A story about using humor
A friend of mine in the car business who was a salesperson was very good at what he does. He was a top salesperson who was good at all the steps to selling. From being good at the basics, following up, prospecting, closing etc. But what made him even better is he had a talent for making people laugh.
Here is what he used to do. Picture a jam packed showroom on a Saturday. My friend would get out of his cubicle wearing these silly black glasses, with the big nose and the moustache and come to the middle of the showroom and start this hilarious speech in front of everyone. He did have a talent for being a great public speaker. But a gimmick like this worked very well for him. So get creative and see what works for you. But the idea is to be humorous and not rude.
You don’t have to be a stand up comedian like my friend to sell a lot of cars. But the point is, if you have a great sense of humor use that during the sales process. If you ever meet superstar salespeople in the car business, you’ll notice they all follow a plan, work smart and have a great sense of humor. These people are also fun to be around and they spend a lot of money, time and effort to get better at what they do. You’ll also notice the average salespeople are the ones who are stubborn because they feel there is no room for improvement. Building rapport is all about making a friend. Before you sell them a vehicle make a friend.
What to avoid when building rapport…
Doesn’t it feel good when you sell a vehicle and have a happy customer because you made a friend? Well then you need to build a lot of rapport. But remember your main objective, and that’s to sell a car. So try not to get emotionally involved with the customer. There is a big difference between getting emotionally involved and building rapport. Avoid believing everything that the customer tells you. If you start to sympathize for the customer then you’ll have a tough time closing the deal.
Take note of this: How would you present a deal to your boss if you are emotionally attached to the customer? All you are doing is sympathizing for the customer. Selling this way impairs your judgment and your ability to properly sell the vehicle.
Rather than sympathizing with your customer, learn to empathize with your customer. Remember most of your customers are buying a very expensive product which ranges in the thousands. So yes, you do have to understand their feelings. If you can understand their feelings, the customer will begin to trust you. So understand them and learn to empathize to build rapport and gain trust. But don’t sympathize, once you do that, that’s when you’ll lose track of the sale.