This episode is as relevant to your sales team and it is to your service department.
We focus on not prejudging customers, all based round another popular story about Stanford University and how it came to fruition.
Whether we like it or not we all make assumptions about people, their finances and their buying habits. This is a trap that can cost you sales of vehicles, upsales in service and some instances the customer entirely.
Definitely a topic to remind yourself and staff about.
Here are the highlights:
{01:39} Get rid of them
{02:50} Do you have any idea what you are saying
{03:35} Don’t tell lies to your customers
{05:00} Don’t prejudge
{05:38} We prejudge in service too
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 and 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 by saying thank you for taking the time to listen to this podcast. Welcome to another episode of Selling and the Motor Trade. Again, here's another one you might want to use in your sales meetings with castiles people or service parts people, something like that. Quick short one again for you. I'll tell you, I'll be bombarded with this. This one goes out for a thank you to Andrew, who actually phoned me and said, ah, do you remember this story? The story goes that a couple go to see the Dean of Harvard University from out of town. Now these people spoke very common. They dressed really common. They didn't have an appointment. They spoke to the reception and said, oh, we haven't got an appointment, but could we see the Dean of Harvard University? The legend has it. She looked down over glasses and said, he's terribly busy. What's it regarding? Well, it's a personal matter. We're from out of town. We know he's busy, but if he could spend five minutes for us, we'd really appreciate it. She goes in to see the Dean. He said, what's it regarding? They won't tell me. So I think I haven't got time to get rid of him. All day she's trying to get rid of him, but they won't leave. Exasperated, she goes into the Dean about, I don't know, three o'clock in the afternoon, something like that. Says, would you just come and spend five minutes with these people? I can't get rid of him. She said, yeah, sure. Great. I'll bring him in. No, they might get comfortable. I'll speak to him out there. The Dean goes to speak to these people in the reception area or the room of Harvard University. And they said, thank you so much for seeing us. We know you're really busy. But the reason we want to see you is that some come to Harvard University and it was the happiest days of his life. And unfortunately, last year, he passed away. And what we want to do is erect some sort of memorial for him in the grounds of Harvard University. Now, the Dean looked at these people and said, I can sympathize. You've lost your son. That's terrible, but we can't put up a statue for every dead student that's come here. The face will look like a symmetry. To which point the Dean said, oh, no, no, no, sorry, the husband said, no, we didn't want to donate a statue. We want to donate a building, a building. Do you have any compartments? You have any comprehension, what you're really saying? I mean, we have $16 million tied up here in building assets alone here in the grounds of Harvard University. With that, the husband turned the wife and said, well, dear, if that's all it starts for university, why don't we start our own? And with that, Ms. Mrs. Leland Stanford went home and started Stanford University, an honor of Leland Stanford, Jr., and a dean to pre-judged him. Again, another great story and probably not that true. If you look at the internet, you know what, guys, here's a lesson. There's great stories out there. Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story, but don't tell porky pies to your customers. There's this thing called Google out there now. And I've got to tell you, I believe that story for a long time. I heard it at the National Automotive Feelers Association. I thought, great story. I got to tell plenty of people about that until you go and Google it. But actually, the real story, I think, is just as good. You see, Mr. Mrs. Leland Stanford did go home and start Stanford University of honor of Leland Stanford, Jr., their son, who actually died at 15. Not an accident. He never went to Harvard University. He was traveling in, I believe this was Italy. And that was the only child. Leland Stanford was a railway magnate. He had lots of money. And apparently he said to his wife, well, we've lost the only child. All the children of California can be our children now. And he donated something like the equivalent of $5 million in today's money. I think it's like $150 million. And they started Stanford University. Still an honor of Leland Stanford, Jr. The poor Harvard Dean, who got criticized for pre-judging these poor people, you're off the hook. But listen, guys, you're not off the hook for pre-judging your customers. If you're relatively new to the motor trade, speak to your colleagues in that meeting right now and they'll tell you story after story of someone turns up that looks like they didn't have any money and they've got carrier bags full of cash. I remember one in London, this guy turned up to a Peugeot dealership and he wanted to buy a car for his assistance and put it on a black MX card. He was some music producer that had so much money there. And he was ignored by so many people. But pre-judging is not just assuming these people can't buy the car. If you have a deal with the high end, we work with a Porsche dealership. And you know what? You can't tell who the people are. But not just pre-judging that way. I think we pre-judge in the service department. If people are going to put their tires on that car, we're three millimeters ago until they're illegal and they spent so much else on it. I think we pre-judge in the sales department thinking, you know what? They didn't look after that last car. They're not going to want life shine or super guard or the paint and fabric protection this time. We pre-judge them. We pre-judge it. Hold on. Bob's always paid cash for his car because he just turns up with a jack. OK? And we pre-judge thinking he's not going to be interested in that personal contract, purchase or plan or PCH. So we pre-judge on so many different points. OK? Again, Lil and Stanford, Stanford University. Great story. It might help you remember. Don't be pre-judging your customers. Quick short one again for you this time. I'll see you again. That just leaves 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 simcotraining.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, food link there. Thank you.
