As salespeople by trade (and nature), we hate hearing the word “no”. It chills us to the bone. We want Yes’s and a lot of them. However, the word “no”, as we’ve all learned, is when your job as a “salesperson” really begins. Yet, we have been trained to only ask consumers questions that end in an obvious “Yes” or give them “either/or” scenarios. Well let me tell you that all No’s Aren’t Bad.
No’s aren’t created equal.
Now and then a no goes a long way to being good.
As our first goal with any new client is maximizing their online investments by improving their email, phone, chat, text, and communication skills, here are three No’s that you should seek out with reckless abandon.
On the Phone:
“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
We hear salespeople answering phones and saying everything, but this line. “Do you have a minute to talk?” – Get that “no” answer and you’re dead in the water. “Did I catch you at a good time?” Get that “yes” answer and you’re equally sunk. If we know customers are conditioned to say “no”, why not ask this question above? – “Did I catch you at a bad time?” If they mumble out a quick “no”, this is a Positive No. This means you can continue on with your call. You can keep moving forward with your questions.
On the Phone, Text, Email, In Person:
“Have you had the chance to test drive this vehicle?”
In past blogs, I’ve beat my chest about the importance of the test drive. Based on JD Power data that consumers are visiting fewer dealerships than ever before prior to purchase, it’s clear that test driving remains the one action shoppers have yet to experience. If you ask “Do you want to test drive?” Many will say “yes”, but some will say “no” just to get down to the nitty-gritty. This steals your opportunity to build value. But asking with the question format above, it is a Positive No if they’ve yet to test drive. It gives you a darn good reason for the shopper to come in for that particular action. A Positive No here allows you to bring them in for less stressful purposes that negotiating for a car. It puts an innocuous, yet important step as the root cause for the visit.
“Have you had your vehicle professionally appraised?”
Online shoppers have done their due diligence when calculating their estimated trade values long before contacting your dealership. If that is the case, why are they always so concerned with it when they’re in the showroom? Because they know “prices may vary”. It is a concern for them. Knowing this, we need to use a professional appraisal as a means to bring them in-store. But if you simply ask “Can you come in so my used car manager can give you a number on it?”, they’ll do what they do… and say “no”. This stops that course of appointment-setting. Instead, find out if they had the procedure completed yet. If they say “no”, then that is a positive for you. They will then realize it is a necessary next step for their purchase.
Nobody likes being told “No”. We’re programmed as children every time we overstep our bounds with a parental “no”. As we parents have learned, our children love the word equally as much, if not more. “No” is so simple to say. It may be the easiest word in the world to speak. Use that to your advantage by seeking out Positive No’s. Enough of them will convince them to say “Yes”.
