MEET & GREET STEP ONE

• The first and most important step in selling a new

and used vehicle is the Meet and Greet! 
• Salespeople that never had formal automobile
sales training, and even some of those that have,
don't realize the impact the first step has on the
remainder of the sales process. 
• Overlooking the first step is easy to do, since the
act of greeting prospects seems so basic that it is
considered to be more of a formality than an
important part of the selling process.
• It's true that the step is very basic but the "Basics"
of selling create the foundation that the success
of more specialized sales skills will depend on.
 Goals of the meet and greet

• You have courteously exchanged introductions with your prospects.

• Prospects know that you are there to assist them.
• You have started building rapport with your prospects!
• Prospects feel comfortable asking and answering questions. 

• Remember that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.
Potential customers take a very hard look at you-the person-before they write
out that check. You would probably be exactly the same way if you were going
to make a major purchase. You customers are more likely to part with their
money if you look respectable, responsible, trustworthy, and honest!
 Practice for the Meet and Greet

• Memorize effective responses to common opening lines used by

prospects at your dealership. You know the opening lines that I'm talking
about; "just looking, we're not buying yet, or give us your card and we'll
come get you if we need you." Most people have a neutral tendency to
resist being sold on something. Good automobile sales training makes
you aware that a great deal of the sales that you're going to make will be
to prospects that say they are not buying anything. When you first meet
them, by having a well-rehearsed response that sounds natural, you can
move forward with the sales process instead of losing any momentum by
trying to come up with something on the spot, which often causes
stuttering and mumbling as you try to spit it out.
 Practice for the Meet and Greet
• Maintaining a positive attitude and greet prospects with a warm and friendly personality, No
matter how unfair your boss may have been to you or how rude your last prospects was, you must
learn to shake off negative feelings or they will interfere with your next attempt at making a sale.
The ability to rid yourself of negative thoughts before you meet your next prospect is not always
easy and it is not usually covered in automobile sales training either. Practice being positive until it
becomes your primary attitude! Being courteous and having a positive when greeting your
prospects will always increase your chances of turning around a bad day!
 
• Maintain eye to eye contact and address prospects by name! Learn to look at your prospects in
their eyes instead of at the ground. Looking your prospects in the eyes displays Confidence in
yourself and your product. Make a habit of writing down the names of your prospects after you
get them. One of the first things that I learned in automobile sales training was that people love to
hear the sound of their names! The more often that your prospect hears his or her own name, the
sooner he or she will start to feel comfortable and like a regular part of the dealerships scenery!
Interviewing Prospects
Step Two
 Interviewing Prospects

• After you meet all of the goals of step one, you want to begin gathering
information that will help you decide which vehicle will best suit the
needs of your prospects. Along With finding out what kind of vehicle the
prospects want, you should also try to understand why they want it.
 
• You have two tools to work with during the interview! The first tool is
your ability to ask quality questions. The second tool is your ability to
listen to your prospects answers. This is much different that hearing
your prospects answer because listening may require you to read
between the lines!
 The Goals of Fact-Finding!

• You have narrowed down the vehicle selection to a particular model

by asking your prospects open-ended questions and carefully
Listening to their answers.
 
• You have started gathering other useful information about your
prospects in addition to their automotive needs.
 
• Continue building rapport with your prospects!
Test drive/ Walk-Around Step Three
 Stay in Control of the Automobile Selling Process!
 

• Welcome to the third step of the automobile selling process. You may have
already noticed by the name of the third step that it is a combination of what
are usually two different steps within the process. Both steps are combined into
a single step for a good reason. There will be times in the automobile selling
process when the vehicle presentation (walk-around) will have to be done
before you test-drive the prospects in the vehicle. Other times, you will leave
the lot and do the walk-around at a predetermined place where you leave the
lot and do the walk-around at a predetermined place where you regularly stop
to switch places with the prospects so they can test-drive the vehicle.
• The most important thing to remember is that both a test drive and a quality
walk around have to happen before you move ahead to next step in the
automobile sales process.
 If the prospect...
• Goes with the flow.
• Declines the invitation...
• You proceed to drive the car off the lot
and do your walk-around away from the
dealership when you switch drivers. This
will keep the prospects focused on your
presentation instead of any of the other
cars on your lot. The car that you are
showing will also look that much better
when it is the only car in sight!
• You must perform your walk- around
while on the lot and raise the prospects
level of excitement and desire for
owning the vehicle.
 The Presentation
• Begin the vehicle presentation by pulling the car out and away from any cars
that are right next to it. The car should have enough room around it so the
doors can open without hitting other cars and your prospects can easily walk
around the vehicle with you. Begin the walk-around under the hood, and then
around to and down the driver's side. Once you reach the rear end, you just
continue moving up the passenger side until you finish by asking the prospect
to get in the passenger side while you go around to the driver's seat.  
• Once inside the vehicle, you begin showing the various interior features and
benefits of the vehicle, one of them will be showing how easily the car starts.
While you are both inside the running car, it should be easy to get the
Customer's consent for going on a test drive, He or she will be eager to do So,
if the walk-around serves its purpose of building value and desire!
Getting Prospects Inside the
Dealership
Step four
 Getting Them in the Door.

• During your automobile sales career you should expect to face some level of resistance
from just about every prospect you meet. You prospect's resistance level can increase or
decrease on where you are in the sales process
 
• During your automobile sales career you’ll notice that resistance levels are often higher
than normal when you meet and greet prospects for the very first time. A prospect's level
of resistance can also go up when you ask them to go on a test drive in a vehicle. With
quality automobile sales training and little bit if on-the-job experience, handling
resistance during these two parts of the sales process will become second nature for
many salespeople who work hard at their sales career. The point in the sales process
where salespeople will face some of the highest levels resistance occurs immediately after
the test drive.
 Getting Them in the Door…cont.

• Over the course of your automobile sales career most potential

customers will leave the dealership in the moments immediately
following a test drive. Prospects leave at this time more than at any
other point of the automobile sales process. This is when many
prospects will ask you for a business card and a brochure so that they
may further read up about the vehicle. Sometimes the prospects still
want to check out other makes and models before they can make a
decision. Other prospects may suddenly remember that they have to
be some place and will promise to "be back" late. Every experienced
salesperson has felt the disappointment that often comes from
waiting for the "be back train".
 What not to do....
• There are many sales training classes that teach salespeople to ask a
common question after test-driving a vehicle. 
• If I can work out the numbers to your satisfaction can we make a deal on
the vehicle today?" or something similar to that.
• In my opinion, there are a few reasons that this is a bad question to ask
your prospects during this stage of the sales process. First, it is not an open-
ended question. Second, a salesperson having just a little bit of experience
does not always know what to do when the prospects says "no". Third, the
prospects have probably heard this line or some derivative of it at just
about every dealership that they have done to in the past. If your prospects
were already weary about entering the dealership because of the pressure
that is often associated with it, they will now be even more resistant.
 Basic concepts to Remember…

• You cannot close a sale if you cannot put your

prospects on paper!
• You cannot put your prospects on paper if you cannot
bring them into the dealership!
• To accomplish this you must take baby steps?
 Take baby steps...
• Since you cannot put your prospects on paper until you bring them inside anyway, make
bringing them into the showroom your biggest and first priority. Get it done any way
you can. 
• Here are some simple replies to a few of the things that prospects commonly say after a
test drive. These simple replies will help you bring more prospects into the showroom. 
• Prospect:" Give us your business card and we’ll call you when we are ready to buy.  
• Salesperson: "No problem, I have some right inside at my desk. Follow me."  
• Prospect: "Give us a brochure so we can read more about the car."  
• Salesperson: "No problem I have them inside at my desk. Follow me."  
• Prospect: We are still going to look at other makes and models before we buy a
vehicle."  
• Salesperson: "Great idea, follow me so I can give you some information that will help
you shop a little bit smarter."
The Write up Step Five
 Negotiating Tips
Automobile sales negotiating is not something taught in school. Most
people get their education in automobile sales negotiating from sales
managers and other salespeople while working on the job. The greatest
sales tip that I ever received during my career as a car salesman was on
that my sales manager gave me on my very first day in the business. He
said, "Put everybody on paper." I had no idea what he was talking
about. I asked him what he meant by putting everybody on paper. He
went on to explain that my chances of selling a vehicle would improve
by double every time I put a potential customer on paper; it's the first
step in automobile sales negotiating.
 Negotiating Tips
• Provide your prospects with an easy-going atmosphere. Make sure that your prospects are comfortable
and relaxed. Keep a casual mood by smiling, and offering them a drink just like you would if they were a
guest in your home.
• Get a "Hit figure" from your manager. If your prospects plan to trade in a vehicle, remember to get all of
the necessary documents. Usually this is their keys, registration, and insurance card. Give these
documents and your completed appraisal form to your manager so that you can get a "hit figure".
• Neatly and completely fill out all required paperwork. The documents at your dealership probably don't
have any misprints on them. That means that you are supposed to fill out every section that is on the
paper work. Nothing to too trivial. If you treat any portion of the paperwork as if it is unimportant your
prospects will also see this paperwork as being unimportant.
• Line your deal properly. Never forget to show your prospects how much money it usually costs to
purchase a vehicle. Even if they told you that they wanted a discount earlier, or that they only had so
much money for a down payment. You can never forget to show them in writing how much money the
vehicle should cost to buy. In automobile sales negotiating it is important to show how much money it
should cost for a car so that they can see how hard you are working for them.
 Negotiating Tips Cont.

• Take three strikes and get out. Never write down any of the first two figures that your
prospects tell you they may have had in mind. Writing those figures down can make your
prospects believe they are close to making a deal.
 
• Get a firm commitment. Make sure that your customers are committed to buy and drive the
vehicle home right now, before submitting any offer to your sales manager. You sales
manager may require proof of a commitment with a down payment check, or cash, or
perhaps the prospects initials.
 
• Unlocking the deal. Unlocking the deal simply means making your prospects aware of the
fact that they're offer is lower than what it takes to normally purchase the vehicle, and that
you might not be able to get them the figures you are about to shoot for. The purpose of
this is so prospects won't be surprised when you come back with higher figures.
 Negotiating Tips Cont.

• Always share the good news. Don't be a half empty kind of guy. Instead of pointing out
how much more money you will need compared to the prospects offer, show them how
much less you will need from them compared to what it should take to purchase the
vehicle. Since you couldn't give them the figures they were looking for there's no reason
to keep talking about them. Discuss any numbers with them relating to what it normally
takes to purchase the vehicle. Get as much money as you can from the prospects and
try again with your sales manager. Remember that you are not allowed to let your
prospects leave the dealership without permission from the sales manager.
 
• Shake their hands and congratulate them for their business. Stay with your prospects
and complete all of the paperwork with them until they go into finance. Stay busy
during this time so they do not begin to develop buyer's remorse. Do not leave
customers alone for any length of time.
  
The Delivery Step Six
 A Successful Car Salesman Begins Working After the Customers
Say "Yes"
• To be a truly successful car salesman, you must work just as hard with your Customers after they make a purchase
as you did before you sold them a vehicle. Even though your customers have agreed to the figures, you still have
not sold them a car because it has not rolled over the curb yet. This step is called the delivery? 
• At this point, your customers have agreed to the figures and you have shook hands on it. Now is when your job
really begins.
• After the customer says yes, you probably have some paperwork to do; each store's procedures are different. If
this is true, do it at your desk with the customers present. If you have to get some information from the sold
vehicle, or from the customers trade-in, take them with you do not want to leave the customer alone. It is natural
for people to have buyer's remorse. To be a successful salesperson, you are going to have to be there for them just
in case they start getting cold feet.
• A great way to kill time with the customer is to go over the books that come with the vehicle, take them on a tour
of the dealership and introduce them to the parts and service manager. You can even set their first service
appointment for them.
• When the customer goes into the finance office, take this time to inspect the vehicle to make sure that it is clean
and if the vehicle has been filled up with gas.
• Go over the vehicle with the customer one last time to make sure they know all about the vehicle. This prevents
the customer from having questions about the vehicle later. 
• Don’t forget to follow-up!