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Advice to Car Salespeople: Watch Your Language!

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car sales people shopper buyer

Are you speaking to shoppers in the right way?

Having spent so much of my life working in the automotive industry, I’ve learned a lot of things over the years–especially when it comes to making a sale. And one of the things I preach is that unfocused enthusiasm and fancy jargon do not make a sale. Customers are counting on us at dealerships to guide them to the best car for them, not be convinced to buy something they don’t need.

Recently, a computing solutions company performed a thorough analysis of email responses from car dealerships to determine what words and phrases led most often to closes on car sales. The results are exactly what I’ve been telling my teams for years: it’s not about convincing your buyer; it’s about guiding your buyer.

By studying the emails of dealerships with the highest email close rates and those with the lowest email close rates, communication trends were identified to help all car salespeople up their game. The results identified a couple things to avoid:

  • Overly enthusiastic words like “love” and “amazing”
  • Jargon like “body style” and “trims”
  • Open-ended, passive invitations like “feel free to call me”

Jason Kessler, data scientist who oversaw the study, explained the results. “Our research…proved that dealers who used proactive language articulating clear next steps for action in their email were the highest closers. Car shoppers need to be guided through the process and the research supported using language to help them on their journey.”

The bottom line is that salespeople need to provide concrete information made understandable to the average shopper, and to set up specific times to follow-up with the customer to lead them to the next steps in the buying process.

By knowing your audience and using the best communication to reach them, you’re far more likely to sell effectively. And in an industry as big as the automotive one, it’s crucial to your dealership’s success to make sure you’re on the right track.