I love cars. And the thrill of owning a new one. But I hate the process of buying one. In fact, I don’t know many people who enjoy it. It’s a little like your annual physical: You know exactly what is going to happen. None of it is pleasant. And yet it has to be done. You know what I mean:
You walk in to the car dealership prepared to play the game.
You ask for the best price.
You get an unacceptable response.
You ask for a better price.
You receive an apologetic no.
You prepare to walk to the exit.
You get called back. “Let me talk to my manager and see what we can do.”
You wait nervously for the completion of their private charade in a back office.
You eventually head home with a shiny new car… and an overwhelming desire to take a shower.
Bill owns an Infiniti dealership. He is also a really smart sales guy. I walked into his dealership after visiting multiple others with my expectation of the car purchasing experience well below ground level. I had never driven an Infiniti. I knew nothing about the brand. I had, however, fallen in love with a drop-dead-gorgeous hardtop convertible strategically parked out front to ambush passing motorists like me. After two brief visits to the dealership and a short test drive, I was ready to trade in my Audi.
When the Infiniti sales rep shared that Bill, the owner, would be coming to work out the pricing with me, I was confused. “Did I say something to offend you?” No, apparently this was the norm at Bill’s dealership. “Bill prefers to talk pricing directly with our customers. He’ll sit with you at the computer and you’ll work it out together. He wants you to be happy with your new car purchase.”
So Bill sat with me. No games. No pressure. Just a sincere interest in meeting my terms on price and trade-in value. Maybe the month-end had something to do with it. All I knew was that, for the first time, I was enjoying the process of buying my new wheels. And I walked out feeling that I had just got the best deal ever.
When I returned the following week to pick up my new purchase, I was greeted by Bill, the sales rep, and the service manager, who enthusiastically shook my hand and let me know that he was looking forward to keeping my new baby in pristine running order. What’s more, I believed him.
This experience set a whole new standard for the car-buying process for me. I gushed like a fire hose about this fabulous adventure to friends, family, and complete strangers for months. When I asked Bill why he chooses this time-consuming transparent approach to selling cars he responded: “I see and hear how people feel about the car purchasing process. It’s not good. Buying a car should be a fun experience. And the outcome should feel good. I want my dealership to stand apart from others. Eliminating what is most distasteful for the buyer is helping me do that. And it’s generating a steady stream of referrals.”
So what does this have to do with you? Salespeople have an important strategic role—one that gets forgotten in the frenzy of Always Be Closing. You are the eyes and ears of your organization, with your customers and within your market. And you’re the voice of the customer to your company. Your daily presence on the front line provides the opportunity to notice patterns, as Bill does; to listen for what customers value and what they don’t; to hear perceptions about the market, about you, and about your competitors. Bill noticed what car buyers were saying and feeling, and he decided to eliminate the most painful step in the car buying process.
[ctt tweet=”Salespeople have an important strategic role—one that gets forgotten.” coverup=”91ezK”]
Playing the strategic role of observer in your market enables you to uncover client pressure points, redundancies, and service gaps. Unearth valuable data to take back to your team, your marketing department, and your leadership. You can bring game-changing insights that will help you retain your high-growth clients and convert them into advocates with the potential to further grow your sales.
I’m curious to hear your perspective on this subject. Please leave a comment below.
Good selling.
