The most common question trainers are asked by participants in a sales class is, 'have you ever sold a car?' It appears to be a fair question, but underneath it lays an attitude that says 'I don’t really want to hear what you have to say so I’m going to find some way to discount the value of this class'.After defending our careers as top performers, we’re then asked to deliver 'more real world' training.

This too sounds like a fair request. When we dig deeper, however, what we find is a desire to be trained in areas that address less than 20% of the circumstances faced during the sales process.

In other words: 'Teach me how to deal with the 2 customers who demand that I make sure they qualify for the special interest rate before they are willing to decide on a vehicle.'

OR

'Show me how to overcome the objection when a customer says they need to go talk to their minister first'.

This same mentality can be seen with golfers. They spend most of their time trying to learn how to 'hit the big dog' (driver) a long way when most of the key shots are made with the putter or near the green. Sure, hit a huge drive and everyone reacts. But when it comes to collecting the money, the best score wins.

Throw out a great way to overcome a rare objection and you get a big reaction. But it usually doesn’t help you sell a car. Investing in training strategies that improve your ability to close only 2 out of 10 customers is bad business and a waste of time. Dealing with the exception and not the rule may get a reaction, but it isn’t real world. What’s real is learning how to deal with the customers you see every day. Want real world training using proven dealership strategies? Click here!