A Cool Thing I Started Doing

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!

Why Contact Relationship Works

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

Dealing with Stress in the Car Business

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

How to Sell a Car

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

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

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

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

I'm Just Looking

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

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!

How to Know when the Car is Sold

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

Question Your Way to a Sale

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

Most Important Thing to Sell More Cars

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

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.

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

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!

Negotiation Techniques

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

Effective Follow Up Techniques

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!

What is the Best Closing Technique?

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

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

12 Years of Funny Stories

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

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!