Take a page out of this car dealer’s book. He figured out how to up-sell customers to a $40,000 car who originally come in to buy a $20,000 car. Read this to learn his secret…
The Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid electric car, was released at the end of 2010. In 2012, Chevrolet sold 23,461 of the cars. This would be the highest number sold until 2016, when almost 25,000 were sold.
In 2012, this car dealer in Michigan did what seems to be the unthinkable: he sold 25 Chevrolet Volts per month. This was at a time when most dealers were scrambling to sell just one. GM shipped him 25, and he sold 25. Each month. These cars cost approximately $40,000 each.
Not only that, but he persuaded customers who came in looking for cheaper cars — Malibu, Cruze, Equinox — to scale up to the more expensive–sometimes by a factor of two–Volt.
There are approximately 3000 Chevrolet dealers across the country offering the Volt for sale. In 2012, they typically only sold one per month. At 25 cars per month, this one dealership accounted for almost 1% of total Volt sales per month compared to approximately 0.03% that other dealers contribute.
The annual numbers haven’t changed much.
But if they all implemented this dealership’s tactics then they could create a revolution.
So what were some of his sales tactics? They all appeal to the consumer doing the shopping. This dealership sells benefits, not cars. He finds out what problems the customer has who walks through the door, and then he sells them personalized solutions.
He turned tire-kickers into tire-buyers. And he trained his sales team for 12 hours on how to do this. This is what they do:
- They shift the conversation from big numbers — the overall price of the car — to smaller numbers that can be put into perspective — comparisons of monthly payments between cars.
- They appeal to customer emotions: they offers reasons why buying a Chevrolet Volt is the best car to buy for their children. Can you imagine: a $40,000 car for your child to take to college?
- They back up these benefits with proof — lead with the benefits, follow with the proof. They demonstrate, using custom-made Excel spreadsheets, how the numbers favor buying the Volt compared to other cars over time.
To read more about the details of the dealer’s strategies, click here to learn about creative ways to sell expensive cars. You might even pick up a few new tips to use in your own business. The article is old. But the techniques are timeless.