I’ve already written extensively about what can happen to a Car Man on a demonstration ride. For those of you that are new to this blog, please refer to my previous posts, “My Ride with Rudy” and “Demo Rides”. You can find them easily by typing the titles into the search box at the very top left of this page. Do it now; I’ll wait. . .
…Done? Okay. The basic rule of a demonstration ride is this: Any drive that doesn’t find you dead in a trunk is a successful one. It can only go up from there.
If handled properly a test drive can be a wonderful opportunity. Having the customer say yes to the drive is one of my little closes, and the drive itself can be used to extract useful information that might help you make your deal.
Some dealerships are very specific about demo rides and routes. I suggest that you adhere to the rules—if only for your job security. I’ve heard of salesmen being followed on their rides to make sure they go on the prescribed route!
As hinted above, the first thing to consider is your safety. If you get really bad vibes from a customer, DO NOT take him out in a car! Even in this troubled market it’s just not worth the risk! This is especially true for female Car Men for reasons I don’t have to go into. DO NOT go on a ride (even if you’re the one driving) with a customer you suspect is intoxicated! ALWAYS get a copy of the customer’s driver’s license and leave it with the desk. And if you can get a cell phone number even better.
Plan your route! Do not be stingy on the ride—unless you suspect you are being jacked-off. You can’t expect a customer to make as important decision as buying a car by driving around the block. I suggest you have at least three different routes of varying lengths. If you sense a jack-off, take him on the shortest route. A real prospect should be taken on a longer route, and the longest route should be used if there is more than one buyer such as a spouse or parent.
The general rule is the longer the drive the better your chances of having a customer bond with the car, and the more time you have to make him feel relaxed with you.
While on the drive, your customer’s guard is down. Though you don’t want to spend the drive grilling the guy, you can use it as an opportunity find out a few useful things. These questions should be asked as if you are merely making conversation. I suggest you gaze out passenger side window and speak in a casual tone. The questions should be paced so that the customer doesn’t get the feeling he’s being worked. Here are some questions you might ask:
“What you driving now?”
“Thinking about trading it in?”
“What ya' do for a living?”
“Owe any money on the trade?”
“Dang, that teenage daughter of yours is a sweet little thing, isn’t she?” (Use with caution!)
Anyway, you get the idea.
Now here’s a classic question that might help you gauge how much the customer is bonding with his new ride:
“When you buy a new car, where’s the first place you’ll take it?”
I once asked this while sitting in the back of a new Nissan Quest. The customer answered with a rambling story about taking his new van up the California coast to a little cabin nestled in the redwoods. Hell, it made me want to go with him! Needless to say I sold the van and made a nice pop besides!
Sales trainers mostly recommend that you remain silent on a test drive. Bullshit, I say! Use it as a selling opportunity!
Just don’t overdo it.
David
Note: I also have a short story about demo rides you might enjoy. If you’re interested, access my short story blog, “unexpected pleasures” by clicking the link at the right of this page and type “The Demonstration Ride” into the search box.
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2 comments:
I've only just stumble on this blog, but damn you've addicted me. I'm one of the "The Other", in fact The Other Dave. This really does give an insight to the guy (it always is a guy) sat on the other side of the desk. I’ve always felt that at the end of the day both the customer and salesman are trying to do the same thing, protect their bottom line for their families. I would have thought I was an asshole customer and perhaps I am, but after reading these ... damn.
Anyway you've enlightened me on the shitest test drive I ever had:
I'm not that vain outside of work, so on the weekends I vaguely resemble a bum, albeit an aftershave wearing one. I'm also a cheap bastard so neither my clothes nor my cars are going to impress (just a generation removed from poverty will do that - my dad was one of seven kids in a two bed house).
On a sunny Saturday afternoon I pulled up to the local Dodge dealer in my 7 yr. old beater, emerge unimpressively and immediately head to the moochmobile on the lot - the Challenger R/T. Eventually a Car Man is (probably forcefully) pushed in my general direction. “Can I help you Sir” .. “I’d like to test drive this”. Just to add to the whole aura I’d not grabbed my wallet before leaving, so although I had my driver’s license I’d forgotten my insurance card. He copied the license anyway and warily proceeded to bring the car around.
“There’s a quick route, it goes around the block and comes back here” he said. When he said quick, he meant you could walk it in 5 minutes, or crawl back from the bar in 30. Now at this point a few pointed questions outlined above could have changed things. But two things happened: (1) He didn’t trust me, and just wanted me gone, (2) after more than a decade of consulting experience and hundreds of interviews it becomes habit to flip an interview and become the questioner – people are flattered when you take an interest in them, gets you off the hook and it gets more and better paying gigs. I controlled the conversation while we – literally – drove around the block, he seized the initiative just as we were getting back.
Finally he hit me with “So what do you do?”. I answered. Then there was mental arithmetic, the realization that if I wasn’t a complete fuckup I could probably just pay cash, or qualifying for a loan would be child’s play. This was followed by a sea change in posture, tone and facial expression. He attempted a recovery but I was annoyed and certainly wasn’t in the mood for a couple of hours of haggling with this ?#$%^.
But you know what, I was wrong. I looked sketchy, I acted sketchy and he still took the risk. I should have let him recover and maybe even have had my business. Now it was a new car (a.k.a waste of money), and I’m a tight fisted asshole so it would have been a mini, but still it’s a sale I didn’t give him the chance to make.
Nothing new in two years tells me you’ve said everything you’ve got to say. Probably the most important entry here was “Let them know you’re human”, because this blog certain does.
The Other
When I was selling cars during the demonstration drive I would suck the customer's cock. Usually end up back at the dealership with a mouthful of jizzle!
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