This is a follow up to my last post, entitled “How Not To Sell a Car…”
I’ll never forget the garage door going up. It was love at first site. I was certain that I would be driving the beautiful blue 1966 Chevrolet Corvair in front of me home… unless this seller was like the Dodge Monaco guy.
We talked for a few minutes about the history of the car and why the seller had decided to part ways with it. He encouraged me to look it over and ask any questions that I had. Right upfront, he told me that he suspected that the car had been repainted and that it was still the original paint color. The first obvious imperfection was that the antenna was bent. The seller pointed it out before I could even ask about it, saying he had bent it with a car cover earlier that winter and that he’d throw a new one into the deal. Then, he got out of the way and let me look it over, getting underneath it and really studying the body.
In telling me about the paint and antenna, he broke a sales concept: “Never answer an unasked question.” However, in this case I think it was wise to break that rule because it established trust and honesty. They are things that any serious buyer would’ve gotten around to asking, anyway.
The seller was never pushy and never urged me to “close the deal.” He was incredibly patient as I looked the Corvair over.
I didn’t buy the car that day. I wanted to do a little bit more research and consult a few people first. That was completely okay by the seller. He didn’t pressure me into buying it, instead letting me head home. I didn’t go home emptyhanded, though. He gave me a phone number of a shop that had worked on the car the previous summer. I called them and everything checked out: clean bill of health for the car. Less than a week later, I was back out for a test drive.
When it came time to talk price, the seller was willing to negotiate, and accepted my offer saying that he knew the car was going to a good home. And it did!
That was a fabulous buying experience, especially for a classic car. There are a lot of shady people that do shady things to their vehicles before selling them. This seller was definitely not one of those people at all. Two years and 20,000 miles later, I’m still driving my Corvair around!
BoweryJE22
Need more blogs and discussions like this. Often times we talk about the negatives of sales experiences but if we want to improve our sales techniques we should focus on positive experiences like this one.
You should never be like Matilda’s dad. He is the reason why salespeople get such a terrible reputation. I really found your post interesting and liked your perspective. I know how many different experiences there can be when buying a car. Your tips were really helpful good job.
This was for sure an interesting blog posts. Reading this I’ve realized most times customers can sense desperation and the presence of desperation raises questions of sincerity and transparency.