One mindset that helps me foster a sales mindset that is undeniably likable is EXTRA ENTHUSIASM. I like to play a game in my head when talking to customers, which goes like this. My secret goal when working with the customer is to make them like me so much that if I invited them to my New Years party, they would want to come. The people you know that host successful parties have certain traits that make them extra likable.
I ask myself: How can I be like that person?
So I turn it on.
Things I need in order to enable this superpower? I need 8 hours of sleep, exercise, and a concentration on shared goals.
Sales Mindset: 8 Hours of Sleep
Ask yourself this: What do you accomplish of value to your life after 9 PM?
I would guess just about nothing.
Now, ask yourself this: What do you accomplish of value to your life before 7 AM (when you wake up early)?
I’d guess quite a bit.
When I stay up late, and the clock ticks past 10 PM, I’m most likely doing one of these three things:
TV
Video games
Social Media
When I get up early, and the clock hasn’t hit 7 AM yet, I’m probably doing one of these four things:
Working Out
Meditation
Journaling
Making Family Breakfast
Working on my Business
Pretty drastic difference right?
So why do I stay up late? This comes down to my discipline, which weakens as I get tired. By 10 PM at night, I’m a shell of myself. I want sugar and entertainment. I want to be a vegetable.
The chance that I will be able to get myself to go to bed once I’ve “broken the seal” and started being ultra-lazy is especially low.
The only thing that can save me is a proper routine. Most people set an alarm to get out of bed. I set an alarm to go to bed.
Sales Mindset: Daily Exercise
If exercise could be packed into a pill, it would be the single most widely prescribed, and beneficial, medicine in the nation.
That video says some of the most salient points on the topic. Suffice to say; exercise is a must.
So get out there. Get into it. Get moving.
I recommend mid-day walks as well. When you can take 15 minutes to get away from your dealership, go on a walk. Take a buddy if you can, but solo-walking is great too.
Sales Mindset: Shared Goals and the Win-Win
If I’m going to win the customer, I need to remind myself of the value of “shared goals”.
Most salespeople that I meet consider the sales relationship in as a battle. They want to win. I find that I’m most successful when my mindset is one of working together.
I know what I want out of an appointment. I want to sell a car. The hard part is to figure out what my customer wants, and then reframing my goal (selling them a car) into a solution for their desires.
How do I line up what they want with what I have?
This is “solution” selling, and it’s all the rage in SAAS sales.
When I foster the “solution” selling mindset, my offers and compromises take a different form. Instead of saying:
“Ok, if you buy today I can get you $45k out the door! Today only”
I say:
“I understand you have a tight schedule with your baby here. Why don’t we do this. I’ll shorten your buying time by selling you this car for $45k out the door today. That way you don’t have to visit more dealerships with a baby in tow! I am happy to offer this below-market deal because I will be able to cross you off my follow up list and concentrate on my next sale”
The second option highlighted our we would solve each other’s problems.
This weekend, inspired by my research for my last article (How to Be a Good Car Salesman), I spent a significant amount of time casually interviewing some top performers. I asked them probing questions designed to unearth their sales mindset for success.
These top performers had all already decided that car sales is a good career. They are all in the most productive parts of their careers. They are crushing their quotas and making outsized incomes.
I found one thing above all else. The top sales representatives all had a way to be “Undeniably Likable” with their customers. They each had a unique way about them, a way of talking, of connecting, that can make you feel comfortable. I could immediately understand why their customers liked them.
The dream of a sustained book of business is attractive to any salesperson – a self-filling, income-generating, free-time-enabling pipeline of customers. Referral customers are the best type of customers.
All of the top sales representatives understood this. Their sales mindset for success centered around the “customer experience.” In the end, this all boils down to one thing, which is being likable. Undeniably likable (check out the follow up to this article here!)
Undeniably Likable
I want your customers to fall in love with you. I want them to “eat out of your hand.”
How do you do that? It’s about a sales mindset that enables success.
To give you an idea of what I mean, think about this:
How would you act if your customer was your girlfriend’s grandmother, and that you were meeting her for the first time?
How would you act if your customer was your bosses wife or bosses husband, and you were showing her a car?
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is an American chain of fast-casual restaurants in the United States. You probably have one (or seven) in your city.
I go to Chipotle once a week, on average. I order the same thing, over and over again. I’m not the type of guy that get’s sick of stuff quickly.
I get brown rice, black beans, chicken, onions/peppers, hot salsa, mild salsa, corn, and sour cream. Cheese on top.
Every time, it’s the same order.
So why do I sometimes get a heaping serving of chicken, and sometimes just a timid scoop?
Everything in the equation is routine. Same Chipotle, same order, same employees, and it’s the same time of day.
Everything in the equation is routine, except for how I treat the people behind the counter.
If I come in, mind still at work, and passively tell them my order, I get a small scoop.
If, instead, I come in with a smile on my face, a kind greeting and meet the server’s eyes? Big scoop.
So there you have it. My attitude can drastically, perhaps unconsciously, affect my scoop of chicken.
Think of your customer buying today as a big scoop of chicken. Think of your customer saying yes to a fair deal where you still make some money as a big scoop of chicken.
Sure I could pay extra for extra chicken (just like I can “pay” the customer with a discount to buy), but it would be much easier if I could win them with my personality.
So How Can You Be “Undeniably Likable”
You have to put in the effort to foster this sales mindset for success.
I heard a quote the other day, “Happiness is the prize for Hard Work.”
I like that quote a lot. I think that many people are still trying to do the bare minimum at work. They don’t start their job with that intention, but after months of hard work and quality customer service, they burn out. They don’t have the motivation or the discipline to stay with it. It’s no wonder that so many new salespeople start with a few great months, but then slowly fade into mediocrity.
It’s challenging to stay on top of your game, but it’s no magic trick. The only thing between you and winning over a customer is effort.
Big Bosses “Pep” Talk
A few days ago, my boss came to my business partner and me with an ultimatum.
“Sell as many cars as we did last year’s December or face a few hundred dollar monthly pay cut.”
This was going to be a challenge, as the store itself was down 25% year over year, mostly attributed to the new same-brand dealer that opened in the neighborhood.
Although I don’t necessarily agree with the tactic, money talks, so my business partner and I huddled on what to do. When we discussed our options for pulling off his ask, we came to a simple conclusion: we had already pushed every lever we control.
Our BDC is converting web leads well, our inventory is substantial, and we were offering market setting low-prices. The only lever we had left was going to be how we treated the customers. We hoped that with a renewed focus on being “Undeniably Likable,” we could convert that extra few percents of traffic to meet our bosses expectation.
In the end, only so much is within our circle of control. We don’t control the customer’s desires nor the market. What we can control is our effort.
Practically Speaking, How Can I Be “Undeniably Likable”
Practically speaking? You need to take that effort we just talked about, and focus it on finding a connection with a customer. That is the key to this sales mindset for success.
building a relationship is your superpower
This begins with the “seed” of the relationship. Some topic or theme that you two have in common that lowers the guard of everyone involved. Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of the things that have become the “seeds” of my long-term car sales relationships:
Take that effort and ask some questions. Ask them directly and ask them indirectly. Ask them:
How long have you been in this area?
Did you live nearby?
How far do you drive to work?
Where do you work?
What do you do there?
How did you get into that?
Why?
What did you do before?
Did you always want to do that job?
What do you do when you’re not working?
What shows are you watching on Netflix?
How many kids do you have?
What are their hobbies?
Where do they go to school?
What does your spouse do?
How did he/she get into that?
Did you read that new article “Sales Mindset for Success: Undeniably Likable”?
You keep asking questions, in a friendly “I really would love to get to know you” way, until you find something that connects you.
Once you find that “something,” use that to bring you closer to them, make jokes about it. Get into the details. Have it be “your thing.”
New Contact Style
If I were doing my old style of contacts, I would have added this contact in my phone today:
Todd Smith APPLE 408-555-1111
Instead, I’ve added (name changed of course):
Todd Smith (funny Irish tall guy, likes boats) APPLE – antenna scientist 408-555-1111 Notes: wife likes S5 Sportback. 2 kids both ski
Your brain needs a little hint to remind itself of that social connection.
What do you call a car salesperson that picks up the first ring, three days after you first meet him, and immediately knows who you are? What do you call a car salesperson that remembers things about you and cares about you? You call that salesman, “undeniably likable.”
UNDENIABLE!
More Ideas for this Sales Mindset
Other things that can make you stand out as incredibly likable involve things like common courtesy, patience, and smiling. Active listening wherein you repeat back snippets of what they say to you is a great practice.
You already exhibit these behaviors, naturally, when you feel like you have something to lose.
I also recommend you do a check-in with your ego– are you overconfident? Is that pushing away customers?
Here’s the Secret to the Sales Mindset for Success
You always have something to lose.
Sometimes it’s a scoop of chicken; sometimes it’s a thousand dollars in your car deal.
I don’t think that you can always be perfect. I think everyone, including Oprah and Chris Pratt, have off days.
That’s OK. Expected.
What’s not OK is forgetting that your ability to be “undeniably likable” might be the one thing that paves the way for your life’s success!
In this article, I’m going to answer the query “how to be a good salesman” by looking at the statistics of my store and figuring out what sets the top salespeople apart.
I have taken a deep dive, inspired by watching the salespeople at my dealership and combining my personal experiences.
There are 14 new car salespeople at our store, and last month they sold between 3 and 16.5 cars. Based on our pay plan, if you sell more 6 or fewer cars, you will make about $250 per car after all bonuses (plus $1000 for showing up). If you sell 14 or more cars, that average is about $400 per car after all bonuses (plus $1000 for showing up). That means that we have salespeople that made ~$1750 last month and we had one salesperson that made ~$7600.
What accounts for the $6k~ of monthly income disparity? What makes one salesperson better than another?
Here at Car Sales Story, I’m bringing together high-quality resources for people starting in the car business. The unique environment of the dealership can be confusing for the new salesperson, so I’m here to help guide you. This article “car salesman dress code” is one in a series of articles that provide the foundation of knowledge you will need to start your career on the right foot.
One of the first questions you may ask yourself when applying for and getting your first car sales job will be what to wear. What exactly is the “car salesman dress code”? Is there a standard attire or does it vary dealer to dealer?
The answer is that although there is some variance dealership to dealership, most dealers conform to a standard dress pattern that varies between hot and cold seasons. The standard car salesman dress code is business casual (button down with tie and slacks) in the colder months, and khakis with a branded polo shirt in the warmer months. Although there are dealers that want you to wear a suit 365 days a year, their numbers are dwindling.
The benefits of reading this article (“How to Look Put Together and Polished”) revolves around the way that your customers will see you. If you come to work with your hair neat, your shirt ironed, and your shoes polished, you come across as someone that is at work with a purpose.
Most of the articles online about “How To Be a Good BDC Rep” actually focus on the management of the BDC. I wanted to put together a mega-post that any BDC rep, new or old, could reference to develop their career. I’ve developed these ideas over the last few years as I’ve worked in and then managed a BDC.
This article will be seen through the story of Jim and Jane, two competing BDC reps. Both want to make money, but only one has spent the time to learn how to be a good BDC rep.
I’ve been watching negotiations for years now at the car dealership, and I can safely say that many salespeople routinely drop the ball when trying to close a deal. Watching the repeated fumblings of these crucial steps in the car sales process inspired me to write this article “Car Sales Tips Closing a Car Deal.”
There are a few caveats to this article, as it is focused on a buyer that has no restrictions, other than desire, on being able to buy. If your customer is credit challenged, this checklist isn’t going to save you. Secondly, this is focused on closing the deal with a new customer. There are some key ways in which dealing with a repeat customer is different!
This is what we are going to cover in this article “Car Sales Tips Closing a Car Deal”:
