Information you Want, Information you Get!

Car salesmen have a reputation to live up to.  (Down to?)  I mean we come from a long line of classic characters in Film and Theater.  From Cadillac Man to The Goods to Used Cars, the car salesman image has been portrayed as sleazeballs and crooks.  Public perception of salespeople has been shaped and sometimes tainted by such films as: Traveling Man, The Closer, The Hot Spot, Diamond Men, some scenes in American Beauty, Wall Street, Boiler Room, Glengarry Glen Ross, Death of A Salesman, Prime Gig, The New Age, Tucker, Billionaire Boys Club, Barbarians at the Gate, even Jerry Maguire!


So there's this negative image thing I have to try and overcome each and every day.  Not to mention years of personal abuse customers have felt through the years from pushy salesmen.  Strange they feel compelled to take this pent-up aggression out on me during the part where I politely ask for the business!  Mark McCormack, founder for International Management Group wrote that, "Anger can be an effective negotiating tool, but only as a calculated act, never as a reaction." 


There are times where I feel as though I am caught in a crossfire, for good reason I suppose.  We are talking about YOUR money.  So how does an easygoing, non-threatening person like me get by in this dog-eat-dog business?  Kill em with kindness...among other things...

• Use your strengths!  Emphasize the presentation process and fully demonstrate the products to build value. Then (ideally) the close won't be so hard!
• Reinforce the desire within yourself to provide customers with all the information they need to make an informed decision, no matter what the attitude or objection.
• Never let fear of losing a sale get in your way of smiling and having fun!  Sales is a transfer of emotion from one person to the next, so why not enjoy yourself?

"Arggh I just came here to look and nobody is being very helpful!"  Sir, madam, let's Slow down and get you that information.

Car buyers are more informed than they have ever been.  The values of vehicles are all out in the open for what trades are worth, what other cars are on the market, what incentives are, etc.  So when you come up to me with a problem I want to be the guy that solves it!  The problem may be that you are in a car you don't like, or it doesn't work right or it doesn't do the job you want it to.  So, how can I give you the information and help push you to make the best decision?  

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• First, be truthful.  "If you always tell the truth you never have to remember what you say" -Zig Ziglar.  
• Second, be attentive. "We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less," -Diogenes.  
• Third, think creatively to offer the best solution.  "Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don’t have any problems, you don’t get any seeds." -Norman Vincent Peale

The reason I enjoy sales so much (and car sales in particular) is the opportunity to not only work hard to earn what I'm worth (instead of the hourly/salary jobs I've grown accustomed to), but also how I can use my creativity to make something out of virtually nothing.

And that's information you can take to the bank.