Sales: Meet and Greet

Importance of Meet and Greet

• Sets the tone for the entire sales interaction, influencing its smoothness and success.
• First impressions are crucial, as correcting a poor one is challenging.
• Aims to slow down the customer, preventing them from rushing through the sales process, ultimately leading to greater satisfaction.

The Hypnotic Aspect of Sales

• Uses questions and tone of voice to influence the customer's state of mind, guiding them through the sales process.
• This approach is not manipulative, but rather aims to assist customers by providing professional guidance.
• Prepares customers for the subsequent steps in the sales process.

Preparing Yourself for the Meet and Greet

• Assess your own state before meeting the customer, ensuring you are not tired or distracted by personal issues.
• Be mindful of the time, avoiding thoughts about closing time or personal plans that could affect the interaction.
• Intention is key, focusing on providing a great experience rather than solely aiming for a sale, which can lead to viewing the customer as a commodity.
• Focus on making the customer your friend, aiming for a positive review and being as helpful as possible; this approach increases the likelihood of a sale.
• Consider negative interactions as learning opportunities instead of failures, maintaining a journal to reflect on what went well and what could be improved.

Understanding the Customer's State

• Recognize that customers may be stressed from driving, traffic, or travel with family.
• Offer immediate comfort such as restroom breaks to change their state positively.
• Changing a customer's state from stressed to comfortable can significantly improve their perception of you.

Initial Customer Interaction

• Rather than directly confronting customers with questions, approach them casually, offering assistance and information about the dealership.
• Allow customers time to familiarize themselves with the environment.
• Instead of immediately asking "How can I help you?", offer assistance or directions to facilities.

Logging in the Customer

• Log customers into the system as soon as it is appropriately comfortable, as it crucial for tracking and follow-up.
• Attempt to log every customer, adhering to the principle that how you do one thing is how you do everything.
• It is okay if they refuse; try getting their information again later.

Encouraging Questions and Providing Answers

• Encourage customers to ask questions and always provide answers.
• Answer briefly.
• Follow each answer with a question to maintain control of the conversation.
• It gets the customer to express themselves.

Listening and Expressing

• People love to connect.
• Salespeople can connect from their experience with the customer.
• Makes everything easier.

Effective Questioning Techniques

• Play a game where the goal is to answer every question with a question, which helps direct the conversation and gather information.
• By eliciting expressions, you can listen to customers and allow them to express themselves.
• Customer stories build rapport but avoid the outliers.

Answering Frequently Asked Questions

• Prepare answers to frequently asked questions to handle them effectively.
• For example, for questions like "What's your best price?", provide an answer that redirects the conversation while still addressing the initial query.
• Be ready with common questions and know how to move around and keep going.

Handling Specific Requests

• When faced with specific requests (e.g., a particular car model), use a general response like "We can accommodate that" to keep the conversation moving.
• The goal is to keep the sales process continuous.

Importance of Active Listening and Note-Taking

• Avoid distractions and focus on listening to the customer to avoid missing important information.
• Take notes to remember details and show attentiveness.

Probing Questions that Guide the Process

• Use questions that subtly guide the customer towards a purchase decision, while gathering information.
• Ask "Will this be your first Toyota?" to influence them into considering owning a Toyota.
• Ask "Are you thinking of trading your car today?"

Validate Customer's Choices

• Validate customers' choices.
• By validating, it brings customer's choices that make customer feel understood.
• Customers might be thinking of their finances or leasing.

Identifying Objections Early

• Address objections early in the conversation to manage them effectively throughout the sales process.
• Example: customer says they need a wife's permission; the next step is to involve the wife.
• Do not be afraid to receive such objections early.

Building Rapport

• Build rapport by using techniques such as mirroring body language and actively listening to the customer.
• A primary goal of the "meet and greet" is to make the customer feel better about the dealership and you, associating the experience with positive feelings, so it must begin with rapport.