Talking Price: Strategies For Sales Success
Last month, we shared highlights from Todd Dearborn’s presentation at the Internet Sales 20 Group about the importance of knowing where your online leads are coming from. This month, we focus on the major takeaways Todd shared about communication strategies to use when talking to prospects that have seen several conflicting prices online:
When a customer arrives at your store, they’ve already seen several prices for the same vehicle online. How you respond to subsequent questions about these prices can make or break a sale.
Give a Price!
First and foremost, make sure you’ve given a prospect your price on a vehicle before they arrive at your store, whether it be on the phone, via e-mail or in an instant chat session. Make sure they know the price your store is quoting them. The days of expecting a customer to come to your door just to get a price are over, so don’t hide your price.
Quote Trades Too
Give a customer a valid trade-in value up front, so there are no surprises to derail a deal halfway through the transaction.
Take a Close Look at the Lead
If the lead came in with a configured vehicle, make sure you’re quoting the customer a price that corresponds to the vehicle they’ve spec’d out. If the lead came in with a price already disclosed, stick to starting the conversation with this price to maintain consistency for the customer.
Fit Into The Customer’s Process
Compare apples to apples. If you don’t have an exact match for the vehicle a customer has spec’d out, refer them back to the source to reconfigure a car you have on the lot that is a close match.
Sell The Back End
Once a price is agreed upon, back end items like service contracts, GAP, and LoJack are still valuable profit centers. These aftermarket products can and should be quoted to a customer prior to their visit.
Once your sales team has been trained to understand lead sources and has been empowered to quote prices up front, your chances of sales success rise exponentially. Being transparent about price will put customers at ease, increasing the odds of a pleasant transaction for both parties. Good luck selling!
