EP 9:13 The Art of the Presentation: How To Make Your Car Walkaround and Sales Process Unforgettable

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast

The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast is back with another action-packed episode! Join Host LA Williams, Vice President of Dealer Synergy, and special guest Larry Brianard, General Sales Manager at Dennis Dillon CDJR, as they delve into the intricacies of becoming a top-performing car salesperson! In this episode, LA and Larry discuss the transformation from selling vacuum cleaners to dominating the car sales industry with actionable sales techniques and ethical practices!

Larry Brainard opens up about his journey, sharing powerful principles that have driven his success, including the importance of asking the right questions and building trust with customers. LA and Larry dive into a step-by-step guide on executing flawless test drives and product presentations to ensure that every sales interaction is not only professional but also highly effective! Don’t miss this episode packed with practical tips and inspiring stories that will elevate your sales game to the next level!

Key Takeaways

• Sales Principles: Larry emphasizes key principles such as "how you do anything is how you do everything" and the importance of listening to customer needs to drive successful sales.

• Process Mastery: The episode underscores the necessity of not skipping steps in the sales process, from initial greetings to finalizing the deal, ensuring all customer interactions are thorough and genuine.

• Conscious Competence: Larry explains the four levels of competence, focusing on the importance of reaching the stage of being unconsciously competent to perform at peak levels without second-guessing.

• Customer Trust: Building trust with customers through consistency, transparency, and effective product presentations is highlighted as a cornerstone of sales success.

• Test Drive Techniques: Larry shares detailed strategies for conducting impactful test drives, making sure that both the primary and secondary drivers feel engaged and valued.

Resources:

Podium: Discover how Podium's innovative AI technology can unlock unparalleled efficiency and drive your dealership’s sales to new heights. Visit www.podium.com/mcs to learn more!

Dealer Synergy & Bradley On Demand: The automotive industry’s #1 training, tracking, testing, and certification platform and consulting & accountability firm.

The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group: Join the #1 Mastermind Group in the Automotive Industry! With over 28,000 members, gain access to successful automotive mentors & managers, the best industry practices, & collaborate with automotive professionals from around the WORLD! Join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today!

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The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast is Proudly Sponsored By:

Podium: Elevating Dealership Excellence with Intelligent Customer Engagement Solutions. Unlock unparalleled efficiency and drive sales with Podium's innovative AI technology, featured proudly on the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast.

Dealer Synergy: The #1 Automotive Sales Training, Consulting, and Accountability Firm in the industry! With over two decades of experience in building Internet Departments and BDCs, we have developed the most effective automotive Internet Sales, BDC, and CRM solutions. Our expertise in creating phone scripts, rebuttals, CRM action plans, strategies, and templates ensures that your dealership's tools and personnel reach their full potential.

Bradley On Demand: The automotive sales industry’s top Interactive Training, Tracking, Testing, and Certification Platform. Featuring LIVE Classes and over 9,000 training modules, our platform equips your dealership with everything needed to sell more cars, more often, and more profitably!

Unlocking Sales Excellence: Insights from Top Automotive Experts Key Takeaways

• Mastering the Sales Process: Consistency and a deep understanding of each step in the sales process prevent shortcuts and ensure thorough engagement with customers.

• Effective Customer Engagement: Building a strong rapport through active listening and addressing the unique needs of each customer elevates the sales experience.

• Importance of Training: Continuous training and moving beyond conscious competence to intuitive expertise set-top sales professionals apart.

Introduction

In the competitive world of automotive sales, mastering the intricate art of customer engagement and sealing deals is paramount. The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast recently featured Larry Brainer, Internet Director and Trainer for the Dennis Dillon Auto Group, who shared invaluable insights into becoming a top-tier automotive salesperson. This article unpacks Brainer’s approach, emphasizing core principles such as adhering to a structured sales process, effective customer interaction, and the indispensability of rigorous training.

Mastering the Sales Process

Adhering to a structured process in sales ensures that every customer interaction is thorough and leaves no room for error. As Larry Brainer puts it, "If you shortcut your process, you shortcut your paycheck." This principle was echoed throughout the podcast and forms the bedrock of Brainer's philosophy.

Brainer recalls his own experiences in vacuum cleaner sales, which laid a solid foundation for his automotive career. Dealing with high-stakes sales on a tangible yet less glamorous product taught him the value of a disciplined approach. Success in the automotive industry demands that salespeople never skip steps, even when customers try to steer the conversation prematurely towards pricing.

Consider his advice during vehicle presentations: "Larry, you said you're towing your RV up over Horseshoe Bend Pass… In a minute when we drive it, you're going to love the fact that…" This narrative not only builds anticipation but ensures that the customer sees the vehicle's value firsthand before discussing numbers.

Maintaining control of the demonstration and systematically verifying feature claims – from torque to sound insulation – affirms trust and validates the salesperson's expertise. The consistency in executing these steps imbues the entire process with professionalism, ensuring that potential buyers feel comprehensively catered to. It's this meticulous attention to detail that sets seasoned professionals apart from amateurs.

Effective Customer Engagement

Understanding and meeting the unique needs of each customer is a hallmark of effective engagement. Brainer emphasizes active listening, asserting, "Good questions get good answers, better questions get better answers, and better listeners ask better questions." This approach allows salespeople to uncover clients' deepest needs and tailor their sales strategy accordingly.

For instance, Brainer recalls a time with a customer named Helen. Her primary concern was safety, stemming from a recent accident involving a friend. By directly addressing her fears and showing her the features of a Lincoln Navigator, Brainer built a critical emotional connection. He stated, "Larry, I want to know that if I hit somebody, I’m going to win."

This kind of engagement goes beyond mere product features; it taps into the customer’s personal concerns and aspirations. Another illustrative story involves a couple buying an F-450 truck. Knowing that involving both decision-makers was crucial, Brainer ensured both the husband and wife drove the vehicle, making both feel equally valued in the decision-making process.

Effective engagement involves anticipating needs and preemptively addressing concerns. Brainer’s methods demonstrate that sales are not merely transactions but relationships built on trust and mutual respect. This deep level of engagement transforms sales encounters into memorable experiences, fostering lasting customer loyalty.

Importance of Training

Brainer’s stories highlight the critical role of training in sales excellence. Drawing on Vince Lombardi’s wisdom, he underscores the importance of practice, "An amateur practices until they get it right. A professional practices until they can no longer get it wrong."

The path to sales mastery involves moving from conscious competence, where actions require deliberate thought, to unconscious competence, where skills are performed effortlessly. This transition is crucial, as it frees up mental bandwidth to fully engage with customers and respond to their cues dynamically.

Reflecting on his journey, Brainer's initial stint in training came from demonstrating superior product knowledge in sales training sessions. His ability to perform polished walks-around showcases how immersive practice builds confidence and competence, both of which are visible and felt by customers. He shared, "It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it." This highlights the need for salespeople to internalize their training so deeply that their delivery feels natural and unrehearsed.

Regular, rigorous training transforms sales practitioners into experts who can predict and navigate customer interactions seamlessly. These trained professionals can then fully embody Zig Ziglar's idea that really good technique, in the hands of a really good person, becomes unrecognizable as technique – it simply feels like a superior service.

Synthesizing Insights

Larry Brainer’s approach to sales excellence intertwines a structured process, deep customer engagement, and relentless training. It is this triad that forms the basis of his successful methodology. The meticulous adherence to each step ensures nothing is overlooked, reinforcing the credibility and appeal of both the salesperson and the product.

Building robust customer relationships by listening and responding genuinely to their needs transforms simple transactions into meaningful experiences. Training, continually pursued and refined, elevates a salesperson from a mere executor of tasks to a master of the craft.

These principles do not merely add value to the automotive sales profession; they redefine it, setting a high bar for what it means to be an effective and empathetic salesperson. By internalizing these teachings, aspiring professionals can pave their own path toward unparalleled success in the automotive industry.