How to Prospect

I once read a book about selling that made a startling claim. It said, "Give me two people. I will train one on how to sell cars but not prospect and I will train the other on how to prospect and not sell cars. The one trained on prospecting will sell three times the amount of cars as the other." I would probably agree with this statement because of a couple of reasons...

1) People usually know what they want when they hit the lot and really don't need to be sold and
2) The hardest thing to do in selling cars is to get more people coming up; asking for you.
3) Also, if someone comes up and asks for you--you probably have a 70-80% chance of closing them but if you catch a "fresh up", you only have about an 18% chance of selling them.

So, the big questions remains--how do you get people up to the dealership and asking for you? Here are a few tips...

1) Collect email addresses for everyone you talk to and send them an email anytime you have a special sale. Make sure you have a way for them to "opt out" so you don't become a spammer. I use a similar system for my website and use a company called aweber.com to handle my emails. It's costs me $19.99 per month and is worth every penny.

2) Send out a monthly newsletter or postcard. Tell the current rebates, have a recipe and offer $50-$100 cash for referrals.

3) Start a "shopping service." Call all of your customers and tell them that you are offering a new service only for your customers. Tell them that you are keeping track of the vehicles your customers will want in the future and that you will contact them when the deals are the best on that particular car.

4) "Would you takes"--what is a would you take? Take a business card and write this on the back, "I have a buyer for your car. Please stop by and see me." Write nothing more and nothing less. Put it on cars (in the door/window on the driver's side) that look like they would be in an equity situation such as a 4 year old Impala. Do not put it in anything that your customers will most likely have negative equity in such as any dodge or chrysler product ;-) If you put out 100 of these, you will probably get 20 people coming up and asking for you. They will always say the same thing, "I wanted to see what this was about." Here's what you say:

"I put that on your car because my used car manager is looking to buy some older cars like yours. Have you thought about selling it?'

"Well--how much will you give me for it?"

"I don't know--I'd have to get it appraised. Let me ask you this--if I buy it from you, what are you going to drive?"

Hopefully they will say something like, "I don't know--you have any good deals?" or "I was thinking about getting a new (whatever you sell.) If they just want to sell and not get anything, get it appraised and see if you can buy it. Maybe your used car manager will give you a spiff for getting it for him.

I used to put these out at the local Wal-Mart when I sold in Tennessee and sold quite a few cars from it. Please check to see if it is legal and make sure you avoid private property.

5) Here is something we never do! Carry business cards with you and give them to everyone one you meet. Tell them that you sell cars and that if they ever want a great deal to come and see you.

6) Put up a website and collect email addresses. Offer a once-a-month prize for people who enter the email address such as a $25 gas card.

If you do some of these, you will sell more cars.