It’s pretty much a given that we need to speed up the selling process. The one step that we need to be conscious of when it comes to speeding up is the used car appraisal. Far too often we are short-cutting the appraisal and in the end it costs us big money.

It doesn’t take that much longer to do it right. There are four parts to the appraisal:

1. The customer’s self-appraisal
2. The technical
3. The show
4. The presentation

The Self-Appraisal-Require the customer to show you their car. Ask the right questions. The more you ask the more they will tell. Generally the more they tell the more they help to de-value their vehicle in their own mind.

The technical – You drive it. You park it. You walk it. You check it. You open the hood. You open the trunk. You snoop it. (Look for treasures in the glove box.) All of this takes place away from the dealership.

The show – When you bring it back to the dealership, park it in a conspicuous place and put on the show. You touch everything you can touch hoping that the customer sees you touching those scratches, dings, and tires. The show can be done before or after your appraisal ride. The key is that you need to do it when it’s most likely the customer is watching. Even if the customer doesn’t see you, hopefully the sales person sees you. Now that they know what you know, hopefully they will work harder on selling the customer than on selling you.

The presentation – This is critical. It doesn’t have to be done by management, but it’s more effective when done so. Part of the presentation is the paper work. A detailed printout, with comparisons and supporting documentation will have a powerful impact on the customer’s thinking. Think of the presentation as a sales presentation for the justification of the value.

Speed is important, and at the right time so is slowing down. There’s a term in the racing world called “slowing down to go faster.” In this case slowing down will make you more deals and more money. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs