Making a Sell

Making a Sell to an Individual

The most common way your dealership will generate revenue is by selling your cars to individuals. When a customer is looking at one of your vehicles, greet them with a big smile and a firm handshake. First impressions mean everything. Your professional demeanor will reflect the professionalism of your dealership. Your customers want to know they are dealing with a reputable business that is ready to meet their needs. You must greet and treat every customer as a potential buyer. If you don’t treat every single person at your dealership with complete respect, they will make their purchase at the dealership down the street. You must assume that every person, is going to purchase a vehicle from you. They are thinking about making a very important purchase. They want to be catered to and it is your job to do that.
Make every effort you can to establish a rapport with every person that walks into your dealership or onto your dealer lot. If your customer finds a car that interests them, they will ask for the inevitable test drive. It is very rare for a customer to buy a vehicle without test driving it first.

Always tell your customer they are more than welcome to test drive the vehicle and suggest that they take it to a mechanic to have it checked out. This tells the customer that you are honest and have nothing to hide. If you do know of a mechanical fault, tell the customer before they take the test drive. You never want a customer to come back from a test drive and tell you they noticed a mechanical defect that you knew about but did not disclose. By telling the customer every minor mechanical malfunction your aware of in advance, you will build a large amount of credibility. Even if this customer does not buy a vehicle from you he or she will tell others of your honesty.

Your honest reputation will drive future business to your dealership.

By not disclosing vehicle faults to the customer, they will not trust you and will immediately tell several people that you are a dishonest dealer. A bad reputation spreads much, much faster than a good reputation. A bad reputation is also something a dealer will never get rid of. If you are known as a dishonest dealer, it will be much harder to move your inventory than if you are known as an honest dealer. When you are making a sell, the best thing you can do for your business is to disclose everything you possibly can about the vehicle. You will be glad you did.

Your goal is, of course to sell the vehicle. When the customer returns from the test drive they have probably decided whether or not they want to purchase the vehicle. If they do not want the vehicle, they may say something like “I think I will keep looking”. Be sure to ask exactly what they are looking for. Try to find out every detail of the type of vehicle your customer wants and let them know that you can probably find the exact vehicle they are looking for at a price they can afford. If the customer does not want to purchase the vehicle let them know that you frequently attend dealer auctions and will be able to find the exact vehicle they want at a price they can afford.

Another method of finding the exact vehicle your customer wants is by using OVE. OVE is Manheim Auto Auctions dealer exchange network. When you obtain your dealer license, you will be able to log on several dealer only websites like manheim.com, ove.com, or adesa.com and locate several thousand vehicles for sale. After you obtain your dealer license you will be able to log on these sites, and search for every type of vehicle imaginable. These vehicles are located either onsite at the wholesale dealer auctions, or on other dealer lots throughout the country. You can simply log on to these websites, type in year, make, and model your customer is looking for, then you will usually find several vehicles throughout the country that will meet the exact requirements of your customer. The information about the vehicles you are searching for will normally have pictures, vehicle condition reports, vehicle location, contact information, and the dealer’s asking price. After viewing the purchase price you can decide if purchasing the vehicle and having it shipped to your dealership can still leave room for a profit.

As a licensed dealer you can find the exact car your customer wants every time. Never let a customer that is looking for something you don’t have leave the dealership without letting them know you can help them find what they are looking for. You can find any vehicle your customer is looking for if you are willing to invest the time searching other dealer inventories.

If your customer returns from the test drive and shows positive buying signs, this is where your work begins. Your customer will usually tell you the things they did not like about the vehicle in an attempt to reduce its value. A common statement is “I like this car but it is priced more than I was willing to spend” or “This car is OK, but it is not really the color that I want”. Statements like this are actually a good sign because it shows the customer wants the vehicle but may be ready to submit a low offer.

Let’s assume your asking price for the vehicle is $10,000. The customer may attempt to purchase the vehicle at a largely reduced price by stating something like “I’ll give your $5,000 for it”. Your first instinct after a low ball offer such as this may be to say something like, “No way come back when you want to make a real offer”. Saying something negative would be a huge mistake. Always stay positive at all times, no matter how low the customer’s offer. When a customer submits an offer much lower than the asking price, they are normally waiting for a counter offer. Never discuss whether or not an offer is acceptable on the lot. After a customer makes a verbal offer, always invite the customer inside your dealership.  Never disregard a customer offer, no matter how low. Get your customer inside to try to see if you can meet your customers needs. When you get your customer inside try to make them feel as comfortable as possible by offering them a seat and something to drink like a bottled water or cup of coffee. Set down to your computer and figure out what you have invested in the vehicle and give the customer your counteroffer.

A good negotiating technique is to give your customer counter offers in decreasing increments in writing. By lowering your counter offers in decreasing increments you are letting your customer know that you are very near your lowest acceptable offer.

 When the customer agrees to the purchase price, congratulate the customer and begin the necessary paperwork to complete the deal.

Making a Sell to another Dealer

Another big part of your business can be selling vehicles directly to another dealer. You may have a vehicle on your lot for six months that has set unsold, and the dealer down the street may want to purchase it to sell on his or her lot. It is very easy to sell a vehicle to another dealer. Just make sure to complete the title at the time of the sale. Always make sure the purchaser and seller information is complete, thorough and accurate.

Some “Old School” dealers will ask you to leave the reassignment box blank until they sell the vehicle. This could also be deemed a dealer to dealer consignment. Almost every state prohibits dealer to dealer consignments. You usually may not sell your vehicles on another dealer’s lot. You may only sell your vehicles at your licensed location, unless you are selling them at a wholesale vehicle auction. This would also constitute a blank or skipped title, which could actually lead to felony charges against your dealership.

Always complete all information on a title at the time of the sale, whether you are making a sale or a buy to an individual or a dealer.