A couple agrees to buy the vehicle you’re selling. Once all parties approve the deal, does it matter how and when the customer gets into finance?
Sales expert and management trainer Joe Verde says it does, and he believes it only takes a few seconds to make a first impression. However, if the first impression in the finance office is lousy and doesn’t lead to a positive experience, Verde says you can spend hours making up for it. Remember – just because they liked the salesperson, doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll like the finance person.
Verde offers several tips to make the transition to the finance department a successful one:
- Verde recommends training salespeople to complete the paperwork, even before customers walk into the finance office.
- Everything that happens in the hand-off and introduction should be scripted out and practiced with every salesperson so it’s a smooth and natural process done the same way, every time.
- Meet the customer in a neutral place before they come into the finance office. This will build rapport and trust that will put you in control of the introduction and your first impression.
- Whatever your finance title is, salespeople need to transfer the confidence that the customer has in them to you.
- Dress to impress! If you’re introduced as an expert, you should look like one. If it’s comparable to business, banking, finance, or insurance, you’ll be good to go.
Want to hear more? Joe Verde will be a speaker at the CBT Automotive Conference and Expo taking place February 9-11, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. You can get more information on the event by clicking here.
