Too many salespeople think they’re being helpful by sending valuation app links upfront.
They’re not. They’re handing the deal away.
In this episode, Simon breaks down how lazy reliance on digital tools is losing you sales.
He explains why quoting a part-ex price before building rapport is a dead-end, how to uncover hidden objections using the “1 to 10” condition scale (24:41), and why most customers rate their banged-up car as a 10/10 without blinking.
Highlights include:
- [10:50] Why sending the app link too soon ends the conversation
- [14:22] The psychology behind overvalued part-expectations
- [24:41] The “1 to 10” trick for surfacing hidden damage and selling cosmetic upsells
- [31:15] Turning distant enquiries into committed phone calls (not ghosted leads)
This one is a must-listen for sales leaders.
Want fewer walkaways and more gross?
Fix how your team handles the first contact.
This episode shows you where to start.
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 visitwww.symcotraining.co.uk
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, and welcome to another episode of Selling and the Motor Trade. This is one that's going to give me lots of abuse. I am just waiting for my inbox. And by the way, here's my email address behind me.
This is where to send the abuse to. Okay, because I'm going to say it. I kind of hate these apps that are out there at the moment. I'm crazy. These apps where they tell us all the details that Joe Duffy has developed their own app in Ireland there. Send all the photographs of the car and I'll give you a price on it. Now, I know car, well, okay, our sponsor, they have these apps where people take all the photos of the car to get the price. What I hate them then. Okay, actually I don't have them. I kind of love them. But sometimes I hate how they used in the sales process. So salespeople, I want to talk to you.
Okay, I was in a dealership this week and an inquiry comes through. The customer was a long way away and the customer wanted an idea of what their car is worth. Okay, and straight away, the salesperson said, I know from we have this app, I'm going to email you through. I linked the app. Give me all the photographs of your car there. Once I got all the photographs, then I'll give you the price. And the app gives the customer the price straight away. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Can we just change the way we use that? It's the process and how we're using it. And again, if you're one of these companies that supply these apps, feel free to get involved and come and contact me.
Okay. And talk about how you recommend that you use. I'm sure you're not recommending it the way this was used. Okay. But I sent the salesperson to me a favor in a face to face environment. When have you ever put a deal in front of a customer told him how much their car is worth? And the customer said, well, that's really good. I like that. Okay. How often does that happen? Not that often. Okay. And after we said the salesperson said, Oh, yeah, it does happen. I said, yeah, that's the one you couldn't get him approved on finance. They write and he started laughing. He said, how do you know? Because that's why they buy anything.
They were hard work on finance. Okay. Guys, I still like the idea of it. Oh, and also to be fair, you might be thinking, Holden, this is 2025 song. People got an idea on their car left, right and center. Okay. Yeah, but you got to be careful. When people go online to get an idea of what their car is worth through motorways, through car well, okay, through we buying car, they go to auto trader. You know, when I know when someone looks an auto trader to buy a car, they click on the little button lowest to highest. When they're trying to get an idea of what their car is worth, don't they click on highest to lowest?
Don't they compare to that car and they think their cars are same, not realizing the other cars got passed the mileage on it, double the specification on it. It's spent 2,300 pounds worth of reconditioning. They're going to put a warranty on the car. They've got to get through that MOT check, that NCT check. They've done all this sort of stuff that the customers aren't realizing. They've got to pay VAT on any profit they make. Okay. So again, it's the same thing with this app. Okay. And it was just this salesperson. He sent it through to him. Okay. They get the price. I said, how often does it work? He said, I never really hear from him again.
But the trouble is it's because it's our price and department. They get the car's price from all the time. Really? Do you think so? Let's work out where they get their prices from. Ah, they actually sell lots of cars through options. They actually sell lots of cars through Merlin motor options. Hi Merlin, how are you? Okay. And actually, I don't think the prices are wrong at all because actually the price represents the fair market value in the car because that's what cars are actually making. It's the way it's used. Okay. Guys, I still want to go from a digital inquiry to some sort of phone call. And then I now customer service contact course, we talked lots about how to go from that email inquiry to actually speak to the customer.
Do you sounds people know how to deal with the customer's first contact? Your salespeople know how to engage with that digital inquiry and get them from a digital query to a phone where they can build rapport. When they actually get on the phone, how effective are they in making that appointment? Listen, maybe you guys need the customer's first contact course that we do at some go training. Speak to us about how it might help get your team to the next level. Real quick one, managers listen to this. If you're salespeople or yourself, if you're trying to go from a digital inquiry into an appointment straight away, it's too much of a jump. You go from a digital inquiry and the right to go to phone.
When you're at the phone, then you can build the rapport. What we're great at doing that. And of course, from the phone, then you can go into making the appointment and get the customers physically face to face that. That's what that's a sales activity funnel we need to go through now. So actually, when people say, what's my car worth? I'm still going to try and get an appointment. Mr. Customer, in trouble, if any price without seeing the car, it might be a guess. And the downside of that is I'm going to end up getting too high or I'm going to end up getting too low. If I guess too high, you're going to be upset with me when I can't give it that figure when we see the car.
There's some dealers out there that might give you a price they know they can't do just to get your turn up. I won't play those games with you. But also, if I guess too low, we're never going to see each other. I prefer not to guess at all but show you exactly what we can do when we see your car. So hey, when's a good time to have a look at your car through the week or maybe a weekend? Okay, is that more a Saturday or a Sunday? So I'll try some of those things. But again, if it's a distant sale, okay, trial, close first. And Mr. Mrs. Customer, I'd hate to think you drive all the way down from Edinburgh.
You get here and the car secured. I just wouldn't want to do that to you. So can I ask you, if we can get the figures right based on your description of the car, would you be in a position to leave me a thousand pounds in either credit or debit card just as you're the car? Yes. And here's the bit. And listen, on scale of one to 10, 10 being your car was like the day I left the factory. One being it's ready for the scrap heap. Overall, how do you rate your car? Guys, don't just say on scale of one to 10. You know that every customer goes, it's a 10. It's a 10.
The car's turned up and it's got more hits than the Beatles. Your turn is, oh, what's this? And of course the customer justifies it says, well, it is a 10 out of 10 for a four year old car. Okay. So on scale of one to 10, 10 being the car was like the day I left the factory. One being it's ready for the scrap heap. Overall, how would you rate the condition of the car? It's always seven eight or nine. Hey, Greg, what's stopping it being a perfect 10? Ah, there's a scrape down the side of it. Listen, that scuff is at less than 30 centimeters. Is it less than the thickness of a pound coin?
Just so I know, is it something you claim on your motor vehicle insurance or is it too minor for that? Oh, too minor for that. Okay. Or do you have any of that shine product or that smart cover? Sorry? What's that? That's not a lot of a customer's have. Effectively, scuff a scrape up to 30 centimeters or the thickness of pound coin. They have a pot of 3000 pounds. So it's been over the next three years maintaining the show and condition of the car. You don't have anything like that. Okay. Might be something you'd consider next time. So with that, I've done two things there. Number one, I might have a hook for your cosmetic cover if you're selling in your particular dealership.
But then also I'm getting the customers to think about what damage might be on the car there. Okay. So on a scale of one to 10, 10 being the cars like the doubt left the factory, one being that's ready for the scrappy. What's the condition of the car? 789. And what's stopping it being a perfect 10? There's an alloy wheel that was used as a parking sensor. Okay. Do you have that alloy cover? Okay. There's a stain in the back seat. Have you got your paint and fabric protection certificate? So it's the hook for the value added products. That's something these apps don't tend to do. But then of course, I'm going to use that because I love them.
They are really, really good. Kind of love and hate them. Okay. Then I'm going to turn around and say, Alice, my boss might be conservative if they value the car without actually seeing it. So I'm going to send you through a link to the Symco app. And what this is going to do is it's going to give you whatever system you're actually using. Okay. Take a photograph of the car. You walk around the car, you've got the see it now app that does it. You've got the whatever the one it is. A crazy app there. Once we've got all that information, my boss will actually see what it is. So again, the title of this one might have been a bit click bait, he's saying, I hate them.
Okay. If you're running one of those apps out there, I don't really hate them. I do love them. Okay. They make us look so much more professional. It's just how they used the salespeople. Don't just email it to people hoping the price comes through and they go, I love that price there. Try and get to the phone call first. Use the scale of one to 10. Get the customers thinking about all that damage at what's stopping it being a perfect 10. Because that's something that customer doesn't see the tear in the seat anymore. Maybe sitting on it for the last 4000 miles. They don't see the chip in the windscreen anymore because I mean looking around at the last 8000 kilometers, damage happens to the car slowly over time.
Have you ever bought a new pair of shoes? A great shoe salesperson would put your old shoes beside the new shoes because we don't realize how beat up his shoes are until you see him beside the new one. Okay. Have you ever repainted a wall in your house? You don't realize how beat up it is until you start repainting it because the damage happens slowly over time. So listen, with those apps, I love, love, love them. Kind of hate how the news broke the one to 10 and let me know how it gets on. I'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 symco training dot co dot 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 to LinkedIn. Thank you.
