Wow! It's been a whole month without a post on this site. Sorry. I won't be able to keep my audience if I don't post a lot more frequently, eh?

Let's see... After one month (plus) in car sales I'm still employed. For the month of April I sold a total of eight (8) vehicles. That is my minimum level of sales I have to reach each month in order to stay employed. My goal is ten vehicles a month. I was in Hawaii for four days in early April so I missed some prime chances to sell more than I did. Next month I should make ten without problem.

I like selling cars. It can be frustrating at times given the long waits for customers who I can help. I greet a lot of customers on the lot or in the showroom who say "I'm just looking" and they turn away or hurry back to the safety of their cars. Some people must think that I have some incredible mind control powers and I'm going to make them buy a car despite their objections. I have no magical skills that enable me to sell anything. I'm just one normal guy who wants to help as many people as I can in the difficult process of buying a car. I'm not some ogre trying to paw my way into your wallet. At least not yet. Ha.

People should remember that I'm trying to be helpful without being pushy. Hey, I've been on the other side with you many times in all my years of owning cars, so I know what it is like to feel intimidated or nervous in the face of the "BIG BAD CAR SALESMAN." It's not like that at all. Sure, I want to earn some sales, but NOT at the expense of your satisfaction. If you have a bad experience buying a car from me then there is something wrong in the way I'm doing business.

Car buying is an emotional experience. There are large sums of money involved and sometimes competing viewpoints especially when you are shopping with your spouse or carefully chosen advisor. I know all of that and I'm not trying to make it any more difficult for you--in fact, I'm trying to defuse the situation so you don't feel so defensive or nervous. Car buying should be exciting and enjoyable. At least as far as it goes with my end of the operation. I can't control what the business office does for your purchase or what figure my sales manager offers you for your trade-in, but I can try and be as helpful as I can in the selection of your new vehicle without being aggressive or intimidating.

If you want to know the truth, and I know you do, it is YOU who holds all the power in a car buying situation. All it takes is a firm "No" from you and the deal is over. You control how long the process will take buy simply saying "yes" or "no" to any offer you are presented. The longer you waffle or display indecisiveness in your buying process the longer you will draw out the purchase.

More truth: saying to me "I'll think about it" or "I'm just looking" or anything that is open-ended is just delaying the process. As a salesman I'll stay with you as long as you have questions or there is hope that you will make a purchase. If you want to get rid of me in your car-buying process just give me a firm answer, one way OR another. Indecision only piques my interest in helping you make that final decision, which, research has shown, only favors me in the long run: the more time I spend in your presence gives me the edge in selling you a car.

And that, my friends, is a little psychology in the Art of Car Buying 101.