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Sales scripts work. Plain and simple. And they are especially effective in automobile sales. Strange as it may be, salespeople in general have pretty bad press. Add automobile sales people into the mix, then you’ve probably got one of the worst preconceived notions of a salesperson that you ever could have. Why? That’s because the stereotype of an automobile salesman is a fast talking, high pressure person, out to make a fast buck, and probably selling something dodgy in the process.
In the car sales arena, sales scripts receive little training and are hardly ever used. Objective studies that have been carried out recently into a salesperson`s patter, regardless of the industry, reveals that a more easygoing, genuinely helpful approach wins more sales than the high pressure approach. So using sales scripts, no matter what niche of the market you are in, could well help increase your sales.
Consider this, naturally gifted automobile sales people are rare. The ones who do have the natural talent for sales tend to be fast talkers who rely on their confident delivery to rush people headlong into a decision. But making a sale doesn’t have to be done this way. As the study suggests, a consultative approach is proven to yield better results. Because this new consultation approach is unfamiliar to most sales hardened car sales people, sales scripts help guide the interaction and steady the pace.
Sales scripts work for automobile sales people in the same way that film scripts work for actors. They are used to maintain excitement, energy, and enthusiasm in the dialogue. More importantly, scripts guide the actors throughout the production. Similarly, sales scripts guide the sales professional maintaining the focus on the prospect and vehicle.
Sales scripting is not a new idea. It was first researched back in 1938 when Elmer Wheeler researched over 105,000 words and phrases over a 10 year period. He published his findings in the book “Tested Sentences That Sell“. He concluded that “There are no magic words that sell, but there is word magic.” Wheeler advocated that using tested “word magic” can significantly increase sales.
Sales scripts are becoming more widely used across a larger cross-section of sales markets, and some leading automobile dealerships are beginning to look at the benefits of employing this sales methodology. In the past, automobile salespeople have been accused of being over aggressive. For example, as soon as you arrive at the store you often get a sales person tagging onto you very quickly, asking you what it is you’re looking for. This can immediately put you on the defensive. You feel under pressure and usually respond with something like “Just browsing”, or you might even leave the store. Whereas it is nice to be recognized when you do arrive, you don’t want to feel that you are being pushed into anything, and this is exactly where sales scripts can really help to change how a sales person interacts with the prospect.
A good example of a scripted opening, and my favorite from Joe Verde, is “Who is the lucky one for the new vehicle, you or somebody else?” This sort of opening makes for an easy introduction, doesn’t exert any pressure, and allows the prospect to easily answer. This scripted phrase has statistically proved to be a winning opening for me.
In summary, the methodology of using sales scripts involves selecting statistically proven winners and involving the sales staff in implementing them. Sales scripting can dramatically increase sales, no matter what the industry. With automobile sales suffering, good sales scripting could really turn your business around. Simply put, sales scripting works.
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