Take My Money - Please!

I am buying a new vehicle.

Let me rephrase that.  I am attempting to buy a new vehicle.  My current car will be turned over to my soon-to-get his license 16-year old, and that means I need a new ride.

Over the years I’ve purchased 3 different vehicles.  The first was a small pick-up truck after the car I was driving croaked.  (It was my first brand new vehicle!) The second was a sedan I bought because we couldn’t fit a baby in a 2-seat pick-up truck.   Then I bought my third, current car because the sedan croaked.

They were all vehicles I liked, but they were all bought because I “had to.”  So I was getting whatever was on the lot that I could afford.

But now, I can be a little choosy.  I can get what I want. (Well, mostly - what I want and my budget don’t quite sync up!)  I can take my time and get the vehicle that will last for the next couple of decades.

So I did things differently.

I researched dealers.  Then I researched certain salespeople at dealers.  And I began to email them specifically, sending them my request.  The type of car, the features (must haves and really wants), the monthly payment limit, the down payment, etc.  I asked each person to let me know if they had a deal for me based on what I want (or at least something close).

Guess what happened?  Nothing.

That’s right - nothing.  No response. No reply even to tell me they couldn’t help me.

I don’t know if you’ve ever dealt with car salespeople before, but for no one to reach out to me - that’s just not right.

Here I am, offering to spend money, asking for help - and I get no reply.  What kind of good sales tactic is that?

In my business, when people contact me about my services, I reply.  And sometimes there are people I cannot help. But I still reply. I actually look around for other VAs who may provide a service I don’t.

The first part of the sale is acknowledging the potential customer.  Without that acknowledgement, it’s just a person wandering around a website, a parking lot or a showroom.  How else do you expect to get people to purchase your goods or services if you’re not going to respond to them?  How do expect to have an income?

I finally got one person who emailed me back, promptly and with information.  

Guess who’s getting my business and my money?