Little Closes

Budding Car Men often think that there is some magical moment at the end of a sale when a deal is miraculously closed. Though it is true that there is a final closing question, capped with a handshake, but that question comes at the end of a carefully crafted presentation that's made up of many little closes. Little closes: that’s what it’s all about. From the moment you meet your prospect the closing begins.

Back when I was young, the managers compared a car deal with a roll of nickels. There are twenty nickels in a roll, and each one represents a step in a car deal. As it was hammered into me, you had to carefully go through each nickel/close to have a successful deal. If you skipped a step or changed their order you risked endangering or possibly losing your deal.

Over the years I've learned that you can skip a step or two and still make a deal, but at a cost of gross to you. You can always make a deal if you’ve stumbled across a buyer, but the amount of money you make is dependent on how that deal is constructed; hence, the importance of little closes.

Another thing I’ve learned is that there are more closes in a deal than nickels in a roll. A roll of fifty pennies is probably a better analogy. All the little things you do to get a customer to allow you to control the deal are a close. It starts from the moment you meet and greet. A positive reaction to your smile and opening lines is a close. “What type of vehicle are you looking for?” you ask. If they answer, that’s a close.

If you work at a dealership that keeps their cars locked, that’s an opportunity for a close. The act of a customer allowing you to go back to the office to retrieve a key is a close. Before you even get to the test drive there might be a half-dozen mini-closes that will ultimately help you make your deal.

The secret is your demeanor. You should try to come off as(and really be) a gentle, caring person. You must never make a prospect feel they are being trapped into buying a car, even when that’s exactly what you are attempting to do. Selling is a form of seduction. Customers must always feel that if they wanted to turn and leave the lot they can, because if you are doing your job correctly, they won’t want to leave. You must legitimately disarm their fears and let them allow you to sell them a car.

I’m sure that any of The Others reading this are up in arms about what I’ve just said, but as a Car Man philosopher once said, “Screw ‘em”. We are not doing anything wrong. We didn’t go out into the street, shot out the customers tires and dragged them back to the lot like a gang of deranged big game hunters. They came in voluntarily because they wanted a car. We are just doing our best to meet their needs and sell it to them--at an honest profit.

Yes the little closes, that’s the trick. Listening to your presentation is a close. “Would you like me to start the car up?” That’s a close. “Would you like to take it for a test drive?” All the little questions you ask on the ride. If they answer they are part of the pennies that add up to a roll.

The little closes help you make your deal; the professionalism that you apply to those closes is what might make you a commission that is more than a mini.


David

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