Back to Basics

In a sales meeting the other day, the General Manager mentioned that “in good times people develop bad habits and in bad times people develop good habits.” Succinctly said, the key to success in today’s environment is nurturing good habits by going back to basics. I am fully aware that this is what every success coach is preaching right now. You cannot pick up a single article in any business magazine without getting bombarded with advice on how to get back to basics, or develop winning habits, or stay positive. The reason these messages are out there is because they are true.

If you don’t know already, these are some good habits to go back to.

Focus on Customer Service. Every customer is much more important now than they were a year ago. Selling was easy over the past few years. In 2006 thru 2008 customers were employed and flush with cash. Banks were giving money to anyone who was breathing and negative equity was not even a hiccup on the way to purchasing a new car. Now customers have to be cultivated and a salesman cannot let a customer walk without pulling out all of the stops.

Spend time with every customer and answer all of their questions. Listen – don’t talk. Talk after you are done listening and when the customer is done speaking. Be professional. Know your product better than anyone else that sells your product and know your competitor’s product better than they do. If you don’t, you can’t answer the customer’s comparison questions and objections.

Demonstrate the product. Train yourself to do the same demonstration every time. When sales are slow, do online training or train with other sales staff. Imagine if you were buying a car. What are the items you would like to see demonstrated? Now turn that around. What items would your spouse like to see demonstrated? What about your kids? Imagine all of that and then demonstrate them all.

Prospect. People are still buying and it is the sales staff’s job to find those people that want to buy. Call on cars for sale by owner on the side of the road or call on car ads out of the newspaper. If just one is tired of trying to sell their car by owner maybe you have a deal. Hand out your business card to everyone you meet. Wear your uniform and name tag everywhere. Customers will ask you about vehicles while waiting in line at the movies. Give them a card and set up an appointment right there. Tell everyone what you do for a living and ask if they know anyone looking for a car.

Maintain an healthy lifestyle. This means both physically and mentally. Physically, you should exercise a few times a week. Exercise is as simple as taking the stairs or walking to lunch down the block instead of driving. Mentally stay sharp by doing product training or reading. Every morning should start with reading the news on line or in a paper. Get away from negative people and surround yourself with positive people.

Advertise yourself and your business. There may not be a lot of money to advertise but there are many free ways to get the word out about what you do. Send e-mails and ask that they be forwarded. Call old friends. Connect on Facebook. Write a blog. Whatever you decide you have to get the word out about what you do every day.

Measure your results. How will you know where you are going if you do not know where you have been. How many people did you meet today? How many prospect calls did you make? Did you miss a sale? Why? If you measure all of these things and more your skills will improve as you become more proficient in the way you approach your job. Remember to hone your good habits.

I can guarantee you that others in your business are sitting at their desks all day every day saying “this sucks. There are no customers. I can’t make a living doing this.” How hard will it be for you to compete against those people if you are doing all of the things mentioned above? Your day will fly by, customers will flock to you and you will sell more cars.