100 Car Salesperson Tips Part 2

6-Enthusiasm Sells Cars – Lots of Cars

This is one of the essential car salesperson tips, but enthusiasm sells cars. When you are enthusiastic about how you approach your customer, how you act and react directly affects their actions and reactions. When you are enthusiastic about your product, your dealership, and yourself, it becomes contagious, and your customer gets enthusiastic. Enthusiastic customers buy cars. When you approach your customer in a monotone voice, dragging your feet. Or acting as if they took you away from something more substantial, your customer will not be enthusiastic. You could be turning them into a be-back before you even have a chance to get started.

As I said, this is a very basic car sales tip. But I continue to see people selling cars for years and years approach customers in a less-than-enthusiastic fashion. Do they sell cars? Sure, they do, but not nearly as many as they could. If they were excited and enthused about having a customer and the product, they were about to demonstrate.

You don’t need to be over the top and obnoxious; you need to greet and address the customer with an enthusiastic voice and a smile to get started. When you start talking about your product and do it enthusiastically, they will start getting excited about it. If you need some help being enthusiastic, think about how you’ll sell them a car. Plus, they’ll pay your commission, which should be enough to make you enthusiastic.

Emotion Will Sell More Cars

Emotion sells cars, not that logic doesn’t, but emotion will sell many more cars than logic. The logical customer is all about dollars and cents, and there is no excitement. Still, when you can excite your customer and catch your enthusiasm about your vehicle. And then your numbers, your terms, and your dealership will help you close more deals, sell more cars, and pay more commission. Enthusiasm is more than a smile and the way you talk. Plus, it’s one of the essential car salesperson tips.

It’s also your gestures, body language, and how you move. Walk briskly as if you were on a mission and act as if you are excited to assist your customer. Being enthusiastic is more than just a meet and greet. It needs to be a part of everything you do, from the test drive to delivering numbers in negotiating; enthusiasm is contagious, and it sells cars.

Make it a habit of being enthusiastic throughout every part of the sale, from meet and greet to delivery, and you will sell more cars. The top salespeople in the field can be the biggest grump you have ever met. However, they can instantly become the most enthusiastic person in the world when they see a customer.

car salesperson selling a car

7-Relax – Tension is Contagious, and It Can Kill Deals

In earlier car salesperson tips, I talked about how enthusiasm is contagious, but tension can also be contagious when selling cars. If you are a salesman and are all wound up, under stress, or very nervous, the customer can pick that up. They will also become tense. It’s essential to relax and talk to the customer as if you’re talking to a friend. If you are new to the business and you are nervous about what you’re saying, tell the customer that you are new, and almost all customers will be very understanding and even try to help you.

Pressure and Car Salesperson Tips

Even if you aren’t a new car salesman and know what you’re doing, the customer can sense something is incorrect. For example, if the end of the month is near and you need to get a couple more cars for the bonus, the customer will sense the pressure and cause them to be tense. It’s hard to explain because it’s almost like an animal instinct. People can sense when others are tense or under pressure which causes them to be the same. When customers are tense, they are not very receptive and rarely make a deal.

Often, the customer doesn’t even understand what’s happening; they pick up or sense the tension, making them uneasy. They often have no idea why they feel that way, but they know something is not quite right, and all they want to do is leave. Tension and car salesman desperation are deal killers. It’s your job to make them feel comfortable and relaxed because these emotions allow them to make significant purchases that pay you big car sales commissions. Relax and have some fun with your customers. Laugh, joke and make their experience memorable and you will sell more cars and make more money.

8-Old Car Business Saying – Buyers Are Liars

This is probably one of the oldest sayings in the car business, “Buyers are Liars,” but it holds. For some reason, car buyers think lying is acceptable when dealing with a salesperson. I don’t know why, and I don’t know where it came from. However, even the most honest people believe lying is acceptable when working with a car salesman.

I have even sold cars to clergy members who lied to me. There was one person I sold a car to that I caught in a lie, so when the deal was done, I felt compelled to ask why he lied. He said it was an acceptable practice and part of car buying. He could not elaborate on why or where he heard that lying was acceptable. That’s what we deal with daily when we sell cars for a living.

It doesn’t matter when they lie or what lie they tell. Sometimes it’s about their trade-in; sometimes, it’s about the price they received from another dealer. Other times it’s about their budget or down payment. The simple fact is that car buyers are liars. Don’t hold it against them, but know that this is how it works and that they believe it’s an acceptable practice. Roll with the flow, but don’t believe them when they tell you they’ll be back. Or they can only afford $300 a month, or the other dealer had it for $500 less because, more than likely, they are lying. It’s part of their negotiation tactics, and in their book, all is fair when buying a car. This might not be the most important, but it is one car salesperson you need to know.

car sales advice

9-Every Car Buyer is Different

Don’t make the same mistake that so many car salespeople make, and that mistake is believing that there are only a few different types of car buyers. Buying a car is much more than a simple transaction handled at the cash register. If you’re going to succeed as a car sales professional, you need to understand that everyone is different from the last one.

They all have different needs, budgets, car-buying experiences, friends with advice, and emotional baggage that affects how they buy cars. Customers need something different to trip their trigger, so they’ll buy a car from you. Mostly, it’s about money or payments. But when engaging their emotions and making a gross profit on the sale, you need to address their emotional needs.

Car Salesperson Tips on Buyers

Many people sell cars for a living, but the ones who make big money are the salespeople who can dig deep into the buyer’s mind. Also, determine and address what they need beyond price and payment. Some customers must be told to buy; others will resist all your closing techniques. Once you determine their needs, you can adjust your techniques and sell them a car.

The car salesman needs to be an actor that can adlib at a moment’s notice. You must be able to change and become the person the buyer needs you to be to get them to make a buying decision. Listen closely to your customer and become the salesperson they need you to be so you can sell them a car.

The average car salesman can relate to a small percentage of their customers, and of those customers, they will often sell them a car because they can relate to them. However, if you can only relate to a specific type of customer similar to yourself, your sales will be very limited. Once you can adjust and relate to practically any car buyer, your sales start to soar along with your income.

10-Treat Customers Like Royalty

This car salesman tip may seem like common sense, and it is, but many salespeople need to be reminded of this regularly. There is one thing you can count on in the car business: buyers will often visit multiple dealerships. Lucky for you, customers don’t always get treated very well at car dealerships, which provides you with a fantastic opportunity. If a customer visits your dealership and treats them like royalty, you stand a much better chance of selling them a car.

When you start working with a customer, act as if they can purchase every car on your lot with the stroke of a pen. Make them feel like they practically own the place, and when you do, the buyers that can buy are more likely to buy, and the buyers that can’t buy because of credit will usually tell you before you spend too much time with them. When you respect and treat them like they are the most important customers at the dealership, they feel special, and everyone likes to feel special. People frequent businesses because the employees or owners know their names, and they feel special. Customers who feel special are much more likely to purchase because you make them feel good about themselves.

Car Salesperson Tips Say Everyone Likes to Be Treated Like Royalty

You will be surprised by some of the results when you habitually treat your customers like royalty. I know firsthand that this will bring surprising results because I’ve had several customers with terrible credit that we could not get financed leave only to return a day or two later with a cosigner. The cosigner signed for them, and I sold a car. After delivery, I talked to him, and they said they were so impressed by how I treated them that they wanted to return to do business with me.

They discussed going to other dealers first but said they were treated like second-class citizens and would never return. I have one similar customer that’s a regular customer and buys every couple of years plus; they have sent me numerous referrals.

Treat your customers like royalty, and not only will you sell more cars, but you can also gain some great referrals. Referrals are always much more accessible to close than fresh-ups and usually pay more profit.

auto salesperson pointers

11-People Come to Dealerships to Buy Cars

It’s true; people come to car dealerships to buy cars. Not to collect brochures, look around, or burn up a few hours of their free time. People come to dealerships because they want to buy a car. Customers can think of all kinds of reasons to keep you at bay, but the fact is, they want to buy a car. They might not plan on buying a car the same day they visit your lot, but they intend to replace their current vehicle sooner or later.

Salespeople often forget that people are on the lot looking at vehicles because they want to buy them. Those salespeople believe that customers come to the dealership for one of the silly reasons they give the salesman to keep them at a distance. (Remember the second of the car salesperson tips “Two People Meet and One Gets Sold”) These potential customers do want to keep the car salesman at a distance because they don’t want to deal with what they believe to be an annoying car salesman.

Car Shoppers are Car Buyers When You Do Your Job

Maybe your approach rubs the car shopper the wrong way, or maybe they need you to back off a little. They don’t know if you are one of those “typical car salesmen” they try to avoid. Give them a chance to realize that you are not the typical car salesman but a professional there to help. Back off, soften your approach, and avoid directing or telling them anything. Try to be more of a guide and let them lead until they open up a little.

Then answer their questions and progress faster, which makes the customer feel comfortable. Press too hard, and they will get in their car and leave; too soft, and they will walk all over you. If they ask for a brochure, they are ready to leave. Why would someone want a brochure at a dealership with hundreds of cars they can see, feel, and test drive now and in person?

Just remember why they are at your dealership…to buy a car. Adjust accordingly, and you may be able to sell them a car.

Coming Soon – 100 Car Salesperson Tips – Part 3