Marv Chomer's Blog

New "Universal" CRM Coming!

2010-06-28T23:21:00.005-04:00

Introducting Up-Sell CRM!

I have been selling Car Sales Assistant for over 10 years now with great success. I get a lot of questions, though, asking if I have a version for other fields such as real estate, boats, motor cycles, insurance, etc. I always put it on the back burner to write versions for all those other fields (and more) but it takes a lot of time to write custom CRM programs!

Well, I had a brain storm to write a "Universal" CRM that can be customized for ANY field out there. Heck--if you are a church pastor and want to keep track of your members, it can even be customized to this! They sky is the limit.

I think I am gonna call it "Up-Sell CRM" and it is finished. All I have to do is write the manual and put up the web site.

With this program, you (or I) can edit just about everything--views, quick links, fields that you use, what money totals do you show, colors, etc. Just about everything is customizable.

I get people who ask me, "Can you add a field for Social Security # to CSA?" Well, if you want a field for that, you can add it.

I am going to make it so people can upload their created-templates to my website for others to use and download ones that others have made. Perhaps someone has a better car sales CRM template than CSA? It is possible. By the way, the first template I will make will be a car sales one that works just like CSA to show the power of it.

Here are a few screen shots of where you can edit the fields.

The above picture shows where you can edit the personal items that you want to keep track of in your CRM.

This picture shows the "Sold" items to have in your CRM. You can also have a seperate template for unsold "Prospects"

More pictures and info coming soon so keep checking back!

Coming Soon: FreeCustomerLog.com

2010-04-14T23:48:00.001-04:00

Coming Soon: FreeCustomerLog.com! Put away those paper logs!

I got an I-Pad!

2010-04-09T00:18:00.002-04:00

I guess I fell into the hype--I got an I-Pad the other day. I really didn't need one (I have 3 computers, a MacBook that dual boots into Windows XP, an I-Phone) but I wanted one. I have been working hard lately selling cars and programming so I decided to reward myself.

It was funny--when I mentioned buying it, my wife said she would never use it (more on that later...)

Here are some of my initial feelings about the I-Pad.

The large touchscreen is really awesome.
The photo stuff is cool--the way you can pinch open groups of photos and view them in a cool origami fashion (you have to see it to believe it!)
I bought an App called "Star Walk"--it is so freaking cool. It knows where you are (based on GPS no doubt) and you can hold it up to the sky in any direction and see exactly where the stars are--it is almost like looking through a window at the heavens--only with cool constellation outlines, colors, music and more. Only $4.99 and worth every penny!!!
I downloaded the IBooks App and bought a book about Steve Jobs for $11.99 (about $5 cheaper than buying an actual book.) It is so cool reading on the I-Pad--you flick a page to turn it, you can look up words in a dictionary, it remembers what page you are on--and a lot of the classics are free (Mark Twain, Jack London, the Bible, etc.)
I'm listening to Pandora radio on my I-Pad right now--a live version of "Whole Lotta Love" by Zeppelin.
The I-Pad is also a big I-Pod!
I downloaded NetFlix and we watch streaming movies through the I-Pad.
The have a cool Marvel Comics App where you can get free comics and buy them for $1.99 on average. I don't read comics anymore but I could see how kids could love this App!
All I-Phone Apps work on the I-Pad.
Email and browsing the net are wonderful using your fingers instead of a mouse. Man--I can't say enough about it!
You can feel the quality--a glass screen, aluminum body, the colors and screen are crisp and sharp--man--Apple really has its shit together!

All in all, I was feeling stupid after buying it but once I got it home--I was hooked.

Oh yeah--speaking of my wife--she is very religious so when she found out she could read the Bible on it--she was hooked and said it was "very cool." Wow!

Coming on April 1, 2010 CSA 2010!

2010-03-20T00:46:00.003-04:00

This is no "April Fool's" Joke!

I will be releasing CSA 2010 on April 1, 2010. It is going to look very similar to my http://FollowUpCRM.com service but will work on a PC with all versions of Windows from XP and up.

It is going to have a tag-line in the order of "Follow Up Simplified" because that is my goal. In previous versions, I tried to make it an "end all" program for car salespeople--covering everything I could think of but I will be the first to admit that I made some confusing decisions.

This one will be the easiest CSA to use--period!

Please check back and try it out when ready--I'm sure you will love it.

Marv Chomer

http://CarSalesAssistant.com

http://FollowUpCRM.com

http://CheeseWong.com

Coming Soon:

http://CoolFaceBookGames.com

HONK if You Own a Toyota Bumper Sticker

2010-01-31T21:50:00.005-05:00

Pretty funny bumper sticker for sale--check it out at CheeseWong.com.

FollowUpCRM.com is up and running!

2010-01-01T21:22:00.002-05:00

Follow Up CRM is now up and running. Visit FollowUpCRM.com and register for your free 2 week trial.

Happy New Year!

Marv

FollowUpCRM.com Screenshots and Information

2009-12-30T23:07:00.014-05:00

Exciting News Everyone!!!

Hi, Everyone! I am very excited to announce that FollowUpCRM.com will be going live on 1/1/2010. What is it? It is my new online CRM system. Right now, it will support car salespeople and in the future it will support...

Insurance salespeople
Real estate agents
RV, 4-wheeler, motorcycles, snowmobile salespeople
Doctors, Lawyers, other Professionals
Cell Phone salespeople
Appliance Salespeople
Boat sales, etc. The sky is the limit!

As the name states, it is an online program that you run through your browser. It works well on windows, mac, cell phones, net books, etc. It will work over any browser from any computer. Check your customers at home, at work, on a plane, in a train, on the beach--wherever!

I will be charging a small charge to use it--probably $10-$15 per month per user (more for dealership versions with the manager stuff...) and will be giving away free months for trials, for referrals, for people that post a lot in the forums, etc. We are going to have fun!

OK--first question people may ask is, "What about security?" Here is what it will have in place...

128bit SSL encryption
Encryption of sensitive data like addresses, emails & phone numbers.
Encrypted passwords to get in the program with encrypted online folders.

Here is a screen shot with a sample of the encryption. It is (as far as I know and have studied) un-crackable.

Here is what the main screen will look like.

On the upper left, notice the "Money Made"--you can keep track of where you are. Under that are a ton of quick links. Next to it are some easy to use search functions and then lists of your customers sold this month, hot prospects and pending sales/sold orders. To the far right is a "To Do List" as well as your appointments.

If you notice the menu, it is a pull-down type and makes it easy to create certain types of customers or prospects. Here is an example of creating an internet lead.

After you click NEW INTERNET, you are taken to the PROSPECT SCREEN to enter the internet lead's information. From there you can edit data, track contact history, print letters, set appointments, send emails and more! Here it is.

If you will notice, unlike my previous versions of CSA, only important information for prospects are on this screen. I also made it where you put "Vehicle Wanted" and "Trade Info" into text boxes without having to have a field for Year, Make, Model, Color, etc. It makes it a lot easier and faster to create a prospect or customer. Notice the "Contact History" on the bottom right. Put what you talked about in the text box, click ADD and it is added to your history. If you print a letter or send an email, it is automatically added to your contact history. See the field that says "Last Contact?" When you add to your contact history (or print a letter or send an email) it makes that into todays date so in the main form, you can call certain types of prospects or customers at certain intervals. Here is a screen shot of the settings where you can set up your own values for call intervals.

In this example, I will contact internet customers every 2 days and sold customers every 45 days, etc.

What about automated follow up? FollowUpCRM.com makes it very easy. The easiest it has ever been in any of my programs. You can create your own custom letters and emails and save them for laster. The program automatically merges your data with them. By the way--the emails are full HTML so you can have colors, images (you have to link to them on an external website), different fonts, etc. Here is a screenshot of the word processor.

See the stuff like ~firstname~ and ~lastname~? FollowUpCrm.com merges that with your data. If you print a letter, it is converted to a PDF file and you can use a pdf reader like Adobe Acrobat (free from Adobe.com) or any other one to view and print the letters.

Setting up follow up is very easy now. Here is a screenshot.

In this example, 1 day after a sale, it will generate a letter for a sold customer that is either new or used that has paid cash, financed or leased. You can break it down and send a csi letter (for example) to only new car cash deals 14 days after the sale. You can have an unlimited amount of follow up items and it can generate phone calls, letters or emails. Also, if you set up a follow up email for an internet lead and they come in and buy, the program will know this and quit sending them follow up emails as a prospect and switch over to sold follow ups.

Speaking of email, when you are a paid user (not available with trial) you will get your own FollowUpCRM.com email address. You will be able to use it to send emails to your customers. You can send a monthly news letter, a thank you email, etc. If someone responds to the followupcrm.com email, it gets replied-to your real email address so you can use it as usual. I have to give users a followupcrm.com email address because that is the only way that godaddy (my host) will allow people on my website to send email and because it will stay out of spam filters better if the email is from the hosted website.

One more screen shot of the program in action. This is the customer screen. Notice the differences between it and the prospect screen.

Oh yeah--did I mention that this program works well over a cell phone? At no extra charge? Proof is in the pudding. Here is a screenshot of the program in use via my I-Phone. That is an older version of it so the final product might look a little different (the zip code won't be wrapped for example...)

Well, everyone, as you can tell, I am very excited. I hope you all give my new program a try. I'm even going to have a button that you can click if it helps you sell a car so everyone can see how effective it is.

Best regards and Happy New Year!

Marv Chomer

www.CarSalesAssistant.com

www.FollowUpCRM.com

Coming on or around 1/1/2010: FollowUpCRM.com!

2009-12-23T00:27:00.006-05:00

I am proud to announce that my new service, FollowUpCRM.com will be up and live on 1/1/2010 (or within a couple of days LOL) Instead of a one time big charge, there will be small monthly charges for its use--I'll keep it reasonable, I promise! Also, I will be offering free trials so people will be able to see the ease-of-use and the power of this program.

Think of it as Car Sales Assistant that runs online through a web browser on any computer, net book or even cell phone that has a true browser on it (I-Phone does and I think Blackberry does, I'm sure Android does, etc.) It will be very cool! I am using it full time right now and I love it--I love the fact that if I am on the lot and need a #, I can access my data through my I-Phone, click to dial, and call my customer.

Initially, it will be released for car salespeople (since I am one.) Next, there will be a version for dealerships with cool manager stuff like averages, closing ratios, blah blah blah. Then, the fun starts--versions for boat salespeople, insurance agents, real estate agents, RV salespeople, etc. You know what? I had an insurance agent give me a quote for health insurance 2 months ago and she has never called me to close the sale. Whoops! FollowUpCRM will almost force her to call me and make a sale (I'm ready to hook up but her laziness might cause me to shop her--just like your customers will shop you if you don't do a decent job of follow-up.)

OK--I'm on a rant. Lets just say that I am very excited about this one.

Here are some cool features...

Full html email support with a built-in editor where you can create templates and use them over and over--FollowUpCRM will even merge it with your customer data!
Print letters to your customers ONLINE! How? FollowUpCRM will take your letter and create a PDF file that you can print. Don't like the cheap ink jet printers at work? Print at home on your big-daddy $1000 color laser! Oh yeah--your letters can have colors now. Sweet!
Set the number of days to contact certain types of customers. For example, I have mine set to call my sold customers every 45 days and my internet leads every 2 days (as well as phone ups, prospects, people on your general mailing list, people on a want list, etc.) If the person is not contacted (email, letter or phone call) within the # of days, they will show up on a quick link until you contact them! (Too bad the insurance agent I spoke about didn't have this feature--I would have already hooked up!!!!!)
Speaking of contacts, FollowUpCRM keeps track of your contact history AUTOMATICALLY!
I'll admit--the automated follow up feature on CSA7 can tend to stink. I have simplified it dramatically. It is very easy to use and set up and has automated letters to print AS WELL AS automated emails to send. Whoopie!
When you first log on, you go to a main screen--there you see all your quick links (like CSA7 has) as well as your money made (today, month, year, career), a quick search area, a quick list one (for example, if you want to quickly see all your phone ups from last month or your sold customers from March of 2003...) It also has your sold customers for the month, your HOT prospects (people you are working), a cool TO-DO LIST and your appointments.

OK--this just scratches the surface of what this program has. A few people have asked me about security. I take security very seriously--I don't want people snooping at my customers and I know you don't either. Your customers are your property, not mine--I just store them for you and provide a program to manipulate the data to help you sell more cars.

Here is a list of the security measures that this program will employ...

Your log on password is encrypted. For example, if you use "password" as a password, it is encrypted to read rN20SDiz6HJ0fJ6xHUHAjA== (which is "password" encrypted)
The password has some "salt" added to it--do a google search for "encryption salt" for more info--lets just say that it adds an extra layer to protect from dictionary attacks.
All sensitive data (address, birthday, phone numbers, vin #'s, email addresses, etc.) for your customers will be encrypted using a 128 bit encryption process that even the defense department can't crack. There will be a private key to insure that if someone were to steal the database, even they wouldn't be able to read your data.
The database will be hosted through godaddy.com. They take security very seriously and back up the data on a regular basis.
The folders will be "role protected." In other words, if someone doesn't log in to get access to the data, they will not be able to access the folder where the data resides. Since your password will be encrypted, they will not be able to log in!
All data transmitting over the internet (to and from the FollowUpCRM server) will have a SSL 128 bit encryption layer so if you transmit the data over an un-secure connection (like a public wireless) someone will not be able to hack in and even if they could, they would see a bunch of giberish.

Simple data like a customer's first and last name or any notes you type in and even the vehicle year and make will not be encrypted--why not? Well, if someone were to steal the data and see that you sold a "John Smith" a "Chevy Impala" in the state of Ohio--well, what the hell would they do with that info? They won't have John's phone #, VIN, email address, home address, etc--all encrypted!!!

I just want people to understand that I will keep all of their stuff private and make follow up a very pleasant experience. Oh yeah--referrals will get you free months!!!

Thanks everyone and once again, Happy Holidays.

Marv

Service Customers

2009-12-09T19:24:00.003-05:00

I have a new routine. Every day, I get handed a stack of everyone who has used our service department on the previous day. Here is what I do with them...

I call them and if they answer, I thank them for stopping by our service department.
I then ask if everything was handled to their satisfaction.
Most of the time, the customers are very satisfied and tell-me-so with joy in their manner of speaking.
I can see from the service sheets where the people have bought from before and probably 80% of the people did not buy at our dealership. In that case, I'll tell them, "I'm going to send you a business card. Please call me personally if you ever need anything."
Usually they are very appreciative because of their good service experience (we have an excellent service department.)
I then put them into my new program, FollowUpCrm.com (not up yet for the public but will be soon...) and I print a "Thanks for stopping by our service department" letter. FollowUpCRM keeps track of the fact that I sent them a letter and I have it set up to contact these people every 90 days.
In the letter, I thank them again and let them know that I am a salesperson at the dealership and to contact me if they, or anyone in their family need anything.

I have been doing this for about 2 weeks and here are a couple of thing I have noticed...

Once again, I work for a dealership that has an excellent service department. It actually makes me happy to hear that from our customers because...
When I'm trying to sell a car, I can bring up the fact that I contact the service customers and 99.9% of them love their experience.
Once in a while, I get a buyer on the phone. I talked to a guy originally from Canada the other day (across the river from my home town of Wyandotte, Michigan) and he told me, "The vehicle you are calling about--it was a lease and I just turned it in. I'll stop by in a few days because I need another vehicle."

Now, if you know sales statistics, I have a huge chance of selling that guy when he comes in--probably 50% - 75%.

"What about missing an up when you are on the phone?" you may ask...

Well, I have a nice office on the corner of the dealership and have a nice bay window (no more cubicles for me) where I can watch the used car lot ($$$) and we only have two salespeople so I catch a good portion of the customers anyways. Also, it keeps me busy and sharpens up my skills because I am constantly talking to people.

The owners love it (no managers at this dealership--yay!), the customers love it, I love it and the other salesperson at the dealership laughs at me. LOL

Keep checking back to this blog. I know I haven't written much lately but I have had some huge changes in my life (moving across the country), I sell cars a lot (55-60 hours a week) and program a lot (20-30 hours a week.) I plan on opening FollowUpCrm.com to the public soon--I'm not kidding--you are gonna love it.

Marv

p.s. I'm going to have cool email alerts--FollowUpCrm will contact you via email to remind you about appointments, etc. It's gonna freaking rock!

Online CRM Coming!!!

2009-12-08T20:09:00.003-05:00

Well, things are going pretty well for me in Tennessee. I just perhaps just finished my best November in my life--all during deer-hunting season which in Michigan, was usually the kiss of death.

I'm working on an online CRM for car salespeople (and later real estate agents, boat salespeople, RV, motorcycle sales, etc.) that is going along very well. I'm going to charge a small monthly fee for use instead of a one-time fee like CSA7 but it will have some cool features like...

A simple design that makes it quick and easy to do follow up.
An enhanced automated follow up system that will allow you to differentiate between new and used customers as well and purchase types (cash, finance, lease). It rocks!
The ability to use from ANY computer with a web browser. You will not need to install the program and updates happen on my server-end so when I add a new feature or fix a bug, it will be there instantly.
You can use this program over a cell phone--I have tested it on my IPhone and it works well and fast. Another cool feature is that the IPhone automatically takes phone numbers and makes it so you can click to dial. This helped me the other day when I wanted to call a customer--I looked them up, clicked their # and called them. Cool feature that I didn't expect!
When you print letters, the program creates a PDF file that you can save to print later, move to another computer to print or print on the spot.
Speaking of printing letters, the program puts the name of the letter into a follow-up history so you can keep track of who you have called and how long it has been since you have called them.
Speaking of how long between calling people, you can set the number of days to call your people. For example, I have it set to call my sold customers every 45 days, unsold prospects every 3 days, internet leads every 2 days, people on a mailing list every 90 days, etc. When you contact a person (whether call, email or send a letter) it will reset the date so it will not notify you again until the number of days have elapsed.

Quite frankly, I think this program is the future of my business. I'll still make computer versions that you purchase and install to a single computer but I think this will be easier to use as well as more versatile for my customers because of the instant updating, ability to use anywhere, etc.

I'll be giving away free trial copies soon so you all can check it out.

Marv

p.s. A dealership version will also come out that will rock and roll!

Finally Settled-In!

2009-10-24T20:05:00.004-04:00

Me all relaxed at work!

Well, it has been a few months since I have written anything here. My family and I have made a huge change and have moved to Tennessee (my wife's home state.)

The cool thing is that I have a job at a local Chevrolet, GMC and Buick dealership. It is a smaller dealership that really takes-care of their customers--everyone knows everyone else in the town, they have loyal customers, are community orientated, etc.

Speaking of the customers, they are mostly truck buyers. It is back to being cool selling vehicles because people around here buy because they need a vehicle (cattle farmers, etc.) instead of buy because one leases for $200 per month (a-la Michigan.) I love the fact that I can go back to selling on value instead of, "What is the cheapest lease you have?"

Oh yeah--I sell new and used vehicles now (mostly used) and like that a lot better than just selling new.

Steve McNair found Shot and Killed

2009-07-04T18:40:00.002-04:00

Wow--as a seven-year resident of Tennessee (including 2000 when this great quarterback took the Titans to the SuperBowl) this is a shock for me. Steve McNair was found shot and killed in a Condo in Nashville, Tennessee.

He was a warrior in the classic sense--it seemed like he was always injured and hurting yet he still came out and gave it 110%. He was my all-time favorite quarterback--may he rest in peace.

Free Online Payment Calculator

2009-06-22T23:36:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone! I've been out for a few weeks--I actually spent some time in the hospital and had my gall bladder removed. I've lost a little weight, no longer have a sick stomach all the time and feel great! I want to thank everyone who contacted me and wished me well.

While recouperating, I wrote a couple of nice payment calculators. There is a basic one (rate, finance amount and term) and an advanced one that is actually a full deal builder (shhh...don't tell your manager!) They are online and totally free to use. Please tell all of your fellow salespeople about them--the more people who use it the merrier! Here is a link to check them out...

http://carsalesassistant.com/free-payment-calculator.aspx

Please keep in mind, though, that there is no error checking built into them yet so if you do something wierd like put "gagagogo" as your sale price instead of something like 20000, you may get an error.

Also, I have a coupon out right now SAVE10 that will knock $10 off of your order at my carsalesassistant store. CSA7, using this coupon, is now on sale for $59.99. Here is a link to my store...

http://store.carsalesassistant.com

Thanks!

Be Nice to Customers

2009-05-27T16:58:00.000-04:00

I guess I could just leave the title on this article and it would say enough but then who would read it???

OK--I had a customer a few months ago. The guy grew up with my dad, I got along great with them and guess what--they bought somewhere else. They didn't buy my brand, by the way.

I found out about it after making a follow up call. When they told me that they bought a Saturn--I could have been like a ton of salespeople out there who try to make the people feel guilty--you know the types.

"I spent 3 hours with you!"
"I have a family to feed!"
"Thanks for wasting my time!"

Or I could have been a professional and said what I did, "Congratulations! I really like the Vues. Do me a favor--if you ever need anything in the future, please let me know."

You know what they did? They had a sister looking and sent her to see me. I sold her a car. If I would have been rude to them in any way, this would never have happened.

Referrals are without a doubt the most important aspect of selling cars. Repeat customers are a given and if you do a good job following-up, you would get a ton of them. Referrals, on the other hand, are people going out of their way to recommend you.

Thanks for reading this blog!

Marv
http://carsalesassistant.com

The Day the Dealerships Closed

2009-05-16T22:09:00.004-04:00

I work at a Chevy dealership in Southeast Michigan about 15 miles away from Detroit. To say that the economy has hit us hard is a huge understatement. I'm going to make a few claims before going on with this article...

The media (local news, newspapers, etc.) is a huge reason that the economy is tanking.
The media "likes" to publish/broadcast negative articles because fear sells.
In 13 years of selling cars, this is as bad as I have seen it.

With those three assumptions, on with the article!

Well, GM is closing a shit-load of dealerships and the big thing was waiting for the "package from FedEx" that would be a letter stating that you were one of the closing dealerships.

Early in the day, our dealer got a call from someone at GM--we were safe from closure.

A half an hour later, someone from a local Detroit news station came by--he had his little news truck parked outside--filled with cameras, microphones and the other evil tools to spread the bad news that spreads harder and faster than the swine flu! Here is a little script paraphrasing the conversation with the bad-newsman and our dealer.

Bad News Man: So--did you guys get the "package?"

Dealer: No.

Bad News Man: So--you still might get the package, right? (he was really hoping that we would!)

Dealer: No--we got a call instead.

Bad News Man (Smiling): Did they say that you are getting a package?

Dealer: No--they said we are safe.

Bad News Man (Grasping...): But--you still--uh--might get a package, right?

Dealer: No--we are safe. We are not closing.

He looked like someone told him there is no Santa Claus.

Dealer: Do you still want to interview me.

Bad News Man (Sad): I guess we can do a quick one outside.

Me (Marv): (Grinning but acting serious) Do you want us to act like we're closing so you can get your story???

You should have seen the bastards face then!!! LOL. Needless to say, they went outside for a hurried interview and the "good news" article never made the evening news.

OK--a few hours later--I'm talking to a Bad News Woman.

Me: have you been to any dealerships that are closing.

Big Fat-Assed Bad News Woman (Visibly Depressed): No--but we have several crews out there and a couple of them have gotten "lucky."

Me: Well, I hope you get "lucky" and find a dealership that's closing. While you're at it, maybe you'll get "lucky" and find a baby that's killed in a fire or something.

BFABNW: I didn't mean it that way.

Me: Naw--it's alright. It's good that you are doing this because you will be going through this in a couple of years when the three news stations merge or close down because people can get news faster and better through the internet.

You should have seen the look on the fat bastard's face!

OK--the day is almost over. In pops a young dude with a camera. I can't help myself at this point.

Me: Are you here to do an article about the great news? You know--the new camera that the astronauts are putting in the Hubble Space Telescope? It will increase its power by ninety times and allow us to see deeper into the universe!

Him: Yes I am! (He laughs) No, actually I'm here to report the great news that you guys are staying open.

Bless his heart!

Well, there are still going to be more cuts and I hope we don't get chopped. I feel I have some basic skills and that I can sell cars anywhere but I like where I am. I have 6-years worth of customers there, the managers have faith in me and leave me alone, it's close to home and I work with some good friends and for an honest dealer. My heart goes out to all of you who have gotten the bad news--I wish I had some words of encouragement but this is all I have. You are skilled at what you do and can sell cars anywhere. Good luck.

CSA 7 On Sale for the Month of May Save $10

2009-05-06T21:29:00.002-04:00

I know it's slow out there (I still sell cars!) so I am running a sale during the month of may. CSA 7 is now on sale for $69.99 per copy (normally $79.99). Also, CSA-Pro (the dealership version) is on sale for $850 per copy instead of the normal $999.

To purchase, visit my store.

Marv

A Script I Created to Generate Referrals!

2009-05-05T22:13:00.002-04:00

OK--you're making your follow-up calls to a sold customer (say six-months after purchasing) and you are unsure what to say.

Here's a great script that I came up with the other day that will generate family referrals for you and maybe even some sales.

You: Hi, Jim. This is Marv at ABC Motors--I sold you your Mustang a few months ago and I just wanted to check in with you to see how everything is going. How's the car running?

Customer: It's running fine.

You: Great! You know what? I've never asked you--what other cars do you guys have in your household?

Customer: We have a 2005 Ranger and a 2003 Lincoln.

You: OK--the reason I'm asking--my used car manager told us in a meeting that he is looking for some great used cars. He's selling so many--he's running out and he even said he will give top dollar for them. Are you thinking about trading any of those in?

Customer: My wife's been thinking about trading the Lincoln for something newer. How much will he give for it?

You: I don't know--I'd have to get it looked-at by my manager. (Change the subject.) What is your wife thinking about getting--another car or maybe a SUV this time around?

(Investigate a little and then go for the appointment.)

You: Tell you what, Jim--lets get together so I can get my manager to look at the car and so we can get your wife to look at the newer models. What would be better for you guys--this afternoon or maybe this evening?

Customer: How about this evening...

You get the picture.

OK--what if the customer says the wife wants a car but a few months down the road? Simple--put them into Car Sales Assistant 7 and have the program create a pop-up reminder to call them a few months later.

This script, I am discovering, works very well and it isn't a real high-pressure script. Either the customer is going to tell you that they are in the market for a car or they aren't. Either way, keep track of what they are driving so you can try it again six months later.

You: Jim--remember when I called you a few months ago when my used car manager was looking for cars? Well--he told us this morning that he is looking for used Lincolns and I remembered that you had one. Have you guys been thinking about trading it in?

Hopefully you get the picture!

Thanks for reading this blog. I know it is getting tough out there--especially for you Chrysler Dodge Jeep salespeople and us GM people. It is time to become professional and sell all you can. People are still buying cars--even from companies that have gone B.K. and those about-to. Follow-up on everyone, follow the steps of the sale, don't give up when closing your customer, realize that "I want to think about it" is an excuse hiding a true objection and most importantly, use my software! LOL.

Marv

www.carsalesassistant.com

Minor Update to CSA 7 Online

2009-05-02T21:50:00.002-04:00

Hi, Everyone--I just uploaded CSA7 Version 2.0.1 to www.carsalesassistant.com now. It fixed a small bug with widgets being in front of windows.

If you have already installed CSA7 and are not using version 2.0.1 then download the patch here. Make sure you do a fresh reboot of your computer before installing.

Haven't downloaded CSA7 yet? If you are using Vista or XP Media edition (or if you know you have .Net 2.0 or higher) then use this link. Otherwise (XP, ME, 98, etc.) then use this link.

New Update for CSA 7 Online

2009-04-26T20:45:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone!

I'm very pleased to announce that the new update for CSA 7 is up and running. It includes a number of widgets such as a "To-Do List", a better appointment calendar, a car-anniversary widget, leases expiring in 7 days or less, birthdays today, etc.

If you are using anything but version 2.0.0 (on your main screen) with a build date of 4/26/09 then download it here.

Note that if you are using an earlier version of CSA (like CSA 2008, 2007, 4.0, etc.) then you will need to download and install the full program, not the patch, to use it. Visit my website to do-so.

If you have any problems whatsoever, please let me know.

Car Sales Assistant on Twitter

2009-04-24T23:03:00.002-04:00

You can now watch what I am working-on with the help of Twitter. See what I am adding to CSA as well as what bugs I am squashing. Here is a link...

http://twitter.com/CarSalesAsst

Marv

CSA7 Widgets Almost Done!

2009-04-22T23:00:00.004-04:00

A lot of people are wondering what I have been working on in regards to CSA7--here is a screen shot of some of the widgets. You can actually choose up to 6 widgets that show up on your main screen of CSA.

In the example above, there is (there are??? Never was too good at grammer!)...

A "To-Do" List: never forget to do anything again--whether it is to send out follow-up, meet a buddy for lunch, hit the bar, etc. When you create an item, you rank it in importance from 1 through 5 (where 5 is the most important) and they show up in order of importance. Check the checkbox when the item is done and it will get deleted.
Random Sold Customer: I have a bad memory. Sometimes I sell a car and don't remember the person's name a week later. Sometimes I forget about customers. Sometimes I will go through my records and say, "Wow--I haven't heard from that dude in a while. Maybe I should call him. Sometimes that helps me sell a car. This widget picks a random sold customer and shows their picture (if you have one.) Click the picture for a close-up or view their entire record.
Today's Birthdays: Bored? Call everyone who has a birthday today and wish them a happy birthday! I promise you will be about the only one who does that (at least as car salespeople go) and they will be very thankful (unless they are my mom who doesn't like to be reminded!)
Today's Leads: Everyone you have logged today. Could be an internet lead, a phone up, an unsold prospect or a sold customer. If your manager comes by and says, "What have you done today?" then point to your Leads. Hopefully, there will be one or more sold people so he can say, "Good job!" Oops--I forgot we are in the car business. It is against the rules to say that!!!
Money Made: How much have you made today? What about this month? What about this year? How about your career (or at least since you started using CSA7?) Now, if you choose, it will always be in front of you. Nothing motivates you more than a big "goose egg" (a ZERO for all of you new to the car business).
A True Blue Appointment Book: I'll admit--my old one sucked. Now you can see all of your appointments broken down by the time. TIP: schedule appointments at the quarter-hour like 5:15 and they will show up more often than not. Double click the text to pull up the customer who the appointment is for.

Not Shown:

Want List: Everyone who is on your want list--you know--someone looking for a specific vehicle. Got the new Camaros in yet? (me neither! Have 2 sold though) When you get them, call the million and a half of the people who want a call when you get them!
3 Month Averages: Your closing ratios and units sold, on average, calculated from the last 3 months. 3 months is the magical time span that shows how well you are accomplishing your career of a car salesperson.

Coming Soon:

Car Anniversary: Vehicles that you sold 1 year ago today
??? (You tell me and if I use it, you get a free copy of CSA7 for yourself or a friend!!!)

By the way--I added the R buttons on the quick links and monthly progress. It is a refresh button to immediately refresh the data. It actually refreshes on its own every minute, or so, but heck--I'm also impatient!

Any Ideas for Widgets?

2009-04-18T22:18:00.002-04:00

Right now I am adding some widgets to Car Sales Assistant 7 such as a "To-Do List", birthdays today, appointment book, etc.

Does anyone have any ideas on what they would like to see? If you come up with a good widget and if I use it (as long as I didn't come up with the idea first--I'll be honest!) then I will give you a free copy of CSA. If you have already purchased, give (sell???) it to a friend.

Thanks for your help in advance,

Marv

Huge CSA7 Update Coming!

2009-04-12T19:01:00.002-04:00

I have been working hard at adding some cool features to CSA7, the newest version of Car Sales Assistant.

By the way--there have been a lot of people calling CSA7 "CSA 2007." It is not 2007... here are all of the versions I have done.

Car Salesperson's Assistant (sometimes called CSA or CSA1)

CSA 2.0

CSA 3.0

CSA 4.0

CSA 2007

CSA 2008

and

CSA 7 (the 7th Version of CSA)

The reason I have decided to call it CSA 7 instead of CSA 2009 is because I am going to keep adding stuff to it--maybe into 2010 and I don't want people to think it is outdated.

OK--Back to the major update coming--I am very excited about it.

Here are some of the new features.

I have added widgets. What are widgets (at least in this program?) They are little windows that have some useful info in them. You, as the user, can choose what widgets to show including these ones (I will add more later)

Today's Birthdays: All of your customers and prospects who have a birthday today.
Today's Leads: All people (phone ups, internet leads, prospects and sold customers) that you have logged today.
Appointments: Your appointment book--it now breaks it down by the time so you can get a good graphical look at your appointments. Click on appointment and it will show that customer for a closer look.
To-Do List: I had this in older versions and really missed it. It will be back! You can now rate the item on the to-do list by importance and if you don't get all of the stuff done, you can reschedule it automatically.
Random Customer Picture: I have recently added a digital picture frame to my desk and when it is slow (a lot lately unfortunately) I look at the frame and try to guess the customers name. My memory is bad and this helps. This feature will show a random picture of a customer and allow you to double click the picture to view the customers information form.
3 Month Average: Your selling averages, money averages and closing ratios for the last 3 months. Great for setting goals and watching progress.
Want List: I know that you can click the number next to "Want List" to view these but this will keep prospects who are looking for something particular right in front of you--great for all of you used-car salespeople and people like me who have a list of people who want to see the new Camaro.
Money Made: How much money have you made today? What about this year? What about your entire career (or at least since you started using this program?) It is now right in front of you. What about month-to-date, you say? That's under the progress thingy on the left side of the screen, remember?

Once again, you can choose which widgets (if any) show up and where they are--you can have a total of 6 on the screen and change them at any time. It will also update every five minutes to help make your life easier.

I will send out a mass email when this update is done as well as put that info on this blog.

Thanks,

Marv

www.CarSalesAssistant.com

My Store: store.carsalesassistant.com

How to Sell Cars to Service Customers

2009-04-10T22:07:00.003-04:00

This is probably the biggest gold-mine in the dealership for car salespeople and one that is almost 100% of the time neglected--the service customer.

Did you know that people come to your service department who bought at another dealership?

Did you know that people come to your service department who bought off of a salesperson who is no longer at your dealership?

If you answered no to either of the above questions then wow!

OK--how would you like to sit around in the service department all day and talk to people and try to gain prospects for future sales?

Didn't think so--that would take too much time.

Here is a technique to have the prospects come to you. I went to the office supply store and bought a small box--about 1 foot square. I then went to the dollar store and bought some shiny paper to put around it so it would stand out. I then put a slit in the top so cards could fit into it. I put a sign on the side of it that said, "Enter to Win Gas or Food Gift Cards" on the side. I then printed up some post cards that had this on it.

PLEASE FILL OUT COMPLETELY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN GAS OR FOOD GIFT CARDS.

Name: _________________

Address: _________________

________________________

Phone: __________________

Email: __________________

What Car are you Driving? __________________

Where did you buy it? __________________

How do you own it? ()Lease ()Finance ()Own Outright

If a Lease, when is the lease up or expires? ________________

Who in your family is next in line for a car? _________________

What would they like next? ______________

When would they be in the market? ________________

May I contact you when we have great sales or promotions? ()Yes ()No

Of course, the post card is much better formatted than the example above. You know what else? I had 30 people fill it out in 2 days. Of course some have salespeople at my dealership (I am not a skater so I give the cards to the appropriate salesperson but hey--you do what you want!) but there are some great leads. You know what else? Someone will win the prize--especially if they are in the market for a car right now if you get my drift!

Try this out--it is a non-confrontational way to gain new prospects--you can even call each one of them and do a survey asking how their service experience went and ask them directly for prospects (Who in your family will be next in line for a car?)

Thanks and have a nice Easter!

Selling Cars Can be Thrilling!

2009-04-01T21:01:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I hate my job. We all know the times--when it is slow and managers have nothing better to do than nit-pick, when it snows for all of you people in the snow belt (you know what I mean--brush the cars off, move them, plow and repeat the process the next day when it snows again) and when you are not selling any cars (in a rut.)

But there is a complete 180 when it comes to the times when you are a dead-on closing machine and people are buying left and right.

I had an experience today that absolutely thrilled me. I met a couple looking at the all new Chevy Traverse. I greeted them and saw that they guy was wearing a Michigan State sweatshirt--my sister went there and they are in the final-four and quite frankly I'm not a college basketball fan but it gave me something to talk about. We hit it off great and I did a quick demo and we drove the vehicle and I actually feel that I made some friends.

We came back to my desk and told them what their payment was at zero percent for 60 months and guess what--it was $120 higher than where they wanted to be!

A little back-story--they had gotten a hold of all of the low-ball ads in the paper (you must have a lease, join up and go to Iraq, be a member of a credit union in Zimbabwe and have been born in Rhode Island to qualify for all the rebates--I'm sure you know the type.) So, needless to say, they had a $350 payment in their head for a $30,000 vehicle.

Here is what I overcame to sell them a car.

"I want to think about it."
We are on a fixed income and can't afford over $350.
We have to rent our house first because we have two house payments.
Lets go home and study it.
A Buick salesperson just called me and told me that they got a huge shipment of Enclaves in and said they can get us to our payment.
We should buy from our hometown dealership (200 miles away) so we can service it there.
We need to shop your competitor to make sure we are getting the best price.
Let us have your card and we'll get back to you.
"Don't you have the ability to drop the price?" (They got an employee discount so NOPE I don't")

I over came all of these objections and they left in a new Traverse. When they left, the wife came up to me and thanked me for coming outside to greet them (most people wait until they come in at our place) and told me that if I wouldn't have greeted them, they would not have bought because they were just looking.

What a thrill! I took a couple of was there to honestly look and just gather information and they left in a vehicle--I made a full commission and they were very happy to pay $120 more than their newspaper-ad-misguided goal because I actually made some friends and built value in the vehicle. I cannot wait until tomorrow to try to do it again!

Have any good success stories? Please respond and share with the readers of this blog!

Some Helpful Tips for 2009

2009-03-28T21:35:00.002-04:00

As someone who sells cars for a living (13 years this month by the way) I have learned a few things here and there.

First--a little note. In the last two weeks, I have noticed a huge difference in the attitudes of customers. Three weeks ago, it was all gloom and doom and sales were almost non-existent but during the last two weeks, I have been absolutely rocking. Part of it is the attitude of the customers (spring is here and that always changes attitudes, the stock market is climbing, GM didn't ask for any bailout money in March, etc.) but part of it is that I have still been trying to work hard and drum up business. Plus, not to pat myself on the back, I have learned a few things about selling cars over the years.

Here are a few random tips and tidbits that help me sell cars. Perhaps they could also work for you.

1) Stay away from negative people, negative talk, negative news, negative web sites and anything else that is negative.

2) Send postcards to your customers once every month or two. I sent out some postcards advertising the 0% last month and today, a previous customer from three years ago, called me from the card. They came up today and left in a new Chevrolet Cobalt. Postcards are easier for the customer to read than letters in envelopes and they are cheaper to send out ($0.27 instead of $0.42 each)

3) If you have a customer who wants more for their trade and you switch the conversation to payment and have some room where you can drop the payment while keeping the trade the same (rate, term, money down, etc.) the prevent a future objection from happening by saying something like this. "Mr. Customer, I know you want to be at $300 and we are at $350. I'll see what I can do with the payment but it may involve other factors besides your trade-in. As long as I can get the payment down to $300, you don't care how I do it, do you?"

4) Learn how to handle "I want to think about it" or any variation like "I want to go home and study it" etc. Say something like this. "Mr. Customer, I have learned that when someone says that they want to think about it, they usually want to think about the car, the equipment or the price. Which one are you going to be thinking about?" They will usually answer with price and you can overcome it by focusing on their budget (instead of the price) and if they answer with the car or equipment, you are probably on the wrong vehicle!

5) Try to avoid dealer trades at all costs. I will quite frankly rather drop the price a little rather than do a dealer trade. There are a ton of "little birdies" that will tweet little tweets in their heads while you spend a day or two getting a car for them from another dealership. You know what the little birdies will be tweeting to them?

You are getting ripped off. I saw an ad in the paper that was $4000 less!
My friend at this dealership (who gives me a birddog) can get you a better deal.
You need to go look at a Ford instead (or Chevy if YOU sell Fords ;-)
(Wife) Are you sure we need to spend all of that money?
(Husband) Maybe I should get a Harley instead!

You get the picture.

6) Use a good greeting. "Hi, Welcome to Biff Motors! My name is George and you are...?"

When I walk into a place and someone welcomes me, I actually feel special even though I know that they are "supposed" to say that. Conversely, I order from a local pizza place and the people who answer the phone don't thank me for calling and sound like they hate their job. I'm sure it costs them business. People like doing business with people who appreciate them. Thank your people for calling!

7) Speaking of the phone, when you answer it SAY YOUR NAME! I can't stand when I call a business and they answer with one word like "PARTS" and I have to ask the name of the person I am talking-to.

8) Get a Mac computer! It won't crash, won't get viruses, won't slow down from ad-ware, is cool and will make you feel cool--that will help you sell more cars.

Marv

Car Sales Assistant 7

2009-03-18T07:54:00.001-04:00

CSA 7 is going along very well--I'm getting some good, positive response from it!

I will have an update up tonight that will allow previous users to import their data (from CSA 3, 4, 2007 and 2008)--I am also working on a module to import from CSV (excel) files.

I'll keep you posted.

Marv

A Cool Thing I Started Doing

2009-03-12T22:38:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone!

By the way, the newest version of Car Sales Assistant has been released. I'm calling it Car Sales Assistant 7 since it is the 7th version of the program. You can check it out at my website carsalesassistant.com.

This article is not about it, though. It is about something very cool that I, and one other salesperson, have started doing.

We each bought a digital photo frame that we keep on our desk. Everytime we sell a car now, we get a picture of the customers in front of the vehicle. What do people always do when you take their picture? Besides saying "cheese," they smile. So--you get a smiling picture of a customer next to their nice, new, clean car and this is what we do next.

We go to Sams Club and get a 1-page calendar made with the picture. It costs all of $1.49. We send one to the customer immediately (before they get their CSI survey.) Then we call them a few days later and say, "Did you like the little gift I sent you? I know it isn't much but I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your business." They are 100% of the time always happy to get it. You know what else? They will show it to their friends and if you prime them right, they will send their friends up to see you. You know what else? Can someone who looks so happy in a picture give you a bad score on your CSI? Nope!

Back to the picture frame. Customers always look at it to see if they know someone who bought a car from you. Everyone in the pictures are smiling (cheese!) so subconsciously, your new customers are saying, " sure makes his/her customers happy!"

Invest the $50-$80 on a reasonable picture frame, a nice cheap digital camera (I use a Sony that is 5 years old--bought them with GM Perqs when we still had them )-: or sometimes my I-Phone) and invest the $1.49 in a calendar plus maybe $0.15 for a picture to put in your file box. You know what else? Import the picture into Car Sales Assistant and never forget someones name again!

Have fun everyone!

Very, very easy stuff to do and your customers will love it!

CSA 7 Screenshot and Some Features

2009-03-06T22:37:00.003-05:00

Here is a screen shot of Car Sales Assistant 7, the newest version of our follow up CRM software for car salespeople. Here are some things of note...

Notice all of the quick links on the upper left side of the screen. 21 in all. Here are some of the cool new ones...

Today's Customers: All people that you have talked to today--whether they are internet leads, phone ups, showroom prospects or sold customers. So--if your manager says, "What have you done today, " you can show him or her!
Internet Leads/Phone Ups: They will show up on this list until you sell them, they show up in your showroom or you mark them as "lost." Why is this cool? Well, you don't want to forget about them--if you set an appointment (and that is all you should do over the phone or internet) and if they show up--you will have a 50% average closing ratio. Get 20 to come in and sell an extra 10 cars!!!
Expiring Leases: You can see a list of leases about to expire within X amount of days. You can set X to whatever value you like--3-6 months is the best for me!
Customers/Prospects to contact: If you want to call a working prospect (current prospect in the program, that is...) every 2 days then you can set the value to 2 in your settings and any prospect who doesn't get contacted within 2 days will show up on this list. This goes the same for customers. You can actually set different values for both customers and prospects like every 45 days for customers or every 3 for prospects.
Family in Market: Very cool stuff--this alone will pay the price of admission! According to Joe Verde, 30% of family members have someone who will be in the market for a car within 3 months. What is so great about this? Well, if you at least KNOW what the family members are driving (and CSA7 makes it very easy to track this) then you will have an opportunity to contact them and perhaps sell a car (with over a 65% closing ratio for all you math wizards!)

This Month's Progress: You can now see what your averages are for each category.

I'll be the first to admit that Car Sales Assistant 2008 is confusing. To log a lead, you have to follow these steps...

Click LOG CUSTOMERS
Read a thing that tells you what to do.
Search for a customer to see if they haven't been logged before.
If they have been logged, click them. If not, click NEW ADDRESS.
Edit the personal data.
Click LOG THIS CUSTOMER.
Put in all of their prospect and purchase information.

CSA7 makes it easier.

Click NEW CUSTOMER menu and pull down to the type you want (Sold, Phone Up, Internet, Unsold Prospect)
Bam! You are now on the customer screen where you can enter their data.

About 50% of the people who bought CSA2008 had questions on how it worked and I had some people say it was a "clumsy" interface, hard to understand, confusing, it sucked, etc. I had a method for my madness but I think CSA7 will apeal to more people with its ease of use.

Notice that all the data for your customer is on the screen. At the dealership where I work, we use an untra-expensive CRM that really sucks. Here is what I need to do when I make a follow up call. I have to click on the person and see what vehicle they drove. Click on the notes to see what I talked about last time. Exit the screen and then click on the button to make the call.

In CSA7 all of that data is on one screen so you can just click, call and watch the $$$'s roll in!

Family Members: This is a feature that I had in earlier versions of CSA (not 2008 though) that I really missed. It is a great opportunity to sell more cars. When you call a customer, take a survey and ask them about all the drivers in their household. Ask what they are driving and put the info in. If they are leasing, for God's sake--put in the date their lease expires so you can call them if they qualify for a pull ahead or when their lease expires. Ask them who is next in line for a new or used car. Enter a date when they will be in the market and guess what--remember the quick links? This family member will show up on the quick link when in the market or when their lease is about to expire (or pull ahead...) Do this for every one in your database and you will never have to catch a fresh up again.

Whoops--please note that this is a beta version and missing some of the buttons on the customer screen.

This program will be released in 2 days. I will charge a nominal fee for previous users to upgrade to this if they like. In the intial release, there will be no import functions but I will add them later (like from earlier versions or from spread sheets.)

Is there anything you would like to see in CSA? If so, let me know!

Thanks so much for reading this blog. Things are really tough right now in the car business (especially here in Michigan) but if you work hard, you can still make selling cars work for you and make tons of money in this business. CSA7 will make it easy to work hard and accomplish your goals.

Marv

Coming Soon: Car Sales Assistant 7

2009-03-03T12:49:00.002-05:00

I have been hard at work programming CSA 7--the newest version of car sales assistant. It is about ready for realease. Anyone who orders CSA 2008 between now and then will get a free upgrade.

Screen shots coming soon!

How I got "Sold"

2009-02-19T23:53:00.003-05:00

Hi, everyone! Hope you are all having a good and prosperous new year!

First off, on a personal note. A little history about myself. As well as being a car salesperson, I am also a programmer on PC-based computers. I program in Visual Basic 2008 in Windows and swore that I would never own a Mac. Well, what would get anyone to chunk out $1400 for a laptop when you can get a good one for half that price? The I-Phone for one. I have one (and love it) and want to begin to write software for it (such as an I-Phone version of Car Sales Assistant for example) and even to write a few games (I learned how to program writing games by the way.) In order to program the I-Phone, you must own a Mac.

Last Saturday, I went to Best Buy to look at games for my XBox 360 and walked past the Macs. I tapped on the keyboard and really liked the feel of the keys. A young sales dude came up to me and said, "Isn't that nice?"

"Yeah," I answered trying not to look interested. "I have an I-Phone and have been wanting to check one of these out."

"That's what got me to get a Mac," he said with great enthusiasm. "I have this one over here. Look how it is made of aluminum and how nice the screen looks. Look at this power cord." He pointed to a power cord that is actually magnetically attached to the computer so if someone trips over it, it doesn't fling the whole laptop crashing on the floor (what killed my last laptop by the way!) "The screen gets brighter and fades automatically depending on your lighting conditions and some of the keyboards light up."

"Wow! That's pretty cool," I said. "I'm a programmer," I told him, " and would like to program the I-Phone."

"I'm not a programmer," he said, "but it is really cool how the I-Phone and the Mac work together. You can develop your software on the Mac and run it on a simulator and then when it is ready, you can copy it to your I-Phone and put it on the App Store."

You mean I can simulate an I-Phone on a Mac? Hook, line and sinker.

"I think I have one of these left," he said, using a sales technique unknowingly--you know which one--creating scarcity in the product to make me want it more.

God, I hope he has one left!

He typed a few things into the computer and I saw the words, "10+ in stock."

"I have at least 10 left. Would you like me to go get you one?"

"Uh--I'm married and would have to talk to my wife," I said using the excuse we all hear selling cars on a day-to-day basis.

He looked at me and said, "I'm here until 7:00." Wow--he fell for my excuse!

Thank God he didn't go for the close! I said to myself. I would have bought the computer! He had me--he was friendly, very enthusiastic about his product and very knowledgeable about something he didn't actively do--program an I-Phone. I got the hell out of there knowing how close I came to spending $1299 + $99 for a warranty + 6% sales tax!!!

While driving home, I had nothing but that MacBook on my mind as I lovingly held my I-Phone in my hand. Once again, Thank God the guy didn't go for the close! I already own about 5 computers and do not need a Mac!

OK--what is the moral of this story? The moral of this story is to not give up after one "No." I could have been closed by that salesperson. I was so close to buying it that if I had a Best Buy card with 0% financing and if he would have asked overcome my "want to talk to my wife" excuse, I would have bought one.

By the way--my wife has a Best Buy card and guess what--when I got home, I convinced her to go out and buy me the MacBook--the awesome laptop that I am using to compose this blog as we speak! I have been using computers for over 25 years and this, by far, is the best one yet. I love the feel of the aluminum--it is a very solid computer. I love the keys--I can fly on this keyboard. I love the mouse touch pad on it--I can actually use 2 fingers to scroll up and down and use pinch modes to zoom in and out--just like on an I-Phone. The soul of Steve Jobs (the CEO of Apple and Pixar) is all over this computer. The asthetics of it, the fact that you don't hear a fan whirling all the time (or ever actually!), how cool it feels and runs, how awesome the operating system is, etc. God--if only he ran GM!

You know what else? There is a program called I-Photo--I imported about 500 pictures into it and my boss (who has the same MacBook) told me about a facial recognition system built into it. You pick a picture and it draws a box around the faces and asks for names. I did my son Alex. You repeat the process with another picture and click a search button and within a fraction of a second, the program shows a bunch of pictures that your son is in and guess what, it is about 95% accurate! I repeated the process with my daughter, wife, mom and myself and it is actually learning. Now when I import pictures, it knows who is in them! I could go on for hours and hours about the cool calendar that I created in I-Photo (click BUY when done and Apple creates it for you and ships it to you the next day--pretty freaking cool!) I could talk about the awesome I-Movie program (go to Apple.com and check out the tutorial on it.)

Programming on it is going slow--I am learning a new language and programming style from scratch but I promise--there will be cool programs for car salespeople soon. There won't be the full blown Car Sales Assistant (that is a lot of info for a cell phone screen) but there might be one where you keep track of prospects and appointments on the I-Phone. I also plan on converting a few games that I have written over the years.

The moral of this story? I walked into Best Buy and on a whim spent $1400 of my wife's credit because a salesperson (even though he didn't close me on the spot) did a fantastic job with me. You can do the same selling cars. I love this computer and I love what I can do with it. I hope to make a million dollars writing games for the I-Phone but if I don't, I will not regret the purchase.

Marv

New Years Resolutions

2009-01-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

First of all, hats off to "Sully" Sullenberger--the guy who landed the plane into the Hudson River and saved over 100 lives. Wow--what a hero. Someone needs to buy that guy a trip to the International Space Station, or something!

OK--it's that time of the year. I work with a guy who gets on the Adkins diet every January, another who quits smoking, about 6 who say they will work harder to sell more cars, etc. They all get broken by the way.

So, why even try? Well--if you try to follow a New Years Resolution for even 1 week, you are doing better than not doing it at all.

For example: I set a New Years Resolution to not create objections. What do I mean by that? I had a customer come up on Saturday. We had just gotten 6 inches of snow and the lot was in a shambles. They wanted to drive a red Malibu--her favorite color. "Red is just so pretty!" Now--things don't always happen like this but the only car I could get out of the snow for her was a silver one and as a matter of fact, I didn't even have a red one on the lot. She drove the silver one, loved it and bought it on the spot.

How does this have to do with creating objections? Well, if I would have told her that I didn't have a red one instead of just pulling out the silver one, she probably would have objected. "But I really want red!"

Just a quick one for today. It is eleven below zero today (and that's not even counting the windchill yet!!!) We are expecting another 5" of snow today--my desk at work is in a nice, sunny spot. I just got over the Flu--I think I'm just gonna get a tan today! ;-)

A lucky 13 things you can do to sell more cars

2008-12-20T22:17:00.004-05:00

My 3 Kids

Try these 13 things for 1 month and watch the sales roll in.

1) Don't prequalify. If someone is on the lot in this bad economy and cold weather, they are there to buy a car. Let the banks decide if they can buy--not you.

2) Be aggressive--catch everyone you can. Watch the lot like a hawk and greet people outside--if you wait until they get inside, someone else may beat you to them.

3) Follow up on every unsold prospect. Do a "great news" to everyone when they leave and have new information to give to them when you call (more rebates, more for trade, new model in, manager wants to see the trade, etc.) Use a program like my CSA 2008 or even a simple legal pad (I use this method a lot--easy to scan over, I write SOLD when I sell them and it makes me feel great!)

4) When you sell someone a car, find out what their family members are driving and if they are in the market for a car.

5) If you can't close someone, keep trying. It may take 5 "No's" before you hear the yes. If you still get a no, do a turn over to your manager.

6) Use a proper greeting. "Welcome to Biff Motors--my name is Marv--and you are...?" They will then give you their name. Continue asking questions to control the sale. "Who's the lucky one who gets the car--you or someone else?"

7) If someone says they want to think about it, study it, pray on it, talk to their wife, check their financing, talk to their banker, check with their son, check their horoscope, sleep on it or anything similar--it is an excuse to leave for 1 of three reasons...they don't like you, they don't like the car, they don't like the price. It is usually the price. Find out what the problem is (ask them--is it the car, the price or something I said or did?) They will usually tell you price. Isolate the objection, turn it into a budget, help them find money in their budget (gas savings, insurance savings, savings because of new warranty) and close them.

8) Build rapport with 100% of the people you talk to before you try to sell them a car. Find something in common. Get them to laugh (very powerful.) Smile a lot. Make them your friend and they will find a way to buy from you.

9) If you are talking to a husband and wife, realize that the wife usually wears the pants and makes the decisions. Talk to her more than him and she will respect you because quite frankly, most salespeople talk to the men more. Shake her hand first, etc.

10) Take any deal--whether it is a mini deal or otherwise--they may refer someone to you who will pay full sticker. That happens to me all the time! If you know you can sell someone a car, sell them! I had an idiot manager that would let people leave with "1 point of reserve" and under-allowing on their trade--stupid, stupid, stupid! If it comes down to it, a $100 mini will pay your phone bill and might get you a "Spin" so take the deal!

11) Give everyone a great demo. I like hooking my IPhone up to the stereo during the test drive--works great. Make them fall in love with the car. Focus on what makes them hot--if they like "style" talk about the looks, not the side-airbags.

12) Do not talk price until you build rapport, find out their wants and needs, choose a car and do a great demo. If someone walks in wanting a $150 payment and you ask them what their payment range is and get $150 as an answer--2 things will happen. You will, in the back of your mind, want to flush them and they will back you into a $150 per month corner. If you do a great demo, build rapport, etc. first--they $150 may become $350. I hear it all the time--"I came in here wanting to spend $200 and spent double that." Hell, when I bought my house I set a $100,000 limit and spent $30,000 more for less equipment than I originally wanted (I wanted a finished basement, 2 bathrooms, sliding door to garage--did not get those things...)

12) If someone asks for something that you don't have (like a color for example), don't say, "No, but I can get you one." Use a dealer trade as a last resort.

13) Keep positive! Quit reading and watching the news--there is nothing good on there. Go to work to sell cars, not hang out in the huddle and make friends with under-achievers. Have a great attitude. You have one of the few jobs where you can make a couple of grand a day if you work hard enough. I have made $3000 in a day before (my personal record) I know people who don't make that in 2 months. I know it's tough right now--I sell cars in Michigan and we have officially been in a recession since 2000 or something like that--so I know how hard it is, I promise. I have decided that I am going to make 100,000 next year selling cars--that is my goal. I am going to do everything on this list and I will do it.

Have a nice holiday season!

Use the IPod or IPhone to Sell a Car!

2008-12-15T17:11:00.000-05:00

One day--I got stupid. I was at Best Buy and happened to see the I-Phone. I still had over a year in my Sprint contract and knew it would cost $200 to break my contract but you know what? I met a salesperson that I liked and trusted--he showed me some cool things on the I-Phone and I bought on the spot. $399 + $200 to break the contract. I made a $500 spur-of-the-moment purchase decision. You know what else? I got my wife to put it on HER Best Buy card!

This article is not about the great job the salesperson did or how to get people to buy on the spot.

This article is about doing a little extra on your demo to build value and rapport.

Lets turn the car back 22 years--it's 1987 and I'm a 19 year old punk buying a new Toyota Tercel. The salesperson didn't let me drive and ordered me the wrong color, forgot to add air and the car came in without a radio. Looking back with 13 years of car salesperson's eyes--he probably needed a unit to hit a bonus and told me that my car was in and just sold me something else off the lot.

This article is not about switching people from one color to another nor is it about switching people on equipment.

This article is about doing a little extra on your demo to build value and rapport.

OK--what about the Toyota salesperson? Well, he didn't let me drive, when I told him it was the wrong color he told me, "If you don't like it--walk home." Wow! Why do I remember him? I remember him because when we went on the test drive (and only he drove) he put on racing gloves. The 86 Tercel was the boxiest car you could get and this dude put on racing gloves. In my mind I said, "Wow--this car looks like a race car!" and I bought it.

OK--what does all of this have to do with an I-Pod?

A lot!

Most of the new cars have a little phono-plug where a person can plug in their I-Pod. I decided the other day that I was going to plug in my I-Phone while on a test drive to show off that little feature. You know what? I have done it 3 times and sold all 3 cars!

The cool thing was on Saturday. I had a guy that wanted payoff ($17,400) for his truck and it was only worth $12,500. He was adamant. I somehow got him to drive and asked, "Do you have an I-Pod?" He said yes.

"What kind of music do you like?"

"Rock."

I pulled out my I-Phone and plugged it in. "We're about the same age--I also like Rock. You know what? Nothing tests a stereo like Pink Floyd." His eyes lit up. "What's your favorite Pink Floyd album?"

"Dark Side of the Moon."

I plugged it in and we happened to be in an Impala that had a Bose system. He messed with the base and treble and cranked it up and it sounded great! There was no way he was not going to buy the car after setting his radio up.

I had a lady today--"What kind of music do you like?"

"Country."

"Well, you won't find any country on this phone," I joked. So, I played a little Led Zeppelin through the phone and pre-set all of her radio stations to the XM country stations as well as her FM one. She loved it and bought.

I think I may be on to something here!

New Update for CSA 2008 Coming Soon!

2008-12-12T22:07:00.001-05:00

Hi, Everyone! Hope all is going well.

I've been working on a new update for CSA 2008. Fixing a few bugs and I've added a new feature that allows you to easily backup your data without having to browse-to and copy folders. If I get froggy, I'll also add the ability to import your data from a spreadsheet.

I'm also working on a new manual for CSA 2008 that should make a lot of things much clearer.

Please check back from time to time for updates.

Marv

Car Sales Assistant 2008 Video Tutorials

2008-12-02T15:39:00.009-05:00

Hi--I have just finished some video tutorials on how to do a few things on Car Sales Assistant 2008. There will be more to follow. If you would like to see something in particular, please let me know.

How to Log a Customer
CLICK HERE to Download the Full Size Video in WMV format.

This short video explains how to log a customer into CSA 2008. It also shows a quick overview of the customer screen including the difference between a phone up, prospect and sold customer as well as what all the check boxes do on the customer screen. This is the heart and soul of CSA 2008 so this video is pretty much a "must see!"

How to Make Phone Calls to Customers and Prospects
CLICK HERE to Download the Full Size Video in WMV format.

CSA 2008 automatically schedules follow up phone calls for your phone ups, prospects and sold customers depending on when you want them to be created. The phone ups show on the left side of your main screen as the number of calls that need to be made. Click the number and you will see a list of people who need to be called. These people will remain on the list until you actually call them. When you call them, you must "Complete the Phone Call" to take them from the list. This also gives you the option to leave notes as to what you talked about so you can build rapport with your customers.

How to License Car Sales Assistant 2008
CLICK HERE to Download the Full Size Video in WMV format.

When you download the fully-working trial copy of CSA 2008, it works for 14 days. To continue using it after this time, you need to purchase it. After purchasing it, the program must be licensed since it is copy protected. Your data that you enter will still be there.

I know copy protection is a pain but I have put a lot of time and effort into my software and I don't over-charge for it. If I didn't have copy protection--well, you know what would happen. One person would buy it and the rest of the dealership would get it for free. ;-)

More to come!

"I Need to See if I Have a Job Before I Can Buy a Car."

2008-11-23T23:16:00.002-05:00

"I need to see if I have a job before I buy a car."

I hear that daily. I sell cars in Michigan and it is no surprise that if the Big-3 disappears, so will Michigan. Most of the jobs here depend on one of the Big-3--whether it is a supplier, restaurant, car dealership or your average car salesperson (GULP!)

Well, I find it very hard to believe that the government will let that happen. After all, the Big-3 pretty much helped win World War 2 with its manufacturing base and GM helped save this country's economy after 9-11.

So, why the wait?

Well, to put it bluntly, a third of $25 Billion is enough to give, for example, GM a couple of months before they run out of cash. Our government that can spend $20 Billion a month in Iraq to help people who pretty much by now hate us wants to make sure that they don't throw away month that may cause the war to end (by lack of funds) one month earlier.

In other words, they want to make sure they get paid back. They want the Big-3 to be able to change their business practices so they no longer lose money but can pay it back. This will of course require concessions with the UAW, suppliers, excess dealers, etc.

You know what else it will require?

They will need to sell more cars!

OK--now we get to the meat and potatoes of this article.

Right now, I am doing nothing but calling customers. Unsold prospects, previous customers, etc. They are all telling me they want to wait until they see if GM is still there before they buy or if they will have a job.

I think GM will get their bailout and I think they will strive to sell more cars because right now, dealerships are not buying cars from GM and guess what--dealerships are really GM's customers, not the average consumer. The only way dealership will buy more cars is if they sell the ones they have right now (or at least think they will sell the ones they have right now.) Surely, someone at GM will be smart enough to see the relationship and make it worth it to buy a GM car, truck or SUV.

SUV? What's that? Oops--gas is back under $2.00 per gallon so I went back to my old ways. Sorry about that...

Car, truck or crossover.

What does that mean to you?

It means this: start a "vehicle shopping service" for your customers.

What is a "vehicle shopping service?" It's simple. You ask your customers what they want, when they want it, how much they want to spend and tell them that you check the programs daily and will call them when it is the optimum time to buy. When it becomes that time (after all of this blows over) then call them all and say, "Now is the time!" and you will sell a ton of cars.

I know it's stressful right now. I sold 15.5 last month--made a lot of money, led the dealership in the roughest market in the country (Michigan) and have exactly 0.5 out right now, November, 23. But I keep plugging away making my calls. When all this blows over, I will probably have a 30 car month.

It is hard to stay positive but we must. We are a rare breed. We have huge highs and huge lows but if you can make it through these lows and learn some great habits, you will have some VERY HUGH highs in the future.

Also, it is a great time to use a program like my Car Sales Assistant 2008 follow up CRM software. For time time being, I am offering a 25% off coupon because I know times are tough (and I only have 0.5 cars out... ;-) so use coupon code TAKE25 at checkout to get the discount. This is only for a limited time, by the way.

Here is a link to my store where you can purchase if you'd like...

Whether or not you use my software, I appreciate you reading this blog. Hopefully you can find one little tidbit to help you make a sale and get you through the roughest patch we will ever see in our careers.

Marv

Feel, Felt, Found

2008-11-01T23:06:00.002-04:00

Want a quick and powerful method to overcome 90% of the objections out there?

Here you go--it is called feel, felt, found. How does it work? It would be easier to give an example.

CUSTOMER: I will not buy because the car is red.

YOU: I understand how you feel. I had a customer last week who felt the same way. You know what he found out though? He found out that he could settle for any color if the deal was good enough--he saved thousands of dollars and just called me yesterday and told me he loves his new car.

OK. Lets try another one.

CUSTOMER: I can't buy until the stock market picks up.

YOU: I understand how you feel. I had a customer just last week who felt the same way until he found out that the deals are excellent right now because of the bad economy. When the economy picks back up, the deals won't be nearly as good so you might as well take advantage of the savings and do business right now.

Get the picture?

Anytime someone has negative equity in a trade, I can honestly understand how they feel because I have had--on average--$4500 in negative equity in my last three trades and I am in the car business!

If anyone ever complains because they can't afford a payment, I certainly understand how they feel because I support a wife and two kids with only my income and I understand what it is like to be on a budget.

This is a very powerful close--probably one of the most powerful. Please remember that sometimes, people will make a statement like "That is a high payment" and it should be treated as a statement unless they turn it into an objection like "I will not buy the car because that is a high payment." Then you can blast them with feel, felt, found, overcome the objection and hopefully find a bank to approve them.

CSA 2008 Downloading and Updating just got easier!

2008-10-11T20:35:00.002-04:00

I finally broke down and bought a good install building program to make installation of CSA 2008 as well as the updates easier.

If you have ever had trouble downloading Car Sales Assistant 2008, you can now download it here.

Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP
http://www.carsalesassistant.com/software/CSA2008_Setup.exe

Windows Vista:
http://www.carsalesassistant.com/software/CSA2008VistaSetup.exe

To update to the newest version (3.0.2) download and run the updater program
http://www.carsalesassistant.com/software/CSA2008_Update.exe

Marv

How to be Successful in this Economy

2008-10-09T23:10:00.002-04:00

By now, I'm sure you have seen the results of the media and presidential election created bad economy. I know I have. By the way, this is my 4th election selling cars and they are bad times economically! Why? Because you have two guys running who are spouting nothing but negativity against each other all over the mass media. You have presidents spouting something they know nothing about (economics) saying "If this bailout doesn't pass, we will be in another great depression!" Uh--it passed and the stock market is tanking... You have CEO's of auto-makers worried more about selling fewer cars and saving a few bucks per car thank how to sell more cars! Wow--how did we get from there to here? Was it just people buying homes they couldn't afford? Was it me talking a bank into approving someone who had no business buying a car? Was it a war that jacked up fuel prices that made broke people broker? Was it lack of leadership? Was it the media? Yes--all of the above and more.

Today, when I was getting ready for and walking to my car, my neighbor came up to me and asked, "How are you selling cars when banks are not financing them anymore?"

Thanks, media!

"I sold 4 in the last 2 days," I answered.

"Wow--how in the world did you get them financed?"

Thanks, media!

"Just like all the ones for the last 12 years," I explained. "I take their credit information, submit them to a bank, and get them approved."

Maybe the banks have tightened up, maybe not. I haven't noticed. Everyone who has come in front of me and wanted to buy a car has gotten approved with the exception of one guy who wanted to buy a Corvette with no credit, no job, etc. The so-called credit crunch made no difference for him.

Now granted, banks are tightening up but don't you have more than one bank you can submit a customer to?

OK--how to be successful in today's "bad" economy.

Stay away from the newspapers, news on tv, the internet--they have nothing good to say.
If someone walks on the lot, greet them, do a great job building excitement and value and sell them. I promise you this--they would not be wasting the gas to come on the lot if they weren't interested.
Stay away from the other salespeople--let them have their huddles talking about how bad it is. Walk right past them and grab every "up" you can.
Tell customers it is a great opportunity. 12 years in the car business and I have never seen deals like the ones we have (over $8000 in rebates on certain vehicles).
Maybe use the credit thing as a close. "If I can find a bank that still has money, would you like to get some of it before they run out?"
DO NOT CHECK TO SEE HOW MUCH YOU HAVE IN YOUR 401k! You will just depress yourself. It will come back--just like it does EVERYTIME it falls (which has been about 20 times in my life alone and I am 41 years old.)
Do a better job following up. 2 out of 4 of my sales in the last 2 days were from repeat customers and I have a few more in the works.
Smile all day--it is catchy!
Send out a post card to everyone in your database letting them know that you still have money to loan and that rates are cheaper than they have been in a long time.

That reminds me--my wife got a new credit card in the mail--the old one expired. You know what they guy on the phone asked? "Do you have any balance transfers? I can give you 1.9% for 1 year." Wow--what does that tell me? They would not be offering 1.9% if they were almost out of money.

Lastly...

Get ready for the "BOOM!" It will happen like it always does after a bust. I don't care which person wins next election--America will have a new and fresh outlook and there will be a boom.

Thanks for reading my ramblings and go out and sell a car today!

10 Tips for New Car Salespeople

2008-10-06T19:58:00.001-04:00

I had someone just email me with 3 months in the business and asked me for some tips and here's what I emailed him in no particular order. If I would have known these years ago, I would be way better off today.

1) Stay away from other salespeople--especially below average ones. They will try to get you down to their level.

2) Treat everyone on the lot as a buyer. Never pre-qualify

3) Put everyone you talk to into CSA 2008.

4) Send something out every month to the people in CSA 2008 (postcards work great)

5) When someone leaves the lot and doesn't buy, call them as soon as they leave and leave a message on their home phone. "I have some great news--call me back as soon as you get this." If they are interested, they will call you back. Great news can be more for trade, new rebate, another car they can look at, etc.

6) Start high in negotiations--it's easier to go down than up.

7) Take every deal--mini or otherwise. They might refer someone that you can make some money on.

8) Test drive with your customers. If not, they will conspire against you.

9) Use a good greeting like "Welcome to ABC Motors. My name is Justin and you are...?" "John." "Nice to meet you John. Is this your first time up here or have you been here before?" Remember: He who asks the questions controls the sales process.

10) Never give up on a customer until they say NO at least 5 or 6 times. If they say NO 6 times, do a turn-over (TO) to your manager.

New Update for Car Sales Assistant 2008

2008-10-05T23:05:00.004-04:00

Hi, Everyone!

Been a very busy person--was salesperson of the month last month, am now leading the dealership in new car sales for the year and even started a two out rally in the 7th in softball today that got us the 4 runs to win the game!

But that has nothing to do with this post. Just wanted to brag a little bit!

Well, I now have a new update for Car Sales Assistant 2008 up and running. You can download the update here and if you are not sure how to update, please check out the tutorial here.

I've fixed some bugs and crashes and added some new cool looking menus (click the picture above to see them.) By the way--the kid in the pic is my son Alex--still too young to buy a car but cute none the less.

Please keep the bugs coming to me so I can squash them and thanks for all of your patience when waiting for fixes. I have been working hard on a new huge HUGE HHHHUUUUGGGGEEEE program that is about to hit in the next couple of days--something that I am very proud of.

Haven't purchased CSA 2008 yet? Visit my store and watch the sales happen!

http://store.carsalesassistant.com

Marv

The Importance of Follow Up

2008-09-23T23:47:00.003-04:00

In my 12+ years of selling cars, I have never seen it slower in regards to the number of "fresh ups" that come into our dealership. Nothing seems to work--advertising, bill boards, direct mail, etc.

So--what do I do to sell more cars?

Well, I follow up with everyone that I have talked to at the dealership.

I use a combination of my Car Sales Assistant 2008 program and a legal pad. The program to help me keep track of contact and the legal pad for an "overview" of the people I have talked to. When I get someone back in, I write SOLD with a big black magic marker--it kind of gives me positive reinforcement! Plus--it looks cool when the manager comes by.

Why is follow up so important?

Well, here are some truths about people that come up on your lot.

For the most part--they are in the market for a car.
For the most part--if they came to your lot, they are at least considering something that you have to offer.
For the most part--if they come on your lot, there is a huge chance that they will be buying something within the next few weeks. Some sales trainers have stated that most will buy within a couple of days but my experiences have stated within a few weeks.
For the most part--you have an 18% chance to sell someone who comes on your lot.
For the most part (getting tired of the "for the most parts yet?" It will be a given for now on...) That leaves 82% of the people who came on your lot who didn't buy.
If you do a good job following up on those 82% of the people--any one of them you get back on the lot, you will have about a 50% chance of selling them a car.

Wow--what does that mean in mathematical terms?

If you talk to 30 people in a month, you will sell about 6 on the spot. Out of the other 24, if you do a halfway decent job doing follow up, you might get a third back on the lot--so, 8 will come back. Out of those 8, you will sell 4 (on average.) Can you see where this can be important yet?

OK--I am sitting on 8 cars right now (it's slow here in Michigan--as of yesterday, I was leading the board with 8...) Out of those 8, 4 were "be-backs" that I got back up and sold. Actually, my closing ratio for be-backs is higher than 50% (you can track it with my software) so I work real hard to get people back up to the dealership.

I see people all the time who catch an up and if they don't sell them, their ego gets in the way and they assume that the people just couldn't buy, etc. Well, they are dead wrong and they are losing sales by the dozens.

OK--here are some concrete steps you can take to increase your sales IMMEDIATELY!

Treat everyone you talk to as a buyer. They would not be there wasting their time (for the most part--sorry) unless they were at least "thinking" about getting a car.
If they don't buy, give them a "great news" call. "Hey Jim--I have some great news--call me as soon as you get this message." When they call back, "Great news--I have another manager that wants to take a look at your trade. When can you bring it by--right now or later this afternoon?" Remember--if they come back--you have a 50% chance of closing them on the spot.
Send them a thank you letter for stopping by with a business card in yours since they probably threw yours away or added it to a pile.
If the don't come back--call them again from time to time but always have new information for them--such as new rebates, a great used car you just got in, a new car with the color they really wanted, etc.
If they don't call back after 3 calls, I assume they have bought somewhere else or do not want my product. Sorry--I don't call until they "buy or die"--there are too many others to call. I do give them a final, "Do me a favor--if you are out of the market, please call and leave me a message on my voice mail so I can quit calling you." (Mention the voice mail because that is non-confrontational--they may not have the guts to tell you live over the phone.)
Put them into your master database like the one on CSA 2008. Send them something once a month. I have had people come back literally years later and buy off of me. "I bought somewhere else but they treated my like crap," I hear a lot.
I send out postcards (easy to print with CSA2008--sorry about the plugs for my software--it really does help people sell tons of cars.) because they are easy to read and don't look like all the other junk mail we all get.

Well, just some quick tips--do some follow up on everyone (except for those who cannot buy) and you will be amazed about how many extra cars you will sell a month.

Marv

New Update for Car Sales Assistant 2008

2008-09-09T22:57:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone--just finished another update. Thanks to those who were kind enough to email me your data files so I could use real data to figure out what was causing the problems.

The newest version of CSA 2008 is now 3.0.1 and the build date on the main screen should read 9/9/08. Here are the fixes in this update... (By the way--if you already own CSA 2008, the update is free...)

Here is a link to my tutorials including the one on how to update...

Fixed a bug that caused a crash if it took you more than 60 seconds to type in the text for a pop up message reminder.
When you were viewing a customers address file--if you clicked on one of the grids (vehicles in family for example) the window would pop up and not be in the right spot. Fixed!
Fixed the stats where it seemed as if data (sold customers for example) were being counted twice.
Fixed a small bug that I just noticed. If you are typing a commission and close the window without leaving the commission box, it would not add it to your total money made. Now as you type, the total is updated on the fly.

I just want everyone to know I try to fix them as they come. Sometimes it takes a while (like the stat bug--that had been "bugging" me for months) and sometimes the fixes come in my sleep but please feel free to email if you find more.

Thanks,
Marv Chomer

Attitude and why it is Important

2008-09-02T23:15:00.007-04:00

If there is one thing that can make or break a sale, it is your attitude. Let me give you an example of what happened to me recently.

First--some back story.

I live in South Eastern Michigan in a suburb of Detroit. As of right now, we have about the highest unemployment in the country, more foreclosures that just about anyone, a customer base of people who like to lease without any leases for the most part, pollution, crime, potholes, a baseball team that is out of the running, etc.

OK--with this on my mind, I greeted a young couple the other day and showed them a few cars.

They came back today and bought a car from me. Why? Because the dealership they left me for didn't have it in stock and I did.

Whoa! They left me for another dealership? What happened?

Well, the girl told me today that when she first met me, she thought I was "mean." She said that I didn't smile at her and seemed like I hated my job. At that time, she told her husband that "she wanted to find a different dealer (salesperson.)" So, they left and shopped me at another dealership.

Thank God I got another chance! Wow! I have been on a "roll" recently and have sold a few cars in the last week so needless to say, I was smiling when they came back. We talked a little--cracked some jokes, etc. when she dropped the bombshell on me that she thought I was "mean" the other day--but that she thought I was "nice" now because I was smiling.

This has really been bothering me this evening. I'm starting to wonder how many other people that my attitude has turned into a no-sale.

Ever go to a mall and have a clerk that hates their job? You can always tell--they say, "Can I help you?" when you can tell that they just want the clock to hit 9:00 so they can get the hell out of there.

Ever order at a fast food restaurant and get someone with a total frown preparing your food? I wonder if they spit in it? Hmmm...

I can give a million more examples but how about one more.

Lets say you have been dreaming about a certain new car. You did your research on the internet, got some brochures, told your friends and family about it, saved up a good down payment--you know--your first new car. You go up to a dealership and a dude catches you with a frown on his face. "Can I help you or get someone for you?" he asks--you get the vibes that he doesn't think you can afford to buy the car because you pulled in with your old "beater." He looks tired and smells like cigarettes. What do you do?

"Just looking!" as you get the hell out of there.

OK--same scenario but the dude at the dealership is smiling like he is happy to see you. "Welcome to Biff Motors! My name is Charles--and you are...?" He extends his hand and gives you a pleasant handshake. You cannot help but to smile back and it seems like you have known this dude forever.

What this boils down to is this. If you have a bad attitude--FAKE IT! Find something to smile about--whether it is your kids, the weather, the vacation you just took or whatever! If it helps--imagine a $300 dollar bill on their forehead right between their eyes. See if that helps.

I would have lost the sale today if it weren't for the inventory situation here in Michigan. I am very sure of that. The people I sold did not like me, trust me or believe me--at least not until the second change I miraculously got with them. They turned out to be very nice and very easy to close. I made enough to pay my phone, cable and internet bill for the month.

My goal for September is to smile at everyone, be nice to everyone, assume everyone is there to buy a car (and that they CAN buy a car) and to stay away from the negative outside influences... you know what I am talking about...

The "huddle"--other salespeople will never buy a car from you. They are evil--stay away from them!
The news--I can give a care less if Sarah Whatever's 17 year old daughter is pregnant. Gas is high--I don't need to be reminded. GM is hurting--I don't need to be reminded. McCain can't remember how many houses he has--I can care less. If I had a wife worth $100 million--neither would I!
Any talk about money, or lack-of thereof...
My managers--unless I'm working a deal.
The fantasy football talk--get the hell away from me! Not in it, not interested in it, can give a care less if you have Peyton Manning this year!

Want a great attitude? Think about something that makes you happy. In my case, my kids and the trip we just took to Mackinac Island, Michigan--that is Lake Huron on the right of the bridge and Lake Michigan on the left of it--pretty cool, eh?

NOTE: The camera made my gut look bigger than it is--I promise!

Huge Car Sales Assistant 2008 Update Online

2008-09-01T12:42:00.004-04:00

Hi, everyone. Happy Labor Day. I have been spending my labor day laboring to add and fix a few things with Car Sales Assistant 2008. I am happy to say that I have a new update online. If your build date is not 9/1/08 and your version is not 3.0.0 then I would suggest updating to the newest version.

CLICK HERE to view a tutorial on how to update to the newest version of CSA 2008.

Also, I have extended my labor day 20% off sale through Friday, September 5, 2008. All you have to do is purchase stuff from my store by CLICKING HERE and enter LABORDAY as a coupon when you check out to get the savings on your total order.

Here is what has been updated/fixed in this new build.

I re-wrote the follow up system from the ground up. It now works right and you can make changes to your follow up schedule on the fly and they will work immediately.
I added a "pop up" messaging system. You can set reminders for yourself or for your customer and they will pop up at the given time that you schedule them (as long as the program is running.)
I fixed some problems with dates not saving.
The stats were not working right if you (for example) talked to a customer last month and sold them this month. That is all fixed now so the stats should be 100% correct.

If any other bugs pop up, please let me know.

Thanks,
Marv

New Store is Here!

2008-09-01T01:04:00.002-04:00

My new Car Sales Assistant store is up and running!

CLICK HERE to purchase my Car Sales Assistant 2008 software!

Also, I am looking for affiliates to show around my program. Sign up at my store and you will get your unique URL to pass along to friends/co-workers and if they buy, you will get a cut.

Hope to see you there soon!

Marv

New Car Sales Assistant Store Coming

2008-08-26T22:01:00.003-04:00

Well, to better serve you, my customer (or perhaps a future customer) I have taken the plunge and hooked up for a new service to maintain my store that I sell my products on. It will be at store.carsalesassistant.com and will be up in a few days.

I was using paypal, then I switched to a cart system called Zen Cart and I feel that both were confusing to me and to people who wanted to purchase my software. So, I have hooked up with a company that specializes in shopping carts--it cost me around $200 to set up and will cost me $30 per month but I think it will be well worth it.

Here is something cool that you will be able to do once it is up. You will be able to sign up as an affiliate of mine and if you direct your buddies to my website and if they purchase some of my stuff, you will get paid $$$. I get a ton of referrals and believe in rewarding people who send me business.

Thanks for your patience over the next few days. You can still purchase right now but it (quite frankly) is very confusing.

Best regards,
Marv

Why do People Buy?

2008-08-18T22:25:00.003-04:00

Why do people buy cars? OK--it's late, I didn't sell a single car in the 13.5 hours that I "sold cars" today (a misnomer since I didn't sell anything!) and I'm trying to stay awake watching the Tigers play the Rangers (and dozing off while doing-so) so what I'm trying to say to you is I will give some of the reasons that people buy cars but please forgive me if I leave something out.

OK--once again for all of you people who aren't bored to shit yet--why do people buy? Tell you what--since I am so tired, bored, sleepy, buzzed, high, drunk, stupid or whatever qualifies...I'll put it into a nutshell...

People buy for emotional reasons.

OK--but wait. I just saw a commercial for GM that states that people want better gas mileage, want fewer fill ups, want to save at the pump, etc. That sounds pretty logical, not emotional.

OK--don't get me wrong. Some people will buy for logical reasons but I want to talk about most people--you know--the ones you will sell cars to most of the time.

People buy for emotional reasons and justify their purchase with logical reasons.

OK--prime example. I had a customer once get a new car and bury $5000 in negative. Why? Because she wanted to save money on gas. OK. To spend $5000 in negative equity to save money in gas--what is wrong with this story? Well, it turns out she just got divorced and her ex just bought a new car and she wanted to "one-up" him. Why did she mention "saving gas?" Well, to justify her purchase. The emotional reason she bought was to "show him up" but she didn't admit that to me--I just got it via conversation. Of course, I brought up gas mileage when I sold her the car but I also focused on how cool she would look in it and how her ex would be jealous, etc.

I once knew a dude who went to look at cars. The salesperson (deducting that this guy didn't have a love live) asked him, "Do you have a girl friend?" They guy said no. "Well, if you buy this car--you will!"

Wow! I hope that dude is still selling cars and I'll bet he is making a killing!

I see people trying to talk people into buying cars for logical reasons. "This car gets X miles per gallon. " or "This car has ABS brakes."

OK--lets break it down. Would "This car gets X miles per gallon" convince you into buying a car?

Me neither.

What if the salesperson said, "This car gets X miles per gallon so you will have more money to take that nice vacation in Florida that you were talking about?"

What would convince you to want ABS brakes? Because they are there or because they can prevent your loved-ones from getting hurt in a car accident?

OK--bed time but let me finish with this. Focus on the emotional reasons that people buy. Talk to them about how they deserve a new car because they work so hard--talk about how their friends are going to be jealous--talk about how happy they will be taking the car on that trip to Florida--what ever gets them to smile and be emotional (smiling is the by-product of an emotion of being happy by the way.)

Good night, good luck, Go Tigers, God Bless and Rock and Roll!

Why Contact Relationship Works

2008-08-18T22:03:00.002-04:00

I am a full time car salesperson but I am also a software developer who sells Car Sales Assistant 2008, a follow up program designed especially for car salespeople. Therefore, I think I am pretty qualfied to share a few tidbits with you.

I don't know if you have noticed a change in the car business, but I sure have. GM just dropped a bombshell on us Chevrolet salespeople in Michigan by basically killing leases. What does this mean? Well, people will still buy cars but for us where I live, it is going to be a little bit tougher.

Thank God that I have developed some pretty good techniques for customer relationship building. Since there will be fewer and fewer fresh ups until people get used to not leasing, it is now more important than ever to develop relationships with your current customer base. Also, it is important to have a good system and (shameless plug coming) I would recommend my software. You can download it here and check it out for a free trial.

OK--shameless plugs aside, what do you do with a CRM program once you get it?

Call every customer you have sold about every 90 days. Some people say every 30 days but I think that is too much--if someone called me every 30 days, I would feel pestered and dread the call. Now, if your manager says every 30 days, do it!
Why call every 90 (or 30) days? Because odds are that sooner or later, someone in their direct family will be in the market for a car.
What if they aren't? Odds are that they have a friend in the market for a car.
Send a birthday card!!!! CSA 2008 makes it easy. Our dealership generates a computer printed letter and you know what? It looks like it's computer generated. Get a nice birthday card! I didn't get a single card in the mail this year (my birthday is June 21st if you want to send me one next year) but guess what--if someone would have sent me one, I would have really appreciated it and if that someone was in the sales or service business, I would have found a way to do business with them or at least find a family member or friend to do business with them! (Very important.)
If someone leaves without buying, call them and thank them sincerely for stopping by. I have never gotten a thanks for stopping by call but would kinda feel obligated to at least consider someone who takes the time to do that.
Send a letter thanking them for stopping by with a business card in it. You know what else? Make it hand written so it looks like you take the time because you care!
If they buy somewhere else, thank them and ask them to give you another shot next time around.

OK-I know I ramble. Back to the title of this article. Why Contact Relationship Works. It works because not many people do it effectively! If you do it, you will stand up in crowd and sell more cars.

Some personal success stories recently.

I called an orphan owner about 10 months ago and called every other month and talked to her. Guess what? She brought her son up and he bought a car from me a week ago today.
I called someone who bought somewhere else and said, "I just wanted to thank you for calling me and letting me know. Most people will not do that and I really do appreciate it." You know what? I'm sure no one else has ever thanked her for buying somewhere else. Maybe I'll get another shot from her.
I had a guy who wanted to lease a car for $230 per month. Well, leasing is done but I still kept in touch with him. You know what else? He is coming up on friday to purchase a certified used car.

What is boils down to, if your economy is rough like ours is, there is nothing else going on so what else can you do to kill the time?

Call people. Let them know to tell their family and friends about you.
Let them know that to you, they are more than a sale but a friend.
Ask them what kind of car they want next time around so you can "keep and eye on the programs and contact them when it is the right time to get their next car."

Rambling done. That's how I write. Thanks for reading this blog!

Marv

How to Handle a "Special Finance" Customer

2008-08-06T23:13:00.005-04:00

First of all, a definition: Special Finance: a customer with bad credit who cannot get financed through conventional methods and who has a large chance of having their next vehicle get repossessed. If they ever get approved, their interest rate is going to be sky-high and it will probably not be their dream vehicle.

OK--here are some techniques to handle this large and growing customer type.

1) Never tell them they are approved over the phone. If you do that, they usually get the attitude that they can now buy whatever they want from whomever they want.

2) If they tell you they have money to put down, ask if they really have it. For example, I had someone once tell me to "figure it with $2000 down." I turned around and asked, "Do you have $2000 to put down right now?" They said, "Uh--no, but I will in 6 weeks when I get my tax return." Your job is to sell them a car RIGHT NOW, not 6 weeks from now.

I love when a Special Finance Manager gets someone "approved" but it is not a deal that can be structured with your particular customer. "Hey--I got your guy approved but he needs $8000 down." Uh, no. That is a B.S. call--that is the banks way of saying "No." Now granted, some special finance customers can come up with that kind of money but we are talking about a small, small percentile of them. That is also like a salesperson saying, "I sold that guy a Corvette. He said he'll take it if the payment is $250 per month. I sold him--he just can't buy." Uh, no. You did not sell anyone anything. The deal has to be structured where...

a) The customer accepts it
b) Your manager accepts it
c) Your customer buys it (busting bugs, burning that all so expensive gas!)

3) If you get them approved before they come up, find out what vehicles you can sell them with the money they have down and more importantly, WITH THE PAYMENT THEY WANT! If you have a 2003 Trailblazer that is $300 and they want to be at $300, why would you try to sell them a 2005 Trailblazer at $500? Makes no sense whatsoever!

I used to work with a guy--probably the best used car salesperson that I had ever met. He told me he would get the leads online, get the people approved and have the car they could buy ready for them--all cleaned up and looking shiny. When they pulled up he would say, "This is your car and this is your payment." He also told me (and I believed every word) that he averaged around $5000 front end gross a pop and that he rarely ever made less than $15K per month. Anytime I saw the guy, he was on the phone working customers, working customers in person and working the finance guy on his customers--except the few times I saw him in the lunch room eating a lunch that he brought (I never once saw him leave for lunch.) Super hard worker--I wish I had 1/2 the work ethic that he has!

OK--now for the big thing. What if they people don't want one of the cars you have "picked out" for them? What if they want a Suburban (for some reason, people with bad credit always want the high-dollar vehicles) and you can only get them approved on a Blazer?

I like to call it the "Shot at the Doctor's Office Close."

Here's how it goes.

"Mr. Customer, I understand that you want a Suburban. I can get you worked out on a Blazer."

Customer: "The Blazer's too small. I want a Suburban."

You: "I just want you to understand that they will not approve you on a Suburban at this time. What I would recommend is getting the Blazer--they will approve you on it and it's a great opportunity for you."

Customer: "How's that?"

You: "It's kinda like going to the Doctor's office to get a shot. It hurts for a bit but in the long run, it keeps you healthy. Getting this Blazer is like getting the shot. It will hurt for a while but in the long run it will make you healthier because if you pay it perfect, you will help reestablish your credit. It's actually a great opportunity for you and quite frankly, I think it will be a mistake to look a gift horse in the mouth."

Then I like to add: "You will pay it perfect, right?" If they say "yes" then they just agreed to buy the Blazer.

This works really well if the payment is higher than they want to pay. "They higher payment is like getting a shot..." You get the picture.

Well, everyone, good luck and good night! I'm gonna hit the sack and have sweet dreams of my recent vacation to Mackinac Island and the surrounding area. Here is a nice picture with some soft colors that I took yesterday at dusk.

Nice Vacation "Up North"

2008-08-04T13:35:00.004-04:00

One of the coolest things about living in Michigan, besides the "cool" economy and the "cool" way that everyone is getting rid of leases is being able to go "up north." By up north, I mean in our beautiful upper penninsula.

Right now, we are staying in St. Ignace which is right over the Mackinac Bridge (a 5-mile long bridge--one of the largest suspension bridges in the world.) This was my first time crossing the bridge. It is overwhelming to say the least! You first see it from miles away and you are instantly shocked at how big it is. I even felt a moment of deja vu as if I had seen this view before, perhaps in a dream. You go over and see Lake Michigan on the left and Lake Huron on the right. The water is blue in the middle--as blue as the ocean (and these are fresh water oceans in their own right) and green on the edges. Sailboats smoothly criss-cross at a leisurely gait and the air smells great--as if filtered by the lakes themselves. Absolutely stunning!

Here is a picture of my daughter Melissa--miles away from the bridge overlooking Lake Michigan.

It's kinda neat here. Even though my brain tells me that it's Michigan, my mouth speaks otherwise. For example, I saw a guy last night at a bonfire with a Detroit Tigers hat on. I said, "Wow--a Tigers fan," and then realized that I was still in Michigan and there were still Tigers fans here, regardless of our record and chances at a playoff berth.

They have a bonfire every night here--people sit there, kids roast marshmallows, adults drink a few beers under the beautiful night sky--not a bit of pollution--light or otherwise.

A couple of funny things I saw--one mother kept telling her kids "only one roasted marshmallow because they charing causes cancer." I think I heard the word "cancer" come out of her mouth about five times. This morning at the continental breakfast, I watched one of their kids drop his jelly-covered bagel and it fell jelly-down on the floor. He picked it up and kept eating. "He dropped that on the ground, jelly-side-down," I told his dad. His dad smiled and said, "You need to learn to quit worrying about things," as he winked at me. Wow--a little protest against his wife who was easily at the other end of the worrying-spectrum? Perhaps so!

My one year old son being a one year old--sleeping, crawling around and nothing much else. Now my daughter on the other hand--she has probably made around 5 friends (all her "best friends" she keeps telling me.) Last night, her and a girl bounced around the campfire singing Hannah Montana songs and pretending they were making food out of the sand.

I met another guy who told me that they have a hunting camp about 1.5 hours from here. "We killed a bear," he told me. "I had a guy cook up the neck meat and it was very good." Count me out!

So you can put a face to the words of this blog, here I am also over looking the Mackinac Bridge. I'm trying to explain to my six-year-old daughter how to take the picture as she snaps it.

All in all, it feels very good to get away. The car business is getting very stressful in Michigan with our sour economy and the fact that most of our customers lease and leasing is going away. Might be the time to switch over to selling used cars! Oh well.

I'll try to get some more pictures tonight--maybe the stars (hope it's clear) and maybe the bridge with all the lights on.

Earning the Right

2008-07-28T22:51:00.004-04:00

The other day, I went to get a hair cut. I walked into a place I had never been at and the girl working at the counter said, "Welcome to hair clips" (or whatever it was called.) So far, so good--great greeting!

OK--I looked around at all the girls and saw that they all had pretty bad hair cuts. Oh oh!

The one started asking me information--phone #, address, full name and all I could think about was, "Great--gonna be stuck on a mailing list."

"Hey--how much do you charge for haircuts?"

"Eleven dollars."

"Cool!"

She sat me down and asked what I wanted and I told her. "Yeah--I usually go to my barber but we were in the neighborhood."

Then she said something that really turned me off. Before the first gray hair on my head was cut (not all gray--bits and pieces) she said, "Looks like we earned a new customer."

Hmmmm--I don't know why that statement put a bad taste in my mouth--maybe it was the fact that she assumed that she had my future business before even cutting my hair. In my opinion, she hadn't earned the right to assume that she had earned a customer until he cut my hair.

Needless to say, she hacked up my hair and chopped into the mole on the back of my neck. "Oops--I nicked your mole!" No shit!

I don't know. Maybe she was saying "We earned a new customer" because of the fact that I had never been there before. One thing for sure is that I will probably not go back in there.

OK--what the hell does this have to do with the car business?

How many times have you done a decent greeting, asked a few questions and went RIGHT TO THE PRICE? Have you earned the right to go for the close or are you jumping the gun?

I don't always follow every step the sale. I sold 2 today and only one of them test drove the car. Guess what? The one who drove nickled and dimed me to death (a nice friendly mini deal) and the other one didn't negotiate at all and actually bought a bed liner and a few back end products (about 8 mini deals-worth of $$$). I am a firm believer that when someone is ready to buy, they are ready to buy. But I always make sure they are there to do business before I jump through hoops and get the price, etc. for them.

Wow--I am rambling today. Hope I have earned the right to gain you as a loyal reader to this blog.

Marv

10% off Coupon to Celebrate new Store

2008-07-24T22:26:00.002-04:00

I am proud to say that I have a new web store up and running. I sell my Car Sales Assistant 2008 there. Right now, not only am I selling it for $69.99 per copy (it normally sells for $89.99).

Not only that, but from now until 7/31/08, you can take an additional 10% by using this coupon code when you check out. The code is TAKETEN

Here is a link to the store:
http://store.carsalesassistant.com

Website Construction

2008-07-12T08:40:00.001-04:00

Over the next couple of days, I'll be moving www.carsalesassistant.com over to a new server so it may be down from time to time.

I have many plans for this website including...

A forum for salespeople
This blog will move there
Free software for salespeople to use online (lease calculator to begin with)
A new shopping cart
More tutorials on how to use CSA 2008

Please check back to this blog for updates and news.

Marv

Dealing with Stress in the Car Business

2008-07-08T23:03:00.002-04:00

I once heard that the average car salesperson lives to be 54 years old. I find it hard to believe because I have only had 2 car salespeople that I knew of die while being car salespeople. One was in his sixties and a smoker with heart problems and one was almost eighty years old (and still just about outsold all of us!)

Of course, my experience is limited--I have only worked at 4 dealerships--7 years at one, 5 years at my current one and 2 with 3 months each.

One thing I know for a fact is this: The car business can be stressful!

I have always said that there is nothing worse than a bored car salesperson and my definition of a bored car salesperson is someone who is not selling cars.

OK--here are some quick tips to get rid of stress in the car business.

Smoke a cigarette every chance you get. Not only will it make you feel better but it will make you look cool to people of the oposite sex. (just kidding...)
Actually, do the opposite. Try to be healthy! I am a little overweight but I am taking steps to fix myself. Let me tell you a little story...

I am 41 years old and about a month ago, I was playing softball. We had 2 outs and I had a full count. The pitcher threw a pitch and it was about a good of a strike that I have ever seen. I looked back to the umpire and he said, "Ball three--take your base!"

I said to myself, "Wow--this is my lucky day!" I trotted over to first base and my buddy Cory came up to bat. I stood on first waiting for Cory (who is a right handed batter) to blast the ball somewhere into left field when all of a sudden, he hit a line shot and it was coming straight at my head! I had time to say "Oh" when it blasted me on the side of the head and knocked me down.

Here's what I remember...

Looking at Cory
Cory blasting ball and it curving at my head
Me saying "Oh"
Ball blasting the side of my head--just below the temple and above the jaw.
Me getting knocked down.
Me seeing people looking over me and me getting up.
Me going to emergency room

What I don't remember is the 5-10 seconds of me laying on the ground, unconscious as my feet kicked.

I went to the emergency room, scared shitless--you see, I NEVER go to the doctor. I had fears of head trauma, brain damage, x-rays, cat scans, etc. I was OK, though but the doctor noticed that my blood pressure was a little high.

"You need to be on blood pressure medicine," he told me.
"Can't I just lose a little weight?"
"No--you really need to be on them. I'm going to give you a 3 day supply and then I want you to go see your regular doctor."

Needless to say, the pharmacy must have misread the script and they gave me a 30 day supply so I waited and waited until the 30 days was up and then set an appointment to see a doctor--scared shitless again! Remember--41 years old--the time when doctors really get excited to have you as a customer!

OK--to make a long story short, this doctor disagreed with sticking me on blood pressure medicine and told me to lay off of salt, take water pills and watch what I eat. He also drew blood to check my "thyroid, kidney, liver, cholesterol, etc." Once again, scared shitless--not of the blood (I have donated and have no probs with needles) but with waiting for the results because...

1) I sell cars and we eat like shit
2) I sell cars and we deal with a lot of stress
3) I am probably 30 pounds overweight (in my opinion, that is)

I went today and guess what--my top pressure was 20 points lower and my bottom was 10 points lower and I am in perfect shape according to my blood!

Guess what--back to stress. It has always been on the back of my mind... "Is my cholesterol too high? God--is my liver OK? I do like an occasional drink, you know..." Once again, laying off of salt and watching what I eat has dramatically relieved stress. I feel great and I sell better. Especially knowing that I am pretty healthy.

OK--back to ways to relieve stress...

Stay away from the newspaper unless you are reading sports. There is never any good news in the newspaper--good news doesn't sell papers, bad news does.
Do not ever watch local news. All you will hear about are kids dying in fires, murders, rapes, oil prices, war, scandals, etc. You know what? You already know gas is high--you don't need the newspaper to remind you.
Stay away from below average salespeople--you know the ones I'm talking about. The ones that blame all the stuff from the local news on how bad it is. You know what? I made the mistake last month of reading how GM is cutting production of trucks and how people aren't buying them. I almost believed it and almost went back to delivering pizzas but then I put it out of my head. You know what else? I sold 17 cars last month (not bad in Michigan as bad as things are here) and 11 were Silverados, 1 was an Avalanche and one was a $55,000 Suburban.
If someone is about to get fired, stay away from them. You have your own family to worry about--hate to sound self centered but getting caught up in someone else's affairs won't help you sell cars and provide for your family. Want to know who is about to get fired? Watch them--they are the ones who do whatever the managers say--fill the brochure racks, clean the counters, line up the cars, move the blockers, not sell cars.
Don't take your job home. Put it behind you.
Take your days off and do something fun with the family. I love to take my kids swimming at a local pool. And for some reason, women in bikinis love to come over to see my 1 year old son if you get my drift (glad my wife doesn't read this blog!)
If a manager is stressed or in a bad mood, avoid him! Shit rolls down hill--remember that.

By the way, I hope you don't mind me using the word "shit" in this blog. I think I have said it around 5 times already in this article and I don't use it to offend anyone--it is part of my normal shitty dialog so please just listen to what I, the biggest shithead in the world has to say without having a shitty attitude about it! ;-)

OK--back to stress...

If you are healthy enough, play sports. I play softball and once in a while, paintball (great for relieving stress! You get to shoot people and everyone has fun!)
Try this one. Find a dark area on a clear night in the middle of nowhere. Put a blanket out and lay on it and just look up at the majesty of the night sky. You may see some meteors (shooting stars), some man-made satellites go by (the move pretty fast and change brightness) but you will just melt away in all the beauty that the heavens have to offer.
Call some of your customers--especially happy ones so they can tell you how much they love their car. It always makes me feel good when I make others feel good. If someone is unhappy, make them happy.
And finally, sell a car. Nothing relieves stress like putting some iron over the road and making some money.

Thank you all for reading my ramblings--I do appreciate it. By the way--I use this blog as an outlet to relieve some of MY stress!

Marv Chomer
Creator of Car Sales Assistant 2008
Follow Up CRM Software for Professional Salespeople
Only $89.99 per Copy (1 Mini deal will pay for it by the way...)
CarSalesAssistant.com

Update of CSA 2008 is Online 7/5/08

2008-06-29T14:59:00.004-04:00

Hi--as of 7/5/08, the newest update for Car Sales Assistant 2008 is up and running. If you have anything less that 2.0.7 7/5/08 on your mane page, download and install the update.

The main fix was a crash when logging a new customer ("error in follow up NEWROW") as well as the screens not lining up when creating a new address or customer.

Also, I am taking people down to be affiliates to sell copies of my program for me. Please contact me if interested--it will be an easy way to make some extra $$$!

I also added a "start page" that gives a good overview of the program. You can disable the start page at any time.

You can download the update here. You will then need to unzip it (open it) and copy all of the contents into your CAR SALES ASSISTANT 2008 folder that is either in your WWW.CARSALESASSISTANT.COM or NOVAEONA SYSTEMS folder in PROGRAM FILES (hope I'm not confusing... so here.)

1) Double Click MY COMPUTER or COMPUTER for you Vista users.
2) Double click C: Hard drive
3) Double click PROGRAM FILES
4) Look for either WWW.CARSALESASSISTANT.COM or NOVAEONA SYSTEMS. Double click it.
5) Double click CAR SALES ASSISTANT 2008. Copy the contents of the file that you downloaded (after opening it) into this folder and over write the files when prompted.

You may need to re-license the software but I think you will love the change--I know I do.

If you haven't downloaded the full program yet, you can download it here. Open the file after downloading and double click the SETUP program to install. Follow all the prompts.

Marv
www.carsalesassistant.com

I'm Updating Car Sales Assistant

2008-06-29T00:12:00.002-04:00

Hi, Everyone!

I have been hard at work updating Car Sales Assistant 2008 and just wanted to let you all know what is going on.

I am aware of a problem with Vista machines where you can't choose a letter or a picture--the program just goes into la-la-land. It is a problem with the copy protection I am using--it is conflicting with the Windows based open dialog. I am working with the people who created the copy protection to get a fix going. As far as I know, it is only a problem with Vista, not XP, etc.
I never was a big fan of how the windows in my program interacted. You could move the main one and the customer ones would stay in the same spot. Well, I just learned how to make a window (form) within a window (form) and it looks nicer, you can now minimize the whole program, etc.
I have a deep down feeling that the follow up is not working right so I am re-writing it from the ground up. Here is what is going to be cool about the new system. Lets say you want to add a 30 day letter. In the old way, if you already created your letters, it wouldn't add a new one. Now, if you make a change to your follow up schedule, it will effect all of your customers which is a good thing.
I am trying to implement a follow up every X amount of days like a call every 30 days for example.
I am going to be adding pop up message reminders. I had this feature in CSA 2007 and everyone seemed to love it (and are asking for it) so I will be adding it. Here is an example of what it will be able to do. If you have an appointment set for 10:00am, it will pop up 15 minutes early to remind you--kinda like the appointment scheduler we use on cell phones.

Also, I will be adding some new content to my website such as...

A free online lease or payment calculator
A free forum for salespeople to get together and compare notes, techniques, recipes, etc.

Finally, one more thing that I will be adding is this...

Gas is high right now, money is tight so here is your chance to make a few extra $$$'s! I am going to be adding a referral system where you can have your buddies check out my program. If they buy, you will get $$$ from me--the more that buy in a month, the higher your commission rate. I get a ton of referrals and I think the people who are kind enough to show others my program should be rewarded, don't you?

With a partner, we are working on an online version of Car Sales Assistant where you can do your business from ANY computer (home, work, etc.) More on that later.

And finally, I am working on a dealership version of my program that will sell for a lot of money to you and I (but not to dealerships) so the payment for referrals on this one will be a lot of money--we're talking hundreds of dollars if you show it to your dealership and they hook up.

For all of you who have found bugs and been patient while I worked on them, I bow to you and give you sincere thanks.

Marv Chomer
www.carsalesassistant.com

How to Sell a Car

2008-06-27T22:33:00.002-04:00

Right now, we have 0% for 72 months on pretty much everything and we are a freaking madhouse! People are scrambling for what's left and it is dog eat dog out there!

It's been a very busy few days and today a guy came in and said, "I want a price on a truck." So, I sat him at my desk and was about to give him a price--I was about to go from step one in the sale process to step 10! You know what? I caught myself by looking at his shirt--he had a Myrtle Beach shirt on and my wife and I have been talking about taking the kids there. More on that later.

I started asking questions about his wants and needs (step 3) and he told me a couple of things...

1) He told me he was going to get a price and then shop at the Saturn dealership because he had heard about the Vue
2) He told me that he had a friend at another Chevy dealership who had sold him his last three vehicles
3) He told me that he wasn't going to buy today because he was going to wait a couple of months and because his wife wasn't with him.

In other words, he gave me three good reasons for me to believe that he wasn't going to buy today. I almost gave him a price then when I silently reminded myself that this guy was here for a truck and we make, in my opinion, the best truck in the world.

I then said, "I can give you a price right now but the price won't mean anything unless you see how nice of a truck you are looking at. Let me go get it."

We went on a test drive and remember his Myrtle Beach shirt? "Hey--you've ever been to Myrtle Beach? We're thinking about going there." This question began a ten minute conversation between this gentleman and myself about Myrtle Beach. We talked about fishing, how the sand looks, how warm the water is, what stuff kids can do there, his time-share, his other place up north, etc. and I was totally interested in what he had to say and I think it helped me make a friend with the guy--I genuinely liked talking to him and I think the same for him.

You know what happened next? He trial closed himself for me and overcame all of his own objections without me saying a word about the truck. "Man--I really like this truck! My wife is gonna bitch at me but you know what--I do this every time--I buy a vehicle and bring it home to her." Oh wow--how often does someone come right out and tell you they are going to buy a truck--before even getting a price no less!

Needless to say, I sold the guy the truck--one of three that I sold today. I almost set up the next guy to sell him--if I would have done what this guy had wanted and if I would have been lazy like I almost was, I would never have sold this guy. The next dealership would have beaten my price and I would have probably convinced myself that "that guy was just shopping, he already was friends with someone at another dealership, he was still two months away from being ready to buy and his wife was never going to let him buy a truck." Instead, I got this guy the truck of his dreams and got compensated for it.

The Importance of a Commitment

2008-06-18T07:50:00.002-04:00

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

How I got a Prospect to Come Back

2008-06-12T21:12:00.004-04:00

The other day, I had a guy looking at a truck. He gave me every indication that I was going to sell a truck. "If you lower my payment from my lease to a 0% purchase, I'll buy a truck right now. Man--my wife is gonna kill me!" Two buying signals there, by the way. 1) Saying he will buy a truck right now and 2) that is wife is going to kill him. So, we drove the truck and when we got back, I lowered his payment $60 per month and he said, "Well, I gotta go talk to my wife about it." I, of course, tried to overcome his objection (talk to wife) and then he dropped a bomb on me--he had another trade-in, his wife was driving it and he wouldn't be able to get it up to the dealership until the next day.

So, he left and I called him a few minutes later. "Hey--I was talking to my manager about your truck that you are trading in and he wanted to know how many miles it had on it." He told me and I said, "He seemed very excited about it--what time are you going to bring it by tomorrow?" He never committed.

So--the girl who sits next to me asked what his name was and I told her. She turned to the girl who sits on the other side of me and said, "Told you--I knew I recognized him."

"You worked him before?"

"Yeah--about 3 years ago. He stroked me about three or four times and bought somewhere else."

Hmmmm...

Well, needless to say, the next day he stiffed me--he didn't show up. Towards the end of the day, I called him and left him a message like this.

"Joe, this is Marv. Sorry I missed you today. I know you promised that you would come by and I know I promised that I would be here when you did but I was in and out all day and since I know that you are a man of your word, I want to apologize for not being here. Someone said that saw a truck that sounded like yours so I really feel bad that you drove all the way up here and that I broke my word and missed you. Can you give me another chance and come by tomorrow?"

Needless to say--he did. Of course I didn't really miss him--he never showed but I called him out on him being a man of his word and it worked.

How to Hold Gross

2008-05-27T20:54:00.003-04:00

I'm still sick over the new Indiana Jones movie but decided to move on and share with you some tips on making more money so you can afford to see bad movies.

Being in the car sales follow up software business I get a lot of people who ask me advice. A big question is, "How do I hold gross?" Here are some tips.

Don't talk about price until you have earned the right to talk about it. By earned the right, I mean built rapport, asked questions, landed them on a vehicle, demo drive, trial close, etc.
If they are adamant about price, acknowledge it and then change the subject. "Oh--that car is around twenty-one. Speaking of that, were you wanting that car or one in a different color?"
Hit them high when you give a price and negotiate down if you have to. You can always go down but it is very hard to go up.
Don't be afraid to ask for it (gross)--you will never get it if you don't ask for it.
Be confident when you ask for gross. Don't ask weakly. I used to work with a dude in Tennessee and here was how he presented his price. "Uh--the price is $22,000. We have to start somewhere." Wow! We have to start somewhere? He was basically telling the customer that the price was a starting price and that he was going to discount it.
Close customers on payments instead of price. Odds are that if they like the payment, they won't ask the price.
Convert customers to leasing so you can show them a lower payment and therefore hold gross. By the way--you can sell a car for over sticker and leasing makes it easier.
If someone asks for a discount, pause for a second (so you don't fall into the discount trap) and justify the price. "Mr. Customer, these are the hottest cars around and we are selling out of them. As a matter of fact, we could probably sell them for a $1000 more but we don't want to gouge our customers like the gas companies are gouging us."
If they make you an offer that is a great deal for you--don't hook up immediately. Try to bump them a little so they don't think they left money on the table. I once had a customer make an offer and I immediately accepted it and he frowned and said, "You're making too much money on me." That will never happen again, I promise you!
Show rebates as a discount. "This car is $16500 and we have $3000 off so you can buy it for $13500."
Close them with an either/or. Lets say sticker is $20,000 and the car has a $2000 rebate of 2.9% financing. Present it like this: "Mr. Customer, you can buy the car for $20,000 at 2.9% or for $18,000. Which would work better for you?"
Work them for a lot of money down. Watch how fast price doesn't matter if they negotiate money down.

Well, like I said--a few good tips--hope they help you. Please don't forget that I sell some great CRM follow up software for car salespeople! Go Red Wings/Pistons/uh--Tigers?!?!?

Marv
www.carsalesassistant.com

Memorial Weekend Sale

2008-05-21T20:08:00.002-04:00

Hi!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am running a Memorial Weekend Sale--Car Sales Assistant for only $69.99 per copy (normally $89.99 per copy.)

You can download a free trial copy here.

Also, you can purchase by visiting my website here.

Thanks a million!

Marv

I'm Just Looking

2008-05-17T22:49:00.002-04:00

When asked what car salespeople would love to learn, most will say, "How to overcome 'I'm just looking.'"

One of my first jobs in sales was at Sears selling computer, early cell phones (the ones that were about as large as a shoe-box) and other home/office equipment. At one point, I told a fellow worker that if one more person said "I'm just looking" then I was going to quit. So, I went up to a customer and said, "Can I help you?" and they said, "I'm just looking." Argh!

I didn't quit like I said but believe me, I was at wits end and I wanted to.

OK--what is the moral of this first part? The moral is if you ask someone if you can help them, they will answer "I'm just looking" about 95% of the time!

So, the first way to overcome "I'm just looking" is to make sure your customer doesn't say it. Here is a good way to do it--to have a great greeting. Here are the steps to a great greeting.

1) Approach your customer with a smile and with confidence. Don't pretend you are not headed towards them as you get closer and don't frown (for God's sake!) while approaching them.

2) Smile and say, "Welcome to Marvelous Motors! My name is Biff, and you are...?" They will give their names.

3) Very nice to meet you! Is this your first time up here or have you been here before?

4) After they answer, keep asking them either/or questions, maintaining control and building rapport.

The second way to handle "Just looking" is to realize that it is simply a reflex action and that people are never "just looking." Yesterday, I saw a lady and her son outside and I went out there and greeted them on the lot. I slipped and asked if I could help them (whoops!) and the lady said, "I'm just looking." Luckily for her and me, I ignored it. Why was it lucky for me? I sold her a car. For her? She got the car of her dreams.

Speaking of the lady--I almost put my foot in my mouth with her. She told me that she kept coming back to the tan car as she looked at a tan Cobalt. I said confidently, "Well, Janet--if there is one thing I have learned is that your first choice is always your right choice--just like in school. If you are taking a test and change your answer, the first one was always right." I smiled--man I was so smooth. Until...

...Until her son said, "Actually, her first choice was a Ford Fusion."

Without missing a beat, I smiled and softly touched her on the arm and said, "I meant your first choice on OUR lot." They both laughed and 10 minutes later, I was doing the paperwork. Phew! Almost created an objection!

OK--back to "just looking." If someone ever says, "I'm just looking" then here are some things NOT TO DO!

Don't ever say something stupid like "I'm just selling."
Don't ever say something stupid like, "It'll cost you a dollar to look." (I work with a guy that says that all the time and he is consistently on the bottom of the board.
Don't ever do something stupid like say, "OK--I'll be right in here if you need me," as you leave them alone. Remember that "just looking" is a reflex action. Heck--I say it all the time out of habit when I am at a store to buy!

OK--if they do manage to squeak out a "just looking" then here are some ways to get past it.

Ignore it.
Say, "You sure picked a beautiful day to be looking at cars. By the way, who is the car for... you or someone else?"
Say, "Great! Are you looking at cars or trucks?"
You get the picture.

Some Cool Tidbits

2008-05-13T23:07:00.003-04:00

I had a guy today who told me that he "didn't need to trade." His truck was "almost brand new" the only thing he stood to gain from getting a new truck was "the warranty." You know what I told him right before I sold him a new truck? "If I only sold people cars who needed cars, I would be out of business. More people buy because they want to buy. You want a new truck--you have never owned one and you've been talking about getting a new one since I first met you four years ago. You deserve a new truck!"

I buy a new computer every year. Not because I need one but because I want one. I used to need a new one every year because I played a lot of video games on them and needed a new one to keep up with technology but now I just use my computer for programming, email, internet and this blog. None of those four things need a powerful computer. You know what? I will be building me a new computer this summer so I can have a bigger hard drive that I will never fill up, so my program compiling will be 1-billionth of a second faster, which I will never notice and so I will have a fresh install of Vista, which I will clutter up in no time. You know why? I work hard and want a new computer. I deserve one! By the way--I still play video games but have moved to the X-Box 360.

The next time you have a customer who is on the fence, tell them that they work hard and that they deserve a new car. Be sincere! I was with my customer today--and I think he knew it.

Another tidbit. I sold another truck today to a guy and promised that new F&I lady that I would sell an extended warranty for her. I priced it to my customer and she said that she wouldn't be needing it. I sold her one, by the way. How? Here's how.

I used a personal story about myself. I currently have a used Tahoe that I bought 2 months ago. I wanted an extended warranty but it had 77K miles on it when I bought it so I couldn't get one (75K is the cut-off.) My Tahoe is now in the shop getting a new oil pump (about $500-$700 IF there is no engine damage--best case) and I am paying $25 a day for a rental car so my wife isn't stuck at home. I told my customer I only make $20 to sell the warranty and that the reason I wanted them to get it was not the money but because I didn't want them to, heaven forbid, ever go through what I'm going through (which is hell, by the way--waiting for the verdict if I have a blown engine, or not.) I was sincere and honest and my customer is now protected on their purchase.

On a personal note--the Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Red Wings are both rocking! Man--hope we have three winning teams this year (including the Tigers.) I (like everyone else on the planet) have no hope for the Lions.

NOTE: I got out of my Tahoe and leased an Impala--that oil pump dying scared me and cost $800!

Car Sales Assistant 2008 Update Coming

2008-05-10T22:11:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone. Just wanted to let you know that I have a new update of CSA 2008 that will hit within the next few days.

The big change is the copy protection. I had to switch copy protection. The one I was using didn't work right--upon downloading, people were supposed to get a 14 day trial and I don't think it was happening because I was getting emails everyday for codes so they can try it out. Also, the method of activation was confusing at best. I think the new method is much better.

Also, I fixed a few bugs. I had pull down date boxes for all the dates but the way the date box component was designed, it had to have a date in it. For example, take the birthday box. If you didn't know your customers birthday, you would still have to enter something in the old way so I made the date of 1/1/1900 as a default date. That kinda stunk so I switched to a regular text box where you, as the user, just enter a valid date. There were a few errors but I fixed them.

I am also revamping the follow up system. Quite frankly, it is confusing and it sucks. I for example, you can only generate follow up for a customer one time with the old system and if you decide that you want to add (for example) a 14 day letter later, if you have already created follow up for that customer, it won't won't show up.

I am working on a new system where you can add follow up on the fly. In other words, you can tweak the follow up at any time and the new follow up items will work for all customers. It will be less confusing and much easier to use.

Eventually, I would like to add pop up messaging again (like CSA 2007) but that is a little further down the line.

Thanks for reading this boring post and if there are any features that you would like to see in CSA 2008, please let me know!

Marv

How to Know when the Car is Sold

2008-05-03T09:02:00.003-04:00

How do you know when a car is sold? Good question. Before I answer it, a little plug. Go see Iron Man! It was a great movie--funny, great special effects, very good story and Robert Downey, Jr was fantastic.

OK--back to our little article. You know the car is sold when the customer is ready to buy it.

OK--next week, we'll have an article on how to get away with not writing full articles. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.

What was that? "How do we know when a customer is ready to buy?" Shouldn't that be for a separate article? Well, I guess I can add it here.

We know that a customer is ready to buy when...

They show "buying signals" like asking for terms of financing or leasing (money down required, what rate, what payment, etc.)
They get nervous or defensive. They know they are about to buy and try to put up a smokescreen.
They look excited and happy.
They talk as if the car is already theirs. "I can't wait to take this to Florida."
I love when this happens. They are at my desk and I'm ready to close them when someone calls on their cell phone and they say, "I'm here buying a car." God, I love when that happens!
If you park in front of the showroom and someone else starts to look at they car, it can sometimes help you. I had a customer the other day say, "Tell that person to get away from my car!" I smiled and said, "I will! Let's go ahead and get the paperwork started so I can get it cleaned up and away from that guy."
I once read if people's pupils get dilated, they are ready to buy.

OK--I know there are many more but those are some of the big ones. Also, it is important to add these statements.

A person does not have to say they will buy the car to buy the car! You can just as easily ask them for their drivers license, registration and insurance and if they hand it to you, they are agreeing to buy the car.
A person does not have to "agree that if terms are agreeable, they will buy the car right now" to buy a car--contrary to what a lot of managers think and believe. Now it is good to "trial close" to gain a temperature but lets assume that anyone will buy a car if terms are agreeable! I've always believed that the "if terms are agreeable" is a weak trial close but you know what? I still sometimes use it in the right situation.
I try never to ask someone what payment they want as a closing tool because they will say something low most of the time and back themselves into a corner. I can hear it now... "Well Marv, I told you we wanted to be at $99 per month!" Same goes for trades. I try to get out that info in simple conversation.

Marv Chomer
www.carsalesassistant.com

Trial Closes

2008-04-26T20:26:00.002-04:00

A trial close is simply a technique that we use to see if a customer is ready to buy. You can compare it to taking their temperature to see if they are "hot" for the car or "cold."

Here are a couple of good trial closes in no particular order.

The Sold Line Trial Close: When you are pulling back into the lot after a test drive (hopefully the customer is driving) say, "Jim--it looks like we found the perfect car for you. Do me a favor and park this car in the sold line so no one else tries to sell your car."

One of two things will happen...

1) They will pull it into the sold line which means they want to buy the car or
2) They will give you an objection or excuse that you will have to overcome to sell the car.

Where is the sold line? Wherever you want it to be. I tell them to park next to our service department. It really doesn't matter as long as they think it is the sold line.

The Either/Or Trial Close: Ask an either/or question regarding their paper work like, "Do you guys want to title the car in one name or two?" They will either give you an answer which means they want to title the car (they are buying it) or an objection.

The "Do you have time to do the paperwork right now?" trial close: Very simple...head into it with an overview of the features that they wanted and then say, "Jim--sounds like we found the perfect car for you. Do you have time to do the paperwork right now?" If they say yes, get the paperwork started! If they say no say, "When do you want to do it?" They will either give you a different time or an objection.

NOTE: Your goal should be to "spot deliver" everything so if they say that they will do the paperwork but do it tomorrow, you must talk them into doing it today. Why? There's a lot of dealerships between today and tomorrow and a lot of "little birdies" like they neighbor that might say, "You're not getting a good deal...see my friend at Biff Motors--he'll get you a better one."

How do you talk them into doing it today? Use what I call the "it would help me out" close. Hopefully you have done a good job with your customer and bought them some drinks to obligate them so you have earned the right to say, "Jim--would you mind doing the paperwork right now? We're not that busy and I know we already have a lot of deliveries set up for tomorrow. It would also really help me out." Who's not going to want to help you out if you do a great job? Right--no one!

Hopefully these few tips can help you sell cars--they have helped me out. It puts people under a lot of pressure if you try to grind a "yes" out of them when asking them if they will "buy right now if terms are agreeable" (a very weak close by the way) but easier to ask them to park in the "sold line"--they both accomplish the same thing but the sold line is a lot less pressured from your end.

Good luck selling!

Marv Chomer
www.carsalesassistant.com

Question Your Way to a Sale

2008-04-18T21:29:00.003-04:00

The person who asks the questions will control the sale. Also, you should never really ask a question unless you are prepared for the answer. For example, I would never think of asking a dude if he wanted to buy the new Camaro because we don't have them to sell yet!

OK--back to the main premise of this article. He or she who asks the questions controls the sales process.

Here is an example:

Customer: What is the price of this car?
You: $22,995
Customer: What kind of interest rates do you have?
You: We have 4.9%
Customer: What would my payment be?
You: Probably $450 to $500.
Customer: Do you have a business card? I need to think about it.

Yech!

Notice who asked all the questions and notice who answered them and lost a sale... you!

OK--maybe it doesn't really happen that way but you know what? It does if you let the customer ask all the questions.

OK--in this article, we will talk about different types of questions and what you can do with them.

The first type is called ANSWERING A QUESTION WITH A QUESTION. The power of this technique is to ask the question back at your customer to regain control of the sales process.

Customer: Does this car come in red?
You: Would you like a red car?

Customer: What is the warranty on this car?
You: Is the warranty important to you?

OK--you get the picture. If you are far enough in the sales process, you can attempt a closing attempt after asking the question back.

Customer: Does the car come in red?
You: Would you like it in red?
Customer: Yes
You: Great! Sounds like I have the perfect car for you. Lets go inside and get the paperwork started so you can start enjoying your new, red car.

Very powerful stuff.

Next type of question is the EITHER/OR QUESTION or MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION. There are reasons to use these type of questions.

To set appointments. Would you like to come by in the morning or afternoon?
To gain information: Would you like a lighter color or a darker one?
To close a customer: Do you want just your name on the paperwork or do you want your wife on it also?
To lead a customer towards a vehicle that you have in inventory: Do you want this car or that one?

OK--we're doing great! The next type of question is the YES QUESTION. The main purpose of this question is to get the customer agreeing with you and to build value in a vehicle.

Isn't this a great driving car? Yes!
Aren't those seats comfortable? Yes!
And didn't you say that you loved the new black-granite color? Yes!
(If they keep saying yes--attempt a close!) Sounds like we found the perfect car for you...

NOTE: When asking the questions, nod your head while getting them to say yes--it gets them into a "yes frame of mind" where it is easier for them to say yes to the car. It's fun because sooner or later, they will start nodding with you.

OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS: Can have any number of answers. They are dangerous for you if used improperly.

Dangerous Example: (You) What color do you want?
Customer: Red
You: Uh--we don't have any red.
Customer: Never mind--give me your business card. I was just looking anyways.

Non-Dangerous One: (You) Where did you guys plan on taking your first vacation with your new van?

CLOSED ENDED QUESTIONS: Have only 1-3 (or so) possible answers.

Example: Do you like lighter colors or darker ones?
Customer: Lighter ones (We have no white in stock..)
You: Like what--silver or beige?
Customer: Yeah--I kinda like silver...

You can see where this is leading. You are asking the questions and controlling the sale.

Sorry about the short article--Time to watch the replay of the Tigers game--I hope they already won!

Marv Chomer
www.carsalesassistant.com

How to Memorize 20 Objects In Order

2008-04-15T20:21:00.004-04:00

OK--I'm going to teach you something here that is awesome. I'm going to teach you how to memorize 20 objects. You will be able to name them in order, backwards or even have someone pick a number from 1-20 and you will be able to tell what the object is.

I learned this about ten years ago and paid about $200 to learn it. The cool thing about this technique is that you can be a computer dork like me and use this as a cheap attempt to impress girls at a bar and maybe get a few free drinks out of it.

OK--how does this work? You can repeat the 20 objects over and over again but instead, we'll do it by memory association. Think of the brain as if it were a file cabinet. If you want to remember what a rose smells like, your brain goes to the specific spot where a rose resides and says, "It smells like a rose!"

OK--20 things that you will need to memorize to use this skill. These 20 things never change and they are always in the same numerical spot. Read the descriptions after each thing to help you memorize them and visualize them in your mind. Concentrate hard!

1) A Tree (notice how a tree goes straight up like a "1"--I think the tree is 1 foot tall! Maybe it has 1 big branch)
2) An electrical outlet (There are 2 plugs and each has 2 holes to plug things in)
3) A stool (3 legs on the stool, 3 feet tall)
4) A car (4 wheel drive, 4 door, 4 wheels--you get the picture)
5) A glove (5 fingers--picture OJ's glove if it helps)
6) A gun (6 shooter!)
7) Dice (throw me a lucky seven!)
8) Skate (8 Skate! Figure 8...)
9) Cat (9 lives)
10) Bowling pins (10 pins, 10 frames, the bowling ball weighs 10 pounds)
11) Football goal post (Looks like an 11. Kick it from the 11 yard line)
12) Eggs (A dozen eggs)
13) A Witch (13 is unlucky--think of an unlucky evil witch)
14) A Diamond Ring (14 carat--I think it costs $14 grand!)
15) Payday! (We get paid on the 15th in the car business, right? My gross was $15K by the way...)
16) Birthday Cake (a nice sweet birthday cake for your sweet 16th birthday! It has 16 candles, by the way...)
17) Magazine (Seventeen--the magazine that all the 17 year olds like to read...)
18) Semi Truck (A big 18-wheeler--hauls 18 tons worth of stuff!)
19) Golf (see you on the "19th hole" for a few 19 oz beers! They cost $19 each but you're buying...)
20) Cigarettes (20 smokes in a pack, if you smoke them, you might live to be 20!)

OK--now I don't expect you to walk into a bar and say, "Hey--19 is golf! Cool, ain't it?"

No--here's what I expect you to do.

Go up to someone you know and say, "Hey--I'm gonna show you something real cool. Give me 20 objects--they can be anything. Write 1-20 on a piece of paper and give me 20 objects, one at a time and write it next to the number. I'll then tell you what they are in order."

When they give you the first object, associate it with a tree. For example, let's say that the object is a house. Imagine something violent, crazy, sexual (hey, it's in your mind) what I'm saying, the more outrageous the better!) So, for house and tree, I imagine the tree in my front yard. The wind picks it up and crashes it through my plate glass windows--leaves flying all over the place!)

Object 2: A Dog! OK--I imagine a dog licking an electrical outlet and zapping his tongue and his fur frying in that sicking burnt hair smell.

Object 3: A can of pop. I imagine someone taking a stool and smashing a can of pop and it sprays all over the place.

Object 4: A buffalo. I imagine a car riding with a herd of buffalo and smashing into one of them and the buffalo caves in the hood and causes the air bags to deploy.

OK--hopefully by now, you get the picture. Now, when you are done with all the items, do this:

1) (think about the tree--oh yeah--the wind blew it through the plate glass window in my HOUSE)
2) (electrical outlet...that stupid dog licked it and zapped himself DOG)
3) I remember the stool smashing the can of POP)
4) I remember the car smashing into the BUFFALO...

OK--pick a number. THREE. The stool smashes the POP. Pretty cool, isn't it?

You can use this to remember just about anything--grocery lists, names (give them an association like JOHN becoming a TOILET and smashing through a car window for example.

Like I said, this cost me $200 to learn in a class but it's cool--I still remember the 20 things 10 years later and this becomes so easy with practice that you will freak people out with your skills.

Hate to sound greedy, but if you like this technique, please check out my follow up software at www.carsalesassistant.com

Marv Chomer

p.s. After you try this, please respond to this post and share with all of us your results!

Most Important Thing to Sell More Cars

2008-04-11T22:29:00.004-04:00

If I had to pick one thing that we all could do to sell more cars, what would it be?

Let me tell you a story. Almost 20 years ago, I was using an Amiga Computer as my main computer. It was built by Commodore and followed the popular Commodore 64 computer. I was a die-hard Commodore user that started with the Vic-20 back in the early 80's. I swore that I would never get an "IBM Compatible" as they were called back then until I saw that a game called "Railroad Tycoon" was coming out for the PC only. I love video games and had to have that game so I decided to buy a PC. Back then, they were a 286 processor and moved about as fast as molasses in the winter. Where to buy one, then? Hmmm.

I had a friend of mine who worked at a local appliance store and he told me he could sell me one. I went up there and bought the computer that my friend recommended to me. I didn't question anything--the features, the options, the price... anything! Now, as I look back, I realize that I probably paid too much and probably didn't get a computer with all the stuff that I would have like to have gotten (it didn't have enough memory--I think it had 512K of memory (not Megabytes mind you--kilobytes) and didn't include a mouse (had to pay extra) and didn't even have a good sound or video card. To make matters worse, everything was hard-wired on the motherboard and it was damn hard to add stuff to it.

What is the moral of this story? Be someone's friend and they will buy off of you no questions asked. If you can't be their friend, at least get them to like you. How can you get people to like you? Here are some tips.

Find something in common with your customer. It could be a sports team, where you live, where you went on vacation, kids the same age, etc. Focus on their things, though--not yours. When I sold cars in Tennessee, I sold a lot of Saturn employees and most of them were from Michigan so I had instant rapport. Conversely, if I meet someone from Tennessee now that I live in Michigan again, I bring up the fact that my wife is from there and that I lived there for seven years.
Ask them a lot of questions. People like talking about themselves--not you.
If married, focus on the wife--ask her most of the questions. Wives hate being left out--ask mine!
Learn to have a great sense of humor! Very, very important. It my not show in this blog, but I like to think I'm a very funny guy. If you can make someone laugh, you will win them over. Don't crack jokes about race, religion, politics, gender, etc. Do crack jokes about yourself. When I sold cars in Tennessee, I made myself the butt of many "yankee" jokes and believe me, it helped!
Try not to use a lot of high pressure tactics. Use subtle tactics instead. Now, don't get me wrong--I have pressured the hell out of people and sold them cars but that was only as a last ditched attempt when I knew they were leaving and that I would never have another chance with them.
Sincerely thank them for coming up to see you--even if they buy or if they don't. Getting people in front of you is 99% of selling and you really should be thankful when you have a live soul in front of you.
Damn it--don't be cheap! Buy your customers a drink! And I don't mean a cup of water from the faucet or coffee but a soda or juice from a machine that costs you money. Let them know that you are taking care of it and have them see you take the money our of your pocket as you walk away to buy it. Not only will they appreciate it but it will obligate them to buy from you!
Find something to like about your customer. They could be the biggest mooch and treat you like dirt but I'm sure there is something.
If they mention that they were in "the war or the service," sincerely thank them for their service to our country and ask them a few questions about it. "Oh yeah? What branch of the service? When?"

Just a few small tips to help you sell more cars tonight. I'm about the watch the Tiger's game (I have it DVR'd) but I'm sure they will lose again.

Marv Chomer
www.CarSalesAssistant.com

Sales Books that I Recommend

2008-04-10T20:12:00.002-04:00

People are always asking me what books I would recommend for car salespeople, especially new ones so I'm going to share some with you. I personally own all of these books and they have all helped me in one way or another.

Very, very highly recommended. Tells how to close certain people like doctors, lawyers, factory workers, etc. I had the tape set (that I loaned to someone and never got back). This guy started as a security guard in a huge real estate development company and ran the place a few years later. Probably the best sales book you can have in your arsenal.

This book is a classic. Zig Ziglar sold cookware from door to door (imagine doing that in this day and age!) and has probably heard every objection in the world. He is a great story teller and tells how his wife kept on closing him to buy the home that she wanted that was (if memory serves me correctly) $30K over his budget. A must-have in your collection.

A nice, thick book that has techniques for every aspect of selling. He arranges everything in easy to read lists so you can say, "Hey--how do I prospect?" and then find the chapter and see something like "12.5 Ways to Prospect." An easy read and a good one.

I actually own a couple books by Roger Dawson. Read this book and you will increase your gross, no questions asked! This one was probably my favorite Dawson books but I loaned it to a girl in Tennessee and never got it back. I think I've lost half a dozen books that I loaned to budding salespeople over the years.

Speaking of Roger Dawson, here is another great book by him. A little personal history. I was spending years "talking" about writing Car Sales Assistant and two things made me get off my butt and program it. One was a friend of mine named Mike George who told me that "successful people do things while unsuccessful people talk about doing things." The other was reading this book.

Want to learn how to sell cars? Learn from the best car salesperson in history. He sold 13,001 cars in his career and actually sold them in my home state of Michigan. Pretty cool stuff. He wanted to get in the car business because he was broke with no other options (sound familiar?) so he talked a manager into hiring him as long as he took no floor traffic. Well, he ripped a couple of pages from a phone book and got to cold calling people and a few years later, was averaging in a day what most of us average in a month. Great book!

Please feel free to check them out. Click on the title and you can read what others have said about these great books.

CSA 2008 Update is Up and Running!

2008-04-09T13:57:00.003-04:00

Hi, Everyone. I just uploaded the new build to CSA 2008. Here are some of the new features.

Email support! You can now email individual customers by clicking on their email address or send mass emails to all of your customers, or any customers that you search-for. For example, if you want to send an email to every customer who bought a "Cobalt" for example, do a search first and then email them all messages.
Support to import from CSA 3.0, CSA 4.0 and CSA 2007. All you do is browse to your CSA files and click import and you will be all set.
I changed LOG A CUSTOMER to LOG AN "UP". Also, there is now a search screen that pops up so you can see if you already have the customer in your master record. A lot easier to use now.
You know the MONTHLY PROGRESS thing on the left hand of the main screen? It, by default, shows your month-to-date in sales but you can change it to any 2 dates now such as 1/1/08 to 12/31/08 to show your year to date if you prefer. I had a dealership that purchased my software that had weird months so I did it for them and thought it would be a great feature for everyone else.
Added new tutorials.

Download the newest version here. Also, if you already have CSA 2008, you can update by following the instructions on these tutorials.

If you find any problems with any of it, please contact me via my website www.carsalesassistant.com

Thanks,
Marv

How to Have Perfect CSI (Well...most of the time)

2008-04-07T20:15:00.002-04:00

Take the Detroit Tigers...

...Please take them!

Just kidding. Take the Detroit Tigers. They have the second highest pay in the league. They have a pitcher who threw a no-hitter last year, they have a future all-star catcher who is about to get hit 2500 (if he hasn't done it yet) and they have a coach who still wears cleats (and one time smoked a carton of cigarettes by himself during a rain out.)

What don't they have? A good score right now. As of today they are 0 and 6 and about to play Boston who will probably cream them.

Why am I bringing this up? Because of CSI--your score. You could sell 30 cars a month and have a terrible CSI and odds are that your manager will look at your score instead of your sales. Why? Because they probably get paid on it! One thing is for sure--dealerships get spiffs from the auto companies and they usually depend on having good CSI scores. Also, it's bragging rights for dealers (my guys are .05 ahead of you! Hahahaha) and the white color executives at the manufacturer like to pore over numbers and say how good they are doing, even if their sales are tanking. I can hear it now... "Hey--we lost 23% in sales last year" "Yeah--but our 'top box' is now 82.665 percent!" "Good job! Keep up the good work."

Ugh.

Well, we have to live with it so I'm going to tell you my secrets to having perfect CSI (well, most of the time.) I have perfected these techniques over the years and normally have the highest CSI in the dealership. There was a point, last year, where I was actually at the bottom of the barrel but I was very stressed out at the time and hated the car business. Well, I'm back to almost loving the car business (if the American Axle strike would end and we would stock up on inventory I would love it again) and my CSI is back to 100% completely satisfied.

OK--so in no particular order, here is what I personally do to maintain perfect CSI (well, most of the time.)

I have a sample CSI that I show my customer after they do their paperwork. Here is what I tell them. "Biff, here is a copy of a survey that you are going to receive from GM in about 2-3 weeks. I need two favors from you. Favor one, please fill it out and send it in and favor two, please put that you are completely satisfied." I then point to the completely satisfied section. "It's kind of like my report card--completely satisfied is the only score that helps me pass. Any other score, including very satisfied, fails me. Pretty strict, isn't it?" Usually the customer agrees with me. Then I add, "I would never ask you to lie for me but please just do me this favor. This survey is very important to me and the dealership. Could you please help me out and put completely satisfied? But if you can't, don't lie for me. Just please call me first and let me know what's bothering you so I'll at least have the chance to make you happy. OK?"

I know it's a long speech but it works to set up the customer.

The day they buy, I send them a post card that is all colorful thanking them for their business and reminding them to call me if they have any questions about their car.

The day after they buy, I call them to see if they had any questions about their car. By then, they sometimes have the post card and actually thank me for sending it.

14 days after the sale, I send them a letter reminding them about the CSI and asking them for referrals.

A couple of days later, I call and ask them if they received the CSI in the mail yet. If not I say, "Do me a favor--call me the moment you get it. I'm trying to track how long these take to get to my customers because some have said that haven't received it yet." Who is going to say no to a favor?

If they say yes, "Did you fill it out yet?" If not, remind them to "take care of you" and put completely satisfied. If they say that they filled it out say, "Did you take care of me?"

OK--back to the guy 2 paragraphs up who promised to call you when he gets it, ask him to bring it up to the dealership. "Hey--can you bring it by? Some of my customers have said that it is different and I'd like to have a recent copy to check out--it would really help me out." I love that phrase, by the way. Practice it... It would really help me out. People like helping others.

OK--a couple of observations here.

If you treat your customers like dirt, they will blast you on your CSI.
If you make any promise to a customer, no matter how minor, and you don't keep your promise, they will blast you on your CSI.
If your customer has any problem with their car between purchase-date and CSI-date, they will probably blast you on your CSI. Unless, of course, your service department does a fantastic job taking care of them.
If you kept out any lack of features that your customer wants and they find out, they will definitely blast you on your CSI.
If you don't call them to thank them (or at least send a thank you card) they will most likely blast you on your CSI.
If your F&I treats them bad, they will blast you on your CSI (even though it wasn't your fault...)

OK--I know what you may be thinking. What is the use of manipulating my customers with letters, post cards, etc. just to get them to say they are completely satisfied? Well, I really believe that the big whigs don't care if a customer is completely satisfied--they just care if they put completely satisfied on the survey.

So--you're in a war and your job is to take the machine gun nest. A good leader will not tell you step by step how to take it out but give you a nudge in the right direction and say, "Do what you have to do but I need that machine gun nest taken out."

CSI is the same way. The big whigs don't care how you do it--they just want it done.

By the way, Detroit Tigers, I don't care how you do it--just start winning! This is getting embarrassing!

Marv Chomer
www.CarSalesAssistant.com

p.s. If this article helps you in any way, please pay it forward and check out my Car Sales Assistant 2008 software that will help you sell more cars!

CSA 2008 News

2008-04-07T10:08:00.003-04:00

I've decided to take a week off of work so that gives me more time with my family and it gives me more time to work on CSA 2008. I've already added import functions so users of CSA 3, 4 and 2007 can convert their data and that seems to work bug free (at least on my computer.)

I am also adding email support as we speak. I've already added a function where you can click on an email in the customer screen and send an email to your customer. I will also be working on sending mass emails to your customers (like if you are having a sale.) Right now, the email is only text based but I will be adding HTML email in the future. Also, you have to have an email with SMTP sending to use the email (most emails qualify but some free ones like Yahoo won't unless you upgrade to their premium email.) I believe GMAIL allows SMTP sending--basically, if you can send email with outlook express or microsoft mail, you should be fine.

Also, my website www.CarSalesAssistant.com was down because I forgot to re-new it but after jumping through many, many bureaucratic hoops, I finally have it back up.

On a somber note, what the hell is happening with the Detroit Tigers? Man--0 and 6!

Best regards as always,
Marv Chomer
www.CarSalesAssistant.com

Got Killed with Kindness (Very Funny Story!)

2008-04-05T09:23:00.003-04:00

I was at work the other day and a customer came in. Another salesperson we'll call "J" caught the guy and sat down and started asking him questions to investigate.

The customer said that he had his girlfriend's truck and wanted to know what it was worth. She was thinking about getting a "loaded up Tahoe." "J", doing the right thing, started talking about the Tahoe. "When you say 'loaded up', what are you referring to? There are many definitions of 'loaded up.'"

The customer started yelling at "J"--he yelled, "I don't care about the f**king Tahoe--I just want to know what her f**king truck is worth."

OK--a little selling here. If someone isn't there to buy, no matter what you give them for their trade, they are not going to do business.

More selling here: win the battle, lose the war.

But since the guy wasn't there to buy and since it was a given fact that he was a jerk, "J" decided to win the battle BIG TIME. He told the customer, "Sir, I am just here doing my job and part of my job is to ask these questions and if that isn't good enough for you, then I'm not going to deal with you."

The customer said, "I'm f**king out of here." He got up and stormed out of the dealership.

Right before he made it to the door, "J" decided to kill him with kindness. "Sir, I just want to let you know, I really like your hair-style."

The guy turned around--steaming. He was probably in his mid 50's with gray jacked-up hair. "What?!?!?"

"J" smiled and said, "I really mean it. That is a wonderful hair style."

"F**k you, you fat ass!" yelled the customer.

"What a wonderful jacket you have, sir. I really like it." (it was just an old bowling wind breaker)

"F**k you!" The man went out the door.

"Have a wonderful Easter and a blessed Good Friday," said "J"--following him out the door.

"I'm never buying from here," yelled the man. (He never was going to anyways.)

"Good luck, sir, I hope you find what you are looking for. I'm sure someone will give you what you want for her truck. That is a wonderful truck. God bless you."

The guy was absolutely steaming. He hopped in his truck and pulled out as "J", with a big pleasant smile, waved at the guy. Hahahahahaha.

In this career that we have where we constantly have to put up with assholes, it was wonderful to see that happen. "J" absolutely killed the guy with kindness and the guy couldn't have been more pissed since it probably went against what normally happens when this jerk-off acted that way. Now, if "J" would have gotten into a shouting match, then they guy would have won but in my humble opinion, "J" won the battle, the way and won his way into our laughs!

Negotiation Techniques

2008-03-31T22:28:00.003-04:00

One of the most useful skills you can learn is how to negotiate effectively. Here are a couple of quick tips (since it's late) on how to negotiate.

1) Do what my 5 year old daughter does. Never give up! "I want a Wii." Sorry, Melissa--it's too much. "I really want a Wii." Maybe for your birthday. "Daddy--if you love me, you'll get me a Wii." Guess what? I just played a game of "Super Mario Galaxy" on my daughter's new Wii. (Great game, by the way.) In the car sales world--"Your payment is $400." I want to be at $300. "I'm sorry, but your payment is $400." How about $350? "I wish but it's $400." Ok.

2) Change the offer (very powerful.)

You: "Mr Customer, your payment is going to be $400."

Customer: "I want to be at $350."

You: "I'll check with my manager. (leave and come back) You know what? They made a mistake--they used the wrong rebate and your payment is really going to be $427"

Customer: "But you told me $400! If it's not $400, I'm walking." You get the picture--very powerful stuff.

3) Use the "up-to" hand motion.

Customer: "I'll pay $350 per month."

You (motioning your hand in an raising manner): "Up to...?"

Customer: "Up to $375"

You (raising hand higher): "No more than...?"

Customer: "No more than $390"

You (final raise): "But if you found the perfect car and it was $400, you wouldn't let $0.30 per day keep you from your perfect car, would you?"

4) Be prepared to walk away--and mean it!

You: "Mr. Customer, this car is gonna run you $23,900"

Customer: "I'll only pay $20,000"

You: "Unfortunately, this is the hottest car out there and that's what they are selling for. But I would understand if you don't want to pay that so have a nice day."

Customer: "Uh--what about $22,000?"

5) "Here's what I can do for you..." I work with some people who want us to get an offer out of the customer before we work figures. You know what? I disagree... Lets say you walked into Lowe's and wanted to buy a dishwasher and you asked the sales dude how much it is and he said, "Make me an offer what you would pay today and I'll take it to my manager." You would...

a) Either make a low ball offer
b) Be afraid to make an offer at the chance of offering too much
c) Get pissed at the high pressure tactic and buy somewhere else
d) Say, "I'm just looking."

So--here's what I would do.

Customer: "How much is this car?"

You: "It's $23,900 but here's what I can do for you today. I have a contest I'm trying to win so I'll sell it to you right now for $23,250 and if anyone asks, you're my cousin and using my discount, OK?"

Last but not least (at least in this article...)

6) Hit them high and negotiate from there. It's a negotiation game so hit them at full sticker (at least) and get them to make an offer after you "peal them from the ceiling" unless of course the stars align and they hook up! (it happens about 10% of the time by the way...)

7) Indifference: If you act like it is no big deal to sell the customer a car, they will want it more. I remember a billion times where it was time for me to go home and a customer walks in. "Are you still open?" I try everything in my power to get them not to buy so I can go home broke and they buy. Hmmm...

8) "I'm not sure if this car is available. I think someone already bought it...let me check." Remember the Wii I talked about? I already have a powerhouse computer and an XBox 360 so I really had no intention of ever buying a Wii but when they told me I couldn't have one--I wanted it! I did the same thing when I bought my house. The real estate lady told me they had 2 other people about to make offers so I paid almost full sticker and bought my $130,000 house (that is probably only worth $20,000 right now--freaking Michigan economy!)

Hey--"Family Guy" is on so goon night and good luck selling!

Marv

CSA 2008 News

2008-03-30T16:13:00.003-04:00

Hi--I've finished the code to update CSA2008 from earlier versions like CSA 3.0, 4.0 and 2007. It will be up on my website within a couple of days (still testing it out.)

Also, if you want to access my website, do it with www.novaeona.com because I, being the absent minded goofball that I am, forgot to renew carsalesassistant.com but am in the process of doing that.

Thanks,
Marv

Effective Follow Up Techniques

2008-03-27T11:24:00.002-04:00

I would venture the say that good follow up techniques will make or break a salesperson. Quite frankly, you can do a terrible job at it and still get some repeat and referral business but you can do a fantastic job at it and sell a ton of cars.

Here are some observations and techniques that I have garnered on the subject of follow up.

There are many ways to follow up with customers but I will focus on the most important--those being the phone, email and mail. If I were to order those three in order of importance, here is how I would do it.

1) Email: Everybody reads their email now a days--especially if they are from someone they know and if they don't have attachments on them.

2) Phone: In my opinion, a phone call is only good if you get a chance to talk to your customer. Quite frankly, I never answer my phone unless I'm expecting a call--I hate speaking on the phone. I will, though, always read my email.

3) Mail: People get bombarded with mail--I get about 2-10 pieces of "junk mail" a day and mostly throw it in the garbage BUT I have hooked up time and time again (like 0% on a credit card, etc.) I have learned that mail sent in a business sized envelope is pretty much never read but if you send postcards, your response rate will be a million times higher. Post cards are easy to read and don't involve opening an envelope, etc.

OK--my follow up system.

Day 0: When someone buys a card, they get a post card from me thanking them for their business. I send that immediately and it is colorful, etc.

Day 1: I call them to thank them and to see if they have any questions about their car. I let them know that they will be getting some "stuff" in the mail about their car and to make sure they read it.

Day 7: I send them a letter telling them more about the dealership--who to see for service, who to call with questions about their paperwork, our hours, etc.

Day 14: I send them a letter telling them about the CSI survey they are going to get.

Day 20: I call them and ask if they got the survey. I ask them to make sure they put "completely satisfied" and to make sure they send it in.

Day 28: I send them one last letter with a couple of business cards in it asking them for referrals.

I also send out a post card or newsletter once every month, or so, with special deals, recipes, etc.

By the way, all of this can be scheduled and done in an easy way with my Car Sales Assistant 2008 software package.

OK--other follow up in detail.

Emails: Always have a good subject line that will relate to them personally or their vehicle. This will improve the chance of them reading your email.

Do not have attachments. Most people hate attachments--they are so informal and can sometimes contain viruses.

Mail: once again, post cards are the most effective. Use a color printer and have something colorful but straight to the point. Use my software to print return addresses and customer addresses on the other side.

If you need to send a letter, use an envelope that is a weird size or shape so it doesn't look like credit card junk mail. Hand write the customer address--do not use labels.

Phone: If you leave a message, send your customer a letter with a business card telling them that it was you who left the message (especially if it was an orphan owner.) People easily delete answering machine messages and may remember you if you send a letter and a business card. How many messages have you heard on your machine? Jim--this is Joe Blow from XYZ cell phone service (delete)... "Uh--Martha--who was that cell phone guy who left that message?"

If you leave a message, have it be something like this. "Jim--I have some great news! Call me as soon as you get this."

Well, home at lunch--have to get back to work. So--enough for this afternoon. Good luck using these techniques!

The "Percentage Close"

2008-03-22T21:07:00.004-04:00

I'm going to start writing articles about individual closing techniques. I recently wrote an article about how you should always ask for the sale but that isn't really a "closing technique" in the sense that you are getting someone from saying "no" and "closing" them so they say "yes."

OK--first in this series, the "percentage close"--sometimes called the "1 to 10 close"

Here's how it works. You ask someone to buy a car and they say, "I want to think about it."

This is what you say: "Mr. Customer--let me ask you a question. From a scale from one to ten where one is that you wouldn't take the car if it were free to ten where you would take it right now, where do you stand."

If they say...

1-5: you are on the wrong car.
10: get the paperwork started! You just sold a car.
6-9: (This is what most people will say) so you ask them back, "What would it take to get you to a ten?"

If they give you an answer, then you have a roadmap to follow to sell them a car.

So--lets roll play.

"From one to ten, where do you stand?"

"One."

"You know what, Mr. Customer? I think we're on the wrong car. What don't you like about this one?"

Lets try again.

"...where do you stand?"

"Ten."

"Great! Do you want to title it in one or both names?"

One more time...

"...where do you stand?"

"Seven."

"What would it take to get you to ten?"

"Give me another $2000 for my trade. My credit union told me it's worth $10,000."

Simply overcome the objection and hopefully sell the car.

Now, I know what some of you are saying. "Now they told me that their credit union said their car is worth $2000 more than it is! Now what am I going to do?"

Uh--if you're asking that question then you'll need to read one of my previous articles on how to overcome objections... Tell you what--I'll whip one out for you.

"Mr. Customer, who at your credit union told you that it was worth $10,000?"

"My loan officer. They have a little purple book that they go by."

"Oh yeah--I've seen those books. Matter of fact, our finance guy uses the same book when he gets people loans because it's a loan value book--it really has no bearing on what a car is worth--just what they will loan for a car."

"Yeah, but they told me that I should get $10,000 for my car. I saw one just like it on another lot and they were asking $15,000 for it!"

(Drop a little feel felt found on them) "Mr. Customer, I promise--I know exactly how you feel. I once had a trade in that was worth $8000 and I felt it was worth more but you know what I found out? I found out that our used car appraiser has been doing this a lot longer than me. All he does is trade for cars between dealerships and believe me--he is usually within a few hundred dollars of what a car is worth. When we trade for a car, we also have to do a safety inspection and fix whatever is wrong with it before we can put it on the lot and sometimes it costs a couple of thousand dollars to do that. Let me do this--let me get him to re-look at your car. Maybe I can get a couple of hundred dollars more and we can get the ball rolling so you can start enjoying your new car. Fair enough?"

I know it doesn't always work that way but that little speech is almost word for word for one that I have personally used dozens of times to sell a car and would you make some assumptions with me?

1) If you use the percentage close, will you not be closer to selling a car because you'll find out if you have them on the wrong car or you will find out an objection that you can hopefully overcome?

2) Don't you think the percentage close is a nice, easy close that you can remember?

3) Isn't it non-confrontational? It sure is--it's nice and easy to put it into the conversation to get information out of a customer.

Thanks for reading this blog! Also, if you are in the need of follow up software that will help you sell more cars then please check out my website www.CarSalesAssistant.com

What is the Best Closing Technique?

2008-03-18T13:35:00.003-04:00

Hmmmm--tough question. Perhaps the best closing technique is to always ask for the sale.

I remember one time many moons ago when I had a customer come on the lot and look at a pick up truck. I did a great meet and greet, asked a lot of questions about his wants and needs, built some great rapport in the process, went on a wonderful test drive where the customer absolutely seemed to love the truck and got back to the dealership. You know what he said to me?

"Thanks--you did a great job. I appreciate it." He then proceeded to walk away from me leaving me with my jaw hanging all the way to the ground. I was about to let him leave when I yelled something towards him.

"Jim--hold up." I walked towards him and said, "Jim--we just drove your perfect truck--why don't you buy it?"

Believe it or not, he stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes rolled up for a few seconds while he went over a few things in his head. Finally, he said, "You're right. I'll take it."

Wow--I almost let a buyer walk away from the lot. You know what else? I have never let that happen since.

I sold real estate for a year and if you think the car business is tough, try selling real estate. Here are some comparisons.

Customer doesn't like product.

Real Estate: You have to schedule another showing which means calling up the real estate office that has the listing, finding out when you can show it and setting up a new showing with your customer.

Cars: You just walk them to a different car.

Customer Agrees to Buy Product:

Real Estate: You have to get them a mortgage, get inspections, set up a closing and wait (30-60 days)

Cars: You run their credit, submit them over the internet, have an answer in 30 seconds, get the car cleaned, do the paperwork (30-60 minutes)

You get what I'm talking about? Well, when I sold real estate for my one year, I sold 1 property--a pizza parlor owned by a friend of mine. You know who bought it? A fellow real estate salesperson's brother. I listed one property that sold. After getting into the car business, I started reading books on how to sell and I tried to learn from the above average salespeople on the lot and you know what I learned?

I never asked for the sale! And when I say never, I mean NEVER! Wow--how many listings and sales did I miss?

I would go into a house and a family and I could tell that they loved it. I would then say something like, "Wow--nice house, isn't it?" and they would say yes. Then I would just stand there with my hands in my pocket and create an objection for them. I would say something like, "Why don't you go home and think about it and let me know?" and then I would never see them again.

Try this during your next sales process. Say something like, "It sounds like we found the perfect car for you. Are you going to title it in just one name or both names?" Only one of two things can then happen. They can tell you how many names they are going to title it in or they are going to give you an objection. Either way, you are closer to making a sale than you would have been by not asking for the sale.

Your "Friends" at Work

2008-03-14T22:19:00.008-04:00

Some of my best friends are people I sell cars with. You know the stats--you spend more time with the people at work than you do at home with your family. I can honestly say that I know more about the people who sit next to me than my own wife.

Let me state something else. Some of my worst enemies are the people I work with. You know what else? My best friends and my worst enemies overlap--they are one of the same.

I know what you're thinking--man, you're warped, Marv! Well, I'm not. When I say that they are my worst enemies, I really don't mean that we hate each other but that we...

...Tell you what. Let me define "enemy" before I call my good friends enemies. In a war, an enemy is someone who is against your ultimate goal of winning a war. In a movie, the good guy's enemy is the person who keeps him from doing what he is supposed to do in the movie. Darth Vader didn't want Luke to blow up the death star, did he? Therefore, he was Luke's enemy even though, through the process of amazing coincidences, he was actually Luke's dad, made C-3P0, used to own R2-D2 and was also Princess Leah's dad. Uh... yeah right.

So, using my definition of "enemy", are my good friends--those who keep me from reaching my goals, that of selling cars and providing for my family.

OK--how can my good "enemy" friends keep me from doing that? Let me give some examples just from the last couple of weeks.

I called off of work on Wednesday because I had a bad cold. My wife had it, my daughter had it (and missed school--something she never wants to do) and my little baby-boy had it. I had a bad sore throat and slept in until 11:00 (something I rarely ever do) and thought I was blowing my brains out with all the snot in my nose. Now, granted, I could have been a "trooper" and went to work but I would have sat there all day and not tried to sell anything--I wouldn't have felt like it. Also, just the fact that everyone in my family was sick told me something--whatever we had was catchy! But, whenever I call off, people always assume that I'm faking it and run their mouths about it. A girl was running her mouth saying that she thought I was faking and finally I had to tell her to worry about herself and mind her own business.

We have to make follow up calls at work and I fallen behind and the same huddle asked me how many calls I had left to make and they asked it in front of my manager--the same manager that told me in the sales meeting that I needed to catch up on the calls. My problem is, I don't call everyone on the list that they provide--I call the ones on my own list--the ones that I think I would stand a better chance to sell (and I sold 3 of them in the last 2 days.) So, even though I was salesperson of the month last month and am leading this month (or at least tied for 1st) all I get is grief about my calls I need to make--from people who are selling fewer cars than me. You know what I told them? Mind their own business and worry about themselves.

One of my good friends told my boss today that the reason I miss a lot of work and never want to be there is because I have this "computer business" and plan on doing that for a living. I'll be honest--if it ever gets to the point where I can support my family selling my software, I would do it in a heartbeat. Why wouldn't I? I "bad" day at home with my kids beats any "good" day at work and I'm almost 41 years old--I don't want to "broom snow" the rest of my life and work 55-65 hours a week the rest of my life and watch people control my destiny the rest of my life (like strikers for example ) and I certainly would like to see my kids more. But--I'm not there...yet! Needless to say, my good friend telling my boss that led to a confrontation today that quite frankly, was unneeded--and put me in a pretty bad mood that could have cost me a sale. I had to assure him that until my numbers say otherwise, assume that I'm there to sell cars but I also had to make it clear that if a dealership ever told me that I couldn't run my business on the side, I wouldn't work for them. So--I had to be put in a bad situation that should never have happened--all because of a "good friend" and I still don't know who it is.

I've had "good friends" try to skate me a million times. Once, in Tennessee, a girl came up 5 minutes before we opened (I wasn't there yet--I always manage to be 1 minute late to work--not matter what time I get up!) and said her mom told her to see the "guy from Michigan." Well, I was the only guy from Michigan and everyone let me know it (they called me Damn Yankee every day) but that day, my good buddy Tinker played Ronald Reagan being questioned about Iran Contra--he didn't know a thing and had no idea that there was even a state called Michigan, let alone someone from there selling cars at the dealership! Tinker and I are still buddies--I just understand that shit like that goes with selling cars and don't take it personal. We still joke about it when I go down there to visit--pretty funny stuff!

I had a customer a few weeks ago try to call me while I was out to lunch. I wasn't there so he called back on a "phone up." Another salesperson took the call and the customer said, "Marv never answers his phone. I want to deal with you." (her words) so she just decided to start working the customer. Now me, I would have told the customer something like this. "I assure you, Marv answers his calls but I think he's out to lunch. I know he would like to talk to you and he is a pretty good guy so let me get your number and I'll make sure he calls you the moment he gets back." I would have said something like that in a heartbeat. I have no interest in working other people's customers and I hate working customers for half-a-deal. But--this person decided to work this customer and started talking prices with the customer over the phone.

Needless to say, the salesperson told me what happened and I said, "When is my customer coming in?" She said, "at 12:00--we'll both work him." I instantly went to the manager and told what happened and said, "This is my customer. I generated the call and they called for me and I want to work them." The manager said, "Well, let her work the customer and take 1/2 the deal." I said, "No--my customer I want to work him." So--the customer's wife comes in and I was with another customer so I didn't have a chance to cut her off at the pass. The salesperson I work with catches her and starts working her. I go to the manager again and she sees me so she comes over and asks, "What do you want to do?" I said, "I don't want to put the customer in an awkward position. Ask her what she wants to do." So, the salesperson goes up to the customer and says, "Marv is right over there and I know you've been dealing with him. Do you want to deal with him or with me." Then she adds, with big puppy dog eyes, "It really doesn't matter." It does matter--to me! I hit the roof and she knew it by the look on my face so she finally did what she should have done to begin with--she made an excuse about why the customer should go to me and excused herself from the customer. Needless to say, I already had great rapport with the customer (it was her husband who got mad at me for going out to lunch on a day that I worked 13.5 hours) so I sold her a car. When her husband came up later, I even cracked a joke--I patted my fat gut and said, "Sorry I missed your call but I love to eat--I was out to lunch." He laughed and everything was cool. I have no hard feelings towards the other salesperson--she is a cool girl and a great salesperson. I just told her how I would have handled the situation and that is exactly how I handle it--I always make the other salesperson look like God's gift to great deals and that they should go ahead and deal with them. I honestly think she was put in an awkward situation but the customer and I don't think she intended to skate me--I think she just handled it wrong--at least from my standpoint.

I could go on and on. Here are some facts about the huddle that I have learned in my 12 years selling cars.

If you are rocking and rolling and someone isn't, there is a great chance that they will run their mouths being your back about how you "get all the house deals" and poop like that. Hell, I had one guy tell the manager that I had a "bad closing ratio" during a month where I out-sold the 2nd place salesperson by 5 cars. "He sucks--he's only closing X amount of people." Uh--at the end of the month, don't managers just look at your total sales? Also--I tend to log everyone so of course I'm going to have a lower closing ratio than someone who logs, for example, only their sales.

If a good friend of yours is doing bad and you're doing good, there is a good chance that they will try to bring you down to their level so they don't feel all alone. They don't do it consciously--they just do it.

If you are in the huddle with a bunch of underachievers, they will talk about how bad the business is, how the programs suck, how we have no inventory, how the bosses are jerks, how the used car manager doesn't put enough in their trade, etc. In other words, they will justify their underachieving and try to get you to believe all of it!

I work with a few smokers. A couple came in the other day and a smoker was standing next to the door when a young couple headed towards the showroom. I was getting up to greet them and saw the smoker there (he wasn't smoking at the time). I asked him, "Hey--are you catching them? I don't want to step in front of you." He looked towards his buddy (they were on their way out to smoke) and told me "No" because at that time, it was more important for him to smoke with his buddy than greet a customer. Needless to say, I caught the people and even though it took me 4 days, they just left in their new truck today and I made enough $$$ to buy 10 cartons of smokes (they are expensive in Michigan, by the way--not that I smoke because I don't.)

OK--the moral of this article.

Stay away from the huddles or only stay in them for up to 10 seconds. If you are in a huddle and the talk gets negative about anything--get out!
I still B.S. at work but I don't let it consume me.
Stay away from people who have the "stink of death" on them--you know which ones I mean. The ones who are not selling any cars and have the fear of being fired. The ones who always volunteer to fill the brochure racks and put out the balloons and get the managers lunch and coffee, etc. The ones who think that doing all of that stuff will help them keep their job that is probably paying them only $0.50 an hour since they aren't selling anything. Stay the #$%&@ away from them! You have your own problems to worry about and don't need to hear theirs. It's strange over the years--I've been on full commission for 12 years straight--no salary, no draw for the last five, etc. I've seen people go month after month only selling 1-3 cars and they stick with it--making probably the $0.50 per hour and they refuse to quit and get bummed when they get fired. I wonder why they stick around--perhaps the security of a job even if it isn't paying anything--is better than not having a job? Hmmmm--always wondered about that.
I'm guilty of it too but don't gossip. It will get back to the person one day and they will find out that it was you who helped spread the gossip.
If you sell a car, don't go tell an underachiever about it--first of all, they are already in the dumps and all they will do is start running their mouths about how it was a house-deal. I worked with a guy who used to say this to me every time he saw me sell a car and he would say it sarcastically. "Another 'lay-down' for Marv!" I would say this back to him--"They are all lay downs if you know what you're doing--maybe you should learn how to sell cars."
If someone has something bad to talk about, find any reason in the world to excuse yourself. "My dog's uncle broke his leg and can't pay his bills." Uh--"Excuse me--I have to go to the bathroom."
Mind your own business and tell people to mind theirs.
Don't read the newspaper or watch the local news. There is nothing uplifting in either of those mediums. If someone wants to tell you some bad news, excuse yourself or just act indifferent and put the shit out of your head. "Man--gas is high." Uh--excuse me--I have to go get a root canal? "Man--it sucks that my house is only worth $10,000 now." Uh--excuse me--I have to go get my prostate exam'd? "I don't know what were going to do with the strike going on." Uh--excuse me--I'm going to join up and go to Iraq.

Well, did I bore you enough today? I think so--I'm going to bed. Good night, y'all.

Marv

www.carsalesassistant.com down for a couple of days

2008-03-13T22:17:00.001-04:00

Hi--I'm getting old--what can I say? I forgot to renew www.CarSalesAssistant.com and am doing it right now. So--until it is ready, you can still access my website but you will need to type in www.novaeona.com

Sorry about the problems--I blame it on my gray hairs getting in my eyes!

Marv

Car Sales Assistant 2008 Update

2008-03-09T22:19:00.003-04:00

Hi--I have a minor update for CSA 2008 that is now on my website.

There was a big problem with the follow up not working right that is now fixed. Thanks to everyone who brought it to my attention especially Leon and Andy--who emailed me their data files that helped me track down the specific problem.

For instructions on how to update, please check out the tutorials.

Marv

12 Years of Funny Stories

2008-03-08T00:17:00.007-05:00

March 3, 2008 was my 12 year anniversary of selling cars. I've seen some funny things and I've seen some stupid things. I'm going to share a few of them with you.

I remember one time we were moving around the lot in Tennessee. One guy hopped in a new Silverado and gunned the motor to a very high RPM. Something blew and some fluid (transmission perhaps) started pouring out of the bottom. He looked at us (there were about 5 of us watching) and said, "I didn't do it!" The funny thing was--he was dead serious and I really think he thought he didn't do it!

I remember another time, it was raining slightly and I was walking with a woman and her daughter--about to show them a Chevy Tracker. I walk talking about the tracker and looking at them while we were walking. There was a truck parked with a trailer hitch sticking out. I didn't see it and absolutely smashed the soft part of my knee into the ball of the hitch and flipped over it into the muddy rainwater. Without missing a beat, I got up--eyes watering on the verge of crying--and kept talking about the tracker. To this day--I wonder what they thought of it!

I have 2 memories of people walking into the glass showroom wall. One time, there was a guy named Jim that I worked with. We had a glass room that we trained in. Someone bought catfish for all of us and Big Jim walked over to a box of it and opened it. "Boy--that sure looks like some good catfish!" he said as he walked off--smashing his 260 pound body into one of the glass walls. The entire room shook and I laughed my ass off as he shook the cobwebs out of his head.

The other time was when a customer of mine, we'll call him Bob, came in to look at some cars. Bob was around 70 years old and his son was with him. We used to park cars along the front of the dealership and our showroom was all glass. Someone sold one of the cars so there was an empty space. Bob looked at it and said, "Oh--I see you have it opened up." I was confused. Was he talking about the missing car? "Uh, yes," I said. Bob then went full blast and walked into the glass wall right were the car was missing and smashed into it. I had one of those laughing fits when you can't stop. I couldn't help it. I looked at Bob's son and said, "I'm sorry... I can't quit laughing!" Hey--you laugh when you watch America's Funniest Home Videos and when it happens live--it's just as funny.

There was a guy I worked with named Donnie. We called him Big Donnie and he was a monster--about 6'6" and about 300 pounds of muscle and beer gut. One day, Donnie was in the F&I office sitting with a customer. His big hairy arm was hanging out of the doorway and for some stupid reason, I decided to rip a big pinch of his arm-hair off. I grabbed a hunk and ripped it right off of his arm. Big Donnie didn't flinch and just turned to me. His eyes did the talking. He was gonna kill me. "Oh my God!" I thought to myself. "What the #@$%& was I thinking?"

All day, Big Donnie didn't say a word to me. I tried to stay away from him and made it a point to walk all around the dealership if I had to avoid him. He would just give me that look like he was going to rip my arm off and beat me to death with it. I was scared shitless. Finally, I went over to him and said, "Donnie--I don't know what I was thinking. Sorry..."

"Marv," he said, "I'm gonna kill you after work." He probably meant it!

"Donnie--please. I just lost it. Tell you what--it's about 90 degrees outside. What if I pull your keys for you? Will you let it go?"

Donnie was a big guy--heat really effected him. He looked outside and looked at me. "Pull my keys and give me that little phone book you have on your desk and I won't kill you." The phone book was one of those cheap yellow pages one they give away so I agreed. Needless to say, I'm still alive to write this blog so Big Donnie didn't kill me.

A couple more about Big Donnie. One time we were at a bar shooting some pool. Donnie was shooting and accidently backed into a guy shooting at another table. The guy turned around like a bad ass and looked up at Donnie--his face turned pale. He then turned to me and said, "I shouldn't mess with that guy--should I?"

"Uh, no." I answered.

I worked with a guy named Dan--a real funny, life loving little guy who didn't give a damn about anything in the world. He always giggled and just had fun. One time, we all went out to dinner (we hit our goal so the dealership took us to a place called Dale's Steak House--maybe you heard of the steak sauce? Best steak in the world!) Dan was a little buzzed (well, a lot) and everyone went to a bar afterwards. Dan was bouncing around trying to dance and bumped into a guy. The guy turned to Dan and yelled, "You got a problem?" Dan giggled and turned to Donnie. "Donnie--this guy thinks I have a problem." Big Donnie turned to the guy and said, "He ain't got no problem!" The guy agreed.

One more Big Donnie story. I used to play cards every wednesday with the guy who blew the trans and Big Donnie. I make it a point to never drink when I play poker. Big Donnie had been drinking all night and kept winning this certain game we kept playing. I said, "Donnie--if you win that game again, I'm gonna kick your ass." I was joking just for the record. Big Donnie turned to me--drunken sweat pouring from his face--and poked me in the chest with his huge finger. "Hoss," he said, "I'm gonna hold you to that."

"Oh shit," I thought to myself. Once again, what was I thinking? Well, Big Donnie was very drunk so I just assumed he would forget about it. He actually won that game again and didn't say anything to me about it--or my challenge. Thank God! The game went on for about an hour longer and ended. Donnie said, "I gotta hit the can. When I get out, I'm gonna kick your ass." Oh Shit!

"Donnie--I was just kidding," I pleaded.

"You better be here when I get out," he snarled at me. I nodded my head weakly as the bathroom door closed behind him. As soon as I heard the lock click into place, I ran for the door. My demo was about 25 feet away. I fumbled with my keys and I ran towards it. I had the sinking sensation in my ass that it was about to be kicked clear over my shoulders. Just like in the movies, the keys kept fumbling in my fingers and I tried to find the right one to open the door (my demo didn't have remote keyless entry.) I finally found the right one and scratched the hell out of the paint around the keyhole as my shaking hands tried to put the key in the hole. FInally! It unlocked and I hopped in the car. I quickly started it, put it in reverse and gunned it, squealing the tires and I hauled ass out of there. I got away! The next day--Donnie didn't say a word to me. He never did since then. Phew!

It's getting late and I have to sell cars tomorrow so enough bed time stories tonight.

If you liked any of these stories, please buy a copy of my Car Sales Assistant 2008 software! Thanks in advance.

Marv

p.s. Respond with your funny stories! We'd love to hear them.

My Take on Product Knowledge

2008-03-05T22:46:00.005-05:00

First of all, let me state a sad fact--I probably have the worst product knowledge in our dealership. Why is that sad? Probably because it could cost me a sale.

Phew--glad I got that off my chest!

Let me tell you another fact--I won a walk-a-round contest 2 years ago--I beat everyone in the dealership and went to the Michigan state finals and won it. It was on the Chevy Tahoe and in front of GM execs as well as product trainers (the people that know everything about the vehicles.) I went up against some very sharp people and the guy who won the year earlier scared the hell out of me. Man--he was sharp as a tack rattling off the features and benefits. But you know what? I beat him. Also, I won a cool $3000 bucks and spent $2000 on the computer that I am using right now. You know what else? I didn't know jack about the Tahoe and I still don't know jack about the Tahoe--at least not what I should. How did I win? Let me tell you...

First, let me tell you my take on product knowledge. It is very important. Not only that, the lack of it, or the misuse of it, can easily kill anything else you've accomplished with your customers.

Here are some tips on product knowledge.

1) Learn as much as you can. Read books, watch videos, drive everything you sell and learn how to pop the hood (so you don't look like an idiot trying to find the latch when you have someone who wants to see the engine.) Know how to set the clock (you will have a customer come back one day and ask you how to do it. You will look like an idiot if you have to grab the manual.)

2) Be an expert at something--whether it is trucks, small cars, etc. You know why? Someday a newbie will catch a customer who starts asking questions about the vehicle that you are an expert in. He (I use "he" but it could be "she"--"he" is the correct way to refer to someone when the gender is unknown) will be very nervous and probably turn that customer over to you.

3) Only talk about what the customer wants to hear. How do you know what they want to hear? Ask questions! If they are interested in gas mileage, talk about fuel economy, flex fuel, hybrid technologies, etc. I worked with a guy in Tennessee who knew everything about every car we sold--the problem was that he didn't know how to turn it off. He once tried to sell a Cadillac Catera to an older lady and bored her to death talking about fuel injection. She couldn't care less and finally made an excuse and left.

4) Instead of telling what a feature is, tell what it does--especially how it relates with your customer. Then make sure they understand that they have to have this feature. I think I read in a sales book years ago that it is called "feature - advantage - benefit."

Here's an example: ABS brakes.

What it is: It is a braking system built into the car.
What it does: It has a computer that pumps the brakes for you in hard braking situations.
What is the benefit? It helps you maintain control in a hard braking system.
Why is it important to your customer? Tell a story that could happen. "Mr Customer, imagine that you are driving down the road and it's raining a little. All of a sudden, a kid on a bike pulls out in front of you. One of two things can happen and probably will if you didn't have ABS. You might run over the kid or you might try to avoid him and crash the car. With ABS, if you jam on the brakes, you will have a better chance of controlling the car if you have to swerve around the kid. The kid is safer and so are you and your family."
Last step: Get reinforcement from your customer that this is important for him. "Mr. Customer, don't you see how ABS could be important for you and your family?"

5) Sell the sizzle, not the steak. An old saying in the car business sales in general. What it means--make it exciting when you talk about. Make their mouth's water!

OK--enough rambling--it's getting late. I'm sure by now, you want to know how a goof-ball like me with virtually no product knowledge beat everyone in Michigan and won 1st place (as well as the money--man it was nice getting a $3000 check that day!)

I used step #3--I told them what they wanted to hear. I didn't talk too much about the features of the fantastic Tahoe, but rather about GM's "Total Value Promise"--their current slogan at that time. I told about how GM backed their vehicles with a 100,000 mile warranty because they had faith in it. I talked about OnStar and how it was the best thing since sliced bread. I talked about how the Tahoe was going to drive Toyota and their sport utility into the ground. I sold the sizzle, not the steak. When I was done, their mouths were watering. I even ran out of time but they gave me more time when I looked bummed out and said, "Man--I didn't even have time for my closing statement!" The funny thing is that, while going over the features on the outside of the Tahoe, my mind went blank--I couldn't think of a single one! You know what I did? I smiled and said this: "I was going to go over some features about the outside of the Tahoe but you know what? I'm not going to (I didn't mention that my mind went blank remember...) Instead, I just want you to all look it over." I smiled and added, "It is a beautiful vehicle, isn't it? Man--we're going to beat Toyota with this!"

Eating out of the palms of my hands!

Here we go Again!

2008-03-04T22:41:00.005-05:00

Expecting 5" - 8" tonight. Believe it or not, my daughter is bummed out because I told her she probably won't have school (4" is usually the point where they close it down.) My wife bought me a snow blower at a garage sale for $20--a real old one (probably 30 years old!) It probably weighs 100 pounds and takes starter fluid to start. It ran pretty bad--kept clunking out and couldn't handle more than an inch of snow) and one of my neighbors (he owns a car service shop) told me it probably needed a spark plug. I bought one for about $3.49, a new can of starter fluid and some screws and washers to hold the plate over the pull-cord starter thingie. So, all in all, I have about $30 invested in a snow blower (they are going for at least $300 for a new low-end one around here if you can find a place that has one for sale--same thing with rock salt--totally sold out around here) and it now works like a champ! I even did the neighbor's yards on both sides of my house.

Oh yeah--once again, we have to snow-broom off all the cars, move them, plow, move them back, etc. Once again, we don't get paid to do it. Once again, we probably won't even get a hot lunch served for doing it. Once again, we probably won't see a soul on the lot who wants to buy a car. Once again, I dread going to work tomorrow!

Speaking of my daughter, here are some things she made in clay the other day (she is 5 years old.) The first person who leaves a comment to this post--has to be a comment, not an email (make sure your email address is in it) and tells me who the 3 characters are (there are 3--look carefully...) will win a FREE COPY OF CAR SALES ASSISTANT 2008! I guess it's the only way I can support my daughter's art career. And no--if you already bought it, you do not get your money back (I spent it on clay!) But you can get a free copy to give/sell to a friend or a 2nd copy for yourself. By the way, the shot below was made with a Canon Xti Digital SLR--man, I love that camera!

CSA 2008 Update and New Tutorials

2008-03-02T20:25:00.004-05:00

Hi, everyone.

I am very happy to say that I have a new update to CSA 2008. There were a lot of problems with download and installing the program. Also, the copy protection was a major pain in the ass. I have fixed both of those things. You can download the newest version here but make sure you check out the tutorial on how to update from an older version.

Also, I fixed the Monthly Stats on the main screen--they now are more accurate and reflect split deals in your stats.

I also made some cool tutorials that install with the program (press HELP on the main taskbar to view them) They can also be viewed on my website by clicking this link.

Please rest assured that I am constantly working to improve my software. Please report any bugs to me and I'll try my best to squash them. I have found, though, that some bugs are caused by not reading instructions so please check out the tutorials.

Thanks a billion!

Marv

"I Want to Think About it"

2008-02-26T19:24:00.004-05:00

Ah--the dreaded statement! It has made people crumble in fear--fear that they would either hear it or fear that they just heard it.

I was once a computer salesperson at Sears. It got to the point where everyone said "I want to think about it." I even told a fellow salesperson that if I heard it one more time today, I was going to quit. Of course, that was before I learned to sell. Now, I love when people say it because it gives me an opportunity to close a sale.

First off all, why do people say that they want to think about it?

I'll tell you why I say it when I'm out shopping.

1) I say it when I don't think I can afford a product or when the price is not what I want to spend.

2) I say it when I don't want to hurt a salesperson's feelings--especially if he spent a lot of time with me.

3) I say it when I have questions and am too afraid to admit that I don't know something.

4) I say it when I don't like a product.

5) I say it when I don't like the salesperson and don't want him to have my business.

You know what? Your customers pretty much say it for the same reasons. As a matter of fact, 99% of the time, you can narrow "I want to think about it" into one of three reasons (or objections if you'd rather...)

The customer doesn't like the product (or has questions about it)
The customer doesn't like you (or you confused them)
The customer doesn't like the price

Your job as a salesperson is to find out which objection it is, to isolate it, rephrase it if needed and overcome it to sell a car.

OK--here's how not to handle "I want to think about it"

Customer: I want to think about it?
You: What's there to think about?
You: How much time do you need?
You: No you don't.
You: OK--here's my business card. Call me after you think about it.

Here's the correct way to handle it.

Customer: I want to think about it.
You: No problem. (Customer relaxes)
You: Let me ask you this. I've been selling cars for a long time and I've discovered that when people say they want to think about it, it's usually one of three things they want to think about. It's either the car, something I said or did or the price. Which one of those do you need to think about?
Customer: The price. It's too high. (They will say price probably 80-90% of the time)
You: (Isolate the price objection) Besides the price, is there anything else you want to think about?
Customer: No--just the price.
You: (Rephrase the objection to make it easier to handle) Is it the actual cost of the car or the payment?
Customer: The payment.
You: Well, we're at $320 and that is actually a great payment on the car. What were you expecting?
Customer: $250.
You: Well, if we could figure out a way to get the car to fit within your budget is there any other reason why you won't take it home right now?
Customer: No.

It really is that easy. Now you may be saying, "Marv--we're still $70 apart--it's not that easy!" Yes it is. How can you bump a customer $70?

Here are some tips. When you ask them what kind of payment they have set aside in their budget, stretch out your hand (palm up) and raise it up and say, "Up to..."

Customer: $250
You: Up to...?
Customer: Up to $275
You: (Raising palm again...) No more than...?
Customer: No more than $280.
You: Let me ask you this--what if we found you the perfect car--it had everything you wanted and it was just a few dollars higher than $280--you wouldn't let a few pennies a day keep you from your perfect car--would you?

Later, when you hit them at $320--you can remind them that they said a few pennies a day wouldn't keep them from their new car. $45 per month is only a little over a dollar a day--a candy bar, a pop, a bag of chips, 4 cigarettes, etc. You get the picture. Raise them!

OK--another technique.

You: Where do you want to be?
Customer: $250
You: (Suck a deep breath through your teeth.) Ooooh. I'll try but I gonna need a little help from you.

Yet another technique: The Gas Saving Close (See my earlier blog about that closing technique)

Yet another technique--work them for money down! What a concept! Try this: "Were you going to put the standard 10% down that the banks like to see?"
Customer: How much is that?
You: About $3500. (Watch their face drop but don't pause) But you can always put more down if you want to lower your payment.

Later when they try to get a lower payment, remind them that it would take money OVER the 10% down to do that--just like you told them earlier. If they balk at money down (like most people here in Michigan do...) use it as a closing opportunity. "Normally, the banks like to see the 10% down--especially with today's credit problems--but if I can work it out with no money down, will you take it right now?" Sometimes the initial money down is more important than payments down the road...most people (myself included) think very short term.

By now, you know that I like to ramble so I'll stop the rambling. Listen to salespeople around and hear how many hear "I want to think about it" and let their customers walk. How many sales are they missing? How many have you missed (hopefully none!) I missed a ton before I learned how to overcome that excuse but I never just let it fly by in the wind anymore.

2008 Lunar Eclipse Pictures I Took

2008-02-20T22:51:00.008-05:00

Hey, Everyone. Here are some pictures of the Total Lunar Eclipse from 2/20/08 that I took. I used a Canon digital SLR with a telephoto lens. These were tough pictures to take. For one thing, it was about 10 degrees out (maybe colder) and the other thing--it was very hard to focus. These 3 are the best out of maybe 100 pictures that I took.

Click for a closer view!

This first one below is about 10 minutes before the total eclipse. The bright part is the sunlight reflecting from the moon and the dim part is caused by the earth blocking the sunlight--the moon is in our shadow!

This one below is the moment of total eclipse! The Moon is totally in the Earth's shadow. You can notice a faint reddish glow to the moon. In effect, what you are seeing is the refraction of all the sunsets all over the world as well as dust in the atmosphere (sometimes the reddish dust from volcanic debris in the air!)

This one below is a pretty cool shot--a little wider angle. The blue star towards the top is Regulus in the constellation of Leo the Lion. The bright thing in the lower left is actually the planet Saturn. Maybe you can see the outline of the rings? Through my nice telescope in the garage, Saturn looks fantastic!

All Pictures (C) 2008 Marvin S. Chomer All Rights Reserved

Car Sales Assistant 2008 Update Coming

2008-02-19T21:00:00.002-05:00

Hi! I want to thank all of you have tried Car Sales Assistant 2008 and I would especially like to thank the people who have purchased it.

I am working on some updates right now--hopefully they will be done in the next week, or so.

Here are some of the things it will have:

1) Some people have reported that the program will not run at all. This is usually a problem with the copy protection. I am in works with the people who wrote the copy protection and will have a different version on the next update that should get rid of that problem. The only drawback will be that people who have already registered will have to email me a new code unless I go to the online registration (see below somewhere.)

2) I am currently working on the code to convert data from CSA 2007 to 2008. Earlier versions like 4.0 and 3.0 will come next. There are no plans for updates of CSA 2.0 or CSA 1.0 data at this time.

3) Some people have reported that they cannot delete a customer. That will be fixed.

4) There is a crash if you put more than $999 in your commission. That will be fixed.

5) Hopefully I will be adding email support on the next update. Email is so touchy--I just want to make sure it works for 99% of the people out there.

6) Speaking of the new copy protection--I may try out a new licensing system where you can visit my website to obtain your license code instead of having to wait for me to email it to you. This should alleviate a lot of headaches--mostly yours!

7) Down the road--I'm going to develop a--well, let's call it a "person list" of your customers that you can default to. For example, if you want--it can show you everyone you sold this month as well as your working customers--or whatever 5-10 options you desire. This is still in the planning stage and down the road.

Also--I will be working on more tutorials. I had some video files but everyone said they could only hear me talking and couldn't see the video. Whoops! It worked on my computer! So--I'm opting more for tutorials with screenshots and text instead of me talking--I talk fast anyways so I'm sure I'm hard to understand. You can see the current tutorials here.

Check back here from time to time or at my website for further updates and when it is done.

Marv

How to Treat a Customer

2008-02-18T22:37:00.004-05:00

How do you like to be treated? Yeah--me too.

OK--here are some tidbits on how to treat customers. I'm sure a lot of this is old stuff to you but sometimes we all need to be reminded.

1) Never ever argue with a customer. There is the old adage that the "customer is always right." You know what? Even if they aren't--pretend that they are--if you are married, you'll know what I'm talking about.

2) Never back yourself into a corner. Don't ever tell a customer that you are on your bottom dollar unless you are because if you have to lower the price later, you will lose credibility real fast.

3) Don't try severe pressure on a customer UNLESS it is a last resort. Subtle pressure and building value works best.

4) Tell a customer that it is "alright" to purchase a car. They work hard for their money and they deserve the new car, don't they? Sometimes just telling them that it is OK to buy a car is enough to push them over the edge of making a decision.

5) If they say they are going to buy right now, ask again just to be sure. "Now--just so I'm clear--if I get this worked out--you are taking the car right now, right?" (Always use "right now" instead of "today." Today ends a midnight and there are a lot of other dealerships between us and midnight if you get my drift.

6) Never think you know everything because we don't!

7) Find something that you like about your customer and tell them that you like it. It could be their car, how polite their kids are, they choice in car, etc.

8) I once went to a computer store and told the guy working there that I was there to look at a specific model. The salesperson said, "Great choice!" Whether it was or not, just him telling me that I made a great choice put that guy high in my book and I bought.

9) Find common ground and build rapport.

10) Lets say you have a customer who has false information and is going to shop you on it. For example, they have been low-balled at another dealership and you know for a fact that they have bad info. Lets say you try to discredit the info but your customer is convinced that the person had given them good info (hope I haven't lost you --I think I lost myself!) Well, what I'm trying to say is this: if your customer leaves and then realizes that you were right and that they were wrong, there is a great chance that they will never come back to your dealership because they want to "save face" and not be made to look like they were wrong. Here's what I like to do. I like to say something like, "Bill, do me a favor. I've had this happen before. I had customers get what turned out to be bad information from another salesperson. And you know what happens? Sometimes they still buy from the salesperson who gave them the bad information because they don't want to come back to me and admit that they were misled. Do me a favor--if it does turn out that they gave you bad information, please don't feel that there is any obligation to do business with them and please don't feel like I'm going to rub it in or anything. I just have been doing this for a long time and know how other salespeople can be--I know the tricks they pull to keep you from buying anywhere else."

11) I know there is an election coming up. Don't talk politics to customers! If they ask you say something like, "I haven't given it much thought. I've been too busy trying to sell cars to worry about it."

12) If you get someone who is a veteran, thank them for their service!

13) If you win the battle, you might lose the war. Did I already mention not to argue with customers?

14) Try to sell the customer the car they want. If they ask what car they should buy, PICK THE LEAST EXPENSIVE CAR WITH THE STUFF THEY WANT! If someone wants to be at $300 per month, don't show them a $50,000 vehicle though. Show them the best car in their price range or just above it (you can raise people a little, can't you?)

15) Give your customer a way to win.

16) Lets say someone offers you a great deal right off the bat. Do not hook right up--if you do, they may have the bit of doubt in their heads and they may think they left money on the table. I have a friend of mine today who went and looked at new model homes. They had one he kinda liked for $239,000 but it had none of the cool things he wanted--9' ceilings, granite counter-tops, the size he wanted, etc. So, he priced out everything he and his wife wanted and it came out to be $289,000. He offered $249,000 and the salesperson hooked right up and said they would do it. My friend expected them to counter-offer and they didn't. You know what? It sounds like he got a great deal but you know what he is thinking? He is thinking that he left money on the table and I think he is right. Now--while they are building the house--he is always going to have this in the back of his mind..."Did I get the best deal?"

Well, it's getting late--there are a million more tips but I'm going to bed.

How to Set Goals

2008-02-16T00:20:00.005-05:00

What is the difference between a goal and a dream?

Dream: Something you fantasize about. Something you hope will happen one day.
Goal: Something you take steps to reach. Something that WILL happen one day.

My dad, until the day he died, dreamed of being a country music musician. He had the talent--he could beautifully play the guitar and he had an excellent voice. He was also a pretty good song writer. The problem was that he would always talk about being a country star but he would never take the steps to do it. He didn't have a clear cut plan--just the hope that someone would "discover" him as he sat on his porch, in the middle of the country a hundred miles from Nashville, picking at his guitar. Once again--he had the raw talent--he just lacked a plan to put the talent to use to accomplish his dream.

We are like that in the car business. We hope to sell X amount of cars but really don't know what we need to do to sell X amount of cars. In other words, how many people do we need to talk to? How many do we need to get into a test drive? How many do we need to write up?

When I got into the car business, the owner of the dealership used to have us fill out a daily work plan. Basically, we would forecast our sales using this formula.

Our plan was to get 75% of the people we talked to into a test drive. We were to get 50% into a write up situation. If we did both of those, we were expected to sell 20% of the people we would talk to. So--if we wanted to sell 2 cars, we needed to talk to 10 people, get 7.5 into a test drive, write up 5 to sell our 20% which is 2. Want to sell 20? Multiply those numbers by 10.

Our owner swore up and down that he had never seen that formula fail in his 20 years of being in the car business and you know what? I believe him.

OK--how do you achieve goals?

1) You have a concrete destination. "I want to sell 10 cars this month."
2) You figure out what you need to do to accomplish these goals. "I need to talk to 50 people and get 75% of them to test drive and 50% of them into a write up situation."
3) You break them down into smaller steps. "So--with 20 working days this month, I'll need to talk to 2.5 people each day (hope the math is right--too lazy to get out the calculator)
4) You need to remind yourself of your goal. Put it on a business card and look at each day. Put it on your mirror so you look at it when you brush your teeth in the morning. You get the picture.
5) You need to track your progress. Keep a graph of where you are and where you need to be. By the way, my Car Sales Assistant 2008 software does this for you--it will let you set goals and track your progress towards them.
6) You need to do everything in your power to reach your goals.
7) You need to set realistic goals. "I want to sell 500 cars this month" isn't that realistic. 20 is.
8) You need to reward yourself WHEN (not IF) you reach your goals. Take your spouse out to dinner. Buy that video game you've wanted. Buy a nice piece of jewelery.
9) Rinse and repeat next month.

OK--here are some stats I remember. I might be a few percent off but you will get the picture.

3% of people set goals. 97% of the wealth in this country is held by 3% of the population.

In World War 2, if the American generals would have sat around and simply said, "We want to win the war" then the war would not have ended like it did. Instead, they said "To win the war, we need to take Berlin." In order to accomplish that, "We need to storm the beach at Normandy" then "we need to storm across France" then "we need to pop into Germany" and "we need to take Berlin." Then they broke down those broad steps into smaller steps. "To take Normandy--first we need to land thousands of solders on a beach" and then we need to get them to "storm the beach" and then "take out the pill boxes," etc.

Uh--get the picture? Set your realistic goals and you will reach them and be very successful. There is no doubt about it. Don't just sit there waiting for something to happen. Set your goals and make them happen.

All About Leases and How to Convert Buyers to Leasing

2008-02-14T21:27:00.006-05:00

Living in Michigan, the leasing capitol of the country, I can probably say that I have a good working knowledge about leases. I'm going to share a few things I have learned over the past few years about leases and how to convert people from purchases to leases and WHY you should ever want to do such a thing.

First of all, here are some terms you should know in regards to leasing.

Residual Value: What percentage of the MSRP will the vehicle be worth at the end of the lease? If the MSRP is $10,000 and the residual is 50% then the residual value will be $5000. The customer can choose to purchase the vehicle for this price at the end of the lease (plus tax, of course.)

Rate or Money Factor: Almost like an interest rate--basically it is a lease charge for a company to fund the lease.

Cap Cost Reduction: Basically a rebate on a lease.

Start Up Fees: The minimum money required to lease a vehicle. Usually first payment, doc fee, title fees, taxes on the rebates and security deposit. NOTE: You can "roll" in the start up fees on leases--roll them into the payments but the payments will go up.

Down Payment: "Money Down" over and above the start up fees to lower payments. That's why people can advertise "only $1000 down" and hit people for $1652 when they show up.

Security Deposit: Money required for a new leasing customer--usually refunded at the end and usually the payment rounded up to the nearest $25. For example, $212 payment, the security deposit will be $225.

Mileage: How many miles a year the customer will drive. Usually 12K, 15K.

Mileage Charge: How much they get charged if they go over their miles.

GAP: On some leases, gap is included. If they have active insurance and their is a total loss, the vehicle will be paid off regardless of what is owed on it.

Residualized Item: Some things, like sunroofs can be "residualized" which means they add to the value of the vehicle and a person pretty much only pays depreciation on them. For example, if a bedliner costs $150 and you can residualize $150, it is pretty much free--or close to it.

Pre-Paid Lease: Paying the entire contract amount up front--usually, there is a break on the rate so the ultimate paid amounts will be lower than monthly payments.

Lease Pull Ahead: Sometimes the manufacturers will let a person turn in their lease early and waive a couple of months if they purchase another vehicle. Not as exciting as they used to be--I've seen them waive 10-12 payments before--man, those were the good old days! Now it is only 2.

Disposal Fee: A fee a customer pays if they turn in the vehicle at the end and don't lease/purchase another one. GMAC doesn't charge it but some others do.

Why you should lease cars instead of selling them...

Lower payment for customers
Low money down
Easy to roll in a lot of negative equity
Have a much higher chance of having a repeat customer since they will turn the vehicle back in to you and be in the market for another car
No problems such as trade in value when they are back in the market--they turn in the vehicle and get a fresh slate
Easy to sell aftermarket items and make you more money because you can residualize a lot of stuff

How to Convert Someone to a Lease:

Easy one first: lower payment as opposed to financing most of the time.
Gap is included--usually $495 on a finance contract.
If they say, "I drive too many miles" then here's what you say. Then leasing is your best option. If you are driving 20,000 miles per year and finance for 5 years--what will your vehicle be worth when you pay it off and have 100,000 miles? Probably nothing. If you lease it for 3 years, you will have 60,000 miles on it and believe me, by then you will be ready for something new.
If they say that they absolutely do not want to lease and they want you to figure a finance payment, write Finance: $443 (or whatever the payment is) and write Lease: $320 on the other side of the paper. When you put it in front of them say, "I told him you didn't want to lease. Don't look at that..." as you point to the lease payment. Of course, the first thing they will do is look at the lease payment and hopefully they will notice that it is a lot cheaper. Then say something like, "Are you sure you don't want to lease? Man--it could save you $123 a month!"
If they say, "I like to own my vehicle so I'm not going to lease" say something like, Mr. Customer--when you finance a car for 5 years--who really owns it--you or the bank?
If they say, "I like to keep my cars forever," say this: Mr. Customer--I've heard that a lot over the years. People say they will keep their cars forever and then you know what happens? I see them 3 years later and they want to trade. And you know what happens? They always owe more than their car is worth and they are stuck in it. If they would have leased, they would have had a lower payment and not had to worry about trading. Plus, if you absolutely love the car, you can purchase it at the end of the lease for a fixed price.
"I don't want to lease because I'm afraid that the car will get damaged and I will have to pay for it." This is an easy one: If you got in an accident--wouldn't you file a claim with your insurance anyways?
And last but not least: "I want to pay off my car and not have a car payment." Use the old "feel/felt/found" closing technique. A lot of my customers feel the same way. I actually had one the other night that felt the same way but you know what he found out? He found out that he traded every three years anyways and will always have a car payment so he was better off saving over $100 a month leasing. I think leasing will be best for you, don't you?

All in all, if you lease someone a car, you have probably a 75% to 90% chance of them buying from you again but if you sell them a car, it is probably 10-20%. As long as you get them enough miles, they will love you for talking them into leasing. Good luck and hope you lease everyone!

The "Hamster" Close

2008-02-13T19:41:00.002-05:00

This one is a little devious but it works! I read it in a book (the name fails me) about 10 years ago. I know it is on my bookshelf somewhere. If I find it, I'll post the name.

OK--here's what you do. You have a cute little hamster in a cage at your desk or even a goldfish in a bowl.

If you have a family, the first thing the kids are going to do is look at your "pet." They will probably ask something like, "What's his name?"

Here's what you say. "I haven't named him yet. What do you want to name him?"

"Scruffy!"

"Well, I'll tell you what. If your parents buy a car from me today, I'll let you take Scruffy home and keep him." Smile and wink at the parents and let the kids do all the closing for you!