In the motor trade down the years, one of the situations guaranteed to spook a car salesman is when a customer calls a halt to negotiations by declaring that before he makes a decision he must first consult his wife. There have been many techniques passed down to combat this, though thankfully most have been confined to history. There are still some of the more ‘old school’ sales people who will try mind tricks such as saying; ‘‘Oh your wife makes all the major decisions does she sir” designed to try and question the buyers manhood, or…‘‘Why don’t we just call her and tell her what we have agreed on” which is basically designed to indicate that her opinion doesn’t count anyway in the macho men’s world of car sales!
One of the more positive improvements we’ve seen in recent times is that women are taking much more interest in the whole car buying process and in lots of cases are actually the ones responsible for instigating the whole thing.
It is actually refreshing for car dealers to have couples and families present during the showroom; it ensures that the car making decision can be reached with agreement from all sides and therefore less chance of the wrong choice being made and all the ensuing problems this causes for everyone.
The other improvements, according to many dealers we asked, is that there are now more women than ever buying cars independently without the need to have relatives or friends accompany them to a showroom. This must surely indicate that significant progress has been made in breaking the male dominated arena of the car showroom.
Whilst things are not perfect and there are still too many customers, including women, lacking the confidence or trust to visit a car showroom, there is no denying that women buyers are on the march and dealers would be well advised to treat them accordingly.
Dealers who use questionable tactics should understand that the internet has created a level playing field and misleading people and attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of any potential car buyer, male or female, is a shady practice that should be confined to the dark ages of the trade.
