Service Advisor Talk | All Roads Lead To Why
My shop sees a fair amount of people who experience a language barrier. There is also a long list of cultural differences among those same customers who stand in the way of getting a sale.
A significant portion of my American English speaking customers doesn’t understand enough about their vehicles to make an informed decision either.
Often, bridging this communication and information gap is left to someone whose primary experience is as a technician. I have noticed a trend with these encounters where the communication focuses more on the what than the why.
A what conversation about a belt will tend to focus on the condition of the belt as the reason for the sale. Mr. Customer, your belt is old and cracked and should be replaced because it’s old and cracked.
Most customers with language barriers come from societies where haggling is not only more common but expected. As such paying list price is a rip-off and so is taking your mechanic’s word for it.
I have written in the past about empowering customers with enough information to make a wise purchasing decision. This is one of those situations where the slightest tweaks to a pitch can give you the edge.
Car dealers are always trying to put you behind the wheel. Even when you aren’t actually in a vehicle they speak in ways which influence mental imagery so that your creative mind builds that construct.
If I am selling a belt in July I will bring out the fact that the compressor is run by that belt. Imagine driving in your car and that belt brakes. Suddenly the air conditioner goes out and the engine immediately starts to overheat. Within seconds you could burn up yourself and your motor. For $135 I can make sure that doesn’t happen.
Just today I had to sell two inner tie rods, an outer tie rod and a tire that was through cords.
I started by showing the customer the car in the next stall to demonstrate what a good tie rod felt like. I then showed them where their tie rods were about to fall out.
I closed by saying that when the tie rod breaks the wheel will go where ever it likes and drag their car with it. I told them it could be into the median, into a curb or a semi-truck. The cost of not fixing the car would be a lot worse than fixing the car from a financial and safety position.
When there is a gap in understanding jibberish will always be overlooked and dismissed. It someone needs something like a catalytic converter they often won’t buy it unless there is a demonstrable need. Sometimes it is a check engine light, other times it is a stopped-up exhaust which won’t let the engine work.
A lot of people who approach sales from a technical perspective will miss out on a sale and repeat business. I hear several times a month how a customer knew about a situation I was presenting but had never thought of it in the way I explained it.
The customer with the tie rods was told six months ago by another shop that she needed tie rods but she didn’t know what they were, how bad they were and therefore how important it was that they be changed. All it took was a little see it for myself and why is it important for her to make the purchase.
In the end, I get a sale and a repeat customer because I took the time to explain a dangerous situation in such a way that the customer understood how dangerous it was.
Sales are closed on why. A customer isn’t going to want a sexy set of tie rods the same way they want a sexy set of rims. As salespeople, it is our job to find ways to keep the why big enough in the customers’ mind that the what gets done.
Author’s Bio
JJ is a Service Advisor in a full-service shop. He brings a solid understanding of complex systems down to earth for customers who are shy about dealing with the automotive industry.
A teacher at heart, he believes that customers are most satisfied when they understand the issue and the path forward. This results in customers making purchasing decisions from a position of power instead of fear and reluctance. He also enjoys quiet activities like non-traditional board games, reading, YouTube, sarcasm and collecting pre-loved cars the rest of us call ugly junk.