The Importance of a Commitment

I saw a salesperson go up to a manager the other day and say, "This guy wants to be under $250 per month." The manager then asked, "Will he buy right now if we get there?" The salesperson nodded. The manager got there, the salesperson went back to his customer and then came back a few seconds later and said, "He said it's too high."

Whoa! One of three things just happened...

1) The customer lied
2) The salesperson was confused
3) The salesperson didn't get a commitment to purchase with the offer.

I'm sure it was number 3.

Why is a commitment so important?

• Because it shows your manager that you are doing your job
• It shows your manager that the customer is serious
• It mentally takes a customer from "I'm just looking" to "I just agreed to buy a car." In the customer's mind, they make an offer and I'm sure they assume most of the time that you will accept the offer so they believe they bought a car. This is important because the stress level drops when people finally make the decision to buy.
• It helps in negotiation
• It helps in overcoming objections. "Jim, you said you would buy the car right now and we are only $0.50 a day away...surely you can give up 2 cigarettes a day to own this beautiful car, can't you?"

Now let me make a statement. I have never been a big fan of starting out with, "If terms are agreeable, will you buy the car right now?" That puts too much pressure on the customer and makes them assume that you are going to negotiate on "terms" instead of "value".

I am more of a fan of doing our job right (good greeting, building rapport, asking questions, finding out their hot buttons--focusing on them, a good test drive, a trial close and assuming that they are going to buy.) Then, it is easy to tell them a price and sometimes pretty easy to get full sticker (it happens a lot of you follow the basic steps of the sale.)

If, for some reason, they do not hook up and "first pencil" then I get a commitment.

"What did you have in mind?" I may ask.

"Uh--we were hoping to be under $200."

"Up to...?" I ask.

"Ummmm. Up to $220."

"No more than...?" I may interject...

"Hmmmm. No more than $235."

I usually try one more raise (Every $30 is a $1000 on a lease) "So--if we get close to $235, are you ready to take this car home RIGHT NOW?" I put the "right now" big and bold so you can see it. Never say "today" because "today" ends at midnight and there are a lot of other dealerships and "little birdies" between now and midnight.

OK--when I ask that question, people usually say some form of "yes" whether it is a nod, a weak "uh huh" or whatever. If they say no, find out the objection and overcome it.

You might think now is the time to present the offer to your manager. Not yet. Before you go to your manager, make sure it is a real commitment. I call it the "3 Step Commitment".

After getting the initial commitment, I will say, "OK--now what 'right now' means is that if I get there for you, you will buy the car 'right now' and take it home with you...OK?"

They usually nod or give an objection. Then I re-phrase it and say it again.

"The reason I'm saying that is because sometimes people say they will take a car 'right now' if I get a deal where they want to be. I work hard, get it there and then they give me an excuse not to take it like they have to 'think about it' or something. That makes me look bad to my manager so I just want to be clear that we are clear about what 'right now' means--right?"

They will say "yes" or give an objection.

OK--I guess there is a 4th step. Get a signed commitment--it mentally tells them once again that they are buying a car. Sometimes I even get a deposit to "show my manager that you are serious--it will make him give you a better deal."

Here's what you say to get a signed commitment. You write down the offer and have them sign under it and you say, "Here--this is what we talked about--you said you would take the car 'right now' if the payment was around $250. Sign this so I can show my manager that you are serious. It will help me help you get a great deal."

They will either sign or give an objection.

Speaking of the word "sign"--I have read a billion sales books that say to never use the word "sign" but I am comfortable using it with customers. I am also quite comfortable calling "pre-owned cars" "used cars." I am also comfortable calling credit apps credit apps, etc. Sometimes I get professional and call credit apps "customer statements" or saying, "Approve this" instead of "sign this" but I have never noticed, in my case, either way working better or worse than the other. But you know what? I'm probably wrong and the billion sales books are right! ;-)

Cool--glad we could have this little chat this morning. I'm about to head out and use these techniques today and hopefully sell a couple of cars. I have two appointments today, they both want to buy trucks even though gas is $4.00 a gallon around here and I sold a $55,000 Suburban, his and her Silverados and an Avalance on Monday. A nice 4-car day--think I may do 2 today so that will be a great start to the week!

Marv Chomer
www.CarSalesAssistant.com