When is the last time you tried to buy a car from your business? I tried to buy a car recently and the experience left a lot to be desired. It ranged from being ignored to a lack of process.
This wasn’t a mystery shopping exercise but a genuine need. How would you know if this happened in your business?
Here are the highlights:
{03:10} Assume every customer is a mystery shopper
{10:17} Ignored in Mercedes
{14:52} The BMW experience
{24:38} Hard work customer
{32:00} Identify what’s happening in your business
{35:46} Does mystery shopping work?
About Symco Training:
Symco Training was founded in 2000 by Simon Bowkett and it was his belief that the business had to offer its clients something different. That difference was clear to Simon from his days in the dealership when he experienced many sales trainers who had all the answers, but were unable, unwilling or both to actually show the delegate how they could be implemented. It remains the ethos of the business today. You see, Symco only employ trainers that are committed to delivering not only in spiring and insightful training, but are equally as happy to demonstrate these skills and techniques with real customers in your own showroom. We believe in order for sales training to be effective and in Simon’s words ‘real world’, it needs to be tried and tested in the only place it matters the showroom floor. There is no room for theory when your goals are for your team to sell more cars, hours or parts and retain more profit. In dealerships around the world the focus applied by many of the sales executives is to try and sell a deal. Symco specialise in getting your teams to focus on selling themselves, the product and then supporting this with the deal.
To find out more visit
www.symcotraining.co.uk
Welcome to the Selling in the Motor Trade Podcast, an association with Symco Training. This is the weekly podcast where we share best practice tips and ideas on how to sell more cards, improve your service department and generally put more profit into your dealership or dealer group. I'm your host, Simon Bowkett. As some of you probably already know me as skipping, I will start with saying thank you for taking the time to listen to this podcast. Hi, welcome to another episode of Selling in the Motor Trade. Guys forgive me, today it might sound like a bit of a rant. You see, I want to talk about mystery shopping, mystery customers. Listen, we know as an industry so many times we have our manufacturer, our OEM, we'll send our mystery customers to see if we're doing the process right. We know when the email comes through, we start smelling and sniffing out, is it that mystery customer? We know we need to stop the clock ticking as quick as we can. Are we trying to stop the clock just for mystery shopping purposes or because it's the right thing to do. Now, so many times I get salespeople, salesmenage to say, I'm so obvious it was a mystery shopper. It was so obvious. I think, yeah, well done. If it's so obvious as a mystery shopper, why did you do that performance? And also, here's the other thing. I'm sure some of you guys listen to this, like I have, you've actually sold a car to a mystery shopping customer. Now, I haven't actually sold a car to a mystery shop customer. I just thought, this customer's definitely a mystery shop customer. They're not giving me the exact stuff I think. I'm certain they're a mystery shop customer. I've gone in and told the whatever client I'm in with, hey, listen, I think this is a mystery shopper today. At the end of it, they've ended up buying. Clearly, they were never a mystery shop. We just thought they were. So I want to have a bit of a rant about trying to buy a car and mystery shopping. Some of you manage out there. Listen, there's so many tricks that you can use to find out if they're a mystery customer. I used to love an old one. I learned this from a guy called John, I think it was, years ago. Always ask the mystery shop customer what's their address? When they say it's 14-kicker 10 along street, say, all right, that's just beside the Tesco's there, isn't it? Well, that's just beside the David Jones Center, isn't it? And mystery shoppers are very rarely from that area. And you're here in the go, yes or no, if they're a local customer, I'll say, there's no Tesco's there. Now, there's no school there. Okay. Now, that's one way that you can try and find out if they're a mystery shopper customer. Because please don't tell that to your sales team. Okay, your sales team will work without themselves. If you're a sales person, listen to this. Let me tell you, just assume every customer is a mystery shopper. You know what? I'm going to do, if you're assuming every customer is a mystery shopper, you'll just do the process the right way all the time. And you know what? A mystery shopper. I've never been a mystery shopper. It must be hard work. I don't know some of these companies, if you're based in the UK, they used to be a company based on the Isle of Wight that used to do mystery shopping all the time. I think they shut down. Some of you guys are yelling now at the Bodgo say, oh, I know who they are, though, as such and such. Okay. A mystery shopper, it must be hard work. But investors, listen to this, senior managers, listen to this, was last time you tried to buy a car from your business. And here comes my rant. So many times, I mean, a social sense, speaking someone down my club or on a barbecue or some social event. And when they realize you're in the motor trade, they'll tell you about, oh, let me tell you, I tried to buy a car from such and such. The whole experience was horrendous. I feel myself backing the salesperson saying, well, yeah, I know, but do you realize what else that salesperson's got on? Do you realize how much work they're doing? And then I find myself explaining that, you know, when the salesperson sells 15, 20 cars a month, they're not sitting there waiting for someone to come in, like in a John Lewis or a Harvey Norman and just saying, can I buy that TV? Yep. Take your money off it and go on. Actually, sometimes selling the cars the easy bit, staying in touch with the customer afterwards. Okay. All the paperwork we have to do now. In fact, guys, if you started selling cars 30 years ago or more like me, got to tell you the amount of times the paperwork they've got to do now compared to what we used to is absolutely, it's completely different. I felt myself backing these people. Sorry. I felt myself, yeah, I know the salesperson should have got back to you straight away. But when you were looking for, I don't know, replacing your six month old car, which is an electric Taycan, and you've told them that you're on a PCH, I know exactly that that salesperson's gone into, oh, no, this is going to be really hard work. And that's the real reason I haven't got back to you straight away there. Now, of course, I can't say that to that person because they don't understand the motor trade. And you know what? They really shouldn't have to. They're just worried about themselves. When we're on the flight and we're delayed, okay, and they tell you all the stories, why? We still sit there and think, well, hold on, why didn't you get more stuff? Why didn't you get it fixed? Okay. The customer doesn't really care. But here's my rant. This is not a mystery shop. This is in June 2024, because I know these podcasts last around forever. I just tried to buy a car on Saturday and it's not a mystery shop. It's a real scenario. And I just want you to listen to this and I normally hate things like this because I'm going to be the person at that barbecue telling you how crap the motor trade is. Okay. The motor trade's not crap. Okay. We're all on the same side here. I just want to make sure that you're not doing the same thing. Let me tell you the scenario. I've got a BMW 530D. Okay. I've had that car, normally changed my car every three years. Okay. I do that because I like a car to be under warranty. And we do high mileage using if I can't get to the gig, use investor, probably not going to pay us. Okay. So I always like a car under warranty. And a 530D is great for my job. I'm on the motorway all the time. Okay. I get a decent fuel consumption out of it. It's still a nice enough car to drive on the weekends. It's a bit of a Redmond deal, but it's not a bit of a slug. Now I'd love to go EV. Okay. My wife definitely needs to go EV. If I answer this and you talk to me all the time, Simon, why aren't you going EV? Why aren't you going to? Sean Kelly, I know you sit there saying, Simon, I told you you need to get into the I5. Okay. But if you're listening to this, EV, I'm one cycle away. EV doesn't work just yet for me. It's close. It's very close because I live in Cheshire. Now people listen to this around the world. Okay. That won't make a lot of sense here, but it's a little bit in the north of the UK. And I travel regularly from Edinburgh down to extra Plymouth. If I'm in London, I can get to London without a problem in the world. The range of these vehicles nowadays. Okay. Listen, most EVs, I could get a car, 350 miles range. Real world, get that down to 300. I could do that. I can get one way, but where I'm getting stuck is charging car when I get to where I'm going. Now Craig Petty recently said, ah, Simon, go and speak to all your clients. I'll let you charge it the dealership. Yeah. I'm sure most of them would. But that's just not right. Because if I do that, my trainers will do that. And actually, I think it's taken the piss out of my client. Okay. I wouldn't take my car in for a service. They can you fill it up with diesel while I'm here today? Even get my car washed. Okay. Only ever if a client says an office, Simon, can I get your car washed while you're here today? Will I get washed? I just, it's just one of my little things. And so I wouldn't charge the car at a client. So then I go charge the car at a hotel. And more hotels get charging points. But where they actually get you is on the room rate. And hell, what I mean by that is if a room's normally, I don't know, 120 pounds a night, once you get electric charging facilities there, that same room rate easily goes to 170. So you're almost paying 40, 50 pounds a night extra before you start putting the juice in the car. And then of course what they charge you when you charge away from home. Oh, listen, don't get me wrong. If I could charge at home all the time, EVs make all the sense in the world. I know some of my clients in Australia and they're saying, no, you're talking about the devil there. But listen, honestly, in the UK, EV vehicles are going further and further ahead. The deals are on EV are sensational. I'd like to, but I think I need to one cycle away when we get more and more charging points there. Okay. I know I'm going to be bombarded after this one and say, no, you need to look at the bike and we can do that for you. You need to look at the I-5. I'm expecting actually a text after this, Sean Kelly saying that, you know, I've got the right car view skin. Okay. But here's the point. I went into a Mercedes dealership. Now, I won't tell you which one. That wouldn't be fair to say. But I went into a Mercedes dealership and I didn't do it the right way. I didn't email first. I didn't phone first. I just called in. Okay. I was going to say three weeks ago, I called into a different Mercedes dealership and I was with my two sons. Okay. I was picking a car up that'd been serviced. I just popped in there. I had my two sons there. I didn't look like a buyer. I was ignored the whole time there and I kind of get that. Okay. But this time it was Saturday. I went in with intent. I went with my car. My car is four years old. Yes. You're right. I like to keep my car every three years. But it's four years old and I've done that because it's got lower mileage on it simply because I was doing all of our training in a studio and my mileage was a lot less than what it normally was. I walked around around a huge Mercedes dealership. I couldn't get anyone to speak to me. Okay. Now, I understand this because this is more of a destination. Okay. I actually said to my wife, well, listen, they're probably not speaking to me because they've got the agency model now. Okay. So with Mercedes, with agency, with retail customers, I've heard rumors that hold on the retail experience that the number of users that they're doing is going down. I know you're from Mercedes Benz UK. You're going to say, no, it's not. It's gone up. I'm not sure what the actual figure there is. But all I'm saying is I can get anyone to speak to me. Now I'm open to cars. I'm having a look at it. I think I want to go. I may be diesel. I believe I can still get a diesel Mercedes. No one speaking to me. That's in my new car department. Now, listen, I've given the benefit the doubt. Okay. I'm there with my wife. It's hub and a young wife. I had one of my sons with me. Okay. This is a family to go out. Now this particular dealership, they didn't see what it turned up in because if they seen what it turned up in, some sort of qualification might have thought, okay, this is someone that wants to look at by a car. I said, listen, you know what, Emma, I haven't done what a real customer does. Real customers email first and they phone first and they make an appointment. Okay. But listen, let's just go down to use cars. Listen, I guess I probably wouldn't have bought a use car, but I just wanted to have a sit in an e-class to see what's it like compared to my current car. I wanted to see hold on. What's the right body size? Maybe I don't need to go e-class this time. Maybe something else. I also want to see this where I'm really going to offend the Mercedes people. Am I old enough to be driving the Mercedes? And that's something that's in my head now. I'm a 50 year old man now. Some of you guys are screaming, they're saying, yes, look at all the AMG lines and all of that sort of stuff. We sell it to younger people all the time. That's probably in my head. But I've thought, let's have a look around the use cars. Some of the use car guys will want to speak to me. I know they will. Okay. But again, I couldn't get anyone to speak to me. Not a single song. I was like, okay, this is not fair because it's just an agency dealership. Maybe that's what's happening there. Maybe you're used. I'm not sure. Maybe it wasn't prejudging. Maybe they thought, nah, he looks too young and trendy to be a Mercedes. That's only a joke, Mercedes people. Okay. The facts are I can get anyone to speak to me at all. Okay. Were they busy guys? You know the story. Okay. No, the use car department, I could see lots of use car sales people there. Yes, I could see a delivery. Yes, I had lots of people walking past me. Yes, I probably should have gone up to a reception and say, excuse me, can I get someone to help me please? Maybe that's the whole approach. They don't want to approach customers because they want to be different and let the customers approach them so they don't feel like they're pressurizing. Let me tell you, I hate it when I walk around John Lewis. No, let's say Curries and I can't get someone to help me. I've got to say, I think there's lots of people in my shoes. I want someone to come and help me to acknowledge me. You know what? Even just a, hi, how are you? That would have been nice. Anyway, guys, I'm going to say, I'm thinking, you know what, let's go back to BMW. So I go back to BMW. I've done my research. I know that I can't get a diesel fire series anymore. They just don't make one. I know I have to go to the 530E. A little bit concerned about 530E because the range on plug-in, I understand, I can do, I don't know, 40, 50 miles. And then on the motorway, I'm dragging around a big heavy battery, a big body with a two litre petrol engine. So I'm just worried about how well that car works. Okay? I'm just worried, what does it drive like? The new five series, got to say, not entirely impressed with the look of the car, but beauties in the eye of the beholder. Okay? But I could live with that. The size of it, I think it's seven series, the old seven series size. So big in our thought, I'm just thinking of Manchester Airport when I park there all the time. It's tight to get that in. But that's one car look at. I can look at just the two litre petrol. Okay? Or I can look at the full electric, okay? And you know my concerns on that one. So I've got a bit concerned about that. So I've done my research beforehand. I've narrowed down that there are a few three series left. Now BMW aren't making them anymore, but I've done some research and I know, and this is through Andrew Clark. Okay? Andrew Clark ran a great BMW dealership in the UK. He has lots of clients, lots of connections still. I know it's just what's in the network, but there's the three-litre diesel car, whichever one that is. Okay? Again, that car there is the M, I think it's a 340D isn't something like that. Oh, sorry. Isn't that so true? I'm in the motorway to all my life. So me and young guys listen to this. I'm really sorry. You're going to hate me saying this, but cars kind of bore me a bit now. Unless it's something special. In fact, now I like things old if I'm brutally honest. Okay? But it's just because I've been in the motor trade a long time. I know I shouldn't say that, but guess what? Sometimes they just do. This is a people business and people never bore me. Not a car business. But anyway, so is that the three series? Oh, there is a four series. Now I know that through research using this funny thing called Google going to BMW UK's website. I don't get a diesel in that four series, but there is a 440i. It's a petrol. It's a bit of a beast of a car from what I understand. And it's between one of those two. So I got three choices a car. I want to look at those cars. Beyond the rear, I think the five series was already out. So I'm thinking, let's have a look at the three series diesel. Okay? Or the four series and go petrol and maybe a 440i. That would be nice. So I go across the road from this Mercedes dealership into BMW. I'm turning up in that four year old BMW. The sales people have seen me turn up and drive in. This has got me different. Okay? They're going to jump all over me. So walk in the showroom. There's a 440i. Actually, one in the right color, though, I liked sitting there in the showroom. Open. I jump in it. I have a look in the back of it. I'm worried about the back seat. Is there a nice height there? I got a 21 year old and an 18 year old reality. They're not in the back of my car often, but occasionally they are. Can they fit? Yeah, that'll work. Quite like the idea it's got a boot and a hatch. That kind of makes a bit more sense. Smaller car. Worry about what it's like on a motorway compared to my car, but it might work. Okay? Then I go and sit in a three series. Weirdly enough, the three series has got a bit more space in it, I think. In the back, definitely anyway. So the two cars might suit. So then I'll go back to the four series, back to the three series. Open it up, sit then. I know you've been here before. Of course, how many people are speaking to me? No one. Guys, it's the same thing. I didn't do what real customers did. I didn't phone first and make an appointment. I didn't email first. Okay? I didn't do the right thing. I promise you, it's painful walking around and around and around. Okay? People are looking at me thinking, who is this guy? Okay. Finally, someone comes up and says, can I help you? And I say, I promise you, this is going to be the same. Yes, please. I've got a 530D M Sport. I know BMW won't make me another diesel and I get that. I get all the reasons why. However, the facts are still need to replace my car because it's out of warranty. And I'm really worried about driving the car out of warranty. So I want something with the warranty. I know that I can't get a four series in that diesel. So it's between a three series diesel. I believe you can still get some of them. That's just what's in the network. And then it's a four series, but I'll have to go petrol. So I'm just trying to get my head around which one to go for. Because me, it wasn't that a mistake. Because think about it. What did I sound like? Kind of probably sound like a company car buy, didn't I? Okay? So some questioning would have very quickly established if I was or not. Okay? So the salesperson, this salesperson must have been you. Okay? Because I said, I understand I can't get the M340D anymore. They won't build anymore. So yes, you can. They're still building them factory build. I went, oh, okay, well, that's good. I can order what I want. Okay? And also the same guy, bless him. He's just made him say, I get that. He's probably new. I said, I can't get a diesel in the 440 grand coupe. So no, no, you can definitely do that. Okay? Maybe I'll go wrong. Brilliant. This is sorted. I'll have a diesel for a series and that's everything I want. Okay? Great. Well, then it turned around. I said, here's the keys to my car. Okay? With the specification. I pretty much just want what I want in mine again. If I'm really honest, okay? My last car was a 530D. My car before that was a 530D. I'm just so boring. Okay? Just give me the same car again, the same specification. I had the key in my hand. I said, listen, would you be able to look at this and tell me exactly the same spec I've gotten this? Can I get similar spec in the new four series in a diesel? What if he said, no, I couldn't do it from the key. I'm sorry. I wouldn't expect you to do it from the key, but the car's just there as I'm pointing to it. Okay? The guy looked at the car. He got on his tippy toes. He said, I can't see the registration number from here. Right. That's okay. It's D-E-69-W-B-M. There you go, guys. If you're in the UK, you can go and value that now. Okay? It went right. He then had his, I love your tell. He got the appraisal on an iPad. He took me over to Enquire Max, okay? Something like that. No, what he did is he got his pen. He wrote it on the palm of his hand. I noticed it was the third registration number he'd written on the palm of his hand that day. Okay? Right. So he went in. Okay. He said, hold on. I've got to go and speak to someone else. I imagine that's a manager. Okay? This manager, I'm guessing now. Okay? Has come out and said, oh no, I can't get a D-E-Z-O four series. Okay. I thought so. That's not a problem. So it's back to a D-Z-O three series or the petrol four series. Okay? At which point this guy said, oh, sorry, I've got to go. I've got my appointment here now. Okay? He walked back in. Someone else come out. Guys, please just make sure this is not happening in your business. This person walked out and said, are you the person with the five series? I said, yeah, I am. 18 and a half. Sorry? Yeah, 18 and a half. Ah, right. I think that's the valuation on my car. 18 and a half. Yep. Yep. Here's a registration number. You've got the M Sport. Okay. You've got the specs on it. You've got the 19 inch alloys. So I, well, actually I've got the 20 inch alloys on it. No, you haven't. You've got the 19's. Okay. Trust me. I know that 20's on it because I've just had to put tires on and they're fucking expensive. I didn't say that out loud. Okay. But we're going to start to have an argument with the customer about what his car is. You know what? If you went and had a look at the car, you may have seen the actual wheels that were on it. You would have actually seen it. I just wanted something with similar spec that was on my car on the new car. Okay. Now 18 and a half. Okay. Here's a funny thing. My son. Okay. Turn around. Out of the mouth of babes. Turn around and say, why did they just give me a price in your car first without showing you the new car? So you know, there's something that you liked. Sean, you've hit an L on the head, buddy. They really should have. But let me tell you exactly what the sales person was doing. That sales person was just thinking, hey, this is going to be a hard work customer. I'm guessing. No phone call, no appointment. Where are they coming from? Okay. Let's just see if I'm wasting my time or not. Let's just go out there and say it's 18 and a half. If the customer kicks off, then they don't have to do all the hard work. Now, no, some of you sitting there thinking, ah, this was 5.30 on a Saturday afternoon. It was a Saturday. It was three o'clock. I have no idea what the time this dealership shot. But I tell you what, there was enough time for them to do the job properly. Sit down. Ask some questions. If they thought I was a time waster, guess what? There were so many simple questions they could have asked to find out if I was or not. Listen, this guy there, I said, okay, well, the price of my car, thank you for that. I've already done some research on my car. For now, don't real customers done that. But I'm concerned, can I get a new one? What can I get it for? So let's go and have a look at the computer. He finds a in stock of three series. That's going to suit what I'm looking for. Okay. There's a four series that's in the showroom. I tell you guys, that one, if he strapped me in it, took me for a drive. I would have said, you know what? I like this. Let's just sort it out. Okay. It worked out. Do I have finance? Yes, I do. Okay. There's a PCP on it. There's a blue note. I've got to do something. Okay. But you know what all he had to do was slow the process down. All he had to do was put him through any process. Now I know you're sitting there thinking that it never happened now, dealership. That had never happened, our dealership at all. This particular dealer group does in a good tell you. I know the group. I know all of the groups. Sorry, I should say this particular group, it punches above its weight. This particular group does very well. Gavin hides. If you listen to this, you probably know this group very, very well. I know, Gavin, you listen to this lots. Guys, I've got to tell you, I think it's still happening far too much because of COVID. You know what? Let's analyze what's happened there. I didn't play by the rules. I didn't send an email first. I didn't phone first. I was clearly prejudged. Any which way you skin that cat, I absolutely was prejudged. But prejudged without asking any questions. Their qualification tool just coming out and saying 18 and a half on my car without me even asking what my car's worth, without me even talking about that, without even looking at the car. That was just to see if they're wasting their time or not. See if the customer kicks off. Guys, do they have a crowd control problem there at the moment? I don't know. This is June, BMW, dealership in June. And I've got to tell you, no doom and gloom here. But I think we are definitely heading to a push market. Peter Smiv will be listening to this. He listens regularly. And the last comes out of my Peter a week ago, two weeks ago. You know what? This is definitely a push market that we are in. Okay. We're coming out of a bull market. Guys, we've got to get back to basics. Now I know this is just one person rent a rating. I know you've listened this down at your local watching your boy play football and you had to listen to the other parent talk about how crap the motor trade is. Okay. And I'm just doing the same to you. And I'm the person that defended the motor trade. And I want to defend what happened. The Mercedes dealership, I can't defend it because that might be their process. They're not allowed to speak to a customer unless a customer speaks to them. If they do, how fucking stupid is that? In my opinion. But you know what Mercedes, you tell me if it's different. Okay. But as a customer, I felt frustrated. Now in the BMW dealership, you know what? Cuz there's an excuse. So listen, they have my phone number. They're calling me on Monday to find out exactly what cars they can get for me and range the demonstration drive on it. Because if we drive the car, oh, by the way, these are not qualifications. Well, because there's no appointment for me to go back. Guess what? He's probably a real customer. Okay. If he doesn't turn up, he's not real. But guess what? If you say you're gonna phone a customer on Monday to range a demonstration drive to tell them what cars they actually have in stock to work out some figures, how much a month it's gonna be. Guess what? Call the customer. That's all you need to do. Now, listen, no manager will ever hear of this. No head of business will ever hear of this. Okay. When the sales, if they had a business, if you can work out which this is and you're the head of business there and you go speak to your sales team and say, listen to this, this happened here. I know and you know they're gonna say, oh, no, that guy wasn't serious. Everybody was this or that because I probably used the excuse as well. But I never ended up on anyone's database. Or if I did, listen, give us a call. My phone number is 0794924050. Guys, here's my rant. That could have happened in my dealership in the past. If you sit down and think it'll never happen in ours, you know what? Let's make sure that it doesn't. I don't for an instant believe those guys are bad people. Okay. Listen, part of qualification is pretty judging. Okay. Listen, I'll be brutally honest with you. When I was selling cars, I know this sounds arrogant, but I don't think I punched above my weight. Okay. I did all right. Okay. And you know what? If a customer turned up in the six month old Taycan and it's a private customer, you know what? I'll be honest with you. I might think this is gonna be hard work. Okay. I'm not just going to turn around and say though, oh, I'm sorry. I don't actually work this. I let me go and get George for you, the new trainee. George won for you. I wouldn't do that. But I still know they've probably got enough field battle. But also the other thing is that customer knows he's got a six month old Taycan. He knows. He's done his research already. If he's in there, he needs to get out there. Guys, don't prejudge. Okay. Then listen, I want to know what your comments are. Okay. Call me. Let me know. I know Sean Kelly, you're going to be on the phone next and saying, come on Skip. We'll show you BMW. Okay. But I think I was definitely the green judge there from start to finish. Do we actually have a crowd control problem? Why is it still happening in June, 2024? If it is happening still in June, 2024, what's it going to be like towards the end of the year? Listen, there's more and more finance deposit contributions, okay, or chassis bonuses, whatever it called in for your franchise now. Okay. That tells me we're in a push market. We know we are. Okay. Guys, prejudging is still happening. So then what I want you to do, when's the last time you've really identified what's happening in your business? Mystery shopping. I don't know if mystery shopping works that well because they're just going to say, oh, I knew it was a mystery shopper. This was not a mystery shop. It was a real scenario. So then what I want you to do, sales measures, listen to this, do good old third party follow up. I want you to speak to the customers that have been in the business that haven't bought. Okay. And I just want you to make this simple call. Okay. Heads of businesses. I want you to do this. And here's the call. Ring ring. Good morning. Good afternoon. Hi, Mr Casey. My name's Simon Bowkett. I'm the head of business here at X, Y, Z dealership. Hey, listen, the reason the call is you're in over the weekend, having a look at the news such and such. I just find to get some frank feedback about the way you looked after. Is that okay? That's the call. That's how it starts. Hey, listen, I understand you're looking at a five series. Can I ask you, is that the only car you're considering? No, I was looking at a Mercedes as well. Okay. Do you remember the name of the salesperson you dealt with? What a great question. I find out what rapport building was happening. Okay. And listen, will you happen with the way you were dealt with by that salesperson? Ask, were you offered a demonstration drive? Okay. Oh, you weren't offered. Would you have wanted a demonstration drive if you are? No, you wouldn't have because you know what the car is anyway. Oh, fine. Okay. And did you have a car? You're looking for part exchange as part of the process. Yeah. Did they have a look at your car as part of evaluating it? Did they give you evaluation? Don't ask, did you like the evaluation? Okay. And what did you think to the evaluation? Okay. Or really, how far away to what you're hoping? Do you think it was? Maybe you could dig in and find out some information there. Okay. Just do some basic survey questions, but then finish off with this. And it's just the last way I promise you this will sell you cars and learn what your process like in your business. I'm talking about sales moves now, heads of businesses. Make this cool. Okay. And listen, last question. I've got on scale of one to 10, 10 being you're very happy with the way you dealt with by Charlie. And that's the car you want to go ahead and you just want to get it secured now. One being, you're not happy at all. Overall, how will you rate your service? Guys, I'll go tell you, it's always seven, eight or nine. Okay. Most of the time, seven, eight or nine. How brilliant. What could we have done differently to make it a perfect 10? I tell you what's going to come out is what the issue was. Not only will you see what your process is like, you'll sell some cars from it. Now, of course, that could never have happened from the BMW dealership because I'm almost certain and never ended up on any database anyway. Unless someone took a photograph of their man's hand and I didn't end up on it and two other people up to other registration numbers. That's a bit silly. Registration numbers could have eaten anything. But I know that I probably didn't end up on any diary system. Guys, that's a bit of a rant today. Sales measures, heads of businesses, that call. Okay. It's third party follow up call. People open up to a third party so much more. Listen, contact SIMCO training will show you exactly how to do it. We'll give the scripting that we do. You don't really need the script. Okay. But listen, we get so much business from that call all the time. It works. But more importantly, it tells you what's your process like. The second thing is, I'm sitting there thinking, well, hold on, does the machine shopping work? Okay. Guys, that's why at SIMCO training, we do SIM checks. Get us to come into your business to do a SIM check. Okay. This is going to sound like a sales pitch and you know, I hate doing that. Okay. But a SIM check, we turn up your business. We say, sell us a car from start to finish. We video it. The difference is they know it's been videoed. They should put their best foot forward. But so often there's still so many gaps, not in the sales person's approach, but what's happening with the process at your dealership. And when you see those gaps there, okay, I got to tell you, you really do identify so many things. Listen, even if we do it, get someone else to do it. That about does it for my rant today. So thanks again for listening and I'll see you next time where we've got some great interviews coming up. I think you really got to like you. We've got lined up from the podcast. We'll see you then. That just leads me to say that all details of this episode and other episodes on the selling in the motor trade can be found on our website symco training.co.uk. Go there to get a copy of our book, Words That Sell Cars. Go there to sign up to a free trial of our sales fitness online sales training program. Easiest way to get hold of me is Simon Bowkett, who linked in. Thank you.
