Knowledgeable Customers

Do your customers know more about the cars you sell than your salespeople?

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine was in the market for a new car. He, like the majority of new car buyers, began his shopping experience online. He knew six months ago that his lease was ending and that he was in need of a new car. My friend looked at current models and then began to look at new model releases. He was interested in a car that was coming out about the same time he was going to be returning his lease. The next couple of months he was looking at spy photos, reading reviews, watching YouTube videos and he even went to the auto show to see the car in person.

Knowing that I am also into cars, my friend would forward things to me that he would find every once in a while about the vehicle, like “check out this…” or “did you know that…” I could see that he was really excited about the car.

The time had come when the new models began to arrive at dealerships. My friend called and asked me if I would look at the car with him. The car was everything he thought it would be. We were surprised though at how little the sales rep knew about the car he was selling. It was almost comical, but in the back of my mind I was thinking about how sad it was.

The demo and walk through, in my opinion, is the most important part of the sales cycle. The salesperson didn’t know anything that added value. Some may say that it is best when you have customers who are already sold and excited about the car, but this sales person lost credibility. When my friend had a question he didn’t ask the salesperson anything because he knew that the salesperson would not have the ability to answer.

In the end, my friend went to another dealership and got a salesperson that owned an older model and who was very knowledgeable in the new model. The salesperson even suggested things that he could do to customize the vehicle.

This experience has me thinking:

• Who is responsible for training your sales staff on the vehicles they sell, themselves, management or the manufacturer?

• What are you doing to ensure that your salespeople know the products they sell?

• Do your salespeople get excited for the cars that come to your dealership as much as your customers do?

• Do your salespeople see themselves as sales professional responsible to create as much value for the customer as possible?

Dealerships can spend tons of money on marketing, technology, and inventory but success often ultimately depends on the salespeople.  Training salespeople is crucial. Product knowledge is an important part. Knowing the vehicles they sell is just one part of it, they should also know the competition they are selling against.

What are your thoughts?

About Hunter Swift

Hunter Swift is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role, he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. Hunter specializes in helping dealerships improve sales and follow-up processes through the use of CRM technology. He is known for his ability to connect with people and demonstrate his knowledge to help others solve their problems. Hunter honed his dealership skills as a salesperson prior to joining DealerSocket. He has earned a Business Degree from Pepperdine University. Hunter can be reached at hswift@dealersocket.com and on social media at @HunterSwift.