Nothing compares to waking up in the morning, checking my email and reading in a new message from CarWoo! that a customer has accepted my offer and wants to coordinate pickup. Suddenly, a day I assumed would be full of follow-up calls and emails now has an elevated purpose. I start it off by getting a car in the wash rack. Starting a day this way raises the prospects for it turning into a two- or three-car day. But the truth is, getting these unexpected emails is no accident.

CarWoo! Dealer Plus doesn’t come with a seller’s manual. In fact, I found out long ago that the car business didn’t come with one either. It was up to me to write and re-write my manual; over time the mental notes I wrote during each sale became my habits. I’ll never proclaim to be the greatest salesman on earth. I’m just a guy who’s been around long enough to develop some good habits (and ditch some bad ones). After nearly a year of using CarWoo! Dealer Plus, I’d like to share the mental notes I’ve collected that have won and will continue to win deals.

Rule #1: Develop Tunnel Vision 

I often hear my peers in our sister stores say, “I can’t figure out how to win a deal on CarWoo!” or “Those people aren’t real, no one ever responds to me” or “It takes too much time.” With my approach to Dealer Plus, I’m NOT trying to win every deal. When I look at a new opportunity in CarWoo!, I ask myself two simple questions:

1.) How close to a “perfect match” do I have in stock?

2.) What distance is this customer from our store?

The closer I can match the car and the closer the buyer is to my store, the higher my chances of winning the deal. Unlike my counterparts, I tend not to focus on the deals with low-percentage odds. When I view the opportunity, I picture myself focusing – like a dog with one of those white cones wrapped around my head. My deal senses are purposely limited to location and inventory. Am I crazy? Perhaps so. Is it effective? Absolutely!!!

Rule #2: What You Seek You Shall Find

No matter what source I use, two customer types seem to dominate. The first thinks, “I want to buy this car for a competitive price from a dealer close to me without any drama.” The second thinks, “I want to buy the car for the lowest price on earth. Period.”

All too often, I crafted my responses to the second type of customer. As a result, I either lost on price to another dealer (because there’s always someone lower) or I found out that the customer bought someplace else for a higher price (because they were actually the first type of customer). With CarWoo! I’ve realized that I am more successful with a response that speaks to the first type of customer. I admit, it’s taken a number of missed deals to “see the light”, the reality I’ve discovered is that there is no middle ground on this issue.

Rule #3: Be a Voyeur

After I make an offer, I view the customer’s profile and put myself in their shoes; it’s actually a surprisingly simple task. I view my own offer to a customer – a preview of what the customer sees. He or she will find my vehicle status, price, and location neatly organized alongside that of my competitors. Only CarWoo! Dealer Plus gives dealers these powerful insights, including the exact time the customer views the offer. Not using these to their fullest advantage would be an act of insanity.

When I set everything up right, the customer usually says to himself, “Dave is a shorter drive away. He says he has the car in stock. His price is a little higher, but Dave seems like a straight shooter, I’m going to give him a shot.

By seeing what the customer sees, I know what information would be helpful to show them. In doing so, I will build dialogue and trust. This information doesn’t have to focus on the car deal. It could be additional information on my dealer reviews or a video introduction of myself. Essentially, the more the customer learns about me, the more I learn about the customer and the more I distinguish myself and stand out from my competition.

CarWoo! Dealer Plus makes it possible to win deals in all sorts of ways, but winning them always requires dialogue – and more often than not, being local. I’ve won deals that the customer “accepted” formally on DealerPlus. I’ve also won deals that the customer viewed but never formally “accepted” in CarWoo!, because they ended up with something different from what they’d originally configured. A few times, a customer had technically “accepted” a CarWoo! deal with another dealer, but stopped to see me on the way there because they preferred how helpful I was.

There are many ways to win deals on CarWoo! Dealer Plus; providing just a price quote and waiting to see what happens is the only way I haven’t.