It's understandable that customers often need our help to find closure on a specific vehicle. The most common and vague objection is agreeably "I want to think about it."

These are the five reasons why we believe the customer says that.

1. Uncomfortable with price issues

2. Uncomfortable with you or the other staff

3. Not…

Knowing all the facts about a buyer makes a desk manager's job much more effective. A more successful outcome can be engineered from discovering the customer's motivations, desires, and if there is much competition for a particular deal. Having your sales team implement the Customer Assistance Sheet in a comfortable and consistent way every time they speak with a…

Last year it was reported that the automotive industry would experience a shortage of 25,000 technicians in the coming months. This was based on a recent survey that showed the demand for auto mechanics is expected to increase by 9% within five years.

This shortage affects vehicle service operations across the board from boats and RVs to buses. Often dealers…

Make sure your salespeople stay on your customer’s radar through a scheduled follow-up plan. Don’t leave your monthly earnings up to chance by hoping for the best. Evaluate your current follow up process. Here is a sample schedule of what we’ve seen work well:

10 “Touches” Per Year

• Set up calendar…

Get potential customers to be less combative and more receptive to their trade-in value with a planned trade walk prior to serving them the proposal.

It’s said that around 65% of potential automobile customers have a trade-in to discuss, and most all of them have a higher price in mind that they want to get for that trade-in.

As we get into the…

While communicating through email is extremely commonplace, we want to highlight why the traditional phone call is still of immense value. The personal touch of a voice call shows customers that you care and connects them on a more personal level. Taking the time to make calls to your customers shows them that you place them before your lengthy to-do…

Prior to delivering the proposal, get your salespeople, especially your newer ones, to role play the figures with you as if you’re a customer. Everyone can benefit from having a rehearsal. With this strategy you can develop trust in your sales team through this verification process. You’ll be impressed with how this strategy can improve your closing ratios with just…

With email and texting being the dominant forms of communication these days, we must remember that a good old fashioned phone conversation can be much more effective, helpful and personal.

Some on your staff may suffer from being a bit phone-shy, but in an industry dependent on following up on sold and non-sold customers, preparation is…

Sometimes it may feel like an uphill battle to even the strongest of salespeople when customers bestow their unrealistic expectations, desires, and constant objections during the vehicle sales process. Once it's time to make the math work and a proposal is issued from the desk manager, often a salesperson's energy and enthusiasm is zapped.

It's at this…

With women buying over 50% of the cars sold in America and influencing 85% of vehicle purchases, auto sales strategies should include certain factors that may contribute to why women choose to purchase from a particular…

A 78 year old famous baseball couch filled the auditorium in 1996 at Chris Sperry’s first of many American Baseball Coaches Association conventions. What John Scolinos spoke about was more than baseball. For his whole speech Coach Scolinos wore a strung up home plate around his neck and after his lengthy introduction, dived into the meat of his speech. As he pointed…

Today’s customers are expecting quick and efficient service when they need it. That’s why it’s a bit of an obstacle to overcome the common phone request from customers looking for a trade value on their car. We’ve all heard that it’s ideal to get the customer’s into your dealership in person for such appraisals because a more controlled environment can be very…

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Newcomers to the sales team may often be steered off course by negative salespeople who perhaps are jaded from their many unsuccessful attempts in the field or…

Understanding the advantages of consumer leasing for your dealerships, sales team, and your customers if crucial for a successful and profitable increase in gross sales. While leasing is not for every customer, knowing when to confidently and professionally present consumer leasing as an option to customers will certainly maximize your selling potential.…

Whatever you may call your Grandmother: Granny, Grandma, Old Biddie, or whatever, Granny is a lovable soul who deserves your best, and relies on you to give her your best advice and care. This is the basis for what we call the Granny Rules: two non-negotiable, set-in-stone mandates for success in your service department.

If you adhere to these two simple…

We got a chance to know Rex Gambrel recently and his insights were so impactful and profound that we knew they were blog worthy. Here’s a snippet of them and we hope you will click on the sourced article to get the full 25 insights because they will undoubtedly help you in your sales process if you can sear them into your brain as a go-to template for such…

As negotiations are an expected part of the vehicle buying process, there are three strategies we advocate doing often and consistently to increase your sales gross and reduce many of deal-cutting concessions.

Depending on how you respond to a customer will determine if you get the deal and how comfortable the customer feels about their experience.

By…

January 1, 2017 — The Mar-Kee Group announced that 10-time National Automotive Dealers Association speaker and President of the Mar-Kee Group, David Martin, will present a sales training workshop, “Marketing Opens the Door: Closing Seals the Deal” at the 2017 NADA Conference & Expo. 

"Yesterday's closing techniques will no longer work with the tech savvy buyers,…

Imagine your salespeople starting each day with the most important sales training program available? With The Mar-Kee Group’s new, revolutionary 90 Day Boot Camp, training just got a lot easier for managers…

Role-playing with your sales team will give them the confidence and inspiration to know what to say when handling objections from potential customers. Just like in sports or the fine arts, honing your craft involves practice. Through role-playing, your sales team will master professional and effective responses to the most common objections.

In …