I feel like many would agree that while Girard was a VERY successful salesman, that he at times had some sketchy ways of selling that some might consider manipulative and very ‘conning’ in a way. He would call people and say that they have ordered a new car when the have not and then works his magic from there after getting his foot in the door to lead them to tell him when they want a car. I can undeniably agree that his strategy is a good one. It is effective. And it is smart. However, I think it is a little conniving. I believe that he could do his sale in a way that is a little more honest and doesn’t make it seem like he just made a ‘mistake’ when he definitely did not.
I believe that Tammy Darvish offers the better and much more morally sound perspective to selling: empathy. Darvish was in the same business as Girard, but her vision on how to sell was VERY different. When Darvish graduated from college, the sales people in her company didn’t any longer have access to the invoices of cars and didn’t know the exact cost o the literal cars they were selling. They let the customers tell them what they’ve found on the pricing of the cars that they are interested in. The goal wasn’t any longer to try to trick your customers with your bigger pool of knowledge, because sellers no longer had this advantage. So the goal was to do the exact opposite from withholding knowledge and stats from your buyers. Sellers in the company that Darvish worked at would instead, if the customers had any questions, would go to Chevy.com or some other website to get the info that the potential buyers need. Transparency became the objective of selling.
Darvish, when she went to hire new employees, would actually look for less or unexperienced sellers so that they don’t come in with the old ways of selling and the bad habits/traditions of the past. In addition she didn’t like always having experienced sellers, because she didn’t want her sellers to be ‘mechanical’ and simply recite memorized scripts to get sales. Sales were not the main focus for Darvish, customer service was. Customer experience was. So what she looked for potential new employees was simply those who were persistent and empathetic. Darvish described how she hired people by saying, “You can’t train someone to care.” She wants her sales people to constantly ask themselves, “What decision would I make if that were my own mom sitting there trying to get service or buy a car?”
This is the way that sales and selling needs to work. Transparency over information opaqueness and empathy over self-gain.
Caveat emptor is “the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made” (oxford dictionary). It’s about always leaving it up to the buyer to make sure that they are making the right purchase. But this is the method is in the past. Caveat venditor is the exactly the opposite. It is the principle of placing the responsibility of informing the customer on the seller as much as the buyer. Caveat Venditor simply means “let the seller beware” and this is the selling tactic of the present and future. Place the customer first and make them the driving purpose of the sale (not you or your own pocket). This is selling.
BoweryJE22