A walk-around is a physical tour of a car that a customer has chosen, and can be a very fun part of the sales process. It’s an opportunity for you to gain trust, transition from showroom to sale, and get to better know the customer and their needs. You get to be up on your feet, helping the customer reach the point where they are sitting in the driver’s seat and viewing the car as their very own. Each walk-around is tweaked to fit the customer it’s for, so you also have an opportunity to read the person you’re selling to and get a bit creative.
Read on for some ways that you can make a walk-around successful and give an engaging presentation!
Automotive Sales Careers Are About Reading People
The customer is already interested in buying the car at the walk-around stage, so this is the time to transition them into a stage where they are sure that this is the car for them. Ask questions and be interested in the person, then customize your service and presentation. Whatever the concerns and desires are for your customer, you can use the presentation skills you developed at auto sales college to weave in elements that they care about.
For a customer who cares a lot about performance, you might want to spend a little more time under the hood chatting about the engine. If they mentioned having back pain, showing them the adjustable power seat could have them on cloud nine. A new parent might be more concerned about safety features and want to know how much room there is in the backseat. Each time you talk about a car with a new customer will be different. It can be quite fun to tailor a walk-around to the person you are with!
Keeping Customers Engaged Helps Them Feel Ownership
Making sure your customer stays engaged with your presentation is part of giving them the best experience possible. If they’re interacting with the car, they will start to feel closer to owning it. When we feel ownership over things, we value them more. This is thanks to the Endowment Effect, in which we value things we have (or think we have) over things that aren’t ours. Let customers touch and explore the car, feeling seats, turning knobs, or gripping the steering wheel.
Move strategically when you begin your walk-around, perhaps starting at the hood of the car, travelling around the passenger side, then all the way around to the driver’s seat, ending with your customer sitting at the wheel. Let them ask questions, listening carefully to all of them. It’s easy for customers to dismiss salespeople who ignore them, so acknowledging their questions and concerns is key. If you don’t know the answer to something, take note and promise to find out the answer for them after your walk-around. Even long-time vets in automotive sales careers need help finding answers sometimes.
Be Genuine in Your Career After Auto Sales College
Salespeople can be stereotyped as pushy or aggressive, but that image is far from the truth: an excellent salesperson will be genuine, caring, and attentive. That’s because when you stay genuine, you’ll have an easier time building rapport and trust with your customers. Be yourself and approach conversations in a more conversational and less rehearsed manner. Connecting with others allows you to understand what a customer wants—you might even discover that they’re interested in features that only come with a more expensive trim!
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