How To Attract & Sell More Trade-In Leads (PART 9)

How To Attract & Sell More Trade-In Leads (PART 9)

TRANSCRIPT: Let’s talk about other common trade objections that we’re going to get. Now, we’re ready for the one big lie of trade leads, right? That’s the, “Oh, I wasn’t in the market. I was just curious what my car was worth.” There are other common objections that we’re going to get, and I need you to approach each one as if it’s just a smoke screen because they are just smoke screens. Don’t get me wrong. They are embarrassed.

If you get a hold of them, and they still don’t want to come in, it’s because they owe 8,000 and you told them 6. You got to treat these objections like they’re smoke screens, but I do want to make sure you understand one thing. You are not going to set an appointment that shows with every single person you talk to. It’s not possible. Remember this. If they’re unwilling to set an appointment with me, they’re not a fit. They’re simply not a fit.

Let’s talk about one of the most common trade objections that I get, and that is, “I want to wait.” Customer says, “I want to wait.” Here’s my response. “Hey, that makes sense to me. Of course, because the average used car depreciates about $70 to $100 a week in value. Every month you wait, you could be losing hundreds of dollars, so let’s do this. Let’s schedule a priority appraisal now, get you a firm written offer, and then you can decide if it makes sense to wait. Now, we have 2 appraisal times open on Camrys this afternoon. We have a 12:45 and a 1:15. Which one works better for you?” Your customer said they wanted to wait. I agree that they should wait, right? Make sense. Then I immediately went for the appointment.

How about this one? “I want to do some more research.” We’re going to hear that all the time, right? Here’s my response to, “I want to do some more research.” “Absolutely. I agree, so let’s do this. Let’s schedule a priority appraisal, so we can get you a firm written offer quickly, and then you can home and make an informed decision. This will also give you a chance to ask our appraiser any questions you might have. Now, we have 2 appraisal times open on F150s this morning. We’ve got a 10:15 and a 10:45. Which one works better for you?” See, he wanted to do more research. I didn’t stop him. I encouraged him, “Absolutely. Makes sense.”

How about this one? Online offer is too low. We gave him an offer that’s too low. Here’s how I’m going to respond. “Yup, I hear that all the time. The offer you got online was a site unseen appraisal. My used car manager thinks the computer got it wrong, and wants to make you a written offer. You know only a trained appraiser knows what your car is really worth, and he often pays much more than what the book shows. Now, I do have 2 appraisal times open on Camrys this afternoon. I’ve got a 2:15 and a 2:45. Which one works better for you?”

I’m answering their objection, their smoke screen, and then I’m immediately going in and setting the appointment. That’s my only goal when I get someone on the phone. It’s not to vomit information on them. It’s not to get in a tennis match, where I hit the ball in their court, they hit the ball in my court, we go back and forth. You will lose all pre-visit information exchanges. I want to be clear on this. You will absolutely lose all pre-visit information exchanges. I’m not saying don’t tell them things. I’m not saying don’t address their objections. I’m saying, you’ve already given them a value, everything they’re doing now is a smoke screen, and we need to get them in the door, okay?

Another one that we’re going to hear, another objection is, “I’m going to sell it myself.” Let’s take a look at that one, right? Somebody says, “Hey, I’m going to sell it myself.” You say, “Hey, that makes sense. You want to be sure you can get all you can for it, right? Of course, because this state only charges sales tax on the difference between the price of a new vehicle minus the trade-in. You could be losing hundreds by selling it yourself. Plus, my manager usually beats those online offers, so let’s do this. Let’s schedule a priority appraisal, where I can get you a firm written offer on your Camry. Now, I’ve got 2 priority appraisals open on Camrys this afternoon. I’ve got a 2:15 and a 2:45. Which one works better for you?

Now, that is my second favorite response to someone who says they want to sell it themselves. My first favorite response to someone who says, “I’m going to sell it myself” is “What are you, crazy? People get killed on Craigslist all time.” No, I’m not really going to say that. Just seeing if you’re paying attention. #udadvantage, #udadvantage. You’ll get a chance to win the morph pen.

All right. Here’s another objection you’re going to hear. They’ve been to your site, and then they went to KBB or somewhere else, and they got a higher value somewhere else. They’re going to say, “I got a higher value from KBB.” Here’s my response, “Yup, that happens. Different online tools give different value sight unseen. Of course, only a trained appraiser knows what your car is really worth, and it would be irresponsible for anyone to give you a firm offer sight unseen, so let’s do this. Let’s schedule a priority appraisal, where we can give you a firm written offer. Now, I’ve got 2 priority appraisal times open on Camrys this afternoon. I’ve got a 2:15 and a 2:45. Which one works better for you?”

You can also get this one a lot. This is where the customer got a firm offer from our competitor. I’m Steve’s Honda, and Bob’s Toyota, he likes to give a firm offer over the phone. He has a trade appraisal form, and it’s got a range, but when people call, he’ll give them a firm number. Someone’s throwing that on my face because I’ve told them that only a trained appraiser knows what their vehicle’s worth. It would be irresponsible for a dealer to do that.

They throw on my face, they say, “Well,” right there on their mobile device they say, “Well, Bob’s Toyota gave me a firm offer.” That was my customer voice. I say this. I say, “Site unseen? Man, there are only 2 things a dealer can do to you sight unseen on your trade. One is low-ball you, and the other is lie to you because only a trained appraiser knows what your car is worth, and that it would be irresponsible for anyone to give you a firm offer sight unseen, so let’s do this. Let’s schedule a priority appraisal, where we can give you a firm written offer. Now, I’ve got 2 priority appraisals open on Civics this afternoon. I’ve got a 2:15 and a 2:45. Which one works better for you?”

Finally, you’ll hear this smoke screen objection, and that is they’ve completed your trade form online, they got your value. Then they went to autotrader.com or cars.com, and they looked at all of the vehicles similar to their, right? They looked at all the rest of the 2012 Civics. They noticed that all of those are priced higher than what you’ve offered, and they’re going to throw it on your face. They’re going to say, “Wait a minute. Why is the trade value lower than the selling price?” We got to be ready for that.

Here’s our response. “I hear that a lot. There are lots of reasons, but primarily, it’s because the average dealer incurs hundreds or even thousands of dollars in inspections, and repairs, and reconditioning costs just to get the vehicle ready for sale, but listen. To ensure you get the most for your trade, let’s do this. Let’s get you a firm written offer. As you know, only a trained appraiser knows what your car is really worth, and we have 2 appraisal times open on Camrys this afternoon. I’ve got that 2:45 and a 3:15. Which one works better for you?”

See, they wanted to know why it was higher. I could go into a long explanation that’s all it’s going to do is talk about coming to the dealership or I can explain very quickly why it’s different, and then offer to get them a firm written offer, with the idea that maybe that firm written offer is going to be higher.