In the last few years, I have several times been invited, as a prelude to training programmes, to address teams of Sales Managers on how to grow their business without simply sacrificing profitability. This article is a blend of the content of those addresses. For the sake of this discussion, the pie represents the [...]
Sales Training
With many manufacturers recently running promotions with low interest rates, many salespeople have encountered customers coming in and mentioning the advertised finance deal. Unthinking, unprepared salespeople immediately refer the customer to the F&I Manager then wonder why the customer got a lot of info about the finance and then left without buying a car. In [...]
I continue to be amazed at how many businesses I discover that do not measure or track their sales activities in any meaningful way. Here are some of the guiding principles I recommend for businesses that are introducing sales tracking. 1. Salespeople must log as much enquiry as possible. Even customers who are, for example, [...]
I am often asked by clients for advice about the best place to conduct training. My advice varies depending on the client's individual circumstances but one of the most reliable guidelines I follow on recommending training venues is that 'the best place to learn to swim is in the water'. Learning to Swim Imagine you [...]
Road to a Sale is a procedural guide for helping a client to buy a car. Different versions of Road to a Sale have been around for decades and there have been an extraordinary number of different versions of Road to a Sale. Some manufacturers and dealerships have their own versions of Road to a [...]
In recent discussions with colleagues, we have talked about the importance of effective product knowledge in providing good customer service. One example I gave was a concierge in a hotel, who may be extremely polite, considerate, enthusiastic and eager to help. However if he/she doesn't know the hotel and its facilities, doesn't know the local [...]