Buyers may sometimes be liars but transparency is the key

Whilst traditionally there has always been a kind of mutual disrespect, mistrust and sometimes dislike between some car sales people and their potential customers, this current car crisis has bought home the need to improve standards and offer more transparency between both parties. There is an old saying within showrooms up and down the country which hopefully is not so prelevant at present because it can’t be allowed to be. ‘Buyers are liars’ is a phrase that has been used by sales managers over the years when a customer has the audacity to inform them that they have received a better trade-in price or another dealer will cut them a better deal!

This is often a defence mechanism as all car dealer sales staff assume they are the best and have the greatest cars at the best prices which will make them the best commission. Obviously they can’t be all these things but who can blame some clever customers who attempt to bend the truth when seeking to gain a suitable deal? Ask yourself will they get a great deal if they don’t work for it? No way, so where is the common ground? The honest hardworking sales team who spend hours with their customers trying their best to match them with a car that suits them for a fair price are rightly devastated when the customer thanks them for their time and effort, but has decided to go with a competitor because it is a couple of hundred pounds cheaper. By the same token the customer who plays it fair and makes the job simple and enjoyable will feel bitter when he is told that’s the best deal on offer and signs up only to find he could have got the car a £1,000 cheaper somewhere else!

There are many examples of skulduggery from all sides but perhaps it would be better in the current climate for everyone to put their cards on the table and try their utmost to get the car done and stop playing games. For instance if a car is as rare as hens teeth and a dealer is sure he won’t readily replace it, why not tell the customer that this is the price and if they can find one elsewhere that’s cheaper they can maybe strike a better deal. Conversely if the car can be easily replaced then why not just do a great deal and spread the goodwill?

The following thoughts may help explain.

Selling cars for a loss is obviously bad for business but if the model is not selling a smaller loss is better than a bigger one down the line.

Sales people who work for commission are rightly trying their best to earn as much money as possible to support their families, but honesty and integrity are surely the best way of achieving repeat customers and referral business.

Getting upset will not help sell more cars when buyers want to go compare, there is a choice and sellers must realise this, good customers will usually stick with those that make most effort.

Introducing the trade-in at the last minute, sometimes when a deal has been struck is not going to help the customer get a better deal it will usually mean being offered less than they could have been, but if dealers offered a fair price up front instead of holding back the deal could get done quicker.

Being aggressive with each other and trying to ‘win’ will not solve the issue of negotiating the best price it just leads to bad feeling and won’t get the deal done.

When a dealer offers any extras or finance add-ons they can often be more profitable than the car itself but at the very least the sales person should only offer what the customer really needs and not what makes most money.

Once the sale is complete don’t stop returning calls from your customers and at least spend some time with a proper handover, after all the car purchase is quite a major one, the customer should not expect to get the whole thing over within minutes as questions will only need to be answered later.

By being honest and knowledgeable, helpful and professional sales people will always sell cars to more people eventually, it really is a numbers game. The more buyers you treat correctly the more likely it is that more sales will be completed.

These are just a few aspects of the sales process and if there was more transparency between all parties it may end up being a lot more enjoyable too.