Will Auto-Selling Autos Work?
Car magazines are currently enticing readers with raving reviews of 2022 models. One of the new models caught the attention of my husband and I, as we are in the market for a new car. The 2022 Cadillac CT Blackwing had my husband acting like a little boy with the prospect of becoming an owner of this car, which Car & Driver magazine describes as “the pinnacle of sport sedans.” So, we went online to view an amazing virtual tour of this new car.
Do I have your attention? Let me interrupt your train of thought because this blog isn’t about the Caddy Blackwing – sorry ‘bout that car buffs! Rather, the blog is about what happened the next day, after viewing the virtual tour.
The following day we received a follow-up call from what sounded like the salesperson who conducted the tour. But we weren’t sure. Nevertheless, we told her that we were in the market for a new car since our existing car lease is about to end. We asked her some specifics about the new car and if we could order it two months in advance of our last payment on our existing lease. Without hesitating, she told us that she “couldn’t guarantee that the specific model would be available.” Following a long silence, we said, “okay” and with another long silence she pleasantly said, “goodbye” followed by a “click.”
She never did call us back and probably never will. We concluded that she was an automated voice listening for keywords that would prompt more information. Finally, we agreed that whoever manages this format is really not a salesperson but someone who mistakenly thinks that selling is the same thing as order-taking. When certain markets are as hot as cars are right now, it’s easy to mistake order-taking as selling. If the salesperson was “selling,” she would have asked us a lot of questions to learn about our needs. She likely would have inquired about our desire to wait two months. Also, if the salesperson was interested in helping us, she would have tried to introduce us to other models that might meet our needs right now, as well as two months from now. Selling is not simply fulfilling a customer’s needs, it’s building a relationship, and at the same time, fostering trust. When salespeople do that, not only may they get the sale…they may gain a customer for life. Now that’s selling!