By Karl Becker, Executive Coach & Consultant, Improving Sales Performance
Are you looking for a simple model to improve your sales team’s performance or ways to better connect with customers? If you’re looking to create real value and position your dealership for repeat business and customer referrals then you might want to consider 3.2.1.GO.
3.2.1.GO is a sales methodology for effectively connecting with and closing more customers. Its secret is that it aligns your actions to the needs and wants of your customer – giving them the type of experience they’re looking for.
The premise is that everyone needs to feel understood; and that when asked, a customer will tell you how they want to buy – you just need to serve them in an authentic way based on their unique needs. If you are ready to be of service and open to customizing how you sell to fit each individual, then 3.2.1.GO might be right for you.
Here’s how 3.2.1.GO works: 3 types of buyers, 2 questions to ask, 1 thing to always remember, GO sell more.
- There are three types of buyers:
- Make My Life Easy Buyer
- I Did My Homework Buyer
- I Want the Best Deal Buyer
This realization is important because these three types of buyers represent the types of characteristics that most buyers exhibit. While some buyers may demonstrate all three of the characteristics, there is primarily one dominant characteristic most buyers will demonstrate. It is this dominant characteristic that will indicate how to best identify the type of buyer you have – which gives you, as the salesperson, a roadmap to follow.
So, let’s explore these characteristics further.
Buyer #1 – Make My Life Easy Buyer.
- Wants an easy, efficient experience.
- Values time and details.
- Less worried about price.
Buyer #2 – I Did My Homework Buyer.
- Looking to validate information.
- Detailed decision process.
- Takes time to evaluate.
Buyer #3 – I Want the Best Deal Buyer.
- The best price is the #1 driver.
- Will trade time for savings.
- Wants to win.
Each type of buyer has his/her own unique needs, and as a salesperson, your job is to understand these needs and cater to them.
For example, if you are working with a Make My Life Easy Buyer, you want to make sure you are creating an aligned customer experience. In short, you want to make your customer’s life as easy as possible and create an efficient buying experience by preparing the car and any paperwork in advance of his/her visit. This type of buyer is less concerned about price and more concerned about an experience that is seamless, fast, and does not waste his/her time. In essence, he/she is trading cash for an efficient buying experience that minimizes the dealerships need of his/her time. Your attention to every detail will pay off with a happy customer that will buy from you again and refer you personally to any of his/her associates that buy the same way. Hint – this type of person has many of these types of friends and colleagues.
- There are two types of questions to ask:
- Magic Wand
- Did I Hear You?
Asking these two types of questions are super important to the 3.2.1.GO sales methodology. These questions are easy to ask, and the answers create gold.
First, I want you to ask your customer one of my favorite questions. It goes like this, “If you had a magic wand, what would your ideal car buying experience look like?”
After you ask this question, just smile and remain silent. Let your customer think about these words and give you a thoughtful response. What you hear will probably shock you, as your customer will tell you what type of buyer they are and what is important to them. For example, an I Did My Homework Buyer will probably say they want to only look at the cars they researched, and he/she will want to take their time checking out those vehicles in a no-pressure, no-rush environment where they can validate what they learned from their research (most likely online from a competing dealership).
The second question I want you to ask is tied to sharpening your listening skills. All I want you to do is to ask your customer if it’s ok to repeat back to them what you think you heard. I recommend saying, “If it’s alright with you, can I repeat back what I think I heard you say about the buying experience you want today?”
Once they agree, I would try to repeat back to them the most important things they told me and add in a solution that meets their magic wand request. In our I Did My Homework Buyer example, I would say something like, “I heard you say that having some time to look at the car without any pressure would help you evaluate the car better. And that you have done some research and just want to use this time to see how it matches up in person. That you probably want to sit in the car, take it for a drive, and just make sure it’s what you think it is. If that right, I’d be happy to show you the car and give you 5-10 minutes by yourself to check it out and then meet back up to answer any questions. Does that sound about right?”
- There is one thing to always remember: Be A Guide.
Once you have identified which of the three types of buyers you are working with and what is important to your customer, it is essential you take the final step and realize you are your customer’s guide. This point of view is essential to your success.
When you realize that you are playing the part of a guide, you can show up differently and give your customer their ideal experience. Your job is not to just sell your customer a car, your job is to guide your customer to the purchase experience they want. When you start doing this, you will get seen as valuable, and in turn, get more repeat customers, referrals, and sales.
GO sell more.
This one is simple. Follow these three steps (3.2.1.) and you will be on your way to selling more cars and earning more money.
Learn more about how to create value for your customers during Karl Becker’s session at Digital Dealer 27 Conference & Expo (Aug. 19-21, 2019 in Las Vegas, NV).
About the Author
Karl Becker is an authority on sales and marketing for the SMB. He is the architect of The Revenue Equation Framework – a construct for developing and optimizing high performing sales & marketing organizations.
