I was speaking to friends at a New Year’s Eve party who had recently purchased a new car. I asked about their experience. They said it was “good”… just as they had expected. They had researched the vehicle online (OEM, Edmunds, KBB and finally the dealership site) before heading into the store. Everything had gone according to plan. I asked if they left the dealership an online review and they said “Yes. Three stars.”
Why only three?” I asked.
Then they told me how the only reason they gave three stars was because the salesperson kept trying to make them feel bad after the sale.
“Feel bad? After?” I asked. It turns out their salesperson kept saying over and over “My manager is really upset at me for selling the car this low.”
“My manager is pretty pissed off he has to let for of this car for the price you got online.” ETC. Etc.
We’ve all heard this before (and if you’ve been doing this for a while, you may have even had a manager tell you to say something similar to a customer.) Allow me to say that, in today’s world, saying these unnecessary statements AFTER the deal is made is only begging for negative reviews.
After hearing this (and laughing a little), I asked myself, ”Why?” Why does this still go on? Why did it go on in the first place? I’m sure, in all of the sales I’ve made and customers I’ve closed, I’ve even said this to a customer before. Why would anyone do this? I’ve never heard of a customer relenting and saying – “Okay, then just raise the price $400 more. I don’t want them feeling bad.” Or “You shouldn’t get in trouble for it. How about we add on a few hundred more just in case.” NO. That’s insane.
As a manager, if you accept a deal… live with it. Urge your salespeople to deliver top-notch customer service after the sale and hope for returning service department traffic. Or don’t accept it. You aren’t a guilt-trip artist. You are a sales manager. It doesn’t work anyway and you should recognize that it doesn’t do any good.
If you tell the customer this to cover up the fact that you are gouging them in the wallet, then why mention anything? It is akin to having a royal flush in poker on the draw and then immediately saying “Wow. I’ve got nothing. What a terrible hand of cards. I hope you folks don’t take advantage of my miserable hand here.” NO. That’s stupid.
If you are a salesperson and this is a tactic you’ve tried, ask yourself what good it could possibly do. There are several phrases that we are accustomed to saying or hearing that are No-Need statements. There simply is no-need to say them so why say them at all. If you know of any other “No-Need” statements, I’d love to hear them.
Don’t ask dumb questions.
