Car manufacturers and the iPhone generation

599 More

Earning the right to be successful

581 More

Knowledge is power

676 More

Selling cars – it’s all about timing

959 More

Truemag

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Ease up on the rigid sales process or risk driving buyers away

A sales process is not unique to car retailing; there are many examples of direct selling where there will be a laser focussed approach to ensuring prospective customers are being handled to the satisfaction of the business management.

In recent years, however, the following of “a process” has started to become slightly fanatical in the car retailing business and in some cases could result in actually scaring customers away.

You can’t escape the fact that any business selling products or services these days will strive hard to feed their large and hungry customer databases. As far as the company’s marketing departments are concerned the database is essential for them to be able to constantly update existing customers and reach out to potential ones.

Having recently bought my daughter some clothes online I was surprised that to have my order processed successfully I virtually had to submit a DNA sample to buy a £30 item of clothing. If it wasn’t for the fact that my daughter had been draining me for weeks about buying this particular item, then I would have logged off way before they asked for my date of birth and inside leg measurement.

I am now, of course, preparing for the expected onslaught of kids clothing companies sending me details of their wares and will need to ensure that my 13 yr old does not go near my laptop or she will insist I buy her every item, or perhaps that is the point.

The fact is that whilst I consider myself quite forward thinking and embrace progress I can quite clearly see why more and more people are leaving the bit about speaking to a sales person or customer assistant right to the last moment (or avoiding it all together) for fear of having to tell their entire life story to every different one they meet, only to never get called back anyway.

Whilst it is important to record customer details and qualify their wants, needs and budget surely this could be done in a more flexible way and without the need to try and profile every customer to extract every last thing about them.

I am happy to give my contact details and e-mail address and some details about what I am interested in and how I will make my purchase, including my budget, but any more than that I would start to feel a little pressurised and probably begin to back off, which is surely counterproductive.

I still believe that “people buy people” and even my dealings in the trade mean I will often not deal with people I don’t particularly like so the onus on having great staff that do what they say is going to be more vital than ever. If more time than ever is to be spent by prospective buyers researching online before committing to visiting a showroom, dealers may only get one chance and a small window of opportunity to convince customers to buy from them rather than their competitors.

I think it would make common sense to ease off the stringent process. If a prospective car buyer has come to the showroom then they are interested in buying a car so if they don’t want to give all their details and are just making an initial enquiry why scare them off with a heavy handed process which I am told in some cases could take an hour.

I feel tired just thinking about it

Feb 2, 2010In51der
  • The car sale process still needs to be flexible
  • The car sales process and the “9 point plan”
  • Car buyers may be at risk of committing finance fraud
  • Controlling the sales process can be good for everyone
  • People still buy people but much later in the car buying process
  • Why the qualification process is good for everyone
  • Complaints about used car dealers up 8 percent in 2009German new car registrations down 4.2 percent in January
    In51der

    Motor Trade Insider - Bridging the gap between the customer and the Motor Trade

    12 years ago Blog, Consumercar dealers customer database, car sales process, car sales technique process, consumer advice, Featured, motor sales process365
    Most viewed
    Top 100 UK Dealer Groups
    39,482 views
    The car sales process and the “9 point plan”
    11,503 views
    webuyanycar review – They will buy any car but beware of the asterisk
    6,013 views
    Most commented
    Car sales and the power of silence…
    25 Comments
    Car dealers still not prepared to play the “we buy any car” game
    23 Comments
    A Traders Tale – Part Four
    22 Comments
    Win a pre-loaded Ipod Shuffle!
    19 Comments
    Bargain of the Week – StreetKa 1.6i Luxury
    14 Comments
    Bridal Hair Berkshire
    Fox Body to 2018 Mustang Parts
    and Accessories
    About MTI

    Motor Trade Insider
    is written by people working actively in the motor trade for people on the inside and people on the outside.

    Our aims
    Build a bridge between consumers and the trade, create Interesting and informative content, break down barriers and create better understanding, expose bad practices and rip-offs and promote outstanding products and service.
    Have something to say?
    We are always looking for experienced writers who can write good original quality posts on motor-trade-insider.com. Please contact us if you would like us to consider you. Make sure you give us details of your own blog or a link to some articles you have written.
    2017 © Motor Trade Insider
    Truemag theme by StrictThemes