There are ways and ways of selling cars. Susan Jones talks to the team at a successful south Dublin showrooms
Most of us will at some time or other encounter a car salesman - but what sort of talent and training does it take to do the job well? Ken Grace has been in car sales for the past 36 years. Currently a partner in one of Dublin's most successful showrooms - Grace and Harvey Motors of Glasthule just south of Dún Laoghaire - he began his career in Archer's of Dún Laoghaire as an apprentice salesman.
"I trained under Bill Walshe and he was a tough task master," recalls Grace. "I did six months in the office, then moved on to work on the floor, then in parts, and finally into sales."
An intensive sales course in Kinsale, Co Cork, eventually came up and he took it: "We trained from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. - it was rigorous," he says. "We covered everything . . . focusing on the art of selling, learning such things as how to qualify customer needs and how to identify the prospect. Later I also learned how to road test cars, and I studied appraisal and diagnostics too."
Ken Grace stands by his philosophy of the 3 Cs: caring, commitment and competence. He feels that, after his years of experience, he is well able to gauge the needs of individual customers. "If a woman comes to my showrooms and she's wondering what sort of car to buy I will ask her several questions: does she have children? If so, then she'll need a car seat - and so on. There will be qualifying questions I ask in order to ascertain what car will make the particular customer happy."
Grace maintains that the most effective type of salesmanship is to "sell to demonstrate - demonstrate to sell" . . . in other words point out the features of the car and, more importantly, point out the benefits of the features. Sell the benefit, he says, and the customer will be able to visualise, for example, that if they make long journeys and the car has an adjustable steering wheel they will be able to make themselves more comfortable.
"The salesperson is the company," he says, "and it's vital that they present a competent image and don't make over-blown promises about the cars. They shouldn't 'spoof' - if we don't know the answer to something we say so and make a point of find the answer."
Grace and Harvey also has a flourishing trade over the Internet with a user-friendly website at www.graceharvey.ie which updates its used cars every two days. The company also scored noteworthy success in a 1993 Mitsubishi survey on customer satisfaction with a score of 97.5 per cent.
So, what are the best selling vehicles at his showroom? "One of our most popular is the Mitsubishi Pajero L200. This five-seater costs €29, 899 on the road. It's a very comfortable drive and an interesting feature is that the four-wheel drive is not constant - the lever can engage while in motion at up to 50 miles an hour. One of the benefits of this is that, if you suddenly run into soft terrain, you don't have to stop and risk becoming stuck."
Ken Grace advises that a lot of their business is referral and repeat business. "Our logo is 'Trust in us' - it's something we've earned the right to say," he believes. "Reputation carries, and ours is second to none. Even after 36 years I still feel committed to my job. My son Nick is coming into the business now to learn the ropes."
Most distributors, as well as the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, run courses to train in salesmanship. "We also take on trainees here," says Ken Grace.
Joe Harvey, the other half of Grace and Harvey, worked in Smith's on Merrion Road over 20 years ago. Then, 16 years ago, they set up in partnership together and have built a successful business.
"Everything here runs smoothly on 'systems,' from general problem solving to staff difficulties," says Joe Harvey. "We have a policy of open-door management here and it works very well." He points out that the company rate customer care as very important. If they can't immediately find the fault with the vehicle, they will loan the customer a replacement car and one of their mechanics will test-drive the faulty vehicle until the problem is identified and repaired.
Grace and Harvey are at 16-17 Glasthule Road, Dún Laoghaire
Phone: 01.2802991
e-mail: sales@graceharvey.ie