People develop a certain set of expectations based on familiarity. We often plan our days in anticipation of the things we expect to happen. Good or bad, if a thing is already incorporated into our daily lives, we tend to accept and recognize it as normal.
As an automotive service advisor, you can take advantage of this mentality. As front liners you should know the value of attracting and capturing customer attention. But not everyone put a premium on real customer connection. Attention is easy to get, you can fire a gun, do magic tricks, or dance with snakes. People might be impressed or they can be annoyed. You have successfully captured their attention, but that is not customer attention.
Customer attention happens when your target audience begins to listen to you and is prepared to listen for more. That is the kind of attention that automotive service advisors should try to capture. In a dynamic society, that kind of attention is fleeting, hard to catch. People are exposed to all kinds of information, communication, and marketing strategies.
“Yeah, right.”
That phrase is probably too familiar to sales people. Whenever you try to offer your products or services, or just to strike a conversation with a target customer, at best, ‘Yeah, right.” is the most answer you can get before the prospect will try to escape.
And who can blame them? They probably have memorized your line just as you did. They might even have spotted you from hundred meters away, even before you spot them. And they might have been expecting you to do just what you did. They have a lifetime of sales people doing it to them; they were expecting you to do what you did. Instead of connecting with your customers, you did just the opposite.
Create a Difference to Capture Genuine Attention
In a world dictated by norms and trends, people tend to look for things that are out of ordinary. It works the same with sales. If your customers are used to a system, no matter how bad it is, they will accept it as normal. But when they are introduced with something different, something better, they start to get interested, and they would want to know more.
Being different is the fastest way you can connect with your customers. If the standard delivery time in your industry is two weeks after placing the order, do it in a week. If wait lines are normal, install a television in your waiting room, or if people are used to be handed out with flyers, extend your hand for a handshake.
Being different might cost some dollars, but the returns will definitely pay for it. You might not make a sale in your first conversation, but it may lead to another discussion. The customer might ask for brochures, for another meeting, or for you to meet the deciding person in the family. Or the customer may walk out without buying or requesting anything. That is normal in the sales arena.
Being different will not ensure you a sale. What it can do is to make a favorable impression on the customers. A good impression is never a reason to reject a salesman and his offers. People might even be sorry that they don’t need your product or service.
