OPE Business

April 2017

Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, OPE Business provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.

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16 APRIL 2017 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com COVER STORY | Best Practices â–  BY JEFF SHEETS When addressing a topic like sales, my sincere hope is to give you ways to think about how your dealership can sell better. By examining what not to do, you can head in the opposite direction and achieve greater success. All salespeople suffer through slumps when they're unable to reach customers like they did in the past. They can develop bad habits that gradually continue, and over time, repeat them with little or no thought because they become part of their routine. Salespeople need to break that vicious cycle by doing something differently. If you have employees who are starting a sales position, good early training can be very helpful, so they don't develop bad habits and can enjoy success. Regardless of your dealership's current situation, I want to assure you that there is a better way for you to achieve sales success, and not committing the following seven sins is a great place to start. Sound Sales Advice The 7 deadly sins of sales and how not to commit them #1 Lack of product knowledge I list this sin first because you need to make customers feel that you have some information that helps them see your product as fulfilling their needs in some way. I realize that many of today's tech-savvy customers are pretty knowledgeable because of easy access to an abundance of information via the Internet, but you should possess some knowledge that makes you look like an expert in the field. It may be repair information based on your service department's experience with a product. It could be a manufacturer's memo telling you something that the general public may not know. Whatever "expert" information that you've acquired, you need to be able to pass it along to your customers to deepen their knowledge. You may also need to discredit bad information that your customers might have found prior to visiting your dealership. In either situation, your goal should be to follow the Boy Scouts' motto of "be prepared." #2 Failure to get to know your customer I think most customers want to feel that salespeople care about, PHOTO PROVIDED BY HUSQVARNA

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