Coming Soon: Car Sales Assistant 7

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"

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

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

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!

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!

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

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!