Contents

Preface iv
Who I Am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Why You Need This Book . . . . . vi

Introduction 1
5 Habits of Successful Car Salesmen 1
Sales Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Promotion Chain . . . . . . . . . . 6
Incentives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 1: The Greeting 9

The First Sign of Resistance . . . . 9
The 3 Selling Signals . . . . . . . . 11
The Specials: Lies or Not? . . . . . 11
The 3 Questions Salesmen Hate . . 13
Other Greeting Methods . . . . . . 16

Step 2: It’s All About You 19

The 3 Reasons To Get You Inside . 19
ii CONTENTS

Step 3: Paperwork 23
The Boring Side of Paperwork . . . 23
The Strategic Side of Paperwork . . 26

Step 4: The Presentation 28

The 3 Minute Drill . . . . . . . . . 28

Step 5: The Test Drive 31

3 Steps To Overcome Your Resistance 32
The Best Way to Say No . . . . . . 33
The Two Types of Test Drives . . . 33
The First Closing Attempt . . . . . 35
The 4 Types of Buyers . . . . . . . 36
The Spontaneous Buyer . . . 37
The Analyzer . . . . . . . . . 39
The Slick Buyer . . . . . . . . 41
The Deflecter . . . . . . . . . 43

Step 6: Negotiations 47
Is the Salesman Clueless? . . . . . 48
Good Cop, Bad Cop . . . . . . . . 50
The 4-square Worksheet . . . . . . 53
Negotiations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
What’s Going On Back There? 56
Commitment & Approval . . . . . 58
Business Office . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Who Is the Finance Manager? 59
What Is a Finance Manager? 60
Don’t Let Your Guard Down . 61
Commissions . . . . . . . . . 62
CONTENTS iii

Step 7: Do We Have a Deal? 64

The Wave Goodbye . . . . . . . . . 64
Referrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Step 8: The Follow-Up 66

The Bait to Get You Back In . . . 67

Prepare Yourself: 4 Things To Know 69

Step 1: Know Yourself . . . . . . . 69
Step 2: Know What a Good Deal Is 73
Regional Prices . . . . . . . . 73
Rebates and Incentives . . . . 74
Target Buying Price . . . . . 75
Step 3: Know the Cost of Money . 76
Apply Before You Go . . . . . 77
Step 4: Know Your Options . . . . 78

Conclusion 81
Summary of Lessons . . . . . . . . 81
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Preface

Who I Am
As I walked into the hotel room, packed with
at least fifty other prospective car salesmen,
I swiftly caught scents of cheap cologne and
sweat. Now, after two months of unemploy-
ment in a new city, I was ready to beg for
employment table scraps.
How my life had changed. Just months
before, I was working as an engineer in a
Fortune 500 Company. My wife and I had
quit our jobs and moved across the country
to pursue our graduate school goals.
I was always nervous during engineering
interviews because it’s so easy to get caught
off-guard by convoluted physics concepts and
applications. I mean, how am I supposed to
remember everything about semiconductor
theory when I’m face-to-face with a veteran
 v

engineer?
But back to my story. I had to laugh
about the car sales interview process. I was
asked the following four questions repeat-
edly in two rounds of interviews. Included
here are my actual responses and my inter-
nal monologue.
1. Have you ever had a DUI?

Nope.

Huh? Is this seriously a real interview,

or am I on Candid Camera?
2. Do you have a reasonable means
of transportation?

Uh, yes.

How would I have gotten here other-

wise?
3. Can you do basic math?

Yes, sir.

Did you even look at my resume?

4. Why do you want to be a car sales-
man?
vi Preface

I like cars and I want to learn to sell

them.

The bar hasn’t been set very high so

far. Are you sure this question is nec-
essary?

Believe it or not, the group of over fifty dwin-

dled down to 10-15 candidates with those
four questions. This was going to be an in-
teresting job.

Why You Need This Book

Let’s face it, a car dealership is not a fun
place to be. Sure there’s plenty of shiny new
metal out on the lot to drool over, but what
really happens when you go to a car deal-
ership? You try your best to not get com-
pletely screwed. That’s exactly why I wrote
this book.
During my time in car sales I found that
most people were woefully uninformed about
the car buying process and too trusting of
their salesman. Though I will tell you the
steps you should follow to buy a car, my goal
is to put you inside the mind of a car sales-
 vii

man. As soon as you see the habits, incen-

tives, and motives behind everything a car
salesman does, you’ll be truly prepared to
buy your next car.
I always felt bad for the people I was sell-
ing cars to. I knew that they didn’t have
the basic knowledge necessary to make an
informed decision about their car purchase;
a purchase that amounts to most people’s
second largest purchase of their lifetime.
After quitting the car sales business over
a moral dilemma, I decided to publish my
thoughts and provide help to the side of the
car deal that needs it most: the buyer’s side.
Step 1: The
Greeting

The car salesman will welcome you to the

dealership and ask what you’re looking for.
The first response of most buyers is a polite
objection, such as:

“I’m just looking for now. Thanks.”

The First Sign of Resistance

Your salesman expects to hear this from you.
He will respond in a way that will soften your
resistance, for example:

“Great! Let me quickly show you

our specials and then you can look
around the lot all you want. Fol-
low me.”
10 Step 1: The Greeting

Now let’s break down this response into

its 4 parts, so you understand why he’s say-
ing this to you.
Pt. 1 Respond energetically. “Great!”
Pt. 2 Soften any resistance. “Let me quickly
show you our specials and then you can
look around the lot all you want.”
Pt. 3 Make a call to action. “Follow me.”
Pt. 4 Walk away
If you follow the salesman, you’ve just
given him what he wants most: control. This
may seem inconsequential, but if he can get
you to change your mind from “just look-
ing around” to following him around the car
lot, he knows he’s 25% closer to sending you
home in a car today.

Lesson Two:
How Does The Salesman View You?

Your car salesman knows that you spend

most of your life being told what to do by
bosses, co-workers, and even family members
and friends. He knows that if he authorita-
tively tells you to follow him and walks away
from you, your gut reaction will be to do what
you’re told and follow him.