Its important to make sure your marketing and sales team are working together at your RV dealership.
We’ve all heard stories about how a dealerships marketing and sales team didn’t work well together and it hurt their dealership, and we want to learn from their mistakes.
The biggest mistake you can make as an RV dealership is thinking there is such thing as marketing vs. sales. The truth is, you have to have marketing AND sales.
Human beings have been passing down information through stories since the beginning of time. Today is no different. As humans, we love stories. We love hearing them. Being a part of them. And even telling them. So how does this relate to selling? Well, the truth is, that each good salesperson should be able to tell a story. This article explains why every salesperson should be a storyteller.
This is something that sometimes lacks in the sales industry. Salespeople forget that people buy things from people they like. They also buy things from people that can paint a story for them that connects to their wants, needs, expectations, and dreams.
Stories of the Future Possibilities
In our online training, six-figure salesperson Chris Paulino talks about closing deals with hypothetical stories painted for the client base. These stories allow the salesperson to connect the customer to the possibilities that the new purchase would give them. Stories also play on the imagination of the consumer and allow them to visualize the picture that the salesperson is trying to paint.
You can also tell stories that explain how your product can help save people from future problems. This will motivate customers to purchase
Stories of Past Successes
Think about the power of a testimonial builds for your business. It’s a story of how your product or service helped solve a problem for the client which usually leaves customers trusting your brand. Amazon and Yelp have built their businesses on these stories from consumers so why should your business be any different?
Like I mentioned above, these stories can be about past customers that you saved from issues. True and authentic stories can build brand and trust with the customer even if they never ever meet the other characters involved. Most likely, they will believe you and trust you even more after one of these narratives.
You can teach them about features, product benefits, or other value propositions through your use of these educational stories. This is why every salesperson should be a storyteller.
Whether it’s a pitch, product, or service that you’re trying to sell, stories will make all the difference. So what drives your stories? Share in the comments below!
There is nothing more annoying than watching sales people talk news, sports, and weather with their customers; stop talking news, sports, and weather to build rapport with your customers!
Some sales people talk about the daily news or how the Browns just fired Freddie Kitchens.
Others say things like,”Oh, this is some beautiful weather we’re having today” or “My oh my, we’re having some beautiful weather today”.
These “rapport” building techniques do nothing for you, yet some sales trainers tell you to do these kinds of things to build rapport with your customers.
Your customer does not come to your store to talk about news, sports and weather; so stop talking news, sports and weather to build rapport!
They talk news, sports, and weather with their co-workers, family, and their friends.
The last thing they want to do is come to your store to solve a problem and be stuck talking to your sales people about the same things they talk with everyone else about.
Your customers are at your stores, or calling your locations because they have problems and they’re looking for solutions.
If you’re a sales person who is wasting your customers precious time to talk about news, sports, and weather then you’re missing the point.
Take the time your customers give you to talk about the problems they’re trying to solve.
Learn your customers deepest desires and how your product/services will make a difference in your customers life, because this is all your customer cares about.
They don’t care to talk news, sports and weather with you.
Start talking with your customers about how your products/services will be the solution to their problems.
Start asking who, what, when, where, and why questions to get your customers talking about their needs and wants.
Start going past surface level and learning your customers true desires so you can start talking about how your product is the solution.
By asking the right questions, listening to your customer, and explaining how your product or service is the solution to their problems, you will close a lot more deals.
Stop this nonsense of talking new, sports, and weather with your customers to build rapport because you’re just wasting everyone’s time.
Your customers are looking at a RV because they want to create memories with their family and friends.
They are looking at RVs because their current problems aren’t being solved.
Maybe they are camping in a tent and hate sleeping on the ground.
Or maybe, their family is growing and they need more beds.
On the other hand, maybe their family is getting older and now they’re looking at couples RVs.
Maybe your customer has had a pull behind for the last 10 years and now wants to start traveling in a motorhome.
There are a million reasons or problems your customers are looking to fix with your RV, but 1 truth remains the same.
Your customers are buying a RV because they want to fulfill their true desires; traveling, camping, and creating memories with their family and friends.
All too often RV salespeople get caught in pitching things to their customers like the outdoor kitchen, LED lights, beds, and other features of the RV.
What sales people don’t do is get context and ask questions on why their customers are looking at RVs.
What problems they’re currently having at the campground with their current option.
They never ask where they plan to travel and what they want to do in their RV or even how many people will be on these RV trips.
They don’t learn what their customers deepest desires are or what big problem buying a RV will solve for their customer.
Most sales people simply pitch feature after feature till their customers leave, and yet they’re still curious why their customers are “lookers” for 5 years running.
If you want to start closing more RV sales, start learning what makes your customers tick.
Learn what they will be using their RV for, and how they will be using it.
Ask questions on why owning a RV is important to them and figure out what desires they will be fulfilling by purchasing a new RV.
When you get past surface level with your customers you will have a much higher chance to close the deal because customers buy on emotion and justify with logic.
This is why the best way to close a RV sale is by using your customers emotions against them.
Ask them things like, “Why do you want to keep waiting on your dreams and creating memories with your family and friends when you could buy the RV today and start living the life you really want to live? Sign here.”
Or something like, “Why continue to look for RVs year after year and while never buying one? Time is one thing you can never get back and by not buying the RV today you’re just wasting time that you will never get back. Buy this RV today and start living the life you want to live instead of putting it off another year.”
Just in these 2 examples you can see how I am not using features to close the sale.
I am strictly going for a close using my customers emotions, and this is the best way to close a RV sale.
Stop being an amateur and start using emotion to close more RV sales!
I feel like a lot of people get caught up doing things they don’t love to do because of fear.
They’re afraid to venture out on their own to start their own businesses or to leave a comfortable office because they might not like anywhere else.
Truly, this is a prison of their own making.
But, alas, they are not the only ones that have experienced fear.
I too have succumbed to fear many times. I’d quit positions because of fear of failure.
I’d give up on dreams because of fear of the unknown.
Yes, the certainty of control grabbed me like it has everyone else.
Yet, when I truly got down to it, I couldn’t imagine myself working somewhere for years to come when my heart was truly in other things.
Not saying it hasn’t been tough to let go of the grasp that I wanted on my own reality, but it has become easier one day at a time.
However, the biggest gift that I have come across. The most satisfying bit of knowledge is that ambition is good, but wisdom is better.
I used to think that chasing after my dreams were giving up all sense of stability and doing whatever I could to make those dreams come true. Although some Cinderalla stories start and end well like this, I live in a reality where that equation doesn’t work.
You see, when there are mouths to feed and people counting on your support for them, it doesn’t really work to make rash decisions that might leave your loved ones out on the curb with no heat or place to go.
So, what do you do if you’re in a position like mine where people depend on you each and every day to take care of them? You don’t make unwise decisions that will leave everyone starving. No, you take care of what you can take care of and take baby steps to get where your goals are.
My grandfather in law was a stonemason. They say his hands were as big as a man’s head and he was one of the hardest workers you’d ever meet.
He dreamt of building a house for him and his family to reside. So do you know what he did? He worked.
Every day he worked at building things and every day he’d take the extra brick from his jobs and lay it aside.
After a while, he had enough brick to build his own home which eventually he did.
He also had some money left over to put in the stock market which eventually made him a millionaire. But, he was humble. He worked hard and was wise with his time and his money.
Ambition Is Good, But Wisdom Is Better.
The problem I see in myself and some others like me is that we rush things. We jump the gun. Our society applauds these rags to riches stories and we eat them up.
Not only does this sometimes leave us making unwise decisions for the dream, but truly it delays our goals from really happening. Obviously we learn from failure, but to make wise decisions in the first place, that’s something that needs to be applauded.
When I first became a Christian, the one thing I wanted more than anything was wisdom.
I prayed for it. I studied it. I wanted it.
Yet, the first gift that I got on all that was a valuable look at myself. Showing me how unwise I really was.
When I was young, I took opportunities that I thought would pan out, and although some benefit came from them, I should have been more set on establishing myself rather than chasing the wind.
In this, I’ve been able to see what really matters and make those SMART goals our teachers were always telling us about.
I still have the tendency to not make wise decisions sometimes both in life and in business. However, the realization that I do this changed me and helped me grow.
So now, approaching my 30’s, I am not perfect, but I am better able to asses certain situations and make the best decision to benefit me and my family at the same time.
The point of this is telling you to not give up on your dreams. But to also not embrace folly and chase after the wind because it’s “popular”.
Ambition is good, but wisdom is better.
Until Next Time, Stay Pushing
Tia
The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. Proverbs 19:8
The best sales people have trained, developed, and went through deal after deal to learn how to overcome any objection, and it usually comes with time.
Some sales people quit before they learn how to do it, while others fail deal after deal till they figure it out.
The smart sales people, look for articles and training courses like this and shorten their learning curve so they can close deals more efficiently in less time.
After 15+ years in sales, I have learned the best way to overcome an objection, and it is to not meet it the objection head on.
Nobody likes that 80’s style, used car sales person who has a rebuttal for everything.
Customers in today’s day and age want sales people who truly care about their needs and wants, not a salesperson with a pocket full of rebuttals.
If you don’t want to be that used car sales person that everyone hates then pay attention.
The best way to overcome an objection is to “hear what they are saying”, and suggest why their objection is holding them back from what they truly want.
So if you learn your customer has come to look at motorhomes because they want to travel and build memories with their family and friends, you use the fact that they want to travel and build memories with their family and friends to overcome their objections.
So to give you an idea of what I mean, here is an example dialogue of how you would use this to overcome objections:
Customer – “I will eventually buy a motorhome but I need to think about it a little more.”
Salesperson – “I hear what you’re saying, but let me ask you this. Why continue to postpone your travels and building memories with your family and friends when you could buy this motorhome today and start living out your dreams.”
Customer – “Well I understand that, but I still need to check my finances, and make sure I can even buy a motorhome.
Salesperson – “I hear what you’re saying but you can’t take your money with you. Your family and friends are only getting older as time passes, and who knows how much more time you actually have left to create memories with your family and friends. This motorhome is only $500 a month which is pennies when you compare the memories and time you will spend with your loved ones in your new motorhome. Stop waiting on your dreams and buy the motorhome today.”
Customer – “Well $500 is still a lot of money, and I have to check with my significant other to see if they would be ok with $500 a month for a motorhome.
Salesperson – “I hear what you’re saying and it is important to have your significant others blessing in anything you choose to do. I know you mentioned that your significant other wanted to build memories with your family and friends as much as you do so I am sure that they will agree that $500 is pennies in comparison to the memories and time you will be spending with your family and friends. Lets do this, sign right here saying you’ll buy the motorhome today and we will make the deal contingent on your significant others approval. If your significant other says its a no-go, then we will tear up the contract, no harm no foul, but I am confident that this motorhome is exactly what you 2 need to start living your dreams and traveling with your family, and I am sure your significant other will feel the same way. Sound fair enough?”
Customer – “You’re probably right, my significant other wants this motorhome more than I do, but honestly we were planning to buy one next year.”
Salesperson – “I hear what you’re saying but why wait another year? You both want a motorhome, you both want to travel and create memories with your family and friends. Why wait another year to start doing what you truly want to do when you could buy this motorhome today and start creating memories with your family and friends, you only live once, sign right here.”
Customer – “You make good points, but I really just don’t want to buy it today.”
Salesperson – “I hear what you’re saying but the honest reason you don’t want to buy the motorhome today is because you think you might regret the purchase, but let me ask you this. What do you think you will regret more at the end of your life? Spending $500 a month to travel and create lasting memories with your family and friends or saving $500 a month and never getting to travel and create those memories with your family and friends? Stop torturing yourself year after year and buy this motorhome today so you can start building those memories and living with no regrets.”
Now by this time, your customer is usually closed if you have them on the right product/service but I think you get the point.
We could go on and on with their objections using this method and all we are doing is putting the purchase back on the customer.
We’re saying, I hear your objection and it makes sense, but you can start living your dreams today, why wait?
We’re playing to our customers emotions and getting them to realize that this motorhome is a solution to their problem. That this motorhome is going to help their family travel and create memories, which is worth more than money, so why keep waiting?
We are putting into perspective that this product or service, is what they need to live a better life, and why would you wait on living a better life?
When you overcome objections in this way and stop meeting them head on, your customer will respect you more.
They will see you as a salesperson who actually listens and who actually cares about solving their problems.
They will see you as a salesperson who is there for their needs instead of just there to make a sale, and it will make a huge difference.
Stop being a rebuttal master and overcome objections in the way outlined above, and see how many more of your deals start closing.
Without marketing, nobody will know about your products so how will you sell them?
Without sales, nobody will buy your product or service… so which one comes first?
In my opinion, sales should come before marketing.
If you don’t have a team who can sell your products or services then who cares?
You could have 100, 200, 500, or even 1000 leads coming in but if you don’t have a sales team that can close the deal and generate cash flow then what is the point?
Some companies come up with an “amazing” product or service that “everyone” will need and buy, but when they try to sell it, nobody buys.
This is a classic example of a business owner who didn’t understand their market before they put together their product or service.
If you have a product or service, and you have a team that is actively selling it, then you know your market and customer is ready to buy AND that your product/service is seen as valuable in the market.
Once you have a sales team that is selling a valuable product or service, now you can add fuel to the fire and ramp up your marketing, because now you know the leads and traffic will turn in to sales and cash flow.
If you go the opposite way and start with your marketing, you could be spending money for leads that will never sell because you don’t have the sales team that can close the deal.
This is why I believe a good rule in business is to start with sales.
Do whatever it takes to get sales generated from your product/services.
Survey your market and target customer to see what needs and whats aren’t being filled by their current providers and tailor your products and services to fill those gaps.
Once you have a product or service that is selling and a sales team that can close the deal, now pour fuel on the fire and ramp up your marketing team and spend.
A company will only be as strong as their weakest link, and the link that you need to make the strongest is your sales link.
Moral of the story; be sure to have a sales team of closers before you pour money into your marketing.
A lot of companies take the approach that if they build it customers will come, and this is not the case. From brick and mortar locations to business websites; you can tell a lot of them lack a good sales funnel and direction.
If you build your website or business with no direction and have no way to convert your traffic into buying customers then you’re going about things in the wrong way. The truth is, every business needs a sales funnel.
Sales Funnel (also known as a revenue funnel or sales process) – refers to the buying process that companies lead customers through when purchasing products. A sales funnel is divided into several steps, which differ depending on the particular sales model.
In basic terms, a sales funnel is the process that your company follows to take potential customers to buying customers.
Most businesses go out of business because of 2 things, they do not have enough attention and they do not have enough cash flow. As I am sure you have heard before, “You may have the best product or service on the planet but if nobody knows about you then who cares?”
I am going to add something to this old saying because I think it is a little off. I believe the saying should go, “You can have the best product/service in the world but if nobody has heard of it or you can’t close the deal then who cares?”
I think this is more fitting because a lot of people believe that by simply having the best product/service or the cheapest price that it will sell itself, and this is not true. To be a successful company you have to have the best product along with a great sales funnel. By implementing a solid sales funnel into your customer acquisition process you will start to close more deals which will increase your cashflow and attention.
Now, you might be curious how a sales funnel is going to increase your attention but is it does. By taking your customers through a dialed in process that is designed around getting your customer what they want, it will make for a good experience and a new customer.
As your company gains more happy customers they will spread the word about your product/service and you will have the sales process to turn new traffic into buying customers.
This leads into the fact that most companies are not taking advantage of their current traffic and attention because they are not optimized to convert this traffic from a viewer to a buyer.
Think about it.
You go into a retail store and the “sales associate” will ask you questions like, “Can I help you find something?”
As we mostly reply, “No thanks, I am just looking.”
the sales person will then say, “Ok, let me know if you need anything.”
We say, “Ok. I will.”
then we leave the store empty handed or with 1 item while they keep folding clothes on the rack. This is an example of a missed opportunity and a terrible sales funnel.
Side Note: This isn’t just happening at retail stores…
What makes this even worse is companies will spend a lot of money on their marketing to get a customer into the door or onto the website and then the website or store will not be optimized to turn these viewers into buyers. To me this is putting the cart before the horse and a waste of precious marketing dollars. A bad sales funnel will inadvertently increase your customer acquisition cost simply because you have an inefficient sales funnel.
The truth is, if companies pay more attention to optimizing their sales funnel, they will close more deals and have happier customers.
By closing more deals and turning your customers into brand advocates you will be bringing more attention to your company by having more people talk about you. You’re showing your customers that your product is awesome and that it is easy to do business with your company. In addition, your brand advocates will start to refer your company more and more. They will start to tell people where they bought their products from and what salesmen helped them find it, instead of sending customers away.
The scary thing is, a lot of companies have a terrible sales funnel with an awesome product and it is holding back their business.
On the flip side, what this means for companies who have a strong sales funnel and a great product is that you’re ahead of the curve. While most businesses are trying to figure out how to bring in more customers and increase their cash flow, you will be closing a higher percentage of your current traffic which will increase your attention and sales.
Every company should focus on taking every single viewer/prospect through a sales funnel and follow up process till they turn into a customer.
The way you do this is with a solid sales funnel and an optimized company.
One of the first things you should look at when you’re analyzing your sales funnel for a website is see if your site is designed to capture your viewers information. A lot of websites I come to do not have enough call to actions. Call to actions are designed to get your customers to give you their name, email, phone number, and contact info so you can follow up with them and make a sale.
The fact is, you will never gain a customer without gaining their information. Your website needs to be designed to create internet leads by gathering your viewers name, email and phone number so your sales team will be able to follow up with them. Once the internet lead hits the salesmen, the salesmen needs to have a sales funnel and follow up process that they can take the internet lead down till they become a customer.
Side Note: Having an optimized website will also increase the number of buyers who will simply buy because of the information your website provides.
As more and more leads come in to your salespeople and as they get better at the sales process, they will start to close more deals and you will start to see exponential growth instead of wasted traffic.
When it comes to a brick and mortar location, you should focus on training your current salespeople how to take your customers through a sales funnel instead of just asking if they need help. Your salespeople should be engaging with your customers and asking questions to figure out what brings them in to the store today. Once your salespeople finds out what the customers needs are, they should then take them to the products and make sure the customer has everything they need before they leave.
These simple tweaks to your sales funnel will make a huge difference to your cash flow and customer acquisition.
Now, these are just 2 minor examples of how to adjust your sales funnel but I hope this will help you understand the importance, because if you get more attention but have a terrible sales process then you’re just wasting time and money.
Sometimes it is painful to go into a dealership or a business and hear the pitch some of their salesmen are throwing at me. A lot of them start talking about dogs, family, and life before closing the deal, and its one of my pet peeves. Please stop wasting your breath and learn what customers want from their salespeople!
Your customers are coming to you because you’re the EXPERT!
They do not care to talk about anything other then how you’re going to provide them with a turn-key solution to their problems. It’s as simple as that. Stop wasting your time on topics that have nothing to do with how you’re going to solve their problems because that’s what customers want!
As the great Albert Einstein has said “Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
What you have to figure out as the business owner is what issue(s) your product/services are fixing and sell to your customer based off of these rewards. Instead of pitching all of your services to your customer, sell them your turn key solution that is going to fix their biggest problems and you will close more deals.
Customers are coming to you because you’re the expert in your field and they trust you can solve their most frustrating issues.
So what can we do as salesmen and business owners?
Ask more questions! A lot of the time I talk to salesmen and business owners and they can not tell me about their actual customer. A lot of them talk more then they listen and they do not truly understand why their customer is even looking for their product/services.
What you should do as a salesmen is keep asking questions and really listen to what your customer wants.
Ask them how, what, when, where, and why they are looking for your services so that you can truly understand their needs. Get them talking for a good 10 minutes on why THEY are looking for your company and what problems they are looking to address.
Once you have a good understanding of your customers TRUE needs, you don’t have to just “pitch your services”. You can now show them how your product/services are going to fix their problems and they will give you their business.
Implement this simple technique into your sales process and you will be sure to close more deals!
