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Financially Challenged Customers

Apr 28, 2009
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First Name
Jerry
I've started this thread after listening to the following call: Sales Call

It's always been my personal policy to invite these customers to the dealership no matter what the condition of their credit rating. I have often found that these customers are mistreated and abused. We need to treat these customers with respect and take them through the normal process of purchasing an automobile. They need to get all excited about taking delivery of a vehicle. Now I am not going to let them get all excited about driving out in a high end luxury automobile, I am going to make sure I've done enough investigation to recommend a realistic option for them. If that means that I need to run a credit application then I will, but only once the customer is sitting in the dealership. When you get somebody excited about the thought of owning a vehicle, you'll be surprised at how they find more money for a down payment or maybe they work a little harder to find a co-buyer. If you don't have the customer excited about a vehicle this can be difficult to accomplish over the phone.

Financially challenged customers are the easiest appointment to make when we you bait a good hook. Here's the technique I use: "You've called the right place because something we specialize in here at ABC Motors is helping customers like yourself rebuild or establish credit so that you can purchase an automobile that best suits your needs. Since we're one of the larger dealers in our area, we're usually able to get our customers low rate financing when others can't . There's probably a good chance I can have you driving down the road today. Now when would be a good time for you to come in, now or later today?"

If you can't get them done, become their credit counselor. Tell them what they need to do and then follow-up with them every few months. These folks find a way to purchase a vehicle eventually.

What is your dealerships policy on financially challenged customers?


 
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Reactions: lsams15
Very well said.

I worked for a dealership that focused a lot on Sub-prime lending and I found that those folks who are financially challenged to be an easy appointment. If they see what they "can get" if they do "A, B, and C" (usually a cosigner, etc.) , it's amazing the lengths that they'd go to.

"We understand here at ABC that just because you have what's classified as "bad credit", that it doesn't make you a bad person. We specialize in helping people like you and me to get a car and rebuild your credit."

One of my biggest pet peeves were salesman who would prequalify the customer on the phone and not bring them in because of a credit score, Could it be more of a challenge to get the deal bought? Yes. But did you just earn a potential customer for life with family/friend referrals? YES and YES.
 
I was a new guy and didn't know any better in 99 and took a phone up from a women saying she was turned down every where and didn't have a car. I told her to take a cab or I would come get her. She took the cab....I couldn't help her because she was below 400 score. I called her every month to check on her and see if anything changed. The 8th month she called me saying she got a large amount of money from a relative passing away and she wanted to buy a car from me because I treated her like a person. She not only bought the car but paid above what I asked and offered me a tip that my boss would not allow me to accept. That was my biggest commission after 8 years.

Oh, and she asked me to come pick her up when she wanted to buy the car and we counted cash on her bed.....she had a couple hundred thousand dollars stashed under her it. Just seeing that much cash motivated me to have a great month.

I almost forgot.....the next month I made my second biggest commission of my career selling a car to my ex-girlfriend. :)