Here is a question I recently received from a young automobile salesperson:

“I’m a sales rep just starting off. I am 21 years old and have nine months experience at a (auto dealership) store. It is hard for me because I am very young. The rest of the sales guys are at least 40 with many years of experience. I would like to ask you for some personal tips so I can surpass these guys. I don’t have a repeat client base quite yet, but I’m working up to it. I would appreciate if you wrote me back.”

Here is the answer that I provided to this young go-getter:

You can really set yourself apart if you focus on learning how to ASK QUESTIONS to determine the KEY FACTORS behind your prospects' buying decisions. If you ask good questions, your age will rapidly become a non-factor as your prospects gain respect for your courtesy and professionalism.

Ask penetrating, insightful questions and listen very carefully to each prospect’s answers to your questions. Those answers will tell you whether the individual is a prospect that is worthy of a significant time investment, and, if they are, how you can best help them buy.

Too many automobile salespeople are focused on trying to cram a vehicle (any vehicle) down someone's throat. Or, they are fixated on features of vehicles that they themselves admire. Here is an example:

One time when I was looking at cars, I met a salesman that waxed eloquent about a particular car's engine, horsepower, 0 to 60 time, and other "gear head" specifications. I politely informed him that those things didn't matter much to me. As long as the car could perform decently when I was passing someone on the highway, that was all I needed to know about its engine and horsepower. I was more interested in the car's appearance and the quality of its interior appointments. Yet, even though I explicitly told the salesman what my primary interests were, he kept peppering his conversation with "gear head babble". I found his behavior to be quite amusing, but it DIDN’T help him make a sale.

That doesn't mean you never want to discuss engine specifications with a prospect. Just reserve those conversations for people that are truly interested in such things. They will make themselves known by the kinds of questions they ask and the general focus of their comments.

When someone visits your dealership, a good place to start a conversation is by finding out what brought them into your store. Here are some questions you could ask:

* Why are they looking at your specific brand? Is it because they have some loyalty to the brand, or did some other reason bring them into your store?

* Is there a particular type of vehicle or certain features they are especially interested in?

* Why are they interested in that vehicle or those features?

* What kind of vehicle are they driving currently?

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