A must read automotive sales training article on building rapport
28 08 2008Why can’t car salespeople take the time to build rapport?
Too often, I see car salespeople trying to go from just meeting the customer to closing right away. And every chance they get, they are trying to close the sale on price. Sure, you might sell a few vehicles and make some money. But it’s not even close to what you should or can earn in the car business.
Getting the customer to like you is key to grossing high per deal and closing the sale. You must get the customer to like you if you want to make real money in the car business. So why not slow down and build rapport and get to know the customer? What this will allow you to do is gain control of the sales process. Building rapport will slow things down and allow you to smoothly follow the basic step to a sale.
The customer came into your dealership because they are interested in buying a vehicle. And this might come as a shock to you but trust me when I tell you; they know you’re there to sell them one. So start off by getting rid of that tension. You got to make them feel as if they are here to own a vehicle versus you are there to sell them one. Customers just don’t like to be sold.
Since almost all customers don’t like to be sold, it’s your job to get that nervousness out of the air and ease that tension. Start asking them open-ended questions and allow them to talk. Break the ice and start asking them questions about themselves such as:
What do you do for fun?
Do you have any kids?
The idea is to slow things down and get off topic and talk about something else other than selling them a car. This is called building rapport and it’s the easiest way to make the customer feel comfortable. Now don’t just build rapport, qualify at the same time. Building rapport and qualifying should be done side by side. If you do these 2 things then you ease the tension and at the same time figure out what vehicle to present to the customer when it comes down to showing them a car. It will also save you time and help you close the sale.
How long should the car salesperson build rapport?
No one can tell you how long it should take. That will vary from customer to customer. Some are easy and some people are tough. But if you have control over the conversation then I would say it’s fairly easy to build rapport.
If one of your strong points is that you’re very humorous, use that to your advantage. Just don’t be rude. Customers are much easier to close when they are having fun, laughing and having a great time. Mastering these selling skills is a must. There are tons of others I teach. But building rapport is a must to succeed in the car business as a salesperson.
About the author: Mak has many more exciting Automotive sales training articles. Get a free must have e-course for car salespeople
Excellent training course, I have used and continue to use many of these with my customers every day. I think we can all use a good refresher course like this to remind us how best to open communications with our clients.
I have found that when you ask “lifestyle” questions with a customer, it is much easier to build repport and help find the customer thier ideal car. Where will you be driving it too, who is going to riding with you and what type of stuff do you commonly transport usually are good ones to start with,
Great trainiing course, I used these principles everyday and day-after-day. I am amazed at how insightful and useful they have made me and how much knowledge they have allowed me to gain in a very short time. I think that is the overall key to the entire course.
Keep up the good work.
You are right about keeping things light. In automobile sales training being prepared is most important. Extablishing rapport is also a key ingredient. I like the info you have here and am happy to see someone put this on the internet for car salespeople to study. Great job! Pierce