Why Your Prospect DEMANDS What They Want
A few years ago, I visited a luxury automotive dealer in Long Beach, California to train and consult their team.
I witnessed a highly demanding customer negotiating on a $100K vehicle saying, “I am in the top 1% (wealthiest people in America). You have one shot to make a sale with me. I want your best rock-bottom price or I’m walking out of here!”
I could see that the sales consultant was flustered and the customer had total control of him. Finally, the sales consultant, without skipping a beat, quoted the car at invoice and the customer took notes and stomped his way out.
Why did this happen?
- The sales consultant did not know who he was. If he had known his own identity fully, he would know that he was the one with authority in his domain, not the customer.
- The sales consultant did not know how to deal with the customer’s personality type. If he did, then he would have known how to steer the conversation to a positive or at least a reasonable outcome.
As a Sales Professional, you have a multi-faceted responsibility: To maximize unit sales, make the customer happy, make a decent commission check and make the dealer a healthy profit. You juggle these responsibilities every single day. In the course of these daily tasks you must also deal with the dreaded; “You have ONE SHOT, give me your BEST PRICE!” customer. THAT’S your reality.
According to sales professionals across America, I’ve been told personally that the “Best Price” customer is the one they struggle closing the most They say they’ve been through training after training, in-house and outsourced, they know all the scripts and closing lines taught and yet decades later, this is STILL an ever-increasing issue. So, what/who is the problem? Is it the salesperson, the training, the dealership or the customer?
It’s safe to assume that someone who is adamant, insistent and demanding with a confrontational tone may seem a little intimidating. Couple that with the “fear of loss” seeping into the mind of the salesperson and you could very well have a scenario of repeated failure.
Let’s look at an example from the beginning with an incoming Internet Lead:
Internet Lead
Name: REX WARDEN
Phone: 555-555-5555
Email: RWARDEN@GMAIL.COM
Make: XXX
Model: 4×4 HEAVY DUTY TRUCK
Color: BLACK
Interior: BLACK
Trim: XLE
Options: LOADED
Questions: I WANT YOUR BEST PRICE. NO GAMES!
The above lead SCREAMS of a D-type personality, the Dominant. Or perhaps someone who has been given the runaround by competitors. Here are some clues:
- ALL CAPS
- Type of vehicle
- Color
- “Loaded”
- Statement instead of a question
Let’s analyze each of the clues:
- ALL CAPS – when someone types in all caps, it gives the impression that they are yelling at you. It’s probably not what this person is “trying” to do (key word “trying”), but it’s what they do naturally. They can’t help it. This is certainly a true dominant personality trait.
- Type of vehicle – You might be saying, “Well can’t any one of the other personalities purchase a 4×4 Heavy Duty Truck?” Yes, they could, but when we look at the overall lead, it falls right in line with the D-personality.
- Color – Really? Yes! Dominant personalities are attracted to bold and dark colors. Look at what they wear. You will never see a D personality wear a multi-colored outfit. They do not look for confidence through the clothes or color they wear because they are confident themselves. It’s the same principle when it comes to the vehicles they like to buy.
- “LOADED” – The D-personality is not going to spend time online to list out all the details. They probably would leave most of the fields blank anyway. When they say LOADED, to them, YOU are supposed to figure out what that means exactly.
- Statements instead of questions – D’s rarely ask questions. They do not want to be vulnerable to the possibility of being known as someone that did not know something. They exude confidence and they will not risk the chance of being taught.
Typical Responses might include:
Hello Rex,
I can get you at $45,900. When can you come in?
Rex,
Sure. When can you come in so we can give you the best price?
The issue here could be that these salespeople are treating this lead as a LEAD and not as a HUMAN BEING! Humanizing the lead response and understanding that you are dealing with a real person on the other end could start an intelligent conversation.
What if you were to respond with something like this?
“Hello Mr. Warden,
Thanks for the inquiry on the XXX black-on-black 4×4 Heavy Duty Truck. You seem to be confident in the exact vehicle you want and I respect that. It’s a bold vehicle of sheer power, able to get any task you want done.
We have the vehicle in-stock (or “available”) ready for immediate delivery. Our proposal for the vehicle is below.
MSRP: $47,985
E-Price: $45, 885 (not including applicable rebates and incentives)
We would be glad to give you options on payments, rates and talk about alternative/additional equipment as well by email or more quickly over the phone. If you would like to talk on the phone, what’s the best number to reach you at right now?”
Would not the prospect be more apt to respond to something like the above?
(The above is considering a dealer that gives a price up-front to their prospect.)
How does this type of email above relate to a D-Personality? By utilizing key words that cater to that individual. See below.
Keywords for a “D” Personality
- Mr. / Mrs.
- Confident
- Respect
- Bold
- Sheer power
- Task…done
- Ready
- Immediate
- Options
- Quickly
- Right Now
I think you get the picture by now without me having to explain every single one of the keywords. Also, notice how your email ends with a question. It’s designed for you to take control of the conversation, especially considering that you are dealing with a D-personality, and increasing your chances of engagement. Now you have a much higher probability of Rex responding to your email than the usual silence from a static response from your competitors.
When you communicate to this type of prospect, they want to feel respected. They tend to have an ego so feed it! Find out what their hot buttons are and build on their ego. Make yourself small and make them LARGER THAN LIFE! Once they see that you take care of them well, they will not request that their friends come see you…they will DEMAND their friends to come deal with you!
Stay tuned for my next article on what to do when a prospect who is non-confrontational in nature masks themselves as a D-personality.
I will publish much more on the many different facets of personality profiling to maximize your performance in Internet sales. You obviously cannot close a prospect with just the one example above. There are many hours of extensive, in-depth training available at ProStar Automotive Solutions (www.prostarautomotivesolutions.com) as well if you want to learn more about setting more appointments with personality profiling in Internet sales. Please comment below with your honest thoughts. Thank you and best of success!
