There's an old saying that seeing is believing. This helps explain why used automotive parts are effective props or visual aids in the hands of competent service sales professionals.
Here are practical things to remember about potentially valuable show-and-tell components.
I should put the show-and-tell approach into perspective before I delve into these tips. You see, its value is obvious to some tire dealers and service shop operators.
But others overlook or underestimate the usefulness of an old part during a difficult service sale. I have personally witnessed this oversight countless times during my visits to automotive service facilities across the country.
Basically, selling is the art of persuasion. Now, suppose a vehicle needs maintenance and/or repairs. The goal of a service salesperson is to persuade the vehicle owner to purchase the work on the spot — right here and now.
For one thing, you'll hopefully prevent a major breakdown that leaves the motorist stranded somewhere.
For another, that prospect may leave your business and purchase the work at another automotive service facility of some kind. Naturally, you want the vehicle owner to spend those hard-earned bucks at your tire dealership or service shop — before a competitor gets a crack at the job.
Clearly, some service sales encounters occur more smoothly than others do. For example, the vehicle owner believes your pitch, purchases the work and you move on to the next prospect.
In fact, if all sales situations were so easy, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
The reality is that some service sales require considerably more persuasion than others do. One reason is old-fashioned skepticism — suspicion — because the auto repair industry has had a checkered past.
The business has had its share of hustlers and shysters. Understandably, some motorists are afraid of being hustled.
Another reason some prospects must be persuaded is that a portion of the motoring public is simply stubborn; these folks don't readily part with their money regardless of the contractor or service provider.