Why can’t car salespeople take the time to build rapport?
To earn professional wages in the car business, you must stop from meeting the customer and trying to close right away. And the worst part about it is, using price as your closing tool. Closing on price might sell you a few cars but it limites your earning potential to earn as a professional car salesperson.
Grasp the idea that a customer must like you before they are ready to spend thousands of dollars on a vehicle. In order for them to like you, you must build rapport. If you can find common grounds with the customer then you’ll have an easier time to go through the basic steps of sale. Or else, good luck selling a car on price alone.
The customer came into your dealership because they are interested in buying a vehicle. And this might come as a shock to you but trust me when I tell you; they know you’re there to sell them one. So start off by getting rid of that tension. You got to make them feel as if they are here to own a vehicle versus you are there to sell them one. Customers just don’t like to be sold.
If you’ve been selling cars for a bit now then you know people don’t like being sold to. So start by asking tons of open-ended questions to make them feel comfortable and at ease through the entire process. Break the ice as quickly as possible. Ask them questions such as:
How long the have you lived here?
Do you have any kids?
Whatever it is you are talking about to build rapport, just get off the topic of trying to sell them something and make them feel comfortable with you ASAP. Now as you’re building rapport, you should also qualify the right way. Building rapport and qualifying goes hand in hand. If you qualify properly, this will allow you to present the proper vehicle rather than wondering the lot presenting fifty million choices, which would only confuse the customer. But the point I’m trying to make is you must build enough rapport. If you do, it will only increase your chance of closing the sale.
Is there a set amount of time the car salesperson should spend building rapport?
No one can tell you how long it should take. That will vary from customer to customer. Some are easy and some people are tough. But if you have control over the conversation then I would say it’s fairly easy to build rapport.
Selling cars will become very easy for you if you can make your customers have fun. And the way to make them have fun is to find common grounds with them. And that means to build rapport. Be humorous and entertaining and it’ll be a breeze. There are so many more skills I teach that you need to learn to earn professional wages in the car business. But building rapport is a must skill for you automotive sales career.