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Smart Shopper Stories from the Sales Frontlines
48090 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 5:45 PM
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Replying to: jkinzel (May 18, 2008 6:27 pm)  
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Replying to: richard64 (May 18, 2008 5:34 pm) Neal Diamond is coming to the Burgh again and ‘you know who’ said the tickets are something like $125 EACH. We like the guy and we’ve gone to several of his concerts over the years. The last time was about 3 or 4 years ago and the ticket price then was something like $75 each. The mistake we made was to let the couple we were going with make the reservations on their CC. They did but they did it very late (price was the same) and we were so far away as far as I was concerned that could have been a chimpanzee up there playing a CD cause I wouldn’t have know the difference. I don’t think we’re going this time; it’s gotten way out of hand. I told Mrs. Richard that we would park just beyond the parking lot on the street, roll down the windows, and listen really hard. Look who’s turned into a tight a$$ now. I’m betting your ears ain’t nearly that good.  jmonroe
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Replying to: mackabee (May 18, 2008 8:00 pm) Good night Mack.   jmonroe |
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Yesterday was a beautiful day here in VaBeach. Sunny, not too hot, low 70's with a cool breeze. Most customers were probably doing yard work or at the beach so traffic was not steady. Few customers here and there. I helped Lucky with a customer as he was tied up with another customer. Nice couple, school teacher and wife works at the Naval base with the Navy College. So both are in the education field. Their daughter was very animated and talked our ear off, she was rather cute and sweet. We drove a Hybrid Camry and after the test drive when I went for the close they did their usual: "We don't have time, we have to be somewhere." and "I have to go home and do my research." What research? Hybrids are going for full pop right now. We are fortunate to have a few hybrid Camrys in stock. The Prius is all sold out for the next two months. So the husband is salivating over the car and is copying the options off the sticker."So how much can you come off the price.?" he asks. "If you are ready to buy I may be able to get you at least $500.00 depending on how motivated the sales managers are to move the car. I will tell you this though, we have been selling all hybrids at list since gas prices started going through the roof." He gets away from the price issue and I ask him what time frame are they looking at to make a decision. "It will be this month." he says. His wife then asks me "Are you open on Memorial day?, we probably won't be able to make it back until then." "How about during the week?" I ask. "We both work." she replies. "Yes, but I'm sure both of you get off around 4 or 5pm right.?" I ask again. "We are very busy during the week." she replies. So I've asked for the sale more than 5 times and I'm getting nowhere so I decide to end the conversation. "Ok, did Lucky get your information? name, phone number, etc.? I ask. "We gave him our phone number. I don't know if he remembers it or not." the husband replies. I take down their home phone and say bye to them. I go back into the showroom and look him up and Lucky never put him in the data base. No problem. He did ask me for help so it's not like I'm taking the whole deal if they buy. Mack |
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Replying to: mackabee (May 18, 2008 7:37 pm) Please allow 3 to 5 weeks for delivery. And I take it you didn't bother to check exactly what parts are offered? When I checked most of it says "no parts available". Oh well someday.. BTW, not to change the subject but how are the Sequoia and Tundra sales? Land Cruiser? Just curious as I haven't seen any in your sales stories lately or was it for awhile?
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Most of you are probably aware that used suv's are taking a beating on trades. This next story is called: "The fall of the SUV" After I was done with the Camry hybrid customers I went inside to update my data base and also to get a bottle of water. The "huddle" was standing right outside the showroom door so I went out by the side door to see if I could find me another customer. I see a gentleman walking by the 4runners and not a single salesperson in sight. I walk towards him, greet him and start showing him some vehicles. He tells me they own a Camry that they bought at my store a year ago. I ask him who the sales person was and he tells me it was a green pea and he probably doesn't work there anymore. Couldn't remember his name so I went ahead and continued with my vehicle presentation.  Ended up looking at a base Highlander and really liked it. Asked for my card and told me he would bring his wife back.  By this time it's around 5:35 in the evening and I'm looking at a 3 and 0 count. Nothing but tire kickers. The first one was an elderly lady that was shopping for her sister that lives in DC.  Showed her all the economy cars and then she gives me her phone number and asks me to call her when the 09 Prius comes in.  She says she will be getting some money then so she will pay cash for it.  I think she was just lonely at home and decided to waste some time.  So by this time I figure I'm probably not going to sell a car today. Oh well. I go to the front of the showroom and a family of five pulls up in a Ford Expedition.  They have two little girls and a little boy. I don't pay much attention to them until one of the guys gets a phone call from another salesperson that's at our off site used car sale. Apparently he helped them during the week and is asking if someone will help them as he can't leave the used car site. Everyone looks at each other and says "I'm not helping them" the family is no more than 15 feet away looking inside a Sequoia and I say "I'll help them, I need a half deal."  I walk up to them and start talking to the husband. He doesn't look familiar until I look at his wife. I sold her a Tacoma truck back in 2000. "Hey! I know you! I sold you a truck back when we were in the old building!" I exclaim "You sure did." Kim replies."I told you that was him." her husband Jim tells her. "They tolds us you didn't work here anymore." Kim continues. "Really? Who told you that.?" I ask. "The guy that helped us. We drove the Tacoma that day. He asked if we bought it here and who was the salesperson. I couldn't remember your name until I saw you just now. He did look in the computer and there was a Darryl or something like that listed as the one that sold me the truck." she says. "We have had so many different customer data bases that some customers are now showing in other salespersons data base. We don't have a Darryl though. That's strange." I tell them.  The kids are now gathered around us and staring at me. "Wow you have three kids now!" I exclaim. "Yeah, Kelsey was about two weeks old when you sold me the truck." she responds.  So we start looking at the Sequoias and Jim tells me what they are trying to accomplish. "I want to get 15k for my Expedition, and with the 9k off you guys are taking off the sticker that will put me around 20k to finance. That'll will get my payments around $350.00 a month. I really want them at $300.00 but I don't know if I can get them around that." he tells me. (I wonder who was his math teacher.)  "9K OFF!!???" where did you come up with that figure? We are doing the 2 + 2k rebate and the $5k gas card promotion. Not 9k off MSRP, and that's only on the Limiteds." I tell him. "That's not what your website says. Kim let me see that paper we printed off the website." he tells her. She gives him the paper and he shows it to me. Sure as heck, it does say 9K off ALL Sequoias! "That's not the way they explained it to us but if that's what's on the website than that's what we'll do."  So I ask him if he read the article about falling suv prices both new and used and trade ins.  "Yeah I saw that but Ford will give me 15k for it." he tells me. "Ok, let's find the Sequoia you like and we'll go from there." .............................. TO BE CONTINUED. |
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Replying to: obyone (May 18, 2008 8:45 pm) As far as your question on Tundra/Sequoia sales. They are in the dumps right now. Only thing selling is Corolla, Camry, Prius (sold out) Yaris, Matrix, and small Tacomas, A few Highlanders here and there. No Landcruisers. We didn't even bother getting some for the store. Last year we probably sold two. Plus with the new "re-design" they made it "sale proof". Not very many people like it. Mack
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Replying to: richard64 (May 18, 2008 5:34 pm) |
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Replying to: mackabee (May 18, 2008 9:40 pm) Yup thats the truth. We have had several former Land Cruiser owners come in to look at either LR3 or Range Rovers. None of them have liked the new Land Cruiser at all. My office is probably about 20-30 minutes from New Britain so yeah I could go catch a Rock Cats game sometime and that would be good. |
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