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    Winning Ways in Vehicle Sales
    Winning Ways in Vehicle Sales
    Winning Ways in Vehicle Sales
    Ebook189 pages2 hours

    Winning Ways in Vehicle Sales

    By Pine Pienaar

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    About this ebook

    Whether for the newcomer to the vehicle sales industry, the
    experienced salesperson or the dealership principal with a
    well-established business, Winning Ways in Vehicle Sales is a
    highly practical handbook that provides a wealth of hands-on
    information to catapult any auto sales business from good to
    great.
    The book covers the full selling process offering step-by-step
    guidelines, industry-proven methods and useful tips that will
    take the salesperson from How can I help you? to closing the
    deal. The author encourages the salesperson to grow his own
    business within the bigger business the dealership environment
    and also addresses aspects such as the salespersons personal
    well-being and interpersonal relationships as key elements to
    his success.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherXlibris UK
    Release dateNov 6, 2012
    ISBN9781479743940
    Winning Ways in Vehicle Sales
    Author

    Pine Pienaar

    After completing his studies in the fields of electrical and mechanical engineering, the author, Dr. Pine Pienaar, obtained a master’s degree in non-formal education, a doctorate in business education and an advanced diploma in labour law. He entered the auto industry as a training manager and spent years honing his skills in the field of training and consulting for numerous prominent vehicle brands, both locally and internationally. Today, he is widely recognised for his special gift to convey, in layman’s terms, the complexities of the often underestimated sales environment.

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      Book preview

      Winning Ways in Vehicle Sales - Pine Pienaar

      Copyright © 2012 Willem Frederik Pienaar

      Editor: Sonya Olivier

      Design and layout: Rina Eksteen

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

      system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical,

      photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior

      written permission of the copyright owner.

      ISBN:     Softcover       978-1-4797-4393-3

               Ebook         978-1-4797-4394-0

      To order additional copies of this book, contact:

      Xlibris Corporation

      0-800-644-6988

      www.XiibrispubLishing.co.uk

      Orders@Xlibrispublishing.co.uk

      305156

      CONTENTS

      About the author

      Acknowledgements

      Introduction

      CHAPTER 1 The road to a sale

      CHAPTER 2 Sales-a team effort

      CHAPTER 3 Showcasing your product

      CHAPTER 4 The salesperson

      CHAPTER 5 The sales vortex

      CHAPTER 6 Prospecting

      CHAPTER 7 Meet and greet-and identifying needs

      CHAPTER 8 Vehicle presentation

      CHAPTER 9 The test drive

      CHAPTER 10 Negotiation

      CHAPTER 11 Closing the deal

      CHAPTER 12 Vehicle delivery

      CHAPTER 13 Follow-up

      CHAPTER 14 Characteristics of successful and unsuccessful salespeople

      Lastly

      Bibliography

      About the author

      Willem Frederik Pienaar became ‘Pine’ some time in his teenage years. In South Africa, it is customary for a person to receive a nickname that is a shortened or slightly adapted version of his or her surname. For example, someone with the surname Swart (which means ‘black’ in Afrikaans) might become ‘Blackie’ somewhere along the line. The surname Van der Merwe becomes ‘Van’, Du Plessis becomes ‘Doep’ and in the author’s case, Pienaar became ‘Pine’.

      Pine was born in Pretoria, the legislative capital of South Africa, on 10 August 1959. After completing his school career, he entered into an apprenticeship with the South African Air Force (SAAF) where, three years later, he qualified as an aircraft electrician. He subsequently went on to study engineering after hours and obtained a national diploma in electrical and mechanical engineering. After two years as a senior technician, he became a full-time lecturer in electrical engineering at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). During the next five years, he completed a teaching diploma as well as a BEd degree at the University of Pretoria.

      He progressed to the position of head of the mathematics and science department at TUT and then moved on to become the principal of the Vaal Triangle Career College in Vereeniging. During this time, Pine achieved his master’s degree in non-formal education (MEd) and later, a doctorate in business education (PhD). He was subsequently employed as a manager at Toyota South Africa and two years later, promoted to the level of senior general manager of the training department. During this time, Pine continued to study after hours and obtained an advanced diploma in labour law from the University of South Africa (UNISA).

      During 1999, Pine launched his own consultancy business, specialising in the fields of industrial training, labour relations, marketing and human resources. With his background, contacts and experience in the auto industry, this became his primary field of expertise. He is still a part-time lecturer to MBA students in human resources and marketing at the University of the Netherlands. He has also lectured widely in these disciplines throughout South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Botswana and Sudan.

      Pine is well known in South Africa for his ability to convey, in layman’s terms, important sales concepts to salespeople from various cultural backgrounds and who are involved in a wide range of industries.

      Taking into consideration his in-depth expertise, extensive exposure and years of experience, Pine’s insights will no doubt prove to be of great value to the reader.

      Editor

      Acknowledgements

      There are many people who, without even being aware of it, assisted me in creating this book.

      These people equipped me with knowledge and experience by allowing me to work in the auto industry both as an employee and as a consultant. They allowed me to spend time in the factories and dealerships of many different vehicle manufacturers, nationally and internationally. I had the opportunity to participate in decision-making on macro level, be involved in the process of the development of dealerships and to evolve with them through the period of rapid transformation from a handful of national manufacturers to impressive global structures. Today, dealerships represent their brand names in virtually every country that has been identified as a viable market.

      If it had not been for this group of people, I would never have had the insight and courage to write a book such as this, as I would have considered my levels of knowledge and experience as inadequate.

      I therefore offer my sincere gratitude to the following outstanding people:

      Mr Brand Pretorius, the then chief executive officer (CEO) of McCarthy Motors had a tremendous influence on my life. I consider him to be my mentor—and what a gentleman he is!

      Mr David Swart, the then director of human resources of Toyota, who was the first to offer me a position in the auto industry in the areas of human resources and training, despite the fact that at the time, I was a college principal who had no industry experience.

      Mr Harry Gazendam, chief director of human resources at Toyota, who promoted and transferred me to the Toyota factory in Durban, gave me the green light to spend time at Toyota Japan and allowed me to interact at national level with vehicle brands such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford, Mazda, Opel, Volvo, Cadillac, Mini, Land Rover, Chevrolet and Isuzu.

      Mr Manny de Canha, CEO of Associated Motor Holdings (part of Imperial International), hired me as a consultant and trainer for Hyundai, Kia, Renault, Ssangyong, Daihatsu, Proton, Chery, Foton and Imperial select pre-owned vehicles in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. He allowed me to present training throughout the full spectrum of his operations-from weekend leadership courses for top management and the training of dealer principals (DPs), to the training of his sales teams, front line staff, service and spares department, and his finance and insurance teams. I also provided product training and was appointed to evaluate their various dealership outlets and propose changes to improve their businesses. I will be forever indebted to this man.

      To each one of you, I would like to extend my sincere thanks. You are all co-authors of this book.

      To my late father, Boy Pienaar, who constantly reminded me of the profit drive in business when I became involved in soft issues such as the social responsibility of industry.

      You were right! Nothing in business should be tackled without the bottom line in mind—even if it might not always appear to be the case.

      I will never forget the day when I was irritated by a nagging hobo. I was about to give him a piece of my mind when my dad said, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ Today I understand the truth of those words.

      To my mother, the most positive person on the face of the planet—thank you. Your encouragement carried me through many tough spots in my life. This book is testimony to your love and support throughout the years. Thank you for believing that I am the cleverest person around! (I wish this were true, but hey-I am not about to dismiss a compliment from such a distinguished lady.)

      Lastly, a big thank you to my wife, Anastasia, for your emotional support. You and my children, Este, Willem and Maude, make my life worth living.

      A heartfelt thank you to every one of you!

      Introduction

      ‘It always used to be so easy, but lately, customers are so difficult and unreasonable.’ I so often hear words like these and yes, things have changed since the internet came into full operation. Today, customers are able to compare products in the comfort of their homes. Since the Second World War, the number of vehicles available on the market has increased a hundredfold.

      Customers can compare on the basis of technical specifications, suitability for specific and personal circumstances and the mere appeal of the vehicle, before a limited number is selected for test drives.

      The engineering science has also developed across the world and as a result, gone are the days when trade secrets or equipment belonged to a single manufacturer. Technical specifications are highly comparable and the price battle is being fought brutally. In addition, countries such as China and India have entered the vehicle market with a vengeance, taking market share away from the traditional industry leaders.

      Long-standing brand loyalty for well-known vehicle makes is dwindling as customers consider alternatives to counter the financial pressures of unstable world economic markets and war in oil-rich countries.

      In spite of these factors, many vehicle salespeople are unprepared and approach the task at hand as if we are still living in the ‘order-taking’ era—a time when the customer had a limited variety from which to choose and was willing to wait for the vehicle of his or her choice. Many dealer principals (DPs) have not learnt to cope with the changes in the vehicle marketplace and do not know how to identify opportunities in the new e-world.

      The aim of this book is to open eyes, to empower salespeople and to show the way to staying competitive. Not all vehicle manufacturers and dealerships will survive in the new era. Only those who embrace the changes and find new ways to make those sales will flourish.

      My wish is that you would enjoy this book and so, I will colour the grey world of academic reality with a little humour and real life examples.

      Dr. Pine Pienaar

      For the sake of brevity, the text from this point onwards will use the male gender to denote either gender. Furthermore, the South African Rand is used in examples where a currency is required to illustrate a point.

      CHAPTER 1

      The road to a sale

      The regular salesperson does not always understand that he is the last important link in a chain of events that starts with the design of the vehicle, continues through the manufacturing process and undergoes a creative marketing phase, until it eventually reaches the sales process. After all, the aim of marketing is sales. In other words, the road to a sale starts with a macroperspective, from which point it cascades down to the microperspective where the deals are closed by salespeople.

      The macroperspective of the sales process comprises the following components which are set out in the diagram on pages two and three:

      •   head office;

      •   dealership management;

      •   salespersons;

      •   sales back-up;

      •   F&I;

      •   parts and services;

      •   wheels and tyres;

      •   fitment centres;

      •   purchasers of cars; and

      •   external providers.

      The microperspective focuses on the salesperson and the training of the sales team.

      THE ROAD TO A SALE-THE MACROPERSPECTIVE

      Image369.JPGImage376.JPG

      CHAPTER 2

      Sales-a team effort

      This is a book about sales. In a nutshell, sales comprises three components:

      •   satisfying an already existing need for another or a new vehicle;

      •   satisfying a need that was created by the marketing team; and

      •   reselling to existing customers and references.

      Achieving these goals requires a coordinated team effort by all parties involved. These are:

      •   head office (HO)

      •   dealership management

      •   the salesperson

      •   the sales back-up team

      o the finance and insurance (F&I) team

      o the spares division

      o the service staff

      o fitment centres and sellers of accessories

      o external buyers of cars

      2.1 HEAD OFFICE (HO)

      Top management is responsible for establishing company culture. The

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