Today we talk about swapping some bad words for good words. However, remember it’s not just what you say, but how you say it.
Here are the highlights:
{02:23} Can’t
{04:12} Payment
{06:10} Discount
{07:29} Trader
{08:32} Think
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, and welcome to another episode of Selling in the Motor Trade. And listen, previous weeks we've been talking about that test drives don't work, but demonstration drives do. And it got me to thinking, that's just a plan words, okay? And of course we wrote the book Words that Sell Cards. So I want to talk about some good words and maybe some bad words other than test drives and demonstrations. We've done that one to death, but there's lots of similar little things like that. Now we've got to say this start with though. It's not what you say, it's how you say it is so, so important. Okay? You think about it on a training course so often we'll turn around and say, oh fuck off. You can say that to your family, your friends and they'll laugh at you. But I was like, no, fuck off. That means a completely different thing. See, it's not the word there. It was the tone of voice. If you're watching this on video, my eyes changing, the look on my face and everything. It's not so much the word, it's how it is said. If I turn around and say, I love you. There's no one issue with that at all. I've turned up to some poor person on a training course and say, I'm done. I love you. I'm going to end up in a tribunal. I get my wife's going to go and kick my ass. It's not what you say, it's how you say it is all important. Now, having said that, we're actually going to talk about some of the words as well. Okay? So the first one is avoid the word test drive. When you're speaking to customers, managers talking to yourselves, people, let's demonstrate the right feature to the right customer at the right time. Let's have a look at some of these other words that you might want to tweak or improve or change. And that first one, can't and buy. You tell anyone in the world they can't do something. What's natural human reaction? Tell me, I can't. I'll show you. So if you tell a customer, we can't give you 14 and a half thousand for your car. You've set the customer a challenge. Also, if you say, listen, what we can buy at that? So what? Buy implies showing out money. Never forget, people like to own things, but they're not sure if they want to buy things. Give me an example. I wouldn't love to own a serious jet. I would actually, okay, I can't fly, but I'll learn, right? I'd love to own one because I travel around Europe all the time and make my life so much easier. I really would like to own one. I'm not too sure I'd like to buy one because that implies showing out $4.3 million out of my bank account. But you don't. Do people like to own things not buy things? So what are we swapping with? My two favorite words in negotiation. That's just not feasible. How flexible could you be? Let's have a listen, please. Customers says, 14 and a half grand in my car. Okay. Well, I want 14 and a half grand in my car. That's what I want. We can't give you 14 and a half. Okay. What would you buy that? Or we can't get to that balance of change. What would you buy that? Okay. I'd love to know if you're a grand, say, hey, Mr. Customer, that 40,000, that's just not feasible. How flexible could you be? That balance of change of 28,000, that's just not feasible. How flexible can you be? Okay. Now, here's where some of you might fuck it up a bit. I hear some sales people say, listen, that's just not feasible and you've been flexible at all. Of course, what's the answer there? No. Listen, that's just not feasible. How flexible could you be? You might want to try that one. Okay. Or next word. Payment. Yep. I'm going to put that down as a bad word. Your payments work out that 638 a month. Okay. Do we want another payment in our life? I don't know about you, but I have enough payments coming out every month. We all do. Okay. So if you go, the payment works out at 638 a month. Just swap the word payment for nothing. Hey, listen, that works out at 638 a month. Okay. So just don't use the word payment. Oh, next one. I stole this from Rod Petha. Okay. I'll just get you to sign here, here, and here. The word sign. How many times have we been told? Don't sign something. Don't sign on the bottom line. Never ever sign something. Okay. He said, swap the word to okay. Listen, what I'll do is I'll just get you to okay it here, here, and here. It means the same thing, but it's a customer's subconscious mind. They're not going to go into, don't sign anything until I'm entirely happy. I'll just get you okay here, here, here. Oh, here's another idea for you. Okay. This is not so much a word, but it's a symbol. And that is a big cross. I used to turn right say, can I just get you to sign it here, here, and here, while putting big crosses where I wanted people to sign. That's double bad. I've got the word sign there. And the first time I see lots of crosses in my life was on my school tests. Okay. Yeah. Crosses mean bad. Why don't you just say okay it here, here, here, and put a tick or a check mark. Okay. Whatever country you come from. A little tick. Okay. Is good positive. It's green. I get some people say, listen, when we offer a deal song, I use a green market pen as well, because that means positive green go ahead. Cool. Okay. Try it. See if it works for you. Okay. Another one here. Discount. Listen, the price of cars, 68,000, but we'll give you a discount of X amount. Discount might devalue your brand. Okay. Let's just swap the word discount to saving. Okay. Now you might think, well, hold on, people want to discount. Yeah, they do. Let's not devalue, I should say, sorry, what your product or your service is. Okay, let's just turn around and say, listen, we'll give you a saving on that of X amount. Cool. There's a saving on that of two and a half thousand, whatever it is on that service, that product you're selling. Now listen to this, you're probably selling cars. Okay. And you give them to an off-brand discount. We need a proper chat. We need to be holding onto that. But look at some of our negotiation stuff there. Hey, cheap. Listen, this is really, really cheap. Listen, we get into your car and it's going to be so cheap to get into a new car at the moment. That's what that word to, post with that. Mr. and Mrs. Custom, if you've got the slightest interest in changing your car over the next 12 months, it's never going to be as cost effective as it is right now. Okay. Cost effective is cheap, but cheap might cheapen with a car. Next one, this is motors trade specific. And that is trade up. This is when you're going to find a few traders to get the best price of your car. Trade implies cheap. If I said yet, listen, I could get you, I don't know, some carpet at trade price. Does that imply cheap? Of course it does. Do people want to cheap price on their car? If you say we're going to find a few traders to get the best price of your car, what you actually say to the customer's subconscious mind is we're going to find a few traders and the cheap price for your car is whatever it is, 13,500. Don't use the word cheaper. Swap the word around to what a trader actually is. A trader is an independent buyer. That's someone that just hasn't got the old heads, we've got here in the franchise dealership. As my boss is going to contact a few independent buyers, you see we work within a market, we don't create the market. Okay? Think. Yep, I'm going to put think in the bad category for a couple of reasons. Number one, okay? I see or hear so many times a brand new salesperson. Sometimes experience salespeople as well. Put a deal in front of people on the iPad on the computer screen if they've got the deal stacker, a four square they might be using. They'll get to the end of the presentation and say that works out an X amount over 36 months or Y amount over the 38. So what do you think? What's the last word we just left in the customer's head? And the last word is think. Okay? What do we tell customers subconscious mind to do? I think I need to think about it. Guys, that hit me like a ton of rich when I first heard that because the first eight years of my selling career, I used to say to every single customer, it's what do you think? What do you feel? How's that sound? But guess what I was actually telling them to do? I was actually telling them to go and think about it. Or what about this one? Right at the end. Okay? Customers want to go home? Well, that's before we definitely need to think about it. Too often I hear experienced salespeople say, so what do you need to think about? Okay? That's where I find customers pick their heels in. I say, well, it's a big decision. It shouldn't be taken lightly. Yes, we want to know what the customer wants to think about. Yes, we want to uncover the objection. So instead of just saying, so what do you want to think about? Let's just turn around and say, I understand that. Buy in a car is a big decision and shouldn't be taken lightly. But listen, I hate to think you're leaving. You get to the traffic lines at the cross the end of the road there. You turn around to one another and say, you know what? If only they've done such and such, we would have gone ahead with that. If only you've done XYZ, we would have gone ahead with that. So you don't have to have that conversation. Why are you here? What would that such and such be? In fact, I've got to tell you, you're not one of the worst things I think you could ever say to a customer. Actually, that's not true. One of the worst things you could ever say to a customer is, when's the baby due and they're not preggo? That's pretty bad, okay? But other than that, one of the worst things that we hear all the time, guys, we harp on this point all the time because I still hear it in 2020 for so much. I hear managers go out and say to their sales people, tell the customer this, and Mr. Customer, is there anything I can do to get you to buy the car while you're here today? Right, then, if you've been guilty to saying that, I know why I was. Is there anything I can do to get you to buy the car while you're here today? If you don't close that customer, you're almost certain with guarantees of shocker. Let me tell you why. Three issues I have with it. Number one, is there anything I can do to get you to buy the car while you're here today? We use the word buy, which implies, shoving that money, okay? Number one, you use the word buy. Number two, desperation comes out, okay? And I'm at the age of my 50-year-old man now, back in my single days. If any of you, Coli, I know you weren't, but if you seem that person, if I was desperate in that nightclub situation, it never worked. When you went out, okay, on the night out to try and find love, okay? If you were desperate, it's ugly. People can smell desperation in a road to a relationship and selling cars just as easy. Is there anything I can do to get you to buy the car while you're here today? That desperation comes out. And people give you a, silly figure. Give me four grams of my car, okay? And it's only worth a green. I'll buy it. Yeah, I'd make the balance to change. 38,000 I'll buy it and you're at 45, okay? Yeah, make the payments 400 a month and you're at 600 a month. And we as salespeople think, they're time-wasters. Guess what? When you go straight into, is there anything I can do to get you to buy the car while you're here today? You psychologically told the customer, there's more money up your sleeve. All the trust and rapport that you built up in 1000, you've said, hey, listen, I'm a scumbag salesperson. You best go and check my price with someone else before you buy. Let's not say, is there anything I can do to get you to buy the car while you're here today. You might turn around and say similar things but in a different way. Try and stand that. Buy in a car is a big decision that shouldn't be taken lightly. But you know what? No matter how long you think about it, it always comes back to three questions. Is that the car you'd really like to be driving thanks to us for years? Are we the people you feel comfortable doing business with? And those figures fit in the budget you have in the G. Is it really? So can I say, is that the car you'd really like to be driving thanks to us for years? Guys, that's going to be a yes because you've trialed closed properly. Are we the people you feel comfortable doing business with? Who's going to say no to that? No one. Well, listen, that just leaves the numbers. Can I ask you, which number here are you not 100% sure about it? Is it the price of that car? The price for your trade in that balance or one of these monthly figures you're not 100% sure about. Okay. Now listen, there's lots of different ways to overcome the objection. I want to think about it, but try not just to say, what do you want to think about? Or is there anything I can do to get you to buy the car while you're here today? You'll see. And what I said, I said the same thing. I'll try to get to the same result, but just not using those words that actually people close down on. They go back into their shell. Oh, there's another one I've just thought about then. Okay. I didn't say which figure don't you like because if you don't like it, it sounds like a deal breaker. Okay. Hey, is there something about that movie you don't like? I don't like this. I don't like that. I don't like this. Why sound like you hated the movie? If you say, listen, is there anything about movie you weren't 100% sure about? Well, I wasn't sure about the length of it. I wasn't sure about this and that. It might mean it's just slightly wrong. That's why I use the same thing. And I ask you, okay, is there anything about that car you're not 100% sure about? It's great to flush out. Don't say anything you don't like. Guys, this is just a flavor. Okay. Of course, we've got the words that sell cars books and there's a whole lot of word tracks in there as well. But listen, if you want a quick e-box on it, just send us an email to office at Simcoe Training, direct message me if you want. Give us your email address. Okay. And we'll send you an e-book on just some word tracks there that you send out to your salespeople. Okay. And listen, again, thank you so much for everyone's subscribing. That's going up all the time there. I really do appreciate that. Because it helps get this information out to as many people as we can. And we'll see you next time. 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 linked in. Thank you.
