Making a connection - reflections

It's all in how you connect with people. I learned that while buying a new car last year. Unfortunately, the first car salesperson who approached me didn't already know that.

He sat me down and, to his credit, tried to make me comfortable with a cup of coffee and some pleasant conversation. He spent a good bit of time asking about my line of work and hobbies. I politely conversed for the first 15 minutes, thinking all the while about the time I was losing from my busy day.

Eventually, I tried to steer the conversation to the car. I had already decided on the model and knew my price range. I just wanted a little information before we began to negotiate. The salesperson, however, seemed far more interested in my latest hiking trip.

It had been a good 25 minutes by now, and still no information about the car. I was beginning to get frustrated. It didn't take too much longer until I decided that this salesperson would never pick up on my verbal cues or my closed-off body language. We just weren't connecting.

I left, feeling annoyed at my time being wasted--and incredulous that the salesperson had lost such an easy sale. I had come prepared to write a check on the spot. I immediately drove to another car dealership, and two hours later bought the same model.

In an industry such as ours, which is dependent on effective sales presentations, knowledge of what makes a customer tick can make all the difference. So, we dedicated this special Convention Issue to just that.

How customers respond to a particular sales technique--and even a particular salesperson--depends on their personality type. Had the first salesperson known that my personality type is far more of a dominant, or driver, and critical thinker, rather than an interpersonal, or interactive, he could have sold me a car on the spot.

These personality types are part of a list defined by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. Some of these personalities respond to a soft sell while others prefer a bottom-line approach with a quick close. We present the dos and don'ts of selling to each personality type and a whole lot more in our special Convention Issue package, which begins on page 75.

If only the first car salesperson had had this kind of information, he might have made a connection--and a sale.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Hanley-Wood, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group