A must read automotive sales training article on building rapport
May 24, 2008
Why won’t car salespeople build rapport?
Too often, I see car salespeople trying to go from just meeting the customer to closing right away. And every chance they get, they are trying to close the sale on price. Sure, you might sell a few vehicles and make some money. But it’s not even close to what you should or can earn in the car business.
Since most customers buy the vehicle because they liked the car salesperson, why not get them to like you? Now don’t brag about yourself to try to get them to like you. Instead build rapport with them. If you start to build rapport with them, you’ll notice it will slow down the sales process and you can go through the basic steps much more smoothly.
Look it’s not a big secret that the customer came into your dealership interested in purchasing a vehicle. And this shouldn’t be a surprise to you either that you’re there to sell them one. So slow things down and ease that tension away from the customer by building rapport. People hate being sold to. So make them feel as if they are here to own a vehicle rather then you are there to sell them one.
Since almost all customers don’t like to be sold, it’s your job to get that nervousness out of the air and ease that tension. Start asking them open-ended questions and allow them to talk. Break the ice and start asking them questions about themselves such as:
What do you do for fun?
Do you go on any long vacations?
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 time frame as to how long is should take to build 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.
If one of your strong points is that you’re very humorous, use that to your advantage. Just don’t be rude. Customers are much easier to close when they are having fun, laughing and having a great time. Mastering these selling skills is a must. There are tons of others I teach. But building rapport is a must to succeed in the car business as a salesperson.
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