Self-Confident Sales

Self-confidence is the single most important factor in a person’s mental game. Without self-confidence, simple tasks are difficult and good production becomes very sporadic. Why?

To me it doesn’t matter if we are playing pee wee football, having an eating contest or selling cars. Life is competition! In the words of “Ricky Bobby’s father,” in the movie Talladega Nights, “If you’re not first, you’re last.” 

Now, I don’t think that life is really that drastic, but losing stinks. We want to win, and we want our team to win. In order for all aspects of a dealership to run efficiently and win, we must rely on our salespeople. To put it bluntly, nothing happens until the car goes over the curb. Salespeople are the lifeblood of dealerships. They have proven the test of time and studies continue to show the number one reason a customer did or didn’t buy is the salesperson. With high levels of self-confidence, a salesperson can consistently perform. 

Let’s analyze that last statement again: With high levels of self confidence, a salesperson can consistently perform. Is self-confidence given to people at birth? The answer is no, but people build confidence with successful experiences over time. We can look at any professional sports team and see the practice and repetition they put in. They have learned a lesson that we sometimes take for granted which is, life is competition. If we don’t win, somebody else does. These sports teams practice day after day to get ready for their games. If our salespeople start building successful experiences during training, they will ultimately earn more confidence for the real world. Confidence comes from successful repetition.

I have hired literally hundreds, if not thousands, of salespeople. I have seen thousands of different sales professionals around the country. Why do some people excel and others fail? Is it a physical trait? The answer to this is no. I have seen successful salespeople who were obese, tall, short, skinny, African-American, Latin, white, male, female, etc. I think you get the picture. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they look like. Far and away, the most important trait in sales is confidence. 

Confidence is the key to moving a car over the curb in a special finance situation. We need salespeople who have the confidence in their systems and processes to know what they are going to do in any situation. Since it is football season, lets talk football. In football there are 11 teammates on the field at a time, and each player has a certain responsibility. When everyone is covering their assignments, the play happens, but if even one person on the field misses his assignment, the consequences can be catastrophic. The same principles are true in the auto industry. In a dealership setting, every person has a responsibility that needs to be covered. We know and learn these responsibilities through practice and repetition, which breeds inner confidence.

Let’s assume you were sitting in a doctor’s office having a medical consultation. The doctor you are speaking with is hesitant, not really taking a stand. He gives you a couple of options and asks what you want to do. You look at him bewildered, and in an effort to know more, you ask more questions. The doctor becomes even more undecided. He is dancing and you know he is dancing. He is not sure of which way for you to proceed. He has absolutely no confidence. How would you feel? I know I would be looking for a new doctor as soon as I left his office. The doctor is the professional and we depend on his expertise to make the best decision. His lack of confidence carries over to us, thus we are not confident in his suggestions. Are sales professionals any different? 

To the customer, salespeople are the professional car experts. Customers are depending on this part of our team to find out their wants and needs and fulfill them. Customers don’t want to be given 30 different options and left to take the best bet they think will work. Salespeople must be confident in the transaction with the customer. The salespeople need to have the confidence and ability to take a stand and make the proper recommendations. 

In the SF scenario that we ultimately will encounter, the salesperson is even more important than in a regular retail transaction. SF is stickier than just regular retail because there are so many different possible situations of credit and lenders. SF requires the right salesperson to be able to follow the steps to a sale and really qualify the customer. Sometimes this is not the easiest thing to do. A salesperson can be as tactful as they can, but ultimately they need to find out the answers to some hard questions. Only when this step is done does the process move on. 

The competitive nature of our business is such that we must work hard to win. When we don’t play to win, we surrender the edge that got us to where we are at. We must always stay in attack mode and keep our momentum. If you’re doing well, don’t sit on the ball. Run up the score. Life is competition. 

Don’t settle for your fair share of the market or sale quota; get more than your share. Forget about hoping for a level playing field and stack the odds in your favor as much as possible. Practice, practice, practice; this is where our confidence will come from and take us from good to great. We must utilize the systems and processes that work. Winning breeds winning, and the way to get there is to practice and become confident. When we master self-confidence, then and only then are we able to move up and on. Remember, play to win!

Vol. 1, Issue 4