It’s Not Always Easy At The Top

I’ve heard from several velocity dealers that aggressive vehicle pricing may have a short-term unintended and somewhat unpleasant consequence: You attract some customers whose online shopping homework has only just begun. That is, you may find yourself wrestling with customers that recognize your price is competitive, but haven’t shopped other dealers to validate, for themselves, that your unit is, in fact, the best value for their money. This translates to what one dealer calls “unreasonable” expectations.

“I can show them the competitive sets, and they still won’t budge,” says general sales manager John Creran of Ramsey Nissan in New Jersey. When that happens, he and his sales team remain respectfully firm and reiterate why a particular unit merits its asking price. If the customer opts to continue shopping, they part with an open invitation to come back at any time.

“Fortunately, more often than not, we find these customers call us back after they’ve sufficiently educated themselves”, says Creran. “At that point, negotiations are minimal and we’ve got a deal. The key is to kill them with kindness. Far be it from us to stop a customer from trying to get the best value for their money.”