This was a response to a discussion on LinkedIn. Click HERE to link to that discussion.
Please leave me your thoughts below this post as to whether or not I should turn this into a column. Thanks a bunch.
Let's be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water, Carolyn. There are some really good practices that "outside, non-enthusiast" folks have brought to the industry; practices without which more dealerships may have fallen by the wayside by now. In my opinion, far too many powersports dealers have two things in common with most bar owners: one, they were standing right next to the last owner at the exact moment he got fed up, and two, they were under the influence of the product being served, and thereby not in their right mind.
Don't get me wrong, I completely believe that enthusiasm is a crucial component, but not the sole requirement, of success in this business. I'm also a rider and have been for most of my life. But I want this industry to survive, and it can't without the sound business practices lacking in so many enthusiast oriented industries. There must be a balance.
As a customer, I absolutely want the guy at the scuba shop to know how to make my breathing apparatus work, but I don't particularly care if the kid at the music store can play the guitar or not. (FYI: I spend way too much money at the music store, and frankly, even if I could swim better, I still wouldn't go scuba diving.)
But neither of those two things matter to me as a customer. If the kid at the music store appropriately asks me to buy, I'm more likely to buy than if the expert at the scuba store gives me a perfect expert presentation and neglects to ask for the sale. Asking for the sale is a process that frankly most enthusiasts don't see a need for; after all they love it and think everyone else should too. Asking for the sale must be done on purpose, and that, when it's made policy, is the kind of thing that "outsiders" have brought to the mix.
And there endeth my rant for the day!
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I responded to this thread on LinkedIn. I offer another twist to this subject for your blog.
ReplyDeleteOne huge part of any sales process that a lot of sales people learn, but soon forget... is to "listen!" It is so easy to fall into the rut of reguritating practiced and preconceived sentences and key phrases. And the worst offense, thinking about what you are going to say, while the potential customer is talking. That means you're not listening.
So to get back to the listening part, let me offer this.
Otis, I appreciate the fact that you wish you could swim better... don't we all. But let me share with you one thing about SCUBA diving. Diving has nothing to do with your swimming ability. Can you scissor kick? If the answer is yes, you can SCUBA dive.
Now we have that "negative" turned into a "positive."
Now move onto the "listening" part. Otis you have made quite a few refences to your religious beliefs. Do you believe in heaven? Would you like to experience "heaven on earth?" When you dive with me, you are going to experience weightlessness, see the beauty beneath the ocean that G*d has created, you will forget about the things you forgot to do at work, the things you need to do, all of those nagging thoughts that cloud your mind, you will be in the moment... thinking of nothing but the beauty before you. Diving is a short visit to heaven.
Would you like to buy the Virgin Islands Dive package? We can leave tomorrow.
So we listened, paid attention to your likes and dislikes, turned your no to a yes, threw in some enthusiasm that resonated with "you," and asked for the sale. Product knowledge, enthusiasm, listening to the customer, asking for the sale.