Lessons from the Car Business

Just bought a car last month.  Now, Jon and Mike and I really enjoy buying cars, May, on the other hand, really can't stand the whole process.  In fact the only time she got involved, she called back the guy we had bought from earlier, told him what she wanted, had an appointment (imagine that, an appointment to buy a car!), we showed up at the exact time, drove the car, she said it is perfect!  I was flabbergasted.  Not even sure what that means, but it sounds great.  The way she redeemed herself was to turn to the salesperson and tell him "Now, you have to get my husband comfortable with buying it today!"  Good comeback.

This time, she had no interest in going.  So my sons and I thought we would have some fun.  We all dressed up in our Harley clothes, went car shopping.  Now, if three guys come into your car dealership on Harleys, the chances of them driving home in one of your new shiny  rides that day is small.  Like electron size small.  We did it on purpose.  Wanted to see what would happen.  We were encouraged.  Encouraged because we do sales training for a living, and we saw firsthand  lots of opportunities for training.

We went to about 10 dealerships.  In some cases, we were ignored, no one came out to meet and greet.  Now, remember, Jon sold cars for about 6 years, so we know the drill.  My dad sold cars in St. Louis when I was a pup, they have a system that is proven and time tested.  We walked the lot of a couple of places, no one even came out to say hi.  At a Jeep dealership, a salesman came out, asked us what we wanted, we said small SUV, airport car (as in one we can drive to the airport, and leave there without worrying about it), and small payments.  He walked  us over to the used car lot.  I asked why we were in the used cars.  He said, I thought that is what you wanted.  I said, nope, we want new.  He did not have his product firmly in mind, had to go back inside to see what they sold in a small SUV.  They have two new ones out this year, just so ya know.  He didn't.

But I digress.  Jon did what I suggest, he networked.  He called a buddy that he used to work with and asked what we should look at.  The guy said, Subaru.  Now, a disclaimer.  When I use car names like Jeep and Subaru, I am not implying any sort of better than the other one, just real life, actual happenings.  He even told us to go to Subaru Loveland, right off the interstate, ask for Matt Coyne, Sales Manager.  So we did.  We had looked at Subarus at another outlet, no one had time for us.  We even got to take one home, just not the right one.  When we returned it, no one was available to answer any questions.  They were all in a meeting  (at 7:30 PM).  Saw two salesmen eating pizza in the break room, that is another subject. 

Back to Matt Coyne.  When we walked onto the lot, a young, energetic salesperson met us.  He asked what we were looking for, we told him.  He took us into the showroom, told us he had only been with the dealership 3 weeks, in fact, he was actually with the Chevy dealership owned by the same people, just helping out.  He told us that he knew who did know a lot about the product, Matt Coyne!  Our guy!  So we met him, started the process of learning about a great product.  Turns out Matt is a Harley guy too, so he hooked up with us emotionally fast.  We talked about bikes for 10 minutes, he asked what we had looked at, etc.  We told him the whole nasty story, being ignored, pre-judged, all that.  He then began to tell us the "Subaru Story" , complete with a nifty board that shows how their 4 wheel drive is better than the others. 

Now, here is where Jon comes in.  I like car shopping with Jon, he saves me time.  I am a talker, and as such, hate to offend anyone.  Jon is a doer, get to the bottom line.  Now.  Fast.  I mean today!  So Jon interrupts Matt, tells him to skip the emotional stuff, get to a bottom line.  He tells him he sold BMWs literally 3 blocks north of where we were standing.  So Matt looks at Jon, says I understand.  He said I'll not get beat in price in this market.  I will take all the money out, even the trunk money, get to our real cost after all hold-backs, then add $200.  Fair enough?  Jon said that is exactly what I want.  Then Matt turned to me, said, now, let me tell your pop  why our 4 wheel drive is safer for the grandson than others!  Excellent!   He handled the bottom line guy and the talker in one paragraph.

Matt asked what we would use the car for.  We said, trips to the airport, where we may leave it for a week at a time.  Matt asked if we did that year round.  We said yes, more in the winter, but still each month we went to  Denver to fly out.  He showed us something on a black Outback sitting on the showroom floor.  He showed us windshield wiper defrosters.   I mean there are electrical elements that run across the front of the windshield right where the wipers sit.  Now, if you have ever been In the cold weather, when it snowed abut 10 inches, then melted some, then froze again, you can realize what a benefit that could be.  Matt said "think of coming out from the terminal in 8 degree weather, with 16" of new snow on everything, and kicking on the wiper defroster, watching it melt away the ice and snow on the windshield."  Great visual.  He also said that same defroster handles the rear view mirrors, so you will be able to see front and rear, get on the road fast. 

He showed us several cars, one at a time.  Jon actually tried to get him to compare three cars at once, he did one at a time.  Why?  Because a confused mind doesn't make a decision.  So keep it simple, don't let the customer run the meeting, keep control of the presentation.  Jon and I looked at several cars, we now figured out we wanted the fancy defroster, as well as their improved All Wheel Drive with limited slip differential, the hot ticket for the snow and ice.  They had a solid black version on the show room floor.  It was loaded, and had all the stuff we wanted and needed.  So we asked if it was for sale.  Reader's Digest version, we bought a windshield defroster system with a black car included at no additional cost. 

Matt had a guy from finance do the paperwork.  He said, we have this oil change program, we sell you a discounted oil change if you agree to come here for the next two years for service.  I decided to pass, Matt came in and said, by the way, I want to give you our oil change program for no additional investment.    We felt really good, and still do to this day.

On a personal note, we are now doing sales training for the Subaru and Chevy stores, both sales teams.  Long term project, some great potential.

Lessons learned: first, don't pre-judge.  The person who looks kind of rough may be able to buy anything in your price book.  Second, know your product line, the customer may have been on the web site, and has a good idea what the current product line contains.  Third, keep control, don't try to overwhelm them with too many options.  If they can't do the best, it is OK, even a great idea to offer a better system, start with the best first, see if it fits.  Forth, find out what they want, then make sure you give it to them.  Remember, it is their problems that your products need to solve.  Finally, give them something extra, unexpected at the last minute, something additional after they have agreed to your system.  That turns them from satisfied customers to raving fans, what you need in today's crowded market. 

So that's my lessons learned from car buying, it was fun, and yet we learned a lot.  And got a new client to boot, it don't get any better than that.  Thanks for listening, we'll talk later.