Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/458425
www.PowersportsBusiness.com SOLUTIONS Powersports Business • January 26, 2015 • 27 Why not buy? It's too expensive. It's dangerous. I need to save up for my kid's college fund. I should invest that money. There is no shortage of answers as to why NOT own a motorcycle. With only 3 percent of the population play- ing in the powersports space, there is also no shortage of people reminding you how frivolous a motorcycle purchase is. Take that a step further, and you realize the mindset the customer is in when he walks on to your floor. He knows he "shouldn't" be there. He knows instead how he "should be" spending the money more reasonably. He certainly doesn't need a dealership reason to walk away from the deal. So don't give him one. If I'm at your store, looking for a reason to not buy (aside from the above), there are plenty: Nobody said hi to me Employees are smoking in the parking lot You're already pushing the bikes in for the night I felt like I was bothering someone with my question The technician came out from the back and was pissed off You made fun of the bike I drove up on or another brand You talked poorly about your competition And on, and on and on … Quite simply, it's a very fine line between buying today with all the backend or walking out with nothing. It takes very little to walk away. Quite honestly, the only real reason he should buy is that owning a motorcycle will change his life. You know that, but according to the MIC, 50+ percent of the people buying bikes last year were first time buyers. In other words … they don't know that. They don't know how the bike will change their lives. This is why we operate with urgency. Not to make money, but to change someone's life. The money is simply the result. Once the customer walks out of the door, there are too many outside influences that will cause him to not buy, no matter his inten- tions on leaving. You must have a plan. I remember growing up and playing football in the yard. My brother would huddle up the offense and say, "Get open." Get open? What sort of plan is that? Run a slant. Run a cross- ing route. Run a down & out. Those are plans. Get open is NOT a plan. So many employees are reactive to a customer coming in the door, forgetting that selling takes a dedicated sales process, and one for ALL departments. When I look at a parts employee and ask what Step 3 of his sales process is, I get a blank stare. Ask that question to a service writer, and you'll get a deer in headlights. For the last several years I have analyzed every sales process I could find for any want- based product (motorcycle, boat, Ferrari, etc.), with the intent of building one process that would work for any department and any product. Quite simply … everyone wants to win the RACE! R = RELATIONSHIP A = ACQUIRE C = CLOSE E = ENTANGLEMENT Relationship: You will never sell anything without evoking emotion in the customer. (This is not to infer they won't buy from you, just that you didn't sell them anything). People like to talk about themselves, so let them. Having a customer tell you about him- self begins the process of bonding and trust with you. Without this step, you are simply clerking. It is the most important step in the entire process … and the one most skipped. Words/steps that fit into this step include: greet, probe, discovery, connect, engagement, qualifying, etc. Acquire: This is the step to go get whatever the customer wants. Show him the helmet or power commander. Open the repair order, or go sit the customer on the bike … it hap- pens here. Words/steps that fit into this step include: sit-on, try-on, presentation, feature explanation, satisfy, etc. Close: Gain the commitment and put the deal to bed here. This step should be full of the word, "Yes." Yes, he'll take the bike at the agreed upon amount. Yes, he'll take the visor to go with the helmet. Yes, he wants to replace brake pads with the tire swap. Yes, he wants the maintenance plan and the desired pay- ment. The more yesses, the better closer you are. Words/steps that fit into this step include: trial close, buying signals, upselling, adding on, commitments, write-ups, signed ROs, signed menus, etc. Entanglement: If the first missed step is the relationship, this one is a close second. The average customer will spend $250K over the course of his life, and turn his motorcycle (read: trade in on another) every 2.1 years. If you don't do this step, then you are like every other salesperson out there … just in it for today's transaction. Staying in touch with the customer, or entangling yourself in his world, let's you become his "I gotta guy" in the industry. So when he's ready to spend more money, you're the one he goes to. With only 3 percent of the country playing in the power- sports space, why wouldn't you want to put a fence around your herd? Why just hope they remember you? How mush easier is it to sell someone his second bike, if you've stayed in touch with him? How much easier is it to sell an existing customer anything vs. converting a new customer coming in the door? You simply must use a CRM today. The retail side of this industry is too volatile to lose a deal over lack of training or lack of a plan. Every employee can remember R.A.C.E., and it's applicable to all departments. You can't just tell them though; you actually have to train them on the mechanics of it. Or … you could just tell them to, "Get open." PSB Sam Dantzler is the founder of Sam's Powers- ports Garage, a membership website dedicated to best practices and all-staff training. He can be reached at sam@samspowersportsgarage.com. A R.A.C.E. to get your customers to buy SAM DANTZLER HEADROOM One step not to be missed in the sales process is Entanglement. You want to become your customer's "I gotta guy," even after he rides off with his first bike, says Sam Dantzler.