I Object!
The ONLY thing standing in the way of you making a fantastic sale is the objections from buyers. Learn the typical objections, from used car buyers, and how to handle them and your sale will be much easier and you will get a higher sales price.
Don’t expect to sell your car to the first person who comes over and looks at your car – expect to see 5 – 10 buyers before you make a sale. The whole goal here is for you to make as much money as possible – if you just want to get rid of your car donate it to a charity. Don’t panic and sell to the first person and lower your price – you will kick yourself in the butt for a decade – trust me; my butt still aches sometimes.
Professional salesreps spend a lot of time learning how to address objections and turn them into a sale. Unless you are a professional salesrep you must practice this a little. Objections from the buyer are simply hurtles the buyer throws in the path to a sale – you MUST talk about their objection and knock it out of the ballpark. If you do not address the buyer’s objections you will not have a sale – it’s that simple; address them and they become an ally to help you close the sale. Here are some objections:
Car is way overpriced
This is the #1 objection to just about any sale; pay attention how it’s handled. The easiest way to address this is to ask the seller what price they think is fair. Ask “OK, what price do you think is fair?“ Once they mention that price they can never go below it – that price is way below what they really expect to play – they are doing what you do in reverse. You have just learn a critical piece of information – the buyer can’t go below this price and its such a low price, in their minds, that they are willing to share it with you. Use it to your advantage.
Tactics:
Average the prices
Mentally calculate the average by guessing the middle point of your price and the sellers price. If this price is at the PP or higher you have a sale. Just say “Let’s split the difference at $x,xxx”. If the person says OK then you can move forward, if they say no then you must move to the section “Monkey on the buyer’s back”.
Use the Private Party (PP) price
If the seller’s price is so far below the Private Party price and you have the feeling that you have just one more shot at a price then pull out your Edmunds printout and show the buyer the PP. The buyer will instantly want that as your high price – you must now start to immediately add prices as to why your price is higher. Say “Find a similar car in better shape then mine – you can’t and that’s why I need $300 more”. Make a list of these items BEFORE you talk to the first buyer – have them on a sheet of paper and read them before you talk to the buyer.
I will pay for part of the extended warranty
This tactic has you selling the car for the PP price and then offering to pay part of the extended warranty – say 25%. You need to have the extended warranty price available to quote and the buyer can see the extra value of your offer. Example: the PP is $7,500 and the extended warranty is $1,200 and you will pay 25% or $300 when the buyer sends you the policy they bought. Odds are they will never do this but you now added $300 to the deal without giving up a penny.
The car is wrong for me
If you talk to a buyer who has 4 kids, 2 dogs, a wife, and a cat your two seat sports car is wrong and you should not waste a single second more – get rid of the buyer. A professional salesrep will try to convince this guy into buying the wrong car – don’t you do this. If the buyer brings up the topic they really mean it – get rid of them.
Is it safe enough, or fuel efficient enough, etc
This is where you have to have supporting documents from the internet. All you can do is point to a piece of paper to prove your point. As you spend time selling your car you will hear objections that you don’t have the answers to – you must look up the question later and be ready for the next buyer. Don’t assume the stories the buyer gives is true, like “I hear your model car is a total disaster”
I don’t have the money
You are not a bank so if the person doesn’t have the money – get rid of them. Again, professional salesreps will spend lots of time trying to get the buyer financing, don’t you do this. You will hear all kinds of sob stories – most if not all are just made up stories designed to make you feel sorry for them and sell at a cheap price. Assume all the sob stories are lies and stick to your guns.
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