Steps to Selling an RV

There is a sale made every time a customer comes through your door. Either you sale them on why, or they sell you on why not. The customer is often the better salesman.

To become an effective salesperson on top of his or her game, they must follow the steps that lead them to success. There are tapes and CD's that explain the different methods and techniques. The ones that I have studied are very good, but I use a combination of what I have studied over the years. Most of the sales training you will find are not specific to selling RV's. RV's are a lot like a home and the process leading up to a sale is different than selling a car.

After looking at websites such as www.rvdls.com the customers will drive to the lot of their choice.There’s always a level of discomfort when a customer arrives at the lot to look at new RV's. Getting out of their car, they know they’re going to be bombarded by eager salespeople dying to get into your pocketbooks! It's because of this perception; they arrive with their guards up. In retrospect, the salesperson knows the customer’s have their guards up, so they must use their skills to gain rapport. The bottom line is the customer truly wants the new RV, and the salesperson wants to sell one. If the ice can be broken and rapport established; a polished sales professional will succeed. The end result will be a win/win!

There are TEN steps in the selling process:

1. Meet and Greet

2. Building Love and Trust

3. Wants, Needs and Affords

4. Game Plan

5. Finding the One

6. Demo

7. Feature Benefit Time

8. Uncover Hidden Objections

9. Committment to Buy

10. Close the Sale

Step one "Meet and Greet"

You never get a second chance to make a good and lasting first impression! In fact most people decide in 4-7 seconds whether or not they like the person they are talking to. So make it a good one! Here's what you do:

Approach the customer with a warm and friendly smile. Extend your hand with a professional firm grip. Not too firm and not too limp! A lot can be determined by your hand shake so make it just right. You want to look into their eyes, and make sure they can see yours. If you are wearing sunglasses, remove them. No smoking! No chewing gum! You can use a breath mint if you are concerned about bad breath.

Welcome them to the dealership by saying "Welcome to _____________, my name is __________ and yours? Make sure you acknowledge everyone, one at a time. Repeat their names back to make sure you heard them correctly. People also like to hear their names, because it makes them feel important.

Step two "Building Love and Trust"

In this step you want to talk about everything except RV's! Most will want to jump right into looking at the RV's on the lot. This is a mistake and you will end up with a no sale! You need to establish common ground or "rapport" before you do anything else. Building rapport will allow you to find what's most important to the customer. The customer is more likely to open up and tell you the truth when you have this kind of bond. Most customers as I said will have their guards up and resist giving you the information you need in order to ultimately make that sale. Customer's will open up and tell you the truth if they trust you.

Some things to talk about are: Everything about them and very little about you! You want to put the spotlight on the customer and make them feel special. Start by giving them an honest and sincere compliment. If "she" has a nice blouse on, tell her. If "he" has a nice set of boots on, make a point in telling him how nice they look. Pay particular attention to what they are wearing and what kind of vehicle they drove up in. You might make a comment on where they are from. If you know of someone that lives there, or have been there yourself, talk about it. This will help you align yourself with the customer. The more common ground you can find the more enjoyment you will get from helping your customer's with their selection.

Step three "Wants, Needs and Affords"

Everyone wants Champaign, but most have a beer budget! The best way to find this out is to simply ask them. Since most will be reluctant to give you financial information, you will need to ask them by using open ended questions. But before we get too far into the budget we need to find out what they want and need first.

Here are some examples of what I mean by this: They might want a 40' RV, but only need a 36'. They might want the biggest engine available, but only need the smaller more affordable one.

You are probably wondering at this point, how can I find this out? Here is the best way to find out this information. You need to learn to be a master at asking questions. But you don’t want to ask just any question, as I said earlier you will need to ask questions that are open ended. An open ended question is one that can’t be answered with the usual “yes” or “no.” You want them to open up and tell you everything you need to know. They will do this if your questions are designed to keep them talking and explaining what they mean by their answers. Try asking question that uses these words: who, what, where, when, how and the most important one “why!” Ask the customer questions like this one. How do you plan in using your new RV? Or you can ask something like this one. Where will you spend most of your time in your new RV? Who will be traveling with you? Again these are open ended questions and can’t be answered with yes or no. I mentioned above that the most important word to use was “why” and the reason is that you can respond to their answers by asking it. In other words, when they give you an answer to one of your questions, you can then ask them, “why” they say that. That will allow you to dig a little deeper and uncover the real reason they want what they say they do. Once you have this information you can move on to the next step. Getting the budget information will be much easier if you established rapport in the second step. When you get the budget, make sure it includes these items:

1. How much do they owe on their trade, and what is their current payment if any? What is their current interest rate?

2. Try to find out what sort of payment they now would be comfortable with and how much cash they can put down. This is a good time to feel them out. Use your open ended questions again and try to find out what they are expecting for their trade.

3. Determine if they have been looking at other RV's and what sort of pricing they have been given. The more information you can get will help you to determine what you do next.

4. The last thing you need to know on budget is the customers’ flexibility. They will normally tell you what they want to spend, but ask them this. Mr. Customer, if we found the perfect RV today that would fit your needs and it was a little more than your budget; would you want me to tell you about it, or should I rule it out? If they answer yes, then simply ask them how much flexibility they have.

Step four "Game Plan"

Selling an RV can be compared to playing a game of chess. The last move of the day is their signature on a buyers order. Before you can get there, you have to set up all the moves and put them in the proper order.

The customer will need to feel like they have looked at enough. If you take them directly to what they are looking for, they will feel the urge to go somewhere else and compare to what they've seen on your lot. In order to stop this from happening you will need to give them a good shopping experience. At the same time you don't want to show them too much! If they look at too many RV's while on your lot, they can get confused and still wish to leave.

The rule of thumb is to show them "3” RV's total. If you listened to them during your interview in step three, you will know what RV works best. You simply save that particular one for last!

Step 5 "Finding the One"

The first one you show them should be as far from what they are looking for as possible. You don't want to make them mad, but you definitely want them to dislike it. You don't even need to go inside with them, when they are looking at it. Just open the door and allow them to enter. They will go inside and quickly exit. That is exactly what you want them to do. The second one should be closer to what they are looking for. You still want them to desire more however, so let them go inside and ask them what their thoughts are. If they say; they don't like it, ask them what is missing. Make sure you make a note of what they give you for an answer. It might come in handy later! You might want to take your time before going to the third unit. You can stall by showing them your service facility, or introducing them to management or other employees. Meeting the manager now, might be a good thing. It is likely he will get involved with the sale at some point, so meeting him now is good. Once you have taken some time building value in your dealership, you can go to the third unit. When you get to this RV, walk in behind them and watch and pay attention! Watch their body language and listen to their comments. Make sure not to speak to early, just let them take it all in. They will have some questions at first, make sure you answer them the best you can. You don't want to get to involved in selling the RV at this point; mainly you want to make sure they like it. Once you are convinced this is the one, it is time to move to the next step.

Step six "Demo"

This step can be skipped if you are selling a towable unit. If you are selling a motorized RV, then it could be the most important step of all.

If they are buying a motorized RV they will be driving it and there is no better way to get them to take mental ownership then getting them behind the wheel. I find most customers reluctant to drive if they are asked at this time. The reason is that it makes them feel like they are buying something, and the natural tendency is to say no. You are much better off “not” to ask. That is right, you kidnap them! I don't mean that literally. I simply mean that you don't have to ask them.

I excuse myself allowing them to look it over some more. Then I go outside making sure everything is clear and all of the compartment doors are closed. Once I'm back in the RV I check to see if the slide rooms are extended. If they are, I slide them in. The customer's will like this because they can see the operation of the slides. Once the slides are in, I ask the customers' to sit down while I start the engine. They usually cooperate and just sit. Then I pull the RV out of the slot and off the lot. I've never had a customer JUMP out yet! Once you're out on the road you can find a place to pull over. Find a place that’s quiet with minimal distractions.

Step seven "Feature and Benefit Presentation"

This step is best performed away from the dealership. The reason is that there are too many distractions on the lot. There is nothing more frustrating when you are selling the RV, when all of a sudden the customer wants to look at the unit sitting next to the one you are selling! If you are selling a trailer, then this could still be a problem, just stay focused and try to keep them interested in the one you are selling.

When giving a feature benefit presentation, you are attempting to build value in your product. If the value exceeds the money it costs, they will buy! If the value appears to be less, they will want to leave and think about the purchase. 80 percent of our customers leave without buying. So in order to make the sale to the other 20 percent, you have to do this part well.

Let me break this down. A feature is simply that. It is something that may or may not offer a benefit to the customer. So we want to turn the features into benefits! There is an easy way to do this. You state what the feature is, and then tell the customer in words that he/she can understand, in other words, "what it means to them!" Here is an example of what I’m trying to explain. Most RV's have an awning. You can say, "Mr. Customer, this RV has an A&E metal wrapped awning. What that means to you Mr. Customer, is that it will keep the rain off your patio, so you can grill outside in any weather!" The customer can picture himself outside grilling a nice big juicy steak on the grill and be thankful the awning will keep him dry! That is a benefit to the customer, isn't it?

The more features you can turn into a benefit the better. This is how we build value in our products. Once again, when the value presented exceeds the dollars spent, the customers will make a buying decision.

On the drive back to the lot, make sure you get both of them behind the wheel! By this time you've built enough rapport they will do most anything you ask. Some of the females are reluctant to drive, but if you go about it right, you can still make this happen. You might get them to sit behind the wheel and back it or pull it forward. You can also pull into a parking lot allowing her to drive more easily. Take your time, because statistics show that 85 percent of the buying decision comes from the female! At the same time she has 100 percent of the veto power!

Step eight "Hidden Objections"

Trust me, the objections are there and it is your job to find what they are! If you wait until you get inside and present numbers it will be too late. By doing it now, there is still time if to find another RV if there are too many objections to overcome.

When they are driving the RV back on the lot, tell them to pull it over to the sold area. There doesn't have to be a sold area, just pick somewhere and tell them, that’s the sold area. You are looking for a reaction to that statement! If they say nothing and just pull it over, you can assume the sale is very likely. If they make a negative comment, you will want to dig a little deeper and ask them why they said that.

Once you are in the sold area, ask them a series of questions in this order:

1. Do you have any lingering questions?

2. Do you like the RV?

3. What surprised you the most about it?

4. If there were one thing that would keep us from moving forward right now, what would that one thing be?

You are hoping for little dialogue during the first three questions. You need to focus on question 4. They will answer that question with the word "money" in most cases, if you did your job correctly. I want you to go a little further with that question once they answer it.

No matter what the answer is to question 4, you will want to reply with this question. "Other than __________, would there be any other reason? You are looking for "hidden objections!" If they don't like something about the RV, now is when they will tell you. For example they might say; we don't like the color of that couch. Whatever they say, you respond this way. "Other than the color of the couch, would there be anything else? One of the answers will be money if they like this RV at all. There could be 3 or 4 things other than money that is keeping them from buying now. Whatever it is, ask them the question again. Other than _________, _________, ________ and money, would there be anything else? You do this until there is nothing else. Once you have uncovered all of them, you ask them one final question. "So Mr. Customer, if we can get you the right color ________, correct _______, fix __________ and get the money right, can we move forward?" If they answer this question with "yes" it is time to go inside. If the answer is still "no," then it might be time for the manager. You could still be on the wrong unit.

Step nine "Commitment to Buy"

This is the most important step of all. If the customer isn't willing to make a buying decision today there is no sale! Don't buy into the smoke screen of ANY answer that requires them going home and think about it. It is just a stall! If the told you on the lot, that there is no other reasons and now all of a sudden they will not commit, there is another hidden objection. I am not getting into all the different ways to uncover these objections. I will save that for another blog. But what I will say is that usually it is the price that is keeping them from moving forward. If they lead you to believe that you are on the right RV and all of a sudden there is a hang up. It is more than likely the price. The best thing to do at this time is find out what is wrong with the price. You can ask the customer candidly, where the problem is. Tell them not to worry about hurting your feelings and to level with you. You need to know where the price needs to be in order for them to move forward. Once they tell you, don't argue! Just write it down. Here is the part where most salespeople fall short. It doesn't matter what they tell you for price at this moment. You are only going for a commitment!" Once they commit to buying, it is easier to move them up in price later.

A true commitment is when the customer agrees to buy the RV at a certain price or payment. It becomes a solid commitment when you get a verbal agreement, signatures' and some form of down payment. Once you have all of that, you have a commitment to buy today!

Step ten "Closing the Sale"

Closing the sale can mean many things. My definition of closing the sale is doing whatever you need to do to complete the transaction. Remember step nine covered getting a commitment to buy. That doesn't mean you are at a deal! You still could have some negotiating to do. You might need to get the manager involved. Sometimes having a position of authority such as a manager can be helpful. A lot of customers are just looking for the bottom price. When the manager comes in, he can tell the customer where the bottom is at. That is enough to close the sale in most cases. Other times there can be a lot of negotiating back and forth. Some customers like this, and others hate it with a passion. Regardless of what kind of customer you have, there might need to be some negotiating. Remember that negotiating doesn't always end up making a deal. Sometimes you can still be on the wrong unit. There could be many reasons why you can't get to the customers payment. He could owe more on his trade then its worth. His credit might not be good enough to qualify for a bank approval. There are a lot of things that can happen, but getting the sale this far makes the odds much greater in your favor. Once you make the sale, you’ll need to finish up all of the paperwork. Get a copy of the driver’s license and a complete credit application in order to obtain financing. If you don't make a sale today for any reason, remember to log your customer and stay in touch. There is a good chance you can sell them in the next few days. By all means, "never" let a customer go more than one day without a follow up phone call. Persistence pays off in the long run!

Good luck and happy selling!

Please leave any questions or comments below.