Dealership experiences

[I-S]

Very nice, although the one I loved most was the mk4 (98-01). Mind you, I had a ride in an LS460 in the US a couple of years ago, and that was excellent too. The LS430s never grabbed me, but the 460 did.

During our dealership visit we had a sit in the new LS500h and the quality is just a level above the current 7 series.

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by MtillingVolvo

This thread certainly is an interesting read....

I'm not based in the showroom myself now (look after ECommerce and Business Sales), but this was always my ethos when I was:

1) Make customer feel welcome/wanted/show interest in dealing with them

2) -Qualification -
Ask as many open ended questions as I could to glean as information from the customer as possible to identify requirements (I.e. What is important to you in your next car / what do you like (or not like) about your current car?

3) Present options to the customer to further qualify what they are looking for

4) Offer test drive in suitable vehicle

5) Once the correct vehicle(s) have been found then look at PX values/deal as a whole.

Within reason I didn't used to speak too much about price (other than to gain some general understanding of the budget to work with) as its a little pointless negotiating on a vehicle until you know if its suitable for your requirements.

I can't understand some of the experiences it sounds like some of you have had. At the end of the day (most) salespeople are on fairly low basic salaries and so have to sell to earn a sensible living.

On the flip side, we do get both extremes of customers; some who are genuinely nice people and a pleasure to deal with and others who are purposely derogatory to "mere salespeople". Some Salespeople can look past the bad experiences and ensure that there isn't any impact on future dealings with other potential customers... and some can't. This is the only rationale I can see and that people may get into bad habits when dealing with customers. It can be a slippery slope!

From a customers point of view our jobs look easy... deal with people and sell cars. The reality is that there are a lot of hoops we/the dealership have to jump through to ensure standards / processes are met. There is also a lot of paperwork behind the scenes to deal with, especially when any kind of finance is involved. Most of this is down to Compliance which has been born out of people being / feeling they have been mis-sold products (PPI anyone....?) but has filtered down to all kinds of finance now.

I always used to try and treat people as I would want to be treated... like 2 humans having a conversation..... if all salespeople could do this (and customers too...) then everyone (Salespeople and Customers) would probably be a lot happier!

Attitude is not just confined to an individual salesperson, it is also influenced by 'company ethos'. You will see my comparison in post 21 above that you and the company have the right attitude which differs considerably to others just down the road.

[MtillingVolvo]

Originally Posted by ITSv40

Attitude is not just confined to an individual salesperson, it is also influenced by 'company ethos'. You will see my comparison in post 21 above that you and the company have the right attitude which differs considerably to others just down the road.

I'd not actually clocked the reference to our Parts Dept.. glad to hear you're happy with the service they provide.... many thanks

[biggbn]

Originally Posted by I-S

Very nice, although the one I loved most was the mk4 (98-01). Mind you, I had a ride in an LS460 in the US a couple of years ago, and that was excellent too. The LS430s never grabbed me, but the 460 did.

During our dealership visit we had a sit in the new LS500h and the quality is just a level above the current 7 series.

I will have a ls600h lwb, the pre audiesque gaping grille model, one day. That would likely be my forever car.

[Prufrock]

If you want a true luxury car, there's only one - Lexus. I had a 3rd generation GS300 until recently and it was far better than the current Germans, and far better than Volvo - although the S90 wasn't available at the time - but now it's built in China.

No manufacturer can touch Lexus for build quality and reliability, and 2nd generation GS300s are a bargain and still look classy and understated.

J.

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by MtillingVolvo

This thread certainly is an interesting read....

I'm not based in the showroom myself now (look after ECommerce and Business Sales), but this was always my ethos when I was:

1) Make customer feel welcome/wanted/show interest in dealing with them

2) -Qualification -
Ask as many open ended questions as I could to glean as information from the customer as possible to identify requirements (I.e. What is important to you in your next car / what do you like (or not like) about your current car?

3) Present options to the customer to further qualify what they are looking for

4) Offer test drive in suitable vehicle

5) Once the correct vehicle(s) have been found then look at PX values/deal as a whole.

That's not an ethos it reads like Five Steps to a Sale in every salesman's out of date training manual !!! It's all too transactional, needs to be more relational.

J.

[MtillingVolvo]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

That's not an ethos it reads like Five Steps to a Sale in every salesman's out of date training manual !!! It's all too transactional, needs to be more relational.

J.

....thanks for that.....there are obviously lots of other interactions that build up the relationship, but I was already rambling away enough as it was

Also...

Relational Selling:
Relational selling, also called relationship selling, is the process of seeking out people who have a particular need, assisting them to recognise and define that need and demonstrating to them how a particular service or product fills that need.

Is that not pretty much what my steps do but in flouncy sales training speak?....

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by MtillingVolvo

....thanks for that.....there are obviously lots of other interactions that build up the relationship, but I was already rambling away enough as it was

There are,

and as a former Ford Zone Manager your ethos reminded me of stuff were doing with dealers in the 1980s - I thought it was old hat then ! And with respect I don't need any coaching in training and development techniques, or relationship selling !

J.

N.B and it's far from flouncy, what it is trite and you've got that from a sales course too no doubt ?

[MtillingVolvo]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

There are,

and as a former Ford Zone Manager your ethos reminded me of stuff were doing with dealers in the 1980s - I thought it was old hat then !

J.

Noted......I withdraw all comments above as I've obviously been doing it all wrong for the last 13 years.....

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by MtillingVolvo

Noted......I withdraw all comments above as I've obviously been doing it all wrong for the last 13 years.....

Sarcasm not appreciated, you sound like a typical car salesman - know much and learn little. There's been a paradigm shift in retailing and the best skill a salesman can acquire is the ability to listen.

I've been working with NSCs and dealers for 30 yrs - I'll mystery shop you, soon find out how good you are !

J.