Make Good First Impression Every Time

Once upon a time at a car dealership, a potential customer walked into a showroom. The potential customer looked like a fish out of water. You could see fear and confusion in their eyes.

They obviously needed help, so a salesperson walked over to them and asked: “Hi. Do you need any help?”

Of course, the potential customer said: “No, that’s OK. We are just looking around and kicking some tires.”

So the salesperson gave them his business card and said: “Great! Look around and if you need any help ask for me, my name is Bob.”

Five minutes later the potential new customer thanked Bob for letting them look around and walked out the door. Sound familiar?

Selling cars does not have to be hard. But for untrained salespeople, mishandling simple things such as the greeting and qualifying questions might explain why they are only selling five cars a month. It’s also a huge reason why they quit or get fired.

Here are common bad auto-sales introductions:

I call these bad introductions because nearly every one opens you up for a negative response – either a “No not right now” or “No thanks, I’m just looking”

When you do a bad greeting, a negative response is given by the customer 70% of the time. It’s your goal to avoid it.

Though an experienced salesperson usually can use almost any type of introduction and rebound from it, people new to the automotive sales world need to learn the right way from day one. The first words out of your mouth make up your greeting, so make it effective.

The following is the start to your auto selling process. Use it on everyone that enters the dealership. This is not new and I have not reinvented the wheel, but trust me, it works.

Smile. People prefer to avoid negativity, and a smile always is the best way for you to introduce yourself in a positive way. 

“Welcome to George Motors. My name is Darin George and your name is?” If the last name is not given, ask: “And your last name is?”

The reason you want to find out their last name is to greet them properly and to get more information instead of a negative response. After you get their last name, you can lead into your contact questions smoothly, avoiding simple customer objections.

Of all the selling steps, the first one has the most impact because you won’t have an opportunity to make that critical first impression again. With this in mind, make sure your first contact is your best.

Always dress in a professional manner, brush your teeth, smell good and don’t act like Hollywood’s version of a car salesperson.

After the initial greeting, write down the customer’s name, but do it without them knowing you’re doing it. There is nothing more embarrassing than calling someone by the wrong name.

If you feel comfortable using the person’s first name, just do it. If you think addressing them as Mr., Ms. or Mrs. until they ask you to call them by their first name, then do that.

Personally, I feel better when people call me by my first name. I always feel too old when salespeople call me Mr. George or sir, especially when the person is older than me. LOL

Do not hand out your business card during your introduction. Why not? Because your card has no value until you do. Build value in yourself and your business card. Earn the right and be patient.

The best way to reduce the number of times you hear “I’m just looking,” or “I’m just shopping around” is to start off with a proper introduction every time.

How you start with a customer will determine where you end up. So start right. We have all heard the saying that you only get one chance to make a good first impression. As a car salesperson, we get that one chance many times. Make yours the best every time.

Darin George is a sales trainer and recruiter for ASC, www.visitasc.com. He is the Author of Sales Training – Automotive Edition and Sales Process - Can You Sell Me a Pen? available at www.barnsandnoble.com He is at [email protected]