august2021 - 46

No two customers are alike
Sell to each prospect's personality type - from the
Macho Man to Mr. Cheapo - to make the sale.
By Alan Sipe, Contributing Editor
W
e all have either opened
our front door or
answered the telephone
only to have a human robot spout
off a canned sales pitch using a
halting speaking cadence and less
than no emotion.
For example (in a flat monotone
voice):
" Hello. My Name. Is. Alan. Sipe.
And. I. Would. Like. To. Tell. You. About.
A. Won. Der. Ful. New. Pro. duct. "
Now, granted you probably would
have said 'No thank you,' closed the
door, or hung up the phone by the
time they got to the fourth or fifth
word. Most canned presentations are
dull and monotonous, and they usually
fail.
However, it is my contrarian opinion
that each and every product should
have a canned presentation for you to
work from. A canned or pre-written
presentation containing all the features,
advantages, and benefits gives
you a track to run on so you will be
sure to cover all the important features
- just don't bother memorizing it. Use
the pre-written presentation to get to
know the product and then outline the
benefits in your own words that you
are comfortable with.
You should also use your own
words and phrases that fit the wide
range of individual personalities you
call on. Different personality types
require different tactics for selling
to them.
Here is a list of some of the characters
we all have called on:
Tool Nut: They will buy almost
anything. You gotta love these people!
Family Man: Coaches something
or everything for his kids. Leaves work
right on time each day to get to some
practice. He has the big van to carry
a whole team and talks about his
kids constantly.
Macho-Macho-Man: This customer
wears super tight shirts to
show off his physique. Macho-Man
has some ink on his arms of barbed
wire, guns, knives and a skull-andcrossbones.
He is convinced that he
is the baddest dude in the building.
Pipe-Smoking Over-Thinker:
Over-thinkers will finally buy something
but they make it as slow and
painful as possible, analyzing every
last detail.
Too Busy to Listen: This customer
will not sit still to listen to the
details of the product and then comes
back to you after the sale asking either
how the tool works or why it won't do
something. They are distracted easily.
Mr. Cheapo: Always, always,
always wants a deal.
Successful selling to the wide variety
of personalities you call on is really
a fun challenge and keeps you on your
toes when presenting to them.
Here are some tips and tricks to
help you improve your closing rates
with these different personalities.
Tool Nut: The Tool Nut is the
technician who works with tools all
day and then goes home to read all
the hand tool blogs on the internet at
night. The word " new " in front of any
tool is like a drug they can't resist.
You can easily spot a Tool Nut
by looking directly into their eyes.
A normal person's pupil is round.
Their pupils are shaped like a 12
point socket.
46 Professional Distributor I August 2021 I VehicleServicePros.com
The best way to close a deal with
the Tool Nut is to simply say, " Have
you seen this new tool? "
Family Man: Family Man is
usually an ordinary person who is
civic-, church- and family-centered.
They are pretty well-organized since
they have so many things going on in
their lives.
Family Man likes his family and
will identify with your family. Bring
up your child in college, on some team,
or in the school play. Help them feel
that you are part of the family.
Family Man wants to get done
with work on time, so the speed and
accuracy of a tool is important to
them. Try something like, " This tool
will help you do its task quickly to get
you out of here on time. "
When selling the benefit of a
tool, phrase it like this: " Having
kids who participate in after school
activities requires a lot of money, so
completing more repairs ahead of the
book rate will help you bring more
money home. "
Macho-Macho-Man: They are
usually an OK person. They just love
the attention they receive by acting
like a badass. Macho Man loves to
hear his own name so use it often.
Macho Man does not want to be compared
to other technicians. He is the
king of the hill and will do things his
way. So, where the " get on the band
wagon " close of telling the prospect
that lots of people are using this tool
is great for most people, it is not a good
one for Macho Man.
Tell Macho Man how strong the
tool is: " You are known around the
shop to be hard on tools because of
http://www.VehicleServicePros.com
august2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of august2021
