Road to a Sale Step 3
On your road to a sale step 3 calls for you to select a vehicle from your current inventory. You will do so based on the information you gathered in step 2.
Putting your customer on the wrong vehicle is a recipe for disaster. You will struggle when it comes time to ask for the business because there is no urgency to fill a want or need. If you do make the sale chances are good you will leave gross on the table.
At the beginning of the page I stated the road to a sale step 3 calls for you to select a vehicle from your current inventory. First we will deal with new vehicles. Why is this important? There are several reasons.
- People get excited about what they can see, feel and touch.
Showing them a vehicle as opposed to a brochure helps them take mental ownership. Most dealerships maintain adequate inventory levels to insure there is one that will fit the bill
- You know the history of the vehicle
Dealer trades are an inevitable part of the car business. In some instances they cannot be avoided, such as times when inventories are low.
There are additional costs incurred in doing dealer trades. The cost comes from somewhere and that is usually the gross profit. If you have to dealer trade for a vehicle the dealership it is coming from may not take the same care in maintaining their inventory and vehicle condition could present an obstacle.
Many customers object to the mileage being put on their new car. Trailering the vehicle is even more costly. The dealer you are getting the vehicle from may not disclose to your inventory manager additional equipment added at their dealership until after you have made your deal. The customer has a deal, the cost of the extra equipment comes out of your gross profit.
In conclusion, think of a dealer trade like a forward pass in football. Only 3 things can happen and 2 of them are bad. Better to make a small price concession for one in stock than risk the hazards of dealer trading.
- You have no control over a customer who has left your dealership
If you dealer trade for a vehicle there is nothing preventing your customer from continuing to shop. Think of how many dealerships they will pass on the way home. What if something on the lot catches their eye. They stop, look at it and if they buy it your deal is done. No delivery, no car deal. No car deal, no paycheck.
- Broken or missing equipment will kill your deal
When you do not sell out of stock this is the risk you take. You can reassure the customer all you want you will repair what is broken or add what is missing. All you are doing, should they agree, is setting yourself up for a poor customer survey and lowered gross.
- Taking a vehicle order instead of selling out of stock
This is another part of the car business that at times is unavoidable. This carries the same risks as dealer trading with regard to not taking your customer out of the buying market. In addition the wait time often leads your customers to continue shopping. If you must take an order as opposed to selling from stock have your manager help you tighten up the details to prevent this from happening.
This module of StayOnTarget, the road to a sale step 3, taught you the value of selling from stock.
Make sure you never miss an update to the StayOnTarget training series. All you need to do is let me know where to send it.
Road to a sale step 3 of 12
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