Patterns

Yesterday a customer asked me when the best time to sell a car was. I almost replied, “When there’s a buyer on the lot!” But that wasn’t what he meant, of course. He was wondering if like fishing, there was a predictable time when the ups were biting. Oh, if only I could answer that question!

In my many years in this business I have come to the conclusion that there is no pattern to this business. There is no predictable time when you are more likely to make a sale. You can make some general observations. For example, you usually sell more cars in the summer than the winter, but even that is a tenuous guess at best.

When I started selling cars, Saturdays were always a good day. In those days the dealerships were not open late during the week, so the average working Joe could not make it down to buy his new sled until the weekend. Saturdays could be crazy.

When The Others pass a dealership and see the guys lined up outside, he is seeing further evidence that there is no pattern to this business. If we could magically tell when a buyer was going to show up, we’d be able to spend our down times in a bar as God intended!

Further evidence: My worst month and my best month in this business were both in February. I’ve had good Decembers and bad Decembers. No pattern at all that I can tell. Nor can any overzealous manger or cock-sure sales trainer tell you when the best time is to sell a car. That’s why you have to look in the mirror every morning and tell yourself, “Today is the best day to sell a car!” You have to believe that, because if you don’t you’ll go nuts!

Over the years I have discovered a few clues about buyer’s habits. It’s been my experience that the prime time for selling cars is on an overcast day, the temperature about 60, and no wind. It’s too gloomy for The Others to go outside and work in the yard. It’s kinda cold (at least by California standards) but it’s not too cold. “I’ve got an idea, honey, why don’t we go out and check out new cars!”

Women, especially older women, do not like to come out to the car lot when it’s windy. It screws up their hair. So selling a Buick to an old lady on a windy day is a risky proposition at best. Overcast, slightly cold, no wind; that’s the ticket!

While I’m on the subject of weather, there’s something else I’ve noticed. Any abrupt change in the weather will cause the buyers to stay away. If it starts to rain, they will say to themselves, “I’ll wait until tomorrow when it clears up.” It’s only when the rain lasts for a few days and they’ve gotten used to it that they will ignore the weather. Conversely, if the weather suddenly turns sunny they will do the same thing for a couple of days until the weeds are pulled and the lawns mowed.

It is my hope that technology will eventually come to the rescue of Car Men. For years I’ve touted the idea that someone ought to develop a computer chip that can be easily implanted in the earlobe of The Others that would let us know if they’re buyers. These “go, no go” chips could be activated by a handy device easily clipped onto a car salesman’s belt loop. Aimed at the prospect’s head like a cop with a radar gun, one could easily determine who’s a buyer and who should be beat about the head and shoulders.

I just hope I’m still around when the computer geeks work it out.


Talk to you later,


David