Every day, car salespeople must work to earn the trust of demanding superiors and sceptical customers. Staying reliable in such a face-to-face and often confrontational position is a difficult task. Here are five tips that will teach you how to demonstrate reliability at your dealership.
Keep Your Lines of Communication Open
The profession of a salesperson often requires them to talk with potential leads off the clock and close deals at unexpected times. With that in mind, you must keep multiple lines of communication open throughout the day. Your superiors will appreciate your commitment, and the customers will have a more enjoyable buying experience.
You should also be proactive with your communication. Reach out to customers and build rapport with them. Talk to your co-workers about sales techniques and ideas. Taking the initiative and staying consistently available will make you a reliable employee and salesperson.
Manage Your Commitments
While availability is an important part of being reliable, you can’t say yes to everything. You must manage your commitments and only make promises you know you can keep. Set realistic boundaries between work time and free time. Here are a few ways you can strike that balance:
- Create a list of priorities: know what tasks you need to complete first and leave for later.
- Focus on timelines instead of deadlines: always assume a commitment will take more time than anticipated and factor that extra time into your schedule.
- Think about the commitment: never prematurely commit. Think about whether you have the time and resources to complete it.
- Know when to say “no”: if you can’t manage a commitment, be direct with the other party. It’s better to disappoint them by saying “no” than to disappoint them by failing to deliver on an important task.
Use your calendar with purpose and write all of your commitments down. Whenever someone offers or assigns something new, consult the calendar and your list of priorities to see if you can manage it. Being transparent and direct about your commitments gives your co-workers and customers a better understanding of your capabilities.
Be a Consultant First
Focusing on closing the deal is an easy way to appear unreliable and untrustworthy. Instead, you should act as a consultant first and a salesperson second. People will grow to see you as a helpful source of information rather than a stereotypical pushy salesperson.
Give your customers the vehicular details and financial advice to make an informed decision. Help inexperienced co-workers build their confidence with sales tips and knowledge about vehicles. Give your superiors feedback about customer behaviours, best practises and any market trends that you might notice.
Help others for the sake of being helpful, and your reputation around the dealership will significantly improve. Your peers will respect you and customers will look to you as their first choice.
Express Your Trust in Others
If you want to learn how to demonstrate reliability at your dealership, you must first learn how to show trust in others. Give your co-workers space to improve on their own. Trust that your customers know their situation best and will make the right decision without your influence.
Remember: it’s not your job to tell them the best car to buy, but to help them find the best car for their needs and interests. Who knows customers’ needs better than the customers themselves? When you express your trust and good intentions, those you interact with will feel obligated to reciprocate.
Start and Finish Strong
While every moment in the selling process has its value, the beginning and end are the most critical times to demonstrate your reliability. Here are a few little things you can do to make a solid first impression:
- Give a firm handshake
- Remember the customer’s name and use it often
- Let the customer ask the questions first
- Give them multiple lines of communication (phone, email, etc.)
Similarly, you can finish strong by doing the following:
- Discuss price last.
- Be the last face they see at the dealership.
- Follow up with customers, whether you closed the deal or not.
Reliability is an Earned Status
To learn how to demonstrate reliability at your dealership, you must go the extra mile to earn the respect of your peers, superiors and customers. Be an open communicator and make your commitments clear to everyone. Share your knowledge and experience with others. Express your trust in them, and they will trust you in turn. Start and finish strong to make a lasting impression with everyone you meet.
Author Bio:
Oscar Collins is the founder and editor-in-chief at Modded. Follow him on Twitter @TModded for frequent updates from the Modded team.
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