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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY July 16 - 31, 2016
MOTORING NEWS
Remaining Memorable
After the Sale
It is a quiet Monday morning and there is absolutely no
walk-in traffic. I was just sitting at
my office and trying to maximize
my time. But I’m not alone. I
have my previous customers and
they have my full attention.
These customers purchased from me several years
ago and called up last week to
talk about their next vehicle.
They are likely to purchase from
me again.
What did I exactly do to
make sure that they would remember me when its time to buy
a new car?
Im just being true to myself and to the customer, very
transparent. I tried to do the best
for them and for the company as
well, it has to be a win-win for me,
the company and the customer.
Honesty and being sincere are
the best tool for closing a deal.
What am I getting at?
Not all customers are the
same, and they have different
personalities, perspectives and
needs. So basically you have to
cope up and engage with all of
it. That’s why every customers
are different in any way possible.
During the hard times or rainy
days, Repeat and referrals can
really help to sustain the momentum in selling a car.
All of the following ideas
are used successfully by some
salespeople. To build your postsales relationships, select ideas
that you can perform naturally
and with pleasure. Some ideas
may please one customer but offend another. Use your personal
judgment.
• Send a birthday card
(not a form letter). Don’t ask the
customer for anything! Have one
cue card per customer filed by
the month of the driver’s and/or
owner’s birthday. Send all the
birthday cards for
that month at once.
Alternative: make a
birthday phone call.
• Send a holiday greeting card
(not a form letter).
• Send a card
on the anniversary of
their purchase (this
is less effective if the
customers have, in
the meantime, sold
that car!).
• Create an informative
bulletin (electronic or print).
Send the bulletin along with a
brief cover note.
• Chat with customers
who are in for service. Let them
lead the conversation.
• Offer to help non-English speakers complete the survey
(no, you can’t fill it in for them!).
• If you’ve forgotten a
customer’s name, ask.
• When a customer asks
about a vehicle’s functions (e.g.,
radio settings), be an excellent
teacher: tell them how it works,
show them, let them try, then let
them practice. Mark the relevant
manual pages with a Post-it
note.
• Attend service clinics if
your dealership hosts them.
• If you are part of a small
community, advertise regularly in
that community’s newspaper or
bulletin.
I welcome letters or inquiry regarding your experiences
in purchasing a car or questions
before buying the right vehicle
for you. This column may not be
the perfect solution but I know
these can help you decide the
right one, somehow.….
For some comments, letter or suggestions: Call me at
Cell No. (604) 710-5404 or email
me at [email protected]
Vehicle importers doubled sales in first six months
A group of vehicle importers said Tuesday sales doubled
in the first half from a year ago,
following the introduction of affordable models.
The Association of Vehicle
Importers and Distributors said
sales jumped 103 percent in
January to June to 45,420 units
from 22,371 vehicles delivered in
same period last year.
It said second-quarter
sales alone expanded 74 percent
to 24,260 units from 13,296
units sold a year earlier.
“Avid sales surged by 103
percent in the first half of 2016
hinging on the entry of new, innovative and reasonably-priced
models,” Avid president Ma. Fe
Perez-Agudo said in a statement.
“This growth will likely be
the trend in the remaining months
of 2016 with Avid’s value-packed
products,
attractive
incentives
and
unparalleled
service,”
said PerezAgudo.
Data
from Avid
showed the
passenger
car
segment sold
16,618
units, up
by 87 percent from
8,876 units
recorded in
the first semester of 2015. Second-quarter passenger car sales
increased 93 percent, led by
Hyundai with 6,021 units sold.
The light commercial vehicle segment surged 113 percent
in first half to 28,802 units from
13,495 units in the same period
in 2015.
This was boosted by
16,054 units sold by Ford Philippines which joined Avid in May
2015.
The group managed to hit
15,251 units in the second quarter, increasing 65 percent from
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
the same period last year.
Agudo said automotive
sales were expected to keep
growing, parallel to the growth of
Philippine economy which grew
6.9 percent in the first quarter of
2016.
She said vehicle purchases would remain on the upside
in light of increased consumer
confidence and attractive lineup
of products despite external political developments.
Avid is composed of 10
companies engaged in the importation and distribution of automobiles in the Philippines.
Rival industry group Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers
of the Philippines Inc. earlier said
members sold 167,481 vehicles
in the first six months, up by 27
percent from the same period
last year. (O. Campos, MS)