How to "Spot Deliver" Cars

When I sold cars in Tennessee, we spot delivered everything--which means we sold them the car right after they said yes.

When I moved back to Michigan, I saw a delivery log. I saw salespeople scheduling deliveries a couple of days after they customers said yes.

What is the problem with that? Well...

1) You give the people time to shop you.
2) You give the people time to listen to the "little birdies"--you all know what I'm talking about. Friends, neighbors, family members and co-workers whispering into their ears, "Man--you're not getting a good deal! Go see my friend at this other dealership."
3) You risk the chance of them seeing a low-ball ad in the paper.

You get the picture.

I try to spot 100% of the people I sell. Here are some techniques that I use.

1) "Would you mind doing the paperwork right now? We're not that busy and I know we'll be a lot busier tomorrow and I don't want you to have to wait. Plus--it will really help me out." That last line is important because if you've done your job right, you will have built rapport and they people will want to help you out.

2) If someone wants me to do a dealer trade for them, I will either get a huge deposit and let the customer assume that it is non-refundable or I will try to switch them. Is having a red one really all that important to you? I'll save you a couple of bucks if you take the blue one because I'd have to pay a driver to go get it anyways and at least this way, you can start enjoying your car today.

3) Assume that they will take it today. Don't give them the option to do it tomorrow. I work with a girl that had a guy who wanted to buy a car. I could tell that he wanted it right now since he was asking her opinion on features of it with a huge smile on his face. She said to him, "Great! Do you want to do the paperwork right now or do you want to do it tomorrow?" He answered, "Lets do it tomorrow--that will give me time to think about it." Wow! She created an objection! I took her to the side and told her to do #1 above. She did and he hooked right up. So, to assume that they will do it right now, get the paperwork started and if they give an objection, overcome it and keep on trucking.

My gut feeling is that it's always better to lose a few bucks to spot a deal rather than let someone have a couple of days on a full boat--what's that old saying? A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.
My kids can't want until Christmas. Happy holidays, everyone.