Following on from our recent episode exploring ‘Meet & Greet’ styles, we look at objection handling skills for ‘I’m just looking’ with walk-in customers.
The trick is to slow these customers down, and open them up. If you are frequently told this, it may be helpful to go back to our Meet & Greet episode, as the work tracks explained there could help avoid it.
We discuss three different ways to navigate this objection: the ‘Columbo’, sign posting and the ‘David Lewis’.
Here are the highlights:
{01:01} I’m just looking
{02:07} What are you looking for?
{02:40} The Columbo
{05:44} Sign Posting
{08:55} The David Lewis
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.
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Time, welcome to the Selling and the Motor Trade podcast in Association of Car Without. The online car-changing destination. Together we share tips and ideas on how to sell more cars, improve your service department, and generally put more profit into your department, dealership or dealer group. I'm your host, Simon Bowkett, or some of you might already know me as Skippy. First thing, I just want to say thank you for taking the time to listen to this podcast. Hi, welcome to another episode of Selling and the Motor Trade. Listen, we looked at a few episodes ago about different meet and greet techniques. And Andy, I hope you really liked those, because that's a special request for you, sir.
But actually, the meet and greet is only one part of it. I think dealing with the objections you get in the meet and greet stages is important. So let's just look at this one objection today. I'm just looking. Okay, you know the snare. Our customers walked into the dealership. You as a salesperson or the managers listening to this, when your salespeople got out there and said, can I help you? And the customer says, no, no, no, I'm just looking. Let's have a look at how to overcome the objection. I'm just looking. Slow the customer down or open them up to get them into your sales process. So first things first, if you're hearing lots of customers saying, I'm just looking, go back and look at your meet and greet.
If you're saying, can I help you? How can I help you? Is someone looking after you? That's probably why you're hearing people saying, I'm just looking, because it's a predictable response. It's also what every other car salesperson says. So if you come straight to this episode, go back and try and find an episode on meet and greet. And we talk about different meet and greets to help avoid I'm just looking. But despite your best efforts, you're still going to get some people saying, no, no, no, I'm just looking. So let's have a look at this. Firstly, you might just say, what are you looking for? But you know, I wouldn't just say that directly. You know why?
In my experience, it doesn't work. Well, what are you looking for? Well, I don't know yet. Well, that car. Well, I've just got here. Or in their mind, the customer might say, hey, listen, what part of I'm just looking? Have you not heard? Okay. So we can ask a customer what you're looking for. But we might ask it in lots of different ways, softer, more palatable ways. Okay. So firstly, you come up to the customer and you'll say, one of the meet and greets we talked about last time. Good morning, good afternoon. What brings you here today? Or have you found what you're looking for? Or other than just having a good look around? What car can get you some information on why you're here today?
If you can smell that just looking customer. But they still say, Oh, no, no, I'm just looking. Number one, you might try a technique called the clumbo. Now, in the industry, it's called the clumbo. Because the people who are not my age, young people, there was a TV detective called Colombo. Okay. And this was, I think the 80s, early 80s, late 80s, something like that. He was famous for investigating a crime. How do you know the dead guy? What time do you arrive at the party? Did you arrive by yourself? Did you leave by yourself? Anything else you can think to help the investigation? Here's my card. Please give me a call. It was famous for walking away and then say, Oh, by the way, how long have you been sleeping with the maid?
He'd catch the suspect off guard and he would then solve the crime. So the customer says, I'm just looking. We could use the same clumbo technique, take half a step back. Say, no problem. Make yourself at home and have a good look around. I personally stick my hands up almost as a surrender. And as I'm turning around, I'll then say, Oh, but by the way, tell me what sort of car you're looking for. I might be able to point in the right direction. Oh, I'm looking for a chair Ola. Great. There's three or four different models of chair Ola. Which one you'd be researching online? Ah, it's the bling bling model. Great. What was about the bling bling model that put it on your shopping list?
Well, what was about the bling bling model that caught your attention? I'm sorry. I had a comment recently as well. Why do you always talk about a chair Ola? Guys, if we're in a hotel and we're talking about the car on a trade in price or a car, so often I'll grab a chair and suddenly it ends up being a chair Ola. Don't start looking for a chair Ola car out there. It doesn't exist. All right. Also, a bling bling model doesn't exist. But anyway, that's the clumbo number one. And the clumbo is just designed to take the pressure off the customer. Because when you say no problem, make yourself at home and have a good look around.
When I physically put my hands up and turn around a touch, do you think the pressure is coming off the customer? It is, isn't it? They might drop their guard as when they've dropped the guard, then you can go into, oh, but tell me what's okay you're looking for. I might be able to point in the right direction. I'm looking at this XYZ. Great. There's three or four different models of XYZ, which one you've been researching alone? I realized the bling bling model. Great. What was about the bling bling model that put it on your shopping list? And then you can say, oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Simon and you are.
Okay. Now that's the clumbo. Or you might try sign posting. So a customer comes in, walk around the cars, they say, oh, no, I'm just looking. Take half a step back again and say, no problem. Make yourself at home and have a good look around. But just let you know our used cars here are just a small section of cars that we got in group stock. So if you can't find what we're looking for here, just ask because it might be that central compound. Now, new cars, we can't fit everything in the Volkswagen range in the showroom. So I'm not here, just ask because it might be out the back. We've got teas and coffees over in the corner and the toilet's just down on the right hand side.
And then the male and female's are just down there. But then I clumbo-oise them. So make yourself at home and have a good look around. Oh, but tell me, what's okay? You're looking for? I might be able to point you in the right direction. Now I personally love the sign posting because it's easy to remember. You're just like a sign. Now don't start off with teas and coffee and where the toilets are. Turn around and say, and just let you know our used cars here are just a small selection of cars that we got in group stock. If you can't find what we're looking for here, just ask because it might be at our central compound.
Now new cars, we can't fit everything in the Honda range in the showroom. So it's not in the showroom here, just ask because it might be out the back. Then talk about teas and coffees and maybe where the toilets are. Oh, and by the way, when I said used cars, I just a small, such-and-cars that we got in group stock. If it's not here, let me know because it might be at our central compound. Why have I not said it's at the other branch, right? Because the customer might just phone, email, or drive to the other branch, and then you're in a funny place called? Stuck, okay? So actually, oh, here's a war story for you.
I got really in trouble with a salesperson, Said, I was in a group around London. A customer's looking at a CRV, and I was up on the hero display. You know those seesaw ramps that they often have in car dealerships around the world? All the salespeople tied up, okay? So I went out to the customer, I said, hi, how are you? What brings you here today? Okay, he said, oh, I'm just looking this say this CRV with Said, I'm taking for a drive on Saturday, but I thought I'd just pop over and have a look at it. What did I have to do? I couldn't wait for the customer to drive the next couple of days on Saturday with Said at this other dealership on the other side of London.
I said, well, we can take the car for a drive now, could you? And of course, then what we had to do, we had to sell the car, okay? And so he got very upset with me, but I would argue whose fault was it? Maybe Said, by telling the customer where the car was, okay? It's always at the central compound, okay? Otherwise, they'll just go there and you'll be in a funny place called Duck, okay? Now that's sign posting, or you might try this one, okay? This comes from a man called David Lewis, okay? And he just calls this your research day. And I heard this at the National Automotive Dealers Association, or information day.
So customer comes in, you say, good morning, good afternoon. Have you found what you're looking for? No, I'm just looking. Great, let's just call this your research day. That way it takes a bit of pressure off both of us. And let me give you all the information. So sometime in the future, you got everything you need to make the right decision. Sometime in the future, you got everything you need to make the right decision. So what car can I start getting you some information on? Now, when I first heard that one, I was like, what? You just send the people away? No, not really, because when could sometime in the future be? It doesn't have to be a week.
It doesn't have to be the next day. Sometime in the future can be three minutes from now, if you want. Hey, let's just call this your information day. That way it takes a bit of pressure off both of us. Let me give you all the information, though. Sometime in the future, you got everything you need to make the right decision. Will that help? Great. So what car can I start getting some information on? That one for me is just trying to take the pressure off people, because when you take the pressure off people and they drop their guard, that's when we'll go a chance to open the customer up. Okay. Now, the one we're going to avoid though is what are you looking for?
Because remember, every other retail environment, if you went into curries or Harvey Norman, little boy, little girl come over and said, can I help you? No, I'm just looking. They turn on the heels and go away and let us look. So if we just directly say what are you looking for? What part of I'm just looking? Have you not heard? Okay. So there's some different ways to deal with the objection. I'm just looking. But remember, if you're here in lots of it, I urge you go back and change your meat and greek. That's where it probably came wrong to start with. And next time for a few episodes down the track, let's have a look at when a customer, right at the beginning says, what's your best price?
Let's all know what's your best price on that car right now. Cash, no trading, what can you do? And we'll talk about that one then. 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 through LinkedIn.
