Successful sales professionals take care to develop long-term relationships with their customers. They understand that the only way to consistently generate orders and increase business is through customer loyalty. This loyalty is built by continuing to monitor and cultivate the customer’s satisfaction. Document the Selling Process. In order to structure a long-term relationship, you need to document the selling process and ensure your [...]
When you meet with a customer for the first time, you should create a comfortable selling situation for both you and the customer. This is called building rapport. It is your ability to relate to the customer and the customer’s ability to relate to you — a two-way interpersonal connection. While a number of factors determine the level of rapport you will have [...]
Sales- The Qualifying Process When selling, I’ve always found it useful to have a process in place to help determine if a prospect is someone I can truly turn into a customer. This is why qualifying is important; it allows you to determine how much time you should invest, up-front, with a prospect. While you will find situations where a prospect doesn’t meet [...]
A few weeks ago, my husband and I were out with our kids at a restaurant chain. The whole experience was wonderful, and, with two five-year olds and a one-year old, to have a positive experience from start to finish is the equivalent of winning the lottery. Specifically, our waitress was fantastic. She was a true professional, knew what we were going to [...]
As you begin to move into the season, it’s a perfect opportunity to spend a little time tuning up your sales process. Here are 3 key items to keep in mind as we move into peak sales season. Greeting The first few minutes of your initial contact with a customer are crucial. Like building a house on a cracked foundation, it’s a lot [...]
With manufacturers jamming more and more dealers into a marketplace, your product lines are no longer a unique advantage. Big Box stores are now picking up lines of equipment that have in the past only been available at select dealerships. To set yourself apart from the business down the road, you can no longer rely on your brands. You have to work to create [...]
An Excerpt from "The 7 Principles of a High Performing Dealership" The more you can repeat an action the better you become at performing that action. As an owner or manager, you do not want there to be variability in your processes. Take McDonalds, for example. When they hire an employee to make fries they are not asking for their interpretation on the [...]
The Most Important Question The No. 1 mistake made by salespeople when they begin the negotiation process is failing to ask this important question: “So what you are saying is if I can do what you ask, then you are in a position today to move forward, is that correct?” If they say “No,” you don’t begin the process because they have not [...]
Years ago, all stores looked about the same, and customers didn’t have much of an opportunity to compare one to the other. In today's world, like it or not, the days of being just "okay" are over. Potential customers immediately make a decision to do business with you based upon the exterior of your dealership. From the very beginning, it is important to make the experience with your dealership [...]
Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to attract new service customers. With the possible exception of first-time buyers, owners of equipment who are not your customers are either using another servicing dealer to take care of their equipment, or in many cases, handling the basic services themselves. In today’s world, with margins consistently dropping on whole goods, and the internet pulling parts sales [...]