5. Write Up

Step Five: Write-Up - Salesman's Goal: Commit the customer to "buying today". 

 

The “write-Up” is the fifth step in the salesman’s process and it is a critical stage in the sale. The “write-up” is when the salesperson attempts to commit the customer to “buying today”.  This is usually accomplished though a “Four Square” (We will go into further detail on the “four-square” later in Chapter Four: Closing ).

 

 

The dealer believes that the best time to get sell a car is after the test drive.  The customer is excited, “in the Ether” and imagining themselves owning a new car. At this Point, the salesmen will present the customer with the relative cost, payment and down payment in an effort to get the customer to make an offer.

 

Because the salesman’s goal is to have the customer to buy the vehicle today, they use the “four square write-up” to present the customer with what it will cost in three parts. The three parts are: the trade-in, down payment and month payment. The other component is price.   However, the salesman will try to avoid negotiating that element.

 

In each part of the four-square, the salesman will present the customer with the cost and then attempt to get the customer to submit an amount that they would pay.  Once the salesman has received the customer’s offer, they will ask if they would buy the car today if the dealership would agree to their terms.

 

Of course, the salesperson is not committing to sell the vehicle for that amount. They will phrase it to the customer as a contingency.  For example, they might say “Not saying it is possible, but if I could sell they car for that amount with this payment would you buy today?”