4. Test Drive

Step Four: Test Drive - Salesman's Goal: Create "Ether".

 

The Test Drive is the fourth step in the sale process.  The salesperson will almost always inform the customer that the dealership’s insurance policy will require a dealership's employee to drive the vehicle “off the Lot”. In reality, salesmen say this so they can maintain control and then drive to a location that will enable the customer to have longer more effective test drive. 

 

 

If the customer begins the test drive from the dealership they will usually only drive a short distance because they don’t want to feel obligated to the salesperson. Salesmen know they can increase their odds of a sale if the customer takes a long test drive.

 

Also, salesmen are instructed to be aware of the customer’s “hot button”. This is something that the customer has expressed interest during the “Walk-Around”, like performance, safety, and comfort. Salespeople will generally insure that the test drive will highlight the customer’s “hot-button”. 

 

For instance, if the customer has concerns about safety, the salesman will make sure to have the customer perform a “brake-test.  Or if the customer is interested in performance, the test drive would include curvy roads and a freeway. 

 

The vehicle should create the “ether”.  However, without a properly crafted test-drive route the customer may not really experience the car and then have a desire to buy.

 

Once the customer arrives back to dealership the salesman must now attempt to get the customer to commit to buying today. To do this they perform the fifth step: the “Write-Up”.

 

After this step, this guide book will advise the customer to request some specific information and then stop the process to make some essential calculations.