When Good Salesmenship Happens, Everybody Wins

We’ve finally reached the end of my new car purchase saga.  (Check out Parts One and Two if you’ve missed what has been happening.)  As you can see from the picture above, I am happily the proud owner of new debt. :)

Last Saturday my husband and I took a 25 minute drive out to a dealership to check things out.  Why so far away? They had some pricing that seemed a little cheaper than those dealers close to us, and when you’re talking about vehicles that are tens of thousands of dollars, every penny saved helps out.

We met Joe, our sales guy.  Joe greeted us in passing outside, asked us a question or two, and pointed us in the direction we needed to go.  (No pressure. No hounding.)

He came back around and asked us more questions.  What did I want? What did I need? (Find out what the customer wants to point her in the right direction.)  

Had I done any test driving?  I hadn’t. He grabbed some keys, a plate, and told us to go and check things out.  (Let the customer learn first-hand about the product she wants to buy.)

Joe offered up some pointers and features on the vehicle we looked at since, well, let’s face it.  Cars have come a long way technologically speaking since my 2007 model! We even browsed some used cars just to see what the options were.

The whole time there was absolutely no pressure to buy.  Only information. Only assistance. Only problem-solving.  At the end of our visit, we sat, we chatted, and he printed out some info for us to take home.  Again - absolutely no pressure to buy. (I’m a geek for the no-pressure sale. There isn’t anything I dislike more than someone trying to make me feel guilty or stupid for not making an immediate purchase.)

The next day I sent Joe an email.  (That’s right - he didn’t badger me with more info.)  We emailed back and for about pricing, colors, models.  By the time Friday came around we had all the choices, paperwork and insurance completed and I just needed to sign and pay.

It was so simple.

Well, no.  Initially, with those previous dealerships, it wasn’t.  But with this dealer and our sales guy Joe, it was. Because it wasn’t about sales quotas or commissions.  (Well, maybe it was, but it didn’t feel that way.) It was about helping me find the right car for me at the right price.  It was making sure the customer was happy.

And when the customer is happy, everybody is happy.  I get my car. Joe gets his commission. And future business, too, because I had such a good experience.  So - more happy people.  And everybody wins.