Isn't She Worth It?

One of my salesmen, Gary Reid, came to me in a quandary. “Boss, this guy is tough. I can’t seem to get him to commit to a decent price and I’m afraid I’m about to lose him.”

I was the New Car Manager of Ferguson Pontiac-GMC in Norman, Oklahoma in 1977. As a salesman, I had boasted a very high closing ratio; but only a pretty good gross profit average. The important thing, however, is to actually sell the vehicle, to close the deal. Once a customer leaves without making a purchase commitment, that customer may never return; so closing ratio is very important and normally improves inventory turnover, which is the name of the game in the ‘car business’. I was known as ‘The Hammer’, the guy who could close almost any deal. Often, I was called upon the close deals for sales folks who were encountering stubborn customers. More often than not, I was able to get the job done. Sometimes, I had to be creative or take advantage of a situation.

“Does he have a trade-in? What’s he trying to buy?”

“No trade. He’s lookin’ at a loaded three-quarter ton Sierra Classic….The green and white one.”

I walked into my salesman’s cubby hole and introduced myself. I looked at the ‘deal sheet’ and asked the standard question: “Bill, what is going to take to put you in this GMC?”

“I don’t want to pay more than $6800. I can get a Chevy for $6800.”

“If you can get a Chevy for that price, what are you doing here?”

“Your truck is a little heavier-duty and it’s a nice color. My company colors are green and white, but the Chevy store doesn’t have a green and white one.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you’re getting more for your money if you buy the GMC. Is that right?”

“Well…I guess so; but I’m not gonna let you ‘bend me over’ on this deal.”

“Bill, would you say that having a little bit heavier truck in the right colors is worth at least a little money…..maybe $500? You would give another $500 for this GMC, wouldn’t you? After all, it is your company colors and it is a heavier-duty truck. GMC’s also have a little better resale.”

“I drive them until resale is not an issue. That doesn’t much matter to me.”

“So, what about the $500? Are you willing? You won’t find another one like this around. I know. I looked in the Southwest GMC locator. I can show you, if you like. You told Gary you have been to four Chevy stores and haven’t found one like this. This is it. It’s the truck you’ve been looking for. And what is your time worth? You know, Bill, $500 over the next 3 years or so only amounts to $15 a month. Isn’t it worth $15 dollars a month to have the truck you really wanted, instead of one that didn’t quite measure up? Hell...you're gonna write it off anyway. You’ll regret it if you make do with something less than you wanted. If you ever see this truck drivin’ down the road, you’ll wish it was yours.”

“Well…….”

Our dealership was making just over $200 on the new GMC at Bill’s price of $6800. I hated selling a nicely loaded three-quarter ton Sierra Classic for just $200 in profit. It deserved more; so, I said, “Bill, I’d like for you to think about 50 cents a day. It’s going to cost you just 50 cents a day to have the truck you want and will really enjoy. It is a top-of-the-line GMC. When you drive up, people will notice that the truck is in the company colors AND they will know you didn’t buy any cheap-ass truck, but a top-of-the-line GMC Sierra Classic. Is there something else you can do with 50 cents a day that is as meaningful to your business, your successful image and your professionalism?”

“Well…..”

Then I decided to use a slightly different tactic...one of intimidation, questioning the customer’s buying authority. “Bill, did your wife tell you not to spend over $6800 on a new truck? If that’s the case, I understand.”

“My wife! She doesn’t tell me what to do or how much to spend! Don’t get me wrong. She’s a good woman and good looking too….and she’s a great cook. She raised our 3 kids, and they all turned out good; but this is my truck and it’s my decision!”

“Well, okay; but how often do you buy a new truck, Bill?”

“Oh…. I buy one every 5 or 6 years.”

“So, in the big picture, we’re only talking about $500 stretched out over 5 or 6 years to have a truck you would be proud to drive, a truck that will definitely do the job. Bill, that’s only $8 or $9 a month….less than 30 cents a day. I hate to see you settle for something less, just to save a measly 30 cents a day. Hell, you can’t buy a cup of coffee for 30 cents! Bill, if you will sign the deal for $7300, I’ll give you one free oil change and tire rotation every year you own this truck. That’ll save you at least $100. What do ya say?”

”Well…..”

“I’ll step out of the room and you can call your wife and talk it over. You know…make sure you’re happy with the deal.”

“I don’t need to talk it over with her. I’ll buy the damn truck, but don’t forget about my oil changes and tire rotations!”

I signed the deal. “Gary, take Bill to the Finance Officer and make sure he gets his certificates for the oil changes and tire rotations. And Bill, that truck has been through service and is ready to go. Want a new keychain?”

Yes, Bill had been a little tough to deal with and we did not make much money, but the deal was done and we did end up making about $650 plus holdback, after the oil changes and tire rotations. I was hoping he would send us some customers while he was bragging about his truck and the good deal he got. The car business thrives on referrals and repeat customers.

Strangely enough, it was only a couple of weeks until, one Saturday in the late morning, I saw him drive into the dealership in his new GMC. Man, was it clean. He was proud. While he was paying for his truck, I had added a simple, tasteful white accent stripe to his truck…free of charge…just me bein’ a good guy. I wondered if he had noticed. This day, however, his wife was in the passenger seat. That could only mean one thing. Mama wants a new car. The dealership was very busy. The weather was so nice. Gary, Bill’s salesman, had left the car business to help his family at their dairy. His father’s health was failing and Gary was a good son. So, knowing that Bill’s wife wanted a new car, I went hot-footing out to greet them. People like to work with managers. Makes them feel like they are talking to a decision maker….and they are.

I met them on the lot as they got out of the truck. Bill wasn’t wrong. For a 44 year old woman, Susie was very good looking…not flashy, just very good looking. As I approached, I said, “Hi, Susie. I’m Buzz, the New Car Manager and your salesman”. I explained briefly about Gary’s departure from the business. “Bill tells me you’re a great cook.” His wife smiled, patted Bill on his tummy and said, “He never misses any meals.” Bill smiled and winked at me. Then Bill said, “Thanks for the accent stripes. They’re a nice touch.” Things were starting off well.

“Well, Susie. You’re ready for a new Pontiac? What may I show you today?”

Just as she opened her mouth to respond, Bill chimed in. “Grand Prix,” he said. Susie gave him a sidelong glance. I said, “Susie, do you have any specific equipment you want in your new Grand Prix?” As she started to respond, Bill chimed in again. “Loaded.” Again, she gave him a sidelong glance that told me she was getting aggravated with his interruptions. She knew what she wanted and did not appreciate him speaking for her. Sensing her aggravation and realizing I could make a ‘friend’, I leaned in toward her and practically whispered, “Susie, is there a particular color you like?” Again, just as she started to respond, Bill chimed in. “Tan….with that dark maroon interior. She saw a picture somewhere.” Susie turned and glared at him. She quietly said, “It’s my car.” It was a subtly way of saying, “Shut up and let me talk.” Bill got the point, but it was too late. He had established a temporary adversarial relationship. She was offended, didn’t want to be ‘spoken for’. She was going to get her way now and didn’t want to listen to him anymore. During training sessions, I always taught all the sales people that a good sales person will always ‘talk to the woman’. Women offer their husbands affirmations and approvals…even if he’s buying a truck. So, when a salesman knows the vehicle is for the woman, most, if not all, the discussion should be directed to her. You must show you care what she thinks and want to know more. RESPECT. You must get her on your side. Knowing this, I said to Susie, “Follow me. I think I have just the car.”

The ‘bait’.

We didn’t lock all the cars in those days. This allowed customers to get in and get a feel for cars that interested them. They could envision themselves driving the car, just like kids do while sitting on Dad’s lap on the way to the store. They could ‘bond’ with the car, making a salesman’s job a little easier. Oh, they might sit in several; but, eventually, they would sit longer in one than the others, feel the seats with their hands and, if they started asking questions, you knew they had found ‘the one’.

Strangely enough, early that very morning, one of the most expensive Grand Prixs that ever hit God’s earth had landed at our dealership. It was the first vehicle any of us had seen with two pages of equipment stuck on the window. It was a Grand Prix ‘SJ’, the flagship of the Grand Prix line, and it was Mohave Tan with a beautiful, special order dark claret velour bucket seat interior and a dark claret landau top. What a beautiful car. This vehicle offered every option without duplication, except two-tone paint.

This beautiful tan Grand Prix ‘SJ’ was sitting amongst other less special cars. None of them had two pages of equipment. None of them had the special order dark claret bucket seats, bucket seats fit for your den, bucket seats that would rival your recliner for comfort. This car even featured a rose-tinted sliding glass moon roof. Early that morning, the detail guys in back had already added interior matching accent striping, an interior matching body side molding, an undercoat, the interior protection package and the paint protection package, making it the most expensive Pontiac any of us had ever seen…even more expensive than any Bonneville Brougham we could recollect. I do seem to remember a convertible Grand Ville in 1976 that may have been more expensive. The SJ's factory body side molding would have been ‘stick on’ plastic, while the one we installed at the dealership was riveted on, protruded out further and featured a thick rubber insert that matched the interior perfectly. It was much more protective and looked better too. The prep crew put on the ‘protection package’, which consisted of exterior paint sealant, interior stain sealant on the seats and door panels, and corrosion retarding undercoat. The undercoating not only protected the car, but also reduced road noise. This Grand Prix SJ deserved nothing less than ALL the goodies.

The challenge.

As I walked up to the car, they were lagging a little behind. After all, I knew exactly where I was going. I looked at the equipment listing as they approached and said, “Now, this car has all the equipment you could possibly want and……Whoa! Maybe we should look at that one.” I pointed to a tan Grand Prix ‘J’ model, a much less expensive car with far less equipment that just did not present itself as well as the very expensive ‘SJ’. “Maybe we should look at that one.” I said again. “This one might be too expensive.”

The ‘hook’.

Just before I said that, I heard Susie quietly say as they approached, “Gosh, Bill. It’s sooo beautiful. Bill took the lead. “Too expensive!? Let me see.” He ran his finger down the list of equipment and mentioned three or four things that, apparently, Susie had mentioned to him as important options. When he got to the bottom, to the price of the car on the second page, I actually saw him shiver; but he gathered himself and said boisterously, “Hell yes, Honey. We can afford this car.” I thought to myself, “Gotcha.”

Normally, I would drive the car first, offering the customer some features, advantages and benefits of the vehicle. This time, however, I thought better of it. Instead, I put Susie in the driver’s seat. I put Bill in the back seat and I sat in the front passenger seat so I could explain options to Susie. As we drove away from the dealership, Susie was enthralled, marveling at the African Crossfire Mahogany trim on the dash and door panels. The dash was almost like the cockpit of a jet. It featured a speedometer, a tachometer and an array of gauges that would be found in any sports car. I was pointing things out and explaining how things worked and she was hanging on every word. She drove a few miles south on I-35, then found a convenient place to turn around. She opened the rose-tinted glass moon roof and turned on the AM-FM stereo Cassette-CB. In the back seat, Bill could barely hear. The wind from the open moon roof was drowning out music and conversation. He was just along for the ride. I saw her smiling as she drove when she turned and quietly said, “I love it.” I smiled and said, “I know.” A mile or so closer to the dealership, she turned and said, “I want it.” I smiled and said, “I know.” As we pulled into the dealership, I had her park the car just outside of my office against the curb. When she sat down in my office to discuss this purchase, she would be able to see nothing but this beautiful Grand Prix SJ through the window behind me. It would keep her mind on just how much she loved it, how she would look in the driver’s seat. It was a truly beautiful car.

As I wrote up the information about the car, Susie was staring at it through the window. I totaled the price of the car, having arbitrarily increased the price of things we had added at the dealership. Bill was going to be tough to deal with, so we needed every advantage. I did not want to drag this out and my mind was racing. How could I keep Bill out of this deal? I turned the ‘deal sheet’ to Susie, handed her my pen and said, “Susie, if you will sign right there…….then turned and pointed to the car…..that most beautiful Grand Prix ‘SJ’ is yours to drive away.” She looked at the car longingly, then looked at the pen for a moment. She picked it up and started to sign the ‘deal sheet’, when Bill abruptly interrupted. “Wait just a damn minute. We’re not paying that much for this car!” Susie looked at him in disbelief.

I said, “Well, Bill. Without a trade-in, that’s the price of the car. You know that.” “No, I don’t know that”, asserted Bill, “and I’m not paying that much for this car or any other car.” Here it was. The moment of truth had arrived. I immediately turned to Susie and asked, “Susie, are we looking at the wrong car?”

The ‘take away’.

Susie replied, “What do you mean?! I love this car! I said, “Well, Susie…I know you like the car, but maybe we should have been looking at a less expensive car.” She said, “No! I love THIS car.” Bill was unmoved. I continued to speak to Susie, “When I first took you to this car, I did mention that it might be too expensive?” She said, “Yes, but…” I interrupted, saying, “Then Bill said, ‘Let me see.’ and mentioned three or four options from the equipment list that you want on your new car. Is that right?” Susie said, “Yes, that’s right…and Bill said ….” I interrupted again, saying, “Correct me if I’m wrong Susie, but I think Bill said, “’Hell yes, Honey. We can afford this car.”’ Susie quickly responded, “That’s exactly what he said.” giving Bill a hard look. “And you don’t think you’ll be happy with a less expensive car?” “No,” she said. “I love THIS car! He got the truck he wanted! I want this Grand Prix.”

The ‘close’.

Neither Bill or Suzie knew yet, but I knew the deal was done. In the moments that Bill was focused on Suzie, I said,” Well, I guess there’s only one question left.” I turned my chair and faced Bill with a sad look on my face. “What’s that?” Bill asked. I looked at Susie, then turned back to Bill and asked, “Isn’t she worth it?”

Bill was dumbfounded…couldn’t believe it. What could he say? He was cornered and he knew it. He could not believe that another man would do this to him, that another man would show so little understanding, so little compassion for a husband’s position. He was speechless. What could he say? His mind scrambling for words that meant something, words that could get him out of the situation. In the meantime, Susie was staring at him, waiting for some lame response to the ‘catch 22’. Some guys might have gotten up and left, but Bill knew there would be Hell to pay if he did.

Suddenly, Susie picked up the pen, signed the deal, grabbed the keys to the SJ, stood up and said, “I’m going out to sit in my new car!” She wiggled straight out to the car. The two of us watched her doing the ‘Toyota jump’. She was so excited, so happy.

Bill looked at me and said, “You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch. You screwed me!” I looked out at Susie, then turned and said, “Bill, when you were buying your truck…the truck you really wanted… you told me what a great wife you have; that she’s good looking, a great cook, and that she’d raised your three kids to be good people. You were obviously very proud of her.” “So?” he asked. “Bill. Let me ask you a question about that woman you described.” “What’s that?” he responded. I looked him hard in the eyes, put my hand on his knee (a very personal gesture in a sales close) and said, “Look at her, Bill. She is a good looking woman… better than you described her even...and she’s so happy. She loves that car.” He paused for a heavy moment as he looked out the window, then I asked, “Isn’t she worth it?”

Bill eyes had gone soft. He knew I was right. He knew she deserved the car she loved, regardless of the price. He looked at me and said, “I gotta get out of here. Where do I pay for this damn car?” I said, “Bill, I want you to remember this about this car….it’s something you can tell people about this Grand Prix SJ: There has never been a nicer or more expensive Grand Prix…..anywhere, anytime. You have purchased the very best for your very lovely and very deserving wife.” Bill turned and said sardonically, “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

Twelve years later, I was standing in Andy’s Liquor one afternoon, discussing golf with Andy. He quietly said to me, “Buzz. There’s a guy at the counter and he’s giving you a dirty look.” I responded, “How do you know he isn’t giving you a dirty look?” Andy said, “He’s comes in once in a while and I’ve never seen him look at me like that.” I glanced over and there was Bill, older and graying; but it was Bill. I smiled at him and said, “Sell you a car did I?” “You damn sure sold my wife a car,” he responded. “How is Susie,” I asked. “What ever happened to that Grand Prix SJ?” “She’s fine. We gave the SJ to our granddaughter,” Bill said. I said, “I don’t believe that, Bill. You wouldn’t put your granddaughter in some 12 year old piece of crap.” I knew that Bill took very good care of his vehicles and his family, so his response was expected. “Piece of crap!? Piece of crap!? That was the best damn car we ever owned. It’s still a beautiful car!” I smiled at him and said, “Then Bill…..speakin’ about the car now…..let me ask you….. wasn’t she worth it?”

He smiled a wry, but sheepish, smile and said, “Yeah, I guess she was.”

THE POINT: The price of something is not the truest measure of its value. In this case, the truest measure was a good wife’s happiness. In my experience in the ‘car business’, many of the people who are happiest with their vehicles are those who pay the most, relatively speaking of course. For many people - more in days past than now - a person’s vehicle makes a statement and, depending on how important that statement is to that person’s value system, they might pay a little more. This is true for many things, not just a car. It could be a stereo, a dress, a fishing rod or a simple set of kitchen knives. These people who pay a little more for exactly what they want seem to be happier with their decisions and rarely encounter any nagging ‘buyer’s remorse’, wishing they had purchased something else. Strangely enough, they also tend to take better care of those things and keep them a little longer. So if you’re getting exactly what you want, don’t let a few measly bucks hold you back from a buying decision. Bill wanted a happy wife more than he wanted a cheaper car. She was worth it.

Comments