be a seller, not a teller
Yeah, that's right: be a seller, not a teller. That's the motto of the car dealership I work at.
Here's the deal: I've been there about 6 weeks now. I'm half a car off from first place on the board. (A half a car is when one saleman turns over (TOs) a customer to another salesman, so they split the commission - it happens.)
I'm half a car out of first place, but I've been told something that I thought was pointed out to me in an effort to destroy my confidence or deflate my ego, or both; I wasn't sure. Turns out, even though I didn't like the delivery of the message, or the timing of the message, I happen to think the message is worth listening to.
The one salesman says to me, "Boris, how many sales have you made to people who were looking for a car that we didn't have on the lot?"
"None."
"So what you're telling me is, you've only sold to people because we had exactly what they were looking for, right?"
"Yeah - so what?"
"What's going to happen when your luck runs out, and everyone you talk to wants something that we don't have? Will you just turn them away and tell them to go somewhere else because we don't have what they were looking for?"
"Well, uh..."
"Never thought about that, did you?"
"Well, uh..."
"So you're going to say, 'Hey Mr. Customer-man, uh, we don't have exactly what you want, so why don't you just ease on down the road to one of our competitors, while I quietly sit here in the corner and go broke.' is that what you have planned?"
"Well, uh..."
"You're a teller, not a seller."
"Say what?"
"How much money do tellers at the bank make?"
"I guess minimum wage if they're lucky."
"Know why?"
"Uhhhhh...."
"Because that's all they're worth. The customer: 'Can I get that withdraw in 20s?/Could you deposit this in my checking?/Do you sell traveler's cheques?' Those are all yes or no questions. Seems to me, like you're answering alot of yes-or-no questions. 'Do you have this car in stock? No? OK, I'll just go somewhere else; bye!' I know you've been selling cars, but isn't that what's been going on?"
"Your point?"
"Well, like I said, what's going to happen when your luck runs out and everyone you talk to wants something other than what we have on the lot?"
"Hmmmmm."
"I can see this got the gears going, huh? You know, luck runs out for the new guys sooner or later. From that point on, you're going to have to rely on skill. Do you have skill?"
"I guess."
"If someone walks on this lot and says, 'Do you have this car, or that truck, with this feature, or that feature, and you know damn good and well we don't have it, could you sell them something we do have, instead?"
"Uhhhh..."
"Jerry does - and so do I."
"How?"
"Bypass price and inventory questions."
"What?"
"When a customer asks a price or inventory question, it's just a ploy so they can scratch you off their list. You're just helping them eliminate you as their salesman. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing personal, but the bank doesn't mind if you skip a mortgage payment or two, do they? According to NADA statistics, 86% of people bought a car that was different from the one they originally set out to buy - you're selling 0% of those people. Get it?"
"Tell me about this 'by-pass' thing."
"OK. Let's say you have a customer who says they have to have a 4x4 extended cab truck and all we have is a 2 wheel drive crew cab. What do you say?"
"Uhhhhhh..."
"That's why they walk away. You don't talk your way into a sale, you ask your way into a sale. He who asks the questions, controls the conversation; he who controls the conversation, gets what he wants. Dig?"
"I don't get it."
"Well, you ask this guy if he's willing to pay a huge amount for four wheel drive. Then, he might ask you, 'How much extra would I pay for four wheel drive?' You say, 'I don't know, proabably about $3,000. Is four wheel drive worth $3,000 to you? No? OK then, just make me an offer on this two wheel drive then.' "
"Yeah, but I don't know the differences in option packages like you do."
"Like I do? You think I keep that shit in my head?"
"You said, 'Four wheel drive would proabably cost an additional $3,000.' "
"Oh, so you think I know that for sure?"
"Hey, you're the one who said it."
"You didn't pay attention: I said, 'I don't know, probably around $3,000; do you want to pay $3,000 four wheel drive?' The important thing for you to note is, I qualified my statement with, 'I don't know....' but I implied that I do know. See the difference? A teller would just say, 'No, we don't have an extended cab in four wheel drive.' A seller would by-pass the inventory question with, 'I don't know, probably about $3,000; did you want to pay $3,000 for four wheel drive, or would you like to just make me an offer on this truck we have right here?' Nobody wants to pay an additional $3,000 for anything, so if the four wheel drive thing is simply an excuse and not an objection, you'll find out right there, and blow past people who just want to throw as many uneccessary obstacles in the way as they can. They want to buy a car, but they're just afraid to spend the money - even though they know they have to. They'll spend it alright, but it won't be on you, unless you can spot this subconcious buyers technique, which is really just a coping mechanism designed to help them handle how much money they're about to spend. See what I mean?"
"Yeah, thanks!"
I just thought of this while reading Maya's blog. She just got a job at a roofing company. She deals with intimidating old people. I deal with those too - they're called the top salesmen, and they get whatever they want. I feel your pain Maya, I really do. This'll be motivation to stay in school!
Here's the deal: I've been there about 6 weeks now. I'm half a car off from first place on the board. (A half a car is when one saleman turns over (TOs) a customer to another salesman, so they split the commission - it happens.)
I'm half a car out of first place, but I've been told something that I thought was pointed out to me in an effort to destroy my confidence or deflate my ego, or both; I wasn't sure. Turns out, even though I didn't like the delivery of the message, or the timing of the message, I happen to think the message is worth listening to.
The one salesman says to me, "Boris, how many sales have you made to people who were looking for a car that we didn't have on the lot?"
"None."
"So what you're telling me is, you've only sold to people because we had exactly what they were looking for, right?"
"Yeah - so what?"
"What's going to happen when your luck runs out, and everyone you talk to wants something that we don't have? Will you just turn them away and tell them to go somewhere else because we don't have what they were looking for?"
"Well, uh..."
"Never thought about that, did you?"
"Well, uh..."
"So you're going to say, 'Hey Mr. Customer-man, uh, we don't have exactly what you want, so why don't you just ease on down the road to one of our competitors, while I quietly sit here in the corner and go broke.' is that what you have planned?"
"Well, uh..."
"You're a teller, not a seller."
"Say what?"
"How much money do tellers at the bank make?"
"I guess minimum wage if they're lucky."
"Know why?"
"Uhhhhh...."
"Because that's all they're worth. The customer: 'Can I get that withdraw in 20s?/Could you deposit this in my checking?/Do you sell traveler's cheques?' Those are all yes or no questions. Seems to me, like you're answering alot of yes-or-no questions. 'Do you have this car in stock? No? OK, I'll just go somewhere else; bye!' I know you've been selling cars, but isn't that what's been going on?"
"Your point?"
"Well, like I said, what's going to happen when your luck runs out and everyone you talk to wants something other than what we have on the lot?"
"Hmmmmm."
"I can see this got the gears going, huh? You know, luck runs out for the new guys sooner or later. From that point on, you're going to have to rely on skill. Do you have skill?"
"I guess."
"If someone walks on this lot and says, 'Do you have this car, or that truck, with this feature, or that feature, and you know damn good and well we don't have it, could you sell them something we do have, instead?"
"Uhhhh..."
"Jerry does - and so do I."
"How?"
"Bypass price and inventory questions."
"What?"
"When a customer asks a price or inventory question, it's just a ploy so they can scratch you off their list. You're just helping them eliminate you as their salesman. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing personal, but the bank doesn't mind if you skip a mortgage payment or two, do they? According to NADA statistics, 86% of people bought a car that was different from the one they originally set out to buy - you're selling 0% of those people. Get it?"
"Tell me about this 'by-pass' thing."
"OK. Let's say you have a customer who says they have to have a 4x4 extended cab truck and all we have is a 2 wheel drive crew cab. What do you say?"
"Uhhhhhh..."
"That's why they walk away. You don't talk your way into a sale, you ask your way into a sale. He who asks the questions, controls the conversation; he who controls the conversation, gets what he wants. Dig?"
"I don't get it."
"Well, you ask this guy if he's willing to pay a huge amount for four wheel drive. Then, he might ask you, 'How much extra would I pay for four wheel drive?' You say, 'I don't know, proabably about $3,000. Is four wheel drive worth $3,000 to you? No? OK then, just make me an offer on this two wheel drive then.' "
"Yeah, but I don't know the differences in option packages like you do."
"Like I do? You think I keep that shit in my head?"
"You said, 'Four wheel drive would proabably cost an additional $3,000.' "
"Oh, so you think I know that for sure?"
"Hey, you're the one who said it."
"You didn't pay attention: I said, 'I don't know, probably around $3,000; do you want to pay $3,000 four wheel drive?' The important thing for you to note is, I qualified my statement with, 'I don't know....' but I implied that I do know. See the difference? A teller would just say, 'No, we don't have an extended cab in four wheel drive.' A seller would by-pass the inventory question with, 'I don't know, probably about $3,000; did you want to pay $3,000 for four wheel drive, or would you like to just make me an offer on this truck we have right here?' Nobody wants to pay an additional $3,000 for anything, so if the four wheel drive thing is simply an excuse and not an objection, you'll find out right there, and blow past people who just want to throw as many uneccessary obstacles in the way as they can. They want to buy a car, but they're just afraid to spend the money - even though they know they have to. They'll spend it alright, but it won't be on you, unless you can spot this subconcious buyers technique, which is really just a coping mechanism designed to help them handle how much money they're about to spend. See what I mean?"
"Yeah, thanks!"
I just thought of this while reading Maya's blog. She just got a job at a roofing company. She deals with intimidating old people. I deal with those too - they're called the top salesmen, and they get whatever they want. I feel your pain Maya, I really do. This'll be motivation to stay in school!
posted by Boris Yeltsin @ 12:26 AM
5 Comments:
At 4:41 AM, May 07, 2006,
Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said…
05 06 06
Wow Boris:
It is so good to see that you are doing well, especially since I have traced the evolution of your progress on the job. That person said that nastiness to you simply to throw you off and test your confidence. Point Blank. People always do that when you have something special about you. From your writing, it is clear that you have a talent for making people feel at ease via humor and whatever else. Keep up the good work and screw the haters.
Best Wishes and congrats on your recent successes.
BTW: Thanks for visiting the blog today; I have sorta been on a blogging sabaatical for the most part:)
At 3:56 PM, May 07, 2006,
Maya said…
Wow, Boris, what that guy told you must have been a lot to take in. Since you're doing so well there, I wonder why he was so forceful. I'm impressed how you took all of that in with a willingness to improve, and not with despair or resentment. I think I would take it in with a murky mixture of both, but a few years ago--I was pretty depressed then and victimized myself--I would probably go home and cry and say, "I can't do it; I can't do it!" And then I would go back an do it anyway, with a horribly deflated ego.
This is why I'm happy that my job does NOT involve selling. Selling seems to require confidence and an almost creepy manipulation of psychcology, to me--just as managing does. I still have to lie outright to customers on the phone, but I don't have to sell them anything. I get the feeling that the company almost wants fewer customers right now, since we don't have enough estimators to go out to visit all the customers. The selling is done by the estimators, I suppose.
But it's good to know you're doing so well at your company. Don't let the jerks get you down.
At 9:46 PM, May 08, 2006,
Boris Yeltsin said…
At first, I thought what this guy said was hateful - but this is an all-male environment - which is tough for me to adjust to, because I've worked at a large corporation for 15 years, and in that large corporation, women have had a central role in just about everything on the factory floor and in the personnel office.
This guy wasn't being hateful, he was trying to help me. Sure, I'm half a car out of first place at the end of the first week of the month, but he's right - what happens when our inventory doesn't match customer tastes?
In a heavily female environment, the emphasis is on making people feel better about themselves at any cost. In a male environment, it's all about brutal honesty: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
These guys can do the impossible with seemingly nothing. The way they see it is, they didn't get that way by their bosses and co-workers pumping sunshine up their ass. If you stink, they tell you, "You stink." It's just that simple.
But, they're not telling you that to hurt your feelings, they're telling you that so you can do the seemingly impossible with nothing, just like they can.
This perpetuates the work environment at the dealership: have fun doing what you're doing.
You can have fun doing what you're doing, because once you get to the point where you can do the seeming impossible with nothing, it's a low-maintenence environment for everyone involved.
The owner's happy because he doesn't have to spend shit-loads of money to get customers in the door, because you can sell anybody anything, so your day is spent selling to people rather than lamenting how much the inventory, lack of incentives or lack of promotions sucks.
The manager's happy because his day is spent approving deals. The salesmen are happy because their day is spent selling, and the customers are happy because the owner is offering valuable stuff like oil changes for life or wide-screen HDTVs or whatever, so the customers forget they didn't buy what they originally had their hearts set on.
This place is like the Marines of the selling world. If you can do well in that environment, you can honestly say you're the best of the best.
Like the actual US or Royal Marines, it's not a pretty picture in terms of training. Nobody's going to tell you how wonderful you are. All they'll see is your faults - but no one else would tell you those faults, so how would you have any other way of knowing?
These guys are awesome at selling. They really are.
The owner's just a few years older than me, but he's had a dealership in the family for generations, so he grew up in the car business, and he knows every little trick of the trade there is - and he'll show them to you, as long as he doesn't think you're the type of person who'll fold at the slightest little bit of constructive criticism. If you are, you're out the door.
This is much different from a large corporation.
In a large corporation, they think for you. You can't do anything without their express, written consent. Here, if you ask a question like, "Should I staple this or use a paperclip?" the manager will go through the roof. He'll say something like, "Do I look like I've got enough time to concern myself, or even give a fuck about how you put 2 peices of paper together? Slit your wrists and use the dried blood as glue for all I care, but don't ever bother me again with a question that doesn't have something to do with this dealership making money!"
In a large corporation, if you use a staple instead of a paperclip, you'll be reminded of the office procedure manual Section 2 paragraph 4, subsection eight, revision C, whereupon it is written.......
This is completely different. My whole goal is to become like Jerry - except for the shortness of stature. That, I can't help. I will become Jerry.
At 9:53 PM, May 08, 2006,
Boris Yeltsin said…
Mahndisa: thanks for the compliments!
Getting people convinced that buying a car other than what they originally had their heart set on - today - and paying more for a car that isn't exactly what they want...is tough.
Luckily, they've got alot of training, but the training is involved and complicated.
"You don't talk your way into a sale, you ask your way into a sale."
"Be a seller, not a teller."
They get involved in alot of psychology.
I went through 12 hours of training today, and I'll go through 12 hours tommorow, and that's on top of the 24 hours of training I've already gone throgh before I even set foot on the lot as a salesman.
The owner describes what we do as being similar to a defense lawyer. Our client is the dealership, and the dealership is often times guilty of not having exactly what the customer had in mind, but it's our job to defend the dealership and convince the customer to return a verdict that rewards the dealership with a large settlement.
If we can do that, we'll never starve no matter where we go or what we do, or what job we have.
Makes sense.
At 9:53 PM, May 08, 2006,
Boris Yeltsin said…
Maya: you sound like you're working for a great company! You could make some serious money!
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