Closing Sales Techniques & Tips

My Boss Said No,
Now What?

Another tip on closing sales for the professional Car Salesman.
How to close the deal with a variation of the take away sales closing technique.

Here is an excellent close that seems to work best when working with buyers that are looking at buying a car for well below the asking price.

I've found that closing sales with this approach works best when the customer has been given an excellent walk around and a quality test drive, with all the features and benefits of the vehicle they are looking to buy being properly demonstrated. You've got to get 'em to love it!

There are really two types of buyers that will qualify best for this close and both of these will fall under the category of aggressive offer makers.

The "I'm Trying" Buyer
Your first buyer is one that is fairly unfamiliar with the car buying process and was probably given some fairly vague advice from a family member or friend to make a low ball offer in the hopes of the dealership quickly getting to the bottom line.

Unfortunately, for this type of buyer, if their offer is too aggressive it will be rather obvious that they didn't follow some of my negotiation tips (offers that actually will be accepted) and they are just taking a shot in the dark. Closing sales under these circumstances is fairly easy and this technique is perfect in this case.

The I'm Trying to Steal It Buyer
The second type of buyer in this category is looking at buying a vehicle for a "steal of a deal" and although, these offers are legitimate they are truly unrealistic.

These are usually people that have bought cars multiple times before and they are either hoping to "steal" the vehicle or are, as with the first type of customer, trying to get you to your bottom line ASAP.

I've found more often than not they are trying to "steal" it and counter offers are not necessarily what they are looking for. If they are looking for a counter, then this is a great sales closing technique to find out where they stand quickly.

If they are truly looking to "steal" it, then this is a great way to stand them up and not waste a bunch of time on an endless negotiation process.

Here are two variations of this close and I'd strongly suggest that you include this in your little bag of sales closing techniques, because it's easy to use and highly effective.

Closing Sales
With the "My Boss Said No" Close

1) For the timid buyer
After you've "touched the desk" (spoke to the sales manager) you'll simply return to the buyer and say directly, but politely that "My boss said no, now what?" And then you'll be quiet and listen to what they say.

It's important to watch their body language as well at this point, because this will help to confirm or deny your suspicion as to what type of offer they were really making you, i.e. sincere or a simple shot in the dark.

What you're looking for, to know if they are just taking a shot, is basically that deer in the headlight look and more than likely some sort of adjustment in their seat. I don't like to use this phrase, but it's the best to describe the situation...You want to watch for them "squirming" in their seat.

If you are working with this type of buyer you'll usually get a timid response like, "Well what can you do?" This is where you know you are looking at a profitable deal!

At this point present the sales figures the sales manager has given you and you should be able to close the deal then and there.

You may have to make one more pass, but at this point if the sales manager has done their job, then they've helped you to deflect from the sale price of the vehicle to working on payments, trade value or down payment. See, I told you closing sales with this technique was easy.

2) For the Car Thief
Just kidding about the car thief thing, but that's what it seems like sometimes. Hey, closing sales would be no fun if everyone was a lay down...It'd definitely be more profitable though!

This is worked just the same as above and depending on how aggressive their original offer was your sales manager may or may not come back with a counter offer. Assuming they did give you numbers to present, then you'd start the same and wait for the customers response.

Typically one of two things will happen when you tell the buyer "My boss said no, now what?" They will either lean back and say something that (in their mind) essentially ends the negotiation, or they will lean forward and ask "What can they do?"

If it's the second of those options, then you are working with a customer that is just looking to wheel and deal and the negotiations have begun. Now you can work this like a normal car deal.

If it's the first of the two, then as they begin to make their move to get up you'll spring on them, "but this is what he will do." For a small percentage of customers you'll then begin negotiations, but in my experience most may entertain your offer to be polite, but will more than likely leave. Great! Have a nice day. It's on to the next, more realistic buyer.

Summary
Closing sales with this technique is a lot of fun, can be quite profitable and when things don't turn into a sale it can save you quite a bit of time...and time is money!

Give it a shot next time someone makes you an aggressive offer and let me and others know know how it turned out. Use the form at the bottom of the main car salesman page: Your Tips, Tricks and Techniques.

Good luck (better yet, good preparation) selling cars and closing sales. Keep in mind, selling means nothing if you can't close the deal!

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