Introduction

This book is for the 20 percent of salespeople and managers who earn 80 percent of all the money! If you are not in that prestigious top 20 percent, then I’ll get you there! If you already feel that you’re on the top rung of the ladder then hang on, because I’m adding another extension on it. No brag, just fact! Consider this as your textbook to earn a master’s degree in closing car deals!This training is not some researcher’s concept of the “ideal world;” it is the hard and cold “real world!” I do not mince words, nor do I“pull punches.” The language used is that as spoken “in the trenches.”

The beginning section is a guide for someone to decide if they should even attempt this business, and a primer for selecting your first car job. I take the new salesperson through the entire process of selecting the right dealership (disregarding whether or not they have any job openings), and the actual steps to pick the store you want to work at. Then I instruct the applicant on how to obtain an interview, the right questions to ask, and correct answers to using during this phase; including physical and mental preparation as well as personal appearance and proper attire.

The beginner’s instruction continues with what the new person should be prepared for, such as the “hazing” and “mind games” that are all a part of the initiation and“proper” break-in for the F.N.G. (Fine New Guy?). The “newbie” is guided through the roadblocks and trials that sometimes take months and even years to learn. This is a welcome shortcut that explains the proper way to conduct oneself, the avoidance of the pitfalls, the psychological tactics others may test you with, and how to comfortably handle yourself.

The majority of this book is devoted to making the professional closer into a “master closer.” The closes herein are not theoretical! They contain the exact verbiage that I have found works best, and each “close” in accompanied by the proper “body language”to use in its’ implementation. There are millions of dollars’ worth of actual closing scenarios, along with the proper time and place to use each particular one!

The professional salesperson and closer are well aware of the value of just one new idea used over a lifetime of selling! I offer you a book-full with my congratulations on your having the desire to be better.

I wrote this manual because the automobile industry has never put this information in writing. Up until now, it has always been a slow and tortuous learning by success and failure, and trial and error. The closing “gurus” at the top have always jealously guarded the “secrets of the close.” This “hand me down” training philosophy forces a salesperson to endure a lengthy and arduous “rite of passage.”

To further compound the problem is the fact that many closers do not keep their salesperson with them during the negotiating process, thus the salesperson doesn’t receive any closing skills, and it keeps their proficiency in selling to a minimum. Many closers purposely do not want their salespeople to be with them ─ for different reasons; some are scared to look“weak” or making errors in front of their subordinates, and many just want to keep a good producer selling cars for them, because they don’t want to lose a good salesperson due to a promotion.Therefore, in these situations, the closer meets the buyer and sends the salesperson back on the “floor.” In these cases, if a good closer leaves for a better opportunity there is a void, because there may be no one trained to take their place! I instruct the proper procedures, in great detail, and believe strongly in training ever salesperson in every way possible.

I was fortunate to begin my career as a closer and was trained by one of the best, so I had a head start that saved me years; then I added 30 years of learning and experimentation to it! What I teach here works, and it works exceptionally well!

I would like to caution the reader on the use of this book ─ a good close used at the wrong time can ruin the entire sale, and for this reason, a general knowledge of the various techniques is really helpful to the salesperson, but they should not attempt the majority of them if a “closer” will be doing the negotiations. Let the closer do it!

“Closers” should not attempt some of these techniques unless they are very experienced and “fast on their feet,” because if they are not professionally delivered, they can“backfire.” I would suggest some“role-play” with your sales manager before you actually attempt to use them with a buyer. Your manager can be a“sounding board” for your sincerity and timing.

The closes herein are some of my favorites, and I know you must put them into your own words, but I implore you to be careful, as they work best exactly the way I have written them. Believe me when I say this, because I have experimented with each one of them thousands of times, and if the wording sounds too plain or unsophisticated, that’s because I have found that it works best from the buyer’s perception. Be Smart, Act Dumb!