Reply to thread

John, I'm not saying that any salesman needs to minimize or remove the emotion from the sale. I'm saying that we no longer need to minimize the analytical side of the equation - if you're priced right! You only need to you remove the analytical side if you can't logically justify your price.

As for there being a "dearth of talent on the floor", it takes more talent today than ever before IF the dealership has an "Old School" pricing structure and is working "Old School" strategies and tactics. Those worked very well when customers walked in with no information. Today it takes absolutely flawless execution to run the old games, because the balance of knowledge has shifted. I'm not convinced that today's salespeople have less talent, but I am sure they are facing a much better prepared customer. And to add insult to injury, pricing high leads to fewer opportunities. So we have a situation where we don't get up to bat as often and when we do, we have to execute flawlessly.

This is why a strategy needs to be built to address today's realities. It creates less of a battle, reduced negotiation, happier customers, more volume and can be accomplished by an average salesman. I'm not saying they don't need to be trained because they most certainly do. But they need to be trained with a strategy and a set of tactics designed for today's well informed customer.