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Smart Shopper Stories from the Sales Frontlines
48066 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 7:08 PM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
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Replying to: alejandrom (Nov 28, 2008 1:54 pm) While we are tearing you apart alejandrom a thought occured (spellcheck please Richard) to me. Just joking alej, but I am wondering if the opening line needs some work. First, it isn't too bad because it requires an answer, not just a "yes" or "no" as in "Can I help You?" I guess that is salesmanship 101. It does sound a little bit rote, rehearsed, not really friendly. I'd be curious how this would work...and though I've spent 3/4's of my working life in sales it is not with cars - keep that in mind.... Hello sir, and what brings you out to look at our new Camry (Lexus or used Lexus etc) on such a beautiful ( substitute rainy, cloudy) day? This opening could lead to more conversation, weather, why he has the time to be there, might lead to what his interests are, common ground you can discuss, etc etc. It is friendlier and opens the door to an informal chat. Although "How can I assist you today" means you are wanting to be helpful, to me it is almost like you are going to assist me into purchasing a car. It makes me feel like I am physically or mentally or auto-knowledge challenged and need help- which is starting to scare me - "What does this guy really want?" I might be way off base, but would welcome your thoughts, good bad or ugly. I am a willing and curious student (senior) here.
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Replying to: driver100 (Nov 30, 2008 10:24 am) I like that better as well. It invites more conversation in a friendly environment. BTW, you did need an extra "r" in that word.  Richard |
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Replying to: driver100 (Nov 30, 2008 10:24 am) "That's too much for that many miles!" said the customer. "Based on what?" or "What makes you say that?" I would guess would get a better response from the bum.
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Replying to: alejandrom (Nov 28, 2008 1:54 pm) I think a reply to this if you could catch up to him could be; "How many miles should the car have on it for that price" or "What kind of mileage were you looking for in a Lexus"? It kind of gets around his real objection but opens the door to more conversation. There are likely even better replies to get someone talking and get on common ground. To be good at this you really have to get creative. Thanks Richard about the "r"...I didn't think it looked right  By the way, I think "What kind of mileage were you looking for in a Lexus"? is pretty good if I do say so myself because it is non-confrontational, it opens the door to a good discussion to learn more about the guy, though it is off topic it does require a reply and he would be a real boor if he could come back at you with an impolite reply.
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Replying to: rogeliov (Nov 30, 2008 11:19 am) "That's too much for that many miles!" said the customer. "Based on what?" or "What makes you say that?" I would guess would get a better response from the bum. Rogey, I don't know how you would reply to; Hello sir, and what brings you out to look at our new Camry (Lexus or used Lexus etc) on such a beautiful ( substitute rainy, cloudy) day? with a yes or no. If he won't open up with a pretty broad line like this he is probably not wanting to talk to any one! If he says the car is too expensive based on the mileage, and you say "based on what?, you might get into a fistfight - although honest sounds pretty confrontational.
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Replying to: tidester (Nov 30, 2008 12:18 am) Tidester, we might be in the minority but I tend to agree with you based on the limited information Alejandro gave us. The Lexus guy might could have been a little more civil in his dismissal -- none of us were there, so we will never know. Putting myself in the Lexus guy's shoes, my question is how long and involved to I really want to get if I know that the price/mileage is way too much? Why blow smoke up someones leg if I immediately see that this deal isn't going to happen? Sounds like a waste of both parties time. This may be an unfair broad generalization but, based on some salesmen's comments over the years, I sometimes get the feeling that a customer can't win in the eyes of the salesman unless they pay sticker price right then, right there on whatever is first out on the lot -- no time to consider other things, no time to price check, to time to fact check --just pick something out for me and fill in the signed check for whatever you want!  Maybe Lexus guy has done a little research and has a reasonable guesstimate of what Alejandro's car should be priced at.... unless Alejandro wants to provide us with the model, price and miles there is no way to tell who is off base. I've been keeping my eyes open for a CPO Lexus RX for my sister and have found what I consider to be a wide range of asking prices from dealer to dealer. Lexus of Greenville seems $3k higher than Nalley Lexus of Smyrna on comparable models. Why send her to Greenville if someone else, right off the bat, is thousands less before negotiations even begin?
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Being traded in today with it's original engine and automatic transmission, a 1989 Honda Accord with 436,000 miles! It came into our shop leaking coolant yesterday. Turned out to be a corroded pile that is part of the engine block. It can be fixed but this would require pulling the engine. The woman who owns it figured it was the end of the line so she's trading it in. It still runs very well! |
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Replying to: isellhondas (Nov 30, 2008 12:56 pm) One time in my life I actually went into a dealership completely ready to come in one car and leave in another. This was when my 80 Accord was pronounced rusted to the point of dangerous. They has stamped "NOT SAFE TO DRIVE" on the invoice for looking at it. I went to the local Chevy dealer and asked what was used on the lot that fit in with what I wanted and they pulled out an 85 Sentra that took me maybe a half hour to buy. We were driving from the Jersey shore to Portland, ME the next day. Actually the only thing wrong in the whole transaction was that there was this nasty vibration on the Sentra at something like 53 mph. You could go slower or faster and it would be fine. Turned out the wheels needing balancing which did wonders. |
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Replying to: driver100 (Nov 30, 2008 11:56 am) I think by his behavior the customer identified himself as a boor. What would make you think that he would respond differently to anything the OP said? I think the sales folks figure such a customer would be nothing but a PIA during the whole transaction and give them a bad CSI to boot. Not worth the trouble. But, in these tough times it might be necessary to try for a sale anyway. I would have responded "...I can see you are a person who has a definite idea about what he wants. Lets sit down and go through our inventory and see if we can come up with something more suitable". If he still acted like a dope, then I'd drop him.
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Replying to: isellhondas (Nov 30, 2008 12:56 pm) I hate to even bring this up but the Edmunds home page has an article questioning the reliability of newer Hondas vs. older ones. Maybe the woman should fix up her '89.  EDIT: I actually went back and read the article and it was just the last page from their long-term test of the Accord. Despite the come-on article title, they had no issue with reliability. They said it was reliable but boring...big surprise. Talk about bait and switch. Shame Edmunds, shame. 
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