car salesman advice

Recently Autotrader conducted a study by asking 4002 car shoppers about the car buying process and what they would consider the ideal car buying process. Obviously anytime you talk to a large group people of people you are going to have a wide range of answers, but there are some points that stand out. Take a closer look at these points and you can see some great tips and advice for car salesmen. If you drill down into results of this study you will find some treasures that can help car salesmen be more successful.

Car Salesman Advice in Here Somewhere

There are always two sides to every story one from the car buyer and one from the car salesman and/or dealership. Lets take a closer look at some of their numbers. First off the study says that only 17 people out 4002 car buyers approve of the current car buying process. Wow, that’s a pretty low number, but I am a bit skeptical about this number for many reasons. However I am sure that there is always some aspect of the process that could be improved so we will move forward.

Test Drives: 88% of those surveyed said they would not buy a car without a test drive, but 81% would prefer a different test drive experience. 67% would like not having sales pressure during the test drive. That statement alone is great car salesman advice. You should explain and demonstrate vehicles features and operation, but after that you should shut up and let the potential buyer experience the car. If you are talking during the entire test drive or trying to close the sale you need to change your ways. People need to spend some time without you talking so they can experience and imagine owning the car. After the initial basic instructions you should keep your mouth shut unless asked a question or until the test drive is over.

Buying the Car: The study says that 84% want to buy a car in person and 43% see the dealerships as a place to learn. So this should tell you that product knowledge is important. If a car buyer can get accurate information from a car salesman the salesperson isn’t doing their job. Therefore this car salesmen advice says know your product and educate your buyer. You are the professional and you should have the answers so make sure you know your product inside and out.

Negotiation: 56% of the study participants said they want to negotiate. They feel they are getting their best price by negotiating the deal with the car salesman. I love it, but what does that do to one-price dealerships and Internet quotes that are rock bottom. Does that mean you will lose sales because you won’t negotiate regardless of your one-price policy or triple net Internet quotes? Could that possibly mean that 46% percent would pay MSRP? I doubt that, but the simple fact that 56% want to negotiate is a good piece of advice for the car salesman.

Car Salesman: 73% are willing to drive farther for a great salesperson and only 65% are willing to drive for a lower price. I bet that number surprises most car salesmen. That is great news for the car salesman. In other words you can make a big difference because your customer will drive to buy a car from you. The best car salesman advice you can take from this fact is that you need to be a professional and make a great impression on your customer. Under promise and over deliver and you will have a following that will keep coming back and likely send you referrals if you ask.

Save Time: 72% of buyers want to save time at the dealership. That number doesn’t surprise me one bit because I have visited dealerships on a busy day where car buyers could ultimately spend 3 or 4 hours to buy a car. Usually the bottleneck is waiting to get in to finance office, but that still counts as part of the car buying process and often the most dissatisfying part of buying a car. Nobody wants to spend half of their day off to buy a car so do everything you can to keep the process moving, but don’t shortcut the time you spend building rapport, doing a walk-around and going for a test drive. This car salesman advice could mean the difference between a disgruntled car buyer and happy buyer that can provide you with great review, repeat business and referrals.

Make it a point to take a look at the the Autotrader infographic you can find here and check out some of the other changes that car buyers of the future would love to see (because they always want more remember the Truth About Car Salesmen). There are some good points about the car buying process in this article that can offer you some great car salesman advice. Things will continue to change as it has in the past, but the car business is up to the challenge and we will make money one way or another because we are professionals.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot
KB

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4 Comments

KB · April 15 at 12:43 pm

Thank You John
I fixed the errors.

John · April 15 at 12:18 pm

I dont get the part about if we give a customer accurate informatiion we arent doing our job? Typo? And it is ‘ lose sales’ not ‘loose’. Come on Karl

Patty VanDyke · April 15 at 11:04 am

The link in the newsletter doesn’t work to AutoTrader Infograph.

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