Make Those Deposits!

When Value Exceeds Price by one dollar, You Earn a Sale. This is one of the easy sales concepts, however most salespeople say it but don’t live it. The idea of actually building value goes beyond their skill set and frankly it goes beyond their belief system.

I was recently involved with a conversation, more like a debate, on a salesperson discussion board, and I had multiple salespeople argue that customers do not see value. They only care about price and there is nothing the salesperson can do. At this point I could debate with them, until I was blue in the face, shout facts and provide proof from the rooftops, and nothing was going to convince these salespeople they are wrong. My parting sentiments from this conversation was this, “If you feel you can’t make a difference, if you can’t build value, then why does the dealership or customer need you? And why don’t you go find another job you can provide value in?” I am sure there we a lot of snotty remarks posted after I made my last comment, however there was nothing productive going to come from the conversation, I was not going to be able to help anyone, so I never went back.

Do you remember the choose your own adventure books, when you were a kid? Wow, I used to love those. They actually are responsible for my love of reading. For nostalgia’s sake, I am going to present you with your very own choose your own adventure.

If you do not believe it is possible to build value in a sale, STOP here. Do not read any further. Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Earn More than a Minimum Commission. Go read about the Kardashians or something.

If you do believe it is possible to build value in a sale, continue reading this article.

Congratulations, you made the right choice.

Building value in the sale has 8 rules:

1. ALWAYS build a CUSTOMER PROFILE
2. ALWAYS use the Customer Profile to identify the problem the customer is looking to solve, their desired outcome, and their HOT BUTTONS
3. ALWAYS use the Customer’s CURRENT PROBLEM to Amplify their Pain Point
4. ALWAYS offer a SOLUTION that creates the Customer’s Desired Outcome
5. ALWAYS custom tailor your PRESENTATION & DEMONSTRATION to Customer’s hot buttons
6. ALWAYS use a VALUE BUILDING Framework during your Presentation
7. ALWAYS use an EXCITEMENT BUILDING Framework during your Demonstration
8. ALWAYS MAKE THOSE DEPOSITS!

I am sure you were following right along until that last one. When I say ALWAYS make Deposits, I am not talking about into your bank account, however, if you follow these 8 rules, you will end up depositing more commission checks, for higher dollar amounts.

Making deposits as a part of building value in sales is a part of the sales process. Actually, it is something that you do all throughout the sales process. Making a deposit is the act of getting your customer to confirm the statement you just made is of value to them.

The following are a few examples of this:

“Joe, you told me that you loved the remote start on your Altima and how much you have missed it, in your rental. Great news is, this Jeep has the remote start system, you have been missing.” (Execute the remote start) “It is just that simple. It sure will be nice to be able to start your Jeep and get the heater going for the kids again, won’t it?”

“It sure is going to be nice when the weather gets a little bit warmer, and you get to take the top and the doors off. I know you have been looking forward to that for a while, right?”

By asking the customer these questions and receiving affirmative responses, your customer is confirming they found what you just told them about as valuable. I call this making deposits. If you get your customer to confirm value enough times, you will earn a sale. And not a discounted sale, but a sale at your price without discounting.

Think of building value like a piggy bank. Each time you make a value or excitement build statement and then get a confirmation from the customer you are making a deposit into your sale piggy bank. The more deposits you make, the more value you have built, the easier the close.

Building value is real, it can be done, and in fact it is your responsibility and duty to yourself and your customer to build enough value to exceed your price by one dollar and earn the sale.