With a used golf cart, what you get is what you get. What you can’t see is often something that will come back to bite you. Yet customers don’t react to fear well. Make them fear getting a used golf cart and they’ll attach that fear to getting new golf carts as well.
Avoid Making Customers Fearful
Customers won’t compartmentalize that fear the same way you would. They don’t know as much about golf carts, so if you tell them there are hidden worries with one, they’ll begin to think there are hidden worries with all of them. You can still talk about disadvantages, things to look out for, but stick to facts, not fear.
So what’s the alternative route to directing a customer from a used to a new golf cart? Empowerment. Fear is an emotion that makes someone feel vulnerable. They’re less likely to trust you, the dealership, and the entire idea of getting a golf cart. A customer who’s afraid will be less likely to trust you and less likely to listen to facts. They’ll start to replace your knowledge with their assumptions.
It’s nearly impossible to close a customer who’s truly afraid of the idea of getting a golf cart. Be wary of this route. Even when you tell them facts, they won’t compare them to other facts they know, they’ll simply try to dissect your motives in order to dismiss the fact. This means you don’t end up talking about golf carts. You end up having to defend your intentions to a customer. This is how your most difficult customers are created – more often than not, they’re afraid.
Closing with Positive Reinforcement
Don’t try to stoke that fear. Instead, offer them a feeling of empowerment and excitement. Rather than knocking used golf carts, focus on the advantage of a new one. You can even compliment a used golf cart. “That one is good for level paths. I know you want to hunt, so remember the new one will take hills twice as fast.”
In this example, you haven’t made them fear the idea of getting a used golf cart. Instead, you’ve reinforced their choice and their taste. You’ve told the customer that their choice is a good one. This is respecting the customer, and when you reinforce that a customer is right, they won’t feel opposed to you.
Then you add that there’s a choice that can do something they want even better. You continue making the conversation about the customer’s needs.
You don’t undercut the customer, which is the quickest way to distrust. You reassure them that their choice is valid and give them a reason to make another valid choice that you present to them.
More Choices = More Positive Reinforcement
The more you ask about what their needs are, the more you can confirm for them that something is a good choice but that there’s an even better choice out there. You can use golf cart customization for this. It will give you the opportunity to empower a customer to design a golf cart to their heart’s content. When a customer makes a solid choice using golf cart customization, confirm for them that they’ve just made a good choice. Don’t overwhelm them with compliments or become cloying, but do occasionally mention, “X is a good choice because it will let you do Y.”
Among other things, when you do offer a second option, the fact that you’ve confirmed some of their first choices makes them trust your guidance.
This lets them be in charge of the process, with you guiding them. Remember that the person most likely to close a customer on a new golf cart is the customer themselves.