What Were You Thinking?

       It has often been said that the questions are the answers when it comes to selling anything.  The better you become at asking questions, the more success you’ll enjoy.  The key is asking the right questions.  But, you can’t teach every question for every situation.  Otherwise your sales people will never leave the training room.

     There is one question that I believe fits any situation and it provides valuable information to bring to the desk.  It’s a question that applies to nearly any situation or trap that a customer puts you in.  It can deal with price, payment, trade-in, discount, etc.  Best of all, the answer provides your desk or floor manager a real sense of direction of where to take the sale.  And, this question is a non-threatening, no decision question.  What that means is the customer has a tendency to answer it.  But the real benefit is, they answer it as truthfully as they are capable of.

And the is:

“What were you thinking Mr./Ms. Customer?”

Try this. 

               Customer:  “You’re not giving me enough my trade.”

               Salesperson:  “What were you thinking?”

From the answer, you’ll generate another question and then the desk can plan an attack. As it continues:

               Customer:  “I was thinking more like $10,000.”

The power question comes next.

              Salesperson:  “How did you come up with that number?”

Possible responses:

              Customer:  “I see them advertised for XXXXX on Craigslist, etc.

                   I looked it up on Kelly Blue Book, etc.

                   The guys at Dealership X told me…”

Now, all of those answers are possible and each would require a different tactic from the desk.  But, without the right info on where they came up with the number, management can’t be of much help to the sales person.  But, if you knew from their answer that Dealer X had already given them a number, you know they are looking (and very serious) and can plan accordingly. 

However, if all of their info came from the Internet, you may have some work to do.  And work means asking more questions.  But, let’s stay focused on the other potential objections and how this question fits.

              Customer:  “Your price, payment is too high.”

              Salesperson: “What were you thinking?”

              Customer:  “I want to pay no more than…”

              Salesperson: “How did you come up with that number, payment, etc.?”

See the progression?  The sales team is in total control.  Regardless of how you negotiate deals, this single question provides a great direction for the salesperson as well as the desk.  Encourage your sales people to stick with the customer and gain as much information as possible and continue asking questions to narrow the path to success.

John Fuhrman, is the National Sales Manager for www.AutoExcavations.com, an equity data mining company focusing on providing previous customers a plan for their next purchase. 

www.AutoExcavations.com is the only company of its kind that allows both Franchise and Independent Dealers to tap into their pre-owned customer database and enjoy a 20% increase in deliveries.  Email John at john@autoexcavations.com for more information.