Dec 2, 2020
This week’s episode of the Catapulting Commissions podcast is going to be a journey, y’all. Recently, Anthony was in a position where he needed to purchase a new vehicle. What happened though, was Anthony walked away from one dealership to another further away, to purchase the same vehicle at almost price point. Why? Today Anthony is breaking down the four biggest mistakes he saw from the consumer’s perspective.
For the sake of anonymity, the dealership Anthony purchased his BMW Sedan from will be called Dealership A, and the one he walked away from, Dealership B.
The first mistake Anthony saw during his experience at Dealership B was there was no needs assessment. The car wasn’t really SOLD to him. There was no discussion on where he was driving, no questions regarding what his family or he wanted out of a car, nothing of the sort. There was no rapport building at all!
The second mistake is key. In car sales, there is turnover--a moment where the sales manager comes in to close. When that happens, it’s essential to set them up for success. In this situation, the sales person’s approach was “my manager can negotiate more than I can.” When he said that, expectations went through the roof. That made the conversation much different.
The last two mistakes fall on the sales manager. This person is the closer, the defining voice of the sale, and a person who should excel in their industry. But, this individual actually gave Anthony reason to drive over an hour away to purchase the same vehicle at nearly the same pricepoint.
The third mistake was a lack of professionalism. You cannot lack this in the sales process, you’re under a microscope. This is one of those mistakes that has a lot of weight. The way you dress, act, and carry yourself means a lot. As a consumer, we don’t care what your day has been like. There is an understanding that there would be a professional conversation. This individual wasn’t dressed professionally, and the first thing he said was “Today has been horrible. It’s Friday and I’m trying to get out of here.” Yikes. How does that make the consumer feel? That moment turned the tide.
When the time came to discuss the price of the car, there was a clear disconnect between the price points. When Anthony brought this up and asked what it would take to get closer, the response was “You’re looking at the wrong vehicle. We’re wasting each other’s time.” Then, he stood up and left. When you’re the closer and you act like that, you disrespect your customer and the salesperson who is trying to feed their family.
The fourth mistake during this process was a lack of respect. DO NOT DISRESPECT YOUR CUSTOMERS. DO NOT DISRESPECT ANYONE. As Anthony and his family got up to leave, the salesperson attempted to re-explain the value in the car they were looking at. During that moment, the manager returned, threw a piece of paper at Anthony, said “This is the final offer. Take it or leave it.” and walked away. Anthony has two daughters at home. They don’t throw things. Was it a better offer? Yeah. But it didn’t matter. Despite follow up, no deal could be done. The disrespect was immovable.
Dealership A, the shop Anthony DID purchase from is Valencia BMW in Valencia, California.
Anthony met this salesperson online through email and then by over the phone. Immediately, that person conducted a needs analysis. When they discussed pricing and they were separated, Anthony again brought it up. But this time, the response was “I can take care of that for you.” Because his next offer was close and he was so helpful, they made the trip. There wasn’t one customer there being disrespected or being made felt like a bother. Because of that, it wasn’t a price issue.
As they waited for their paperwork to be processed, they overheard a sale that wasn’t going through. Even then, there was no disrespect. No one felt uncomfortable. It was about trying to solve a problem. That salesperson shook the person’s hand and walked them out, didn’t allow them to leave alone.
In the end, it hurts to know someone with a bad attitude can hurt a community’s well-being.
LINKS
https://anthonypgarcia.com/