The GM Story - Part II - Why Car Buying Is Like A Root Canal

Another Example Of Corporate Ego At Work
(and I'm not talking about the car of the future pictured here!)
One of the challenges of buying a new car is the humiliating experience of dealing with a salesperson who wants to play games. During my tenure with Buick in Southern California, I noticed the majority of my dealers were advocates of "shell game" selling. GM itself taught this style of selling at its Training Centers scattered throughout the US, (in addition to training mechanics for local GM dealers.) To my way of thinking, this was promoting something that was, in reality, creating barriers for people who wanted to purchase cars from a GM Dealership.

How The Game Works

Privately, I discussed this with a couple of dealers whom I held in high regard. In their minds, they were employing "experienced salespeople" who were skilled in "turnover selling" a.k.a. TO sales. In it's purest form, TO utilizes a "front" person whose only job is to solicit an "offer to buy" without divulging the actual price the dealer is willing to accept. Then a manager steps in and "negotiates" the final price. If the negotiation was based on a win-win scenario, it would not be a humbling experience; in fact the process would almost be a positive experience.

Unfortunately, as most of us know, these negotiations are based on a win-lose concept, becoming a game of wits - matching ours against their half-wits. If we are even half-way successful, then we're subjected to the finance & insurance (or F & I) person who now assaults us with lifetime paint protection, upholstery guard, extended warranties, burglary insurance, and high-rate financing.

Could The Game Be Changed?

Most respectable businesses that use direct sales as their primary marketing technique, employ "professional" salespeople. Most are articulate, knowledgeable about their products, skilled at win-win negotiation, and in general, produce a positive experience for the buyer. So, my question to my dealers, "Why not at your dealership?"

A veritable tsunami of excuses washed over me! Everything from "The competition would kill us", to "If I pay to train them, my competitor will steal them." After a few scotch and waters, however, the truth would emerge. "If I paid them what they're worth, I couldn't afford to stay in business."

But all was not lost. One of my favorite dealers scratched his head and said, "You know, there might just be a way to change all this by using a "team" approach." I had no idea what he was talking about but boy was I ever willing to listen!

Next Time -Part III - How The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Became a Saturn