As automotive sales professionals, we often work in environments where we are missing a little bit of information, but the consumers have access to most of what they need to know to make an accurate buying decision so we need to learn to embrace the resources they use (i.e. cars.com, kbb.com.)
I'm going to share some scenarios where you can overcome some specific objections by letting the customers know you know and subscribe to the information they already know or by letting them have a peak behind the curtain of the dealership in a way your competitors likely would not do.
Objection 1) That price is to high
Answer 1) I agree, sir. Prices of cars are really high, but the one thing I want to help you see is that if this is the car you want that you are getting a fair deal. Did you search online for any similar cars before coming in today? Great, let's do this now so you can see that we are getting you a great deal based on what the other people out there buying and selling this same car are worth.
Addendum 1) If your dealership is a user of vAuto this is a great time to have a vAuto report printed and show the consumer that your vehicle has a high vRank. If your dealership does not use vAuto, then you must familiarize yourself with the search parameters of a site like Cars.com and create a search result that justifies your price and do that right in front of the customer, showing them that other cars just like the one they are buying in your market are priced very similiarly. This may not close them on your price, but it should keep them from trying to negotiate for thousands.
Objection 2) I'm a cash buyer, what is your best price?
Answer 2) I will be glad to get you the best price I can for this vehicle if it is the one you want, but let me just share that as a dealership we actually prefer that you finance through one of our available lenders. We generally have our money quicker that way, and the bank even gives us a smaller finder's fee for bringing them business. Is that something you would be open to if that got you the exact car you wanted at the right price?
Addendum 2) This probably won't be the end of this discussion, but it helps you find out what you need to find out without just dropping your pants on price. Maybe, they simply refuse to finance but have plenty of cash to buy whatever they want. Great, let's just pick a car. Maybe, they were afraid they couldn't get financed. This gives you a great time to talk about your available special finance programs and how it is a great way to rebuild their credit and they can probably get qualified by putting down just a fraction of the money they were planning to spend.
Objection 3) That is not enough for my trade.
Answer 3) I understand you want top dollar for your trade, let me show you how we and other dealerships are getting to a valuation of the $8,000 my used car manager is showing you for your trade. [Pull up a car being retailed on cars.om that is similar to theirs, again try to tailor your search to eliminate overpriced outliers and show them what the car they are trying to trade in is selling for.] Now, these cars are selling for $11,000 to $11,900. My dealership has a rule that we must sell all cars we take in on trade within 60 days so to do that our pricing has to be extremely competetive and on the low end of that range. On average, we spend about $900 in the shop, and with your car needing [and you better be prepared to rattle off two or three pricey items] we may even top that. Our typical used car profit is about $2,000, and since you have negotiated such a great deal on the car you are buying then we certainly have to try to be as close to that as possible when we sell your trade-in. If you are telling me that a couple hundred dollars earns your business, I can probably get that done for you, but now I'm sure you can see why we wouldn't have anymore than that to stretch in this case, right?
Addendum 3) I know this is a lot to remember, but if you get 90% of it down you'll be a pro at holding on trade. This has multiple benefits. 1) It can help you close more car deals and for more profit. 2) It will put more high-quality trades on your lot for less money that you can later sell for higher profits. 3) The dealership will feel comfortable listing these trade-ins at more competitive price, bring more traffic through the doors.
Hope these help, I only share things that have worked for me time and time again so give them a try and then leave me some feedback on your results in the comments section below.