Freshen up your car sales meeting ideas by focusing on overcoming objections and developing core principles

Dealing with objections is a daily struggle for car sales professionals. Regardless of how “hot” a lead may be or how many test drives they’ve taken, there’s always a chance they’ll say, “I’d like more time to consider my options.” For the inexperienced salesperson, these objections mean one thing: dead end.

As a sales manager, common objection examples provide effective car sales meeting ideas that will grab the attention of your team. For a sales rep who’s been struggling to keep his deals alive, learning how to handle an objection and make the sale will create a huge confidence boost. At the same time, the topic will encourage your team to give feedback, participate in the discussion, and share stories of triumph or defeat.

But where do you start? For an effective sales meeting, going over each objection on a case-to-case basis may be time-consuming. Instead, we recommend establishing a core set of principles for your sales staff to use in a variety of situations.

4 car sales meeting ideas for conquering objections…once and for all

Here are some four examples you can share with your staff of how to handle objections with real-life scenarios.

1. Advance the sale by asking open-ended questions

When a prospect brings up an objection or excuse to delay a purchase, it’s because they have an underlying need that has not been met by the sales presentation. You may hear common objections like, “I need to think about more” or “We’d like to consider other options.” Figure out what the dominant motive is beneath the surface.

You can utilize different open-ended questions to evoke the underlying problem. For instance, when a sales rep runs through a presentation and asks the client to discuss pricing options, the client may respond by saying, “I’d like to shop around with another dealership first before I make a decision.”

An effective response: “I completely understand. It’s wise to shop around to find what works best for you. May I ask you a question? If I could deliver a competitive rate that fits well with your budget, how would you feel about moving forward with a purchase?”

2. Always agree with the customer

Taking a quick look at the example question above, you may have noticed that the response started in complete agreement with the customer’s objection. For most new salespeople, this strategy may seem counter intuitive and difficult to justify. After spending two hours going over all the features of a vehicle, having to concur with a last second objection is hard to accept. But being in agreement is necessary to keep the prospect interested in what you have to say next, and it shows you are working for their best interests.

3. Get the customer to sit down and view the numbers on paper

When it comes to pricing objections, it’s nearly impossible to showcase the full value of the vehicle without presenting the numbers and figures on paper. Furthermore, advancing the sale to the “sit down” step will better your chances of closing the deal. When you’ve completed the test drive and presented the information, there is very little else you can do to close the sale on the lot. It must be completed sitting down inside the dealership.

If the customer seems happy with the vehicle, but doesn’t agree with the price, here’s an example of how to respond: “I can respect your hesitation due to the pricing. Many folks I’ve helped have had the same concerns, but inevitably chose to buy once they saw the full value on paper. May I ask you a question? If the price and monthly payments met your needs to one hundred percent satisfaction, is there any other reason you wouldn’t buy this car today?” If the customer shows interest in discussing further, guide them inside and sit them down.

4. Be prepared with in-depth knowledge of the competition, and how they compare

If a prospect is searching for a mid-size sedan with less than 100,000 miles and a five-year warranty, she will be considering different manufacturer offerings in the same class. It’s also likely that she has shopped at more than one dealership and is currently weighing her options.

For a salesperson, it’s important to know the features and standard financing options available for all vehicles across the board. You want to be able to highlight how your car stands out from the others, and why it’s a better purchase. If the prospect shows interest in buying your vehicle, but decides she would like to visit another dealership to test drive a similar car, this is when the knowledge will come in handy.

While sitting across from the prospect, draw a simple comparison chart and map out the major differences she can expect from test driving the other car. Focus on the “true expenses” of each vehicle. Be sure to also highlight the ways your deal beats the competition.

Create car sales meeting ideas to propel your sales team into action

Teaching the foundations behind effective responses will provide a reference as your salespeople move along in their careers. Consider the adage, “Give a man a fish, and you will feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and he will feed himself for a lifetime.” To guide your sales team to action, teach the principles rather than focusing on specific objections. The best car sales meeting ideas consist of providing tools for the team to utilize, not giving them a script to read and follow.

How do you run effective car sales meetings? Are there any principles you think should be included in our list? Share your thoughts in the comments!