Three ways to sell cars to women
My son and I went shopping for my new car. I had done the
research and knew what I wanted. In
fact, we were going to a dealership that had the exact car I wanted at a decent
price. Upon arrival, I felt the vibe immediately…the vibe from the salesman was
‘WOMAN BUYER’ also known as ‘EASY MARK’!
After the sales pitch, after I had not fallen for the bait
and switch, after I had been unusually confrontational with the man, and my son
and I were on our way home, he asked, ‘Mom, why were you so mean to the
salesman?’ I thought about it. Why? indeed.
What was my experience with car buying as a woman that would
lead me to treat them so badly. And then
I remembered…
During my first experience buying a car, when I was 21, I was
helped by my dad. We knew we would buy
the 1965 Plymouth Barracuda! The long raked glass hatchback was the eye-catching
style feature that appealed to me, and my dad liked the engine. So, it was
decided. We’d get a salesman and buy. My
dad and the salesman talked about the car for an hour and then the salesman
decided to close the sale with me. He took me to the trunk and showed me how I
could remove the spare tire and use the wheel well to store ice for the cool drinks I'd have at the beach party with this car. I thought he was an idiot!
Years later, a different salesman with the same attitude tried to sell me
the car I would replace the Barracuda with. I was alone and had no
discussion about engine, mpgs, drive train, or handling. Nope! I was a lady and
he knew how to sell to a lady. With flourish he walked to the passenger side ,
opened the door, had me sit in, and with a grand gesture showed me the ‘best’
feature, the visor flipped over to expose a mirror where I could ‘check your
makeup with a lighted mirror’! Another idiot!
And when I went to buy my van to haul the children to soccer
practice, what did the salesman say after I asked for the stripped down, no
frills, V6, with power steering, power brakes, basic package in white, with
radio and tape deck? He said, as we walked
through the lot, “Check this out. You’ll
really love this” And he held the keys aloft while tapping the fob. “Beep!
Beep!” the sound rang out. “You’ll never
lose your car in the parking lot!”
Yup! That’s all it takes to sell a car to a woman!
