Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

Get a routine. Get up two hours early before you go to work just just do it. You know you’ve got to build that endurance. You’ve got to get a routine going. You know write down your goals every day you know write down what you thankful. I would challenge people to do that. You can’t achieve a goal unless you have it written down. You may think about it but when you put pen to paper that you know hand write it out day in and day out make those phone calls make those uncomfortable phone calls. Hit those challenges that when people have problems hit them square square on face them take care of them do them and they’ll get easier once you do that. You know because people get upset you know they just spent a lot of money and something happens just care of it. You know figure out a way that’s going to benefit everybody around. You know you can’t just go in there and say yeah I’m going to take care of everything you know. Talk to your manager. You know come up with a solution don’t leave people hanging. You know they have made a big investment in trying to help them out. Those are the biggest things and just do a good job for the first week. You know get up get your goals do some training. Make those phone calls and then you’ll see results at the end of the. At the end of the day just got to keep pushing. Keep grinding it out.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

Build a culture of service in your dealerships or as a salesperson in general. Don’t just think about the sale. I think that’s the main things I’ve been stressing on to help people and that’s what it’s all about. If you do those things you be of service you follow up with your customers you take care of them. Treat them like they’re gold and they’ll keep coming back to you. You’ll build a business and you’ll grow it within your dealerships and you’ll be very successful.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

If somebody doesn’t buy a car for me, and I hear other salesman up there. Aww well they are cheap or they’re blah or it’s everybody’s fault but theirs. The excuses you know. if I lose a customer there’s no excuse. I did not do my job. I didn’t fact find enough. I wasn’t. If somebody doesn’t see the value in what you’re selling them they’re not going to buy it. You know if they’ve it’s got to be worth more than what they’re paying for. So it’s taking responsibility being accountable for you. And it’s easy to blame. Blame point finger oh it’s them or it’s that or that car was blah blah blah. No! It’s your fault. You’re the reason. You know when you look in the mirror what did you do wrong? You didn’t ask the right questions, you were on the wrong car or maybe you just didn’t mesh you know but any time I lose a deal I did something wrong and I apologized to people before they leave. I’m like I’m so sorry. I failed at my job. I didn’t get you in a car. You came here with a problem and I did not solve it. And I apologize to people. A lot of times they’ll sit back now. You know you just got to ask what was it? Was it me? Was it the dealership? Was it the car? You know again if you can say no no no it wasn’t you. You’re fine. And we just we just wanted one with a sun roof. Why heck, is that all it was? People are scared to tell you sometimes you know they don’t want to hurt your feelings or something. And unless there’s something they think they can get a $60000 vehicle for $200 a month you know something like that. No you can’t overcome that. But usually it’s your fault and you should take responsibility for it. Nobody else in there is responsible for you not selling that vehicle they they’ve given you the dealership they’ve given you the inventory they’ve given you the tools the training the support you didn’t sell them it’s your fault. You didn’t do it. You didn’t do your job.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

What’s most impactful I mean of all of the things that you do and I know when Josh connected us he said you’re getting your referral business has probably as substantial as somebody who’s been in the business for 20 or 30 years. I mean is that the the biggest thing? I’d say the referrals are our Yes. That’s that’s that’s it. And like I said when I talk to people I like I said I don’t just sell a car. I build relationships when I’m with a customer because you know I’m spending three four hours with them and there’s a certain level of trust I get from them at that point and they want everybody that they know to come deal with me. They know they’re going to have a great experience. That’s it is just given them that experience you know making them feel special make them feel important make them feel like they’re the only ones there and they will send you people they want. They’re excited when they leave. They’re not like oh gosh I just did. I do the right thing. Now they’re excited they are happy and they want it. They want people to come to you they want they have that same experience you know they you know you’re changing that mindset that hey it’s not a bad thing to go buy a car. This is a really good experience I got a great deal. You know it was very easy smooth. And they want people to come experience you. I think that’s I get probably 20 20 to 25 referrals a month. And those are usually easy sales because they’ve already pumped you up. They’ve already told them about you so that when you come in and you just reinforce it and the sale usually goes pretty smooth.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

What advice you have for folks who are already established at some level and they’re doing OK but they’re not the best. What do you tell them. I just tell them to you know cherish the customers that they have. I said those are your power base. You know any any of those those are the ones you got to maintain them don’t. There’s nothing worse than you sold a customer a vehicle a year ago and then they walk in and go straight to another salesman. So you didn’t do your job and that’s sort of you know it’s happened to me before. But it’s a bad feeling. You know they didn’t think enough of you. You didn’t make enough impression on them for them to come back to you. And it happens it happens all the time. But I think the follow up is what I try to stress on most of them if they do have a problem don’t avoid them. Don’t avoid it. Take it. Just hit it head on. Take care of it do all that you can do to remedy the situation. Just don’t put it off. That’s the those are the keys in just that service. It always comes back to the service. I mean it’s you have to take care of these customers you’ve got to keep following up.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

I had to believe in what I was doing. If I didn’t believe and wasn’t committed to the product to the dealership then I wouldn’t be able to sell anything but I believed in them and I buy the products there and I feel it’s important you know I’ve talked to some sales guys that I work with and you know Scott well how do you sell so many new cars. Well you know what I buy those cars. You’re driving a 15 year old car over there that’s not even our brand. How do you expect to sell it. You know if you don’t know them and you don’t believe in your product. So I think that’s huge. You have to be committed to what you’re doing and whole heartedly. If you have any one little doubt in your brain you’re not going to succeed. So you have to be committed and that’s in any any job or career. You have to be committed 100 percent.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

What is it that the typical car seller does that you think is just nuts? Promise something that you know they’re not going to honor. You know lie to a customer, just say anything to get a sale. You know I’ve had that happen to me in the past when I was on the other side. I think those things are just fabricating stuff you know just saying things that are that are not true. You know I mean just be honest. You know if you don’t know the answer just say hey I don’t know but I’ll find out. I think those are the probably the worst things you could do is just try to make a sale and lie to somebody. I mean you know people aren’t stupid and I feel like it’ll come back on you. I’ve tried to talk people out of buying vehicles before I just heard something in it. You know this one don’t sound good. Maybe we ought to look at something else. You know I think sometimes I cringe when I hear sometimes in sales people you know trying too hard trying to get that sale and maybe overstating over promising what they they can actually honor.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

What is it that you believe or you do that the typical car sales person would think is crazy? I would think What they would think was crazy. I don’t know. Taking my customers out to dinner sending their kids birthday gifts. Heck I’ve even put down a payment for somebody that was. They just didn’t have the cash. You know I’ve done things like that. To me it’s not about the money. The money will come. I just feel like it’s you got to do the right thing. I don’t think a typical salesman would say here hey I’ll make your first payment. You know they’re having a problem. They don’t have that $300. You know what. Let me help you out. Let me let me do it. I’ll take it out of my pocket. I don’t think anybody would do that. I really honestly. I know when I was buying a car. No I don’t think my salesmen in the past would ever done anything like that. But that’s part of what I think is part of giving back and it’s just not it’s just not the sale. It’s just not about the money it’s affecting people’s lives. And those people in turn give back they know they’ll send people to you. So it pays off you know tenfold when you do things like that.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

Is there a particular sales philosophy or approach that you subscribe to? I just probably just being of service not worrying so much about the sale of it. I think that’s probably it’s the customer it’s not me it’s not my commissions or whatever like that it’s the service that’s what I think that’s what our culture is in our store. I think that’s why we’re successful. It’s service oriented. I’m trying to create a fan here. I want those people to think of me only when they go get their next car purchase. So you know and people are willing to spend a little extra for the service. I mean that’s the difference between going to McDonald’s and going to a five star restaurant. You want that service and you’re willing to pay for it. And that’s true. That’s what you’re getting. So try to differentiate from that. So it’s service. I believe that’s the key to it all.

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Clip from Episode 26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years:

In order to close somebody they have to it’s got to be able to fit their budget. They have to like all the amenities that come with the car. Is it going to be. Is it going to take care of their problem that they came in there with you know that that’s what you’re solving a problem. They’re not there. They have a problem to fix and I always attack it that way. And I’d say most of it is is just doing that fact finding. I think that’s probably what I do the most. Yeah. So just just that questions and understanding what the customers are looking for on the front end. And usually when you when the time you get down to the numbers and stuff like that you know I’ve done enough fact finding that I know hey they’re trying to be in this price range so I try to get them the most that they can get. You know the best car best deal for what they’re wanting to spend.

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