My wife and I bought four vehicles over the past five years. We are informed shoppers. We do our research. We go to the dealership prepared. Our salesperson interactions for these purchases are at best unmemorable,at worst,annoying,frustrating,or useless.
Our frustrations are shared by many shoppers. In shopping research and focus groups we (at Ford) have heard the shopper. And shopping is not a pleasant experience. For most shoppers it probably feels like a $25,000 root canal. As we analyzed the issue,we came up with various reasons like lack of a relationship,limited shopping dialogue,and transparency.
Over the past four car purchases my and I have made,we have dealt with four different sales people. Our situation is not unique. Only about one-third of new vehicle buyers repurchase a second vehicle from the same dealership. Although the research does include the percent of those buyer use the same salesperson,it is safe to say the majority of new vehicle shoppers use a different salesperson for each purchase.
Pressure to Perform:Buying a car can be like a night at a singles bar. Two strangers meet at the dealership. The salesperson is looking to close a deal. The shopper may or may not be ready to buy.
A key insight is this encounter is set up for failure,especially if the buyer is not ready to buy. Like male shark circling the singles bar for prey,the salesperson is desperate to close the deal. He pressures the shopper. He refuses to take no for an answer. He utters the infamous words,“What will it take to get you into a car today?”Interesting enough,his pressure to close the sale becomes a self fulfilling prophecy,and he chases the shopper away.
What can we do about it? Well,some of the better sales people realize patience reaps reward. Helpful but not desperate will put many shoppers at ease. The salesperson does risk losing shoppers by not over-persuing the sale,but the low-pressure tactic is to keep shoppers coming back. Hopefully buying multiple times.
Increase Familiarity:Think of sales people or agents you have a relationship or multiple purchases with. The familiarity creates a comfort and trust. Given the turnover in many dealerships (up to 100% in a year),multi-purchase relationships with automotive salespeople are rare. Even rarer are buyers who recommend a car salesperson,but that is a topic for another blog. One solution to increase familiarity is to choose your salesperson. The other day I reviewed H&R Block’s Tax Professional Selector (I see tax people).
A similar approach could be applied to the dealership sales process. A shopper would feel more comfortable if they knew a little about the salesperson prior to reaching the dealership. Better yet,if the shopper chose the salesperson and began the dialogue several weeks prior to the sale,they could establish a rapport and reduce the pressure to close the sale in one day.
