fine, I would be honored to assist you today, here is my business card.
- I would like to say how grateful I am to have the opportunity to serve you today, we know you have many choices in the marketplace and are grateful that you are here.
- May I ask, prior to your arrival today, did you have a chance to look at our website or do any research online? You did, fantastic I love working with an educated guest, if it is alright with you I would like to ask you a few questions to catch up to where you are in the buying cycle so I can better serve you and expedite your purchase.
A greeting similar to this can serve you well in many ways. First, you immediately differentiate yourself from most other salespeople that simply ask in one form or another “Can I help you”?
Next, the customer will eagerly tell you what they have accomplished prior to their visit and you can then pick up from where they are and then expedite the transaction.
The key to success when you start down the highway on the sixth on-ramp is to facilitate the customer to the next logical step to purchase a vehicle. Once this has been accomplished, it’s the responsibility of the sales professional to then direct the customer to the next step of the transaction.
Stay tuned for the next process step that will aid you in discovering the “Why” behind completing the “Needs Analysis” with your guest.
Mike Anderson is the Pres of The Rikess Group, you can reach out and ask questions by visiting The Rikess Group or sending us a message on our Contact Form.