Recently I bought a new car, and I will admit that buying a car is not something I relish.
The last thing I want to do is to spend more than 10 minutes buying it — OK, maybe 20 — but that’s it.
I’m not a car nut, and truth be told, I couldn’t care less what I drive (as demonstrated by the 18-year-old car to which I recently said good-bye).
The only thing on my old car that didn’t make noise was the horn.
Reason I hate buying a car is the person I’m going to buy it from is going to know far more knowledge than me. I feel I have to be at least able to speak the language enough to keep from getting taken on a deal.
What I hate is any salesperson — whether on the phone, via email or in person — who attempts to engage me in a conversation in which I don’t want to engage. To me the questions are a waste of my time (I value my time more than I the question the salesperson is asking me).
To the salesperson looking to sell me the car, I’m not an engaged customer. Want to take it for a test drive? No. Want to take a look at the engine? No. Want to sit in the car and see how it feels? No.
All of these actions to me are a waste of my time.
All of this does not mean I’m not concerned about what I’m buying. I’m very concerned, because I only buy a new car every 10 years. (Last car we bought was my wife’s car in 2004.)
What it means is I’m a customer who has done just enough homework to know about what I want. (It pays to have a son who loves cars and is willing to do the research.)
Challenge is for the salesperson to determine the most valuable asset I have is my time, and thus time is a key outcome of what I’m looking for.
The salesperson who completed the sale with me seized on it quickly by asking me how much time I had right up front. Bingo! We connected and the deal was done in 10 minutes.
Did the salesperson have more time? Yes! Did the salesperson have a bunch of additional information he would like to have shared with me? Yes! Did the salesperson want to make a sale? Yes! And that is the only thing that mattered.
Do you know the value of the customer’s “buying time?” Sooner you find out, the sooner you’ll be in position to close more sales and, best of all, not waste your own time.
Curious as to what I bought? A 2014 Acura TLX.
Copyright 2015, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
Always listen to what the buyer is telling. Very tough to listen when your mouth is open. Bought a 2014 Ford SHO . Went in with the price I was going to pay, drove out with a car. Auto Industry has employee’s who have access to specials the dealers will never tell you. These plans take the dealer out of their BS plan. NEVER sell your trade in to the dealer !!!!