How do you hook a customer and keep them? How do you relay to a mildly interested car purchaser that, hey, some auto dealers do have your best interests at heart and aren’t just trying to squeeze a profit out of you?

That some automobile companies don’t just want to sell you a vehicle but want to enter into a partnership with you—want to feel something reminiscent of a father or a

We’re pushing for a sale, really laying down the work and convincing a customer that our car, our prices, are the best deal they’ll ever get.

We’re being honest and fair, trying to help the customer out, even disregarding the fact that we probably won’t make a buck of profit on this one. That today we probably will lose our shirt and maybe even our pants.

But today we don’t care. Today we’ll go shirtless and profitless because today we’re focusing on the customer and selling him/her this amazing vehicle that we just know will enhance their lives, their jobs—heck, their overall driving experience!

So we’re set on the sale, on the customer, and then it happens: they shake their heads and give us the "look". You know the look. The one that says "I’m not sure about this" or "I don’t think that I really want to buy this car."

What? But I’ve already given you my spiel! I’ve been honest. I’ve been fair. I have given you my shirt and my pants.

But the customers don’t care. They just give you that customary (no pun intended) head nod and crooked smile and say that "they’ll think about it and get back to you."

But I know. I know. They’ve already stopped thinking about it. They won’t get back to me. They don’t even remember my name anymore. But I remember theirs. I remember you BillSaraLisaRalphMarkEddieTomAnthonyClara (sorry, I have a photographic memory and easily bruised feelings).

I remember how you turned away and walked out of my office, disregarding my generous offer at a fantastic vehicle. A fantastic deal.

Which leads me to the questions that continue to haunt me after ever failed sale, every failed deal.

How do you hook a customer and keep them? How do you relay to a mildly interested car purchaser that, hey, some auto dealers do have your best interests at heart and aren’t just trying to squeeze a profit out of you?

That some automobile companies don’t just want to sell you a vehicle but want to enter into a partnership with you—want to feel something reminiscent of a father or a

So we’re set on the sale, on the customer, and then it happens: they shake their heads and give us the "look". You know the look. The one that says "I’m not sure about this" or "I don’t think that I really want to buy this car."

What? But I’ve already given you my spiel! I’ve been honest. I’ve been fair. I have given you my shirt and my pants.

But the customers don’t care. They just give you that customary (no pun intended) head nod and crooked smile and say that "they’ll think about it and get back to you."

But I know. I know. They’ve already stopped thinking about it. They won’t get back to me. They don’t even remember my name anymore. But I remember theirs. I remember you BillSaraLisaRalphMarkEddieTomAnthonyClara (sorry, I have a photographic memory and easily bruised feelings).

I remember how you turned away and walked out of my office, disregarding my generous offer at a fantastic vehicle. A fantastic deal.

Which leads me to the questions that continue to haunt me after ever failed sale, every failed deal.

How do you hook a customer and keep them? How do you relay to a mildly interested car purchaser that, hey, some auto dealers do have your best interests at heart and aren’t just trying to squeeze a profit out of you?

That some automobile companies don’t just want to sell you a vehicle but want to enter into a partnership with you—want to feel something reminiscent of a father or a

What? But I’ve already given you my spiel! I’ve been honest. I’ve been fair. I have given you my shirt and my pants.

But the customers don’t care. They just give you that customary (no pun intended) head nod and crooked smile and say that "they’ll think about it and get back to you."

But I know. I know. They’ve already stopped thinking about it. They won’t get back to me. They don’t even remember my name anymore. But I remember theirs. I remember you BillSaraLisaRalphMarkEddieTomAnthonyClara (sorry, I have a photographic memory and easily bruised feelings).

I remember how you turned away and walked out of my office, disregarding my generous offer at a fantastic vehicle. A fantastic deal.

Which leads me to the questions that continue to haunt me after ever failed sale, every failed deal.

How do you hook a customer and keep them? How do you relay to a mildly interested car purchaser that, hey, some auto dealers do have your best interests at heart and aren’t just trying to squeeze a profit out of you?

That some automobile companies don’t just want to sell you a vehicle but want to enter into a partnership with you—want to feel something reminiscent of a father or a

I remember how you turned away and walked out of my office, disregarding my generous offer at a fantastic vehicle. A fantastic deal.

Which leads me to the questions that continue to haunt me after ever failed sale, every failed deal.

How do you hook a customer and keep them? How do you relay to a mildly interested car purchaser that, hey, some auto dealers do have your best interests at heart and aren’t just trying to squeeze a profit out of you?

That some automobile companies don’t just want to sell you a vehicle but want to enter into a partnership with you—want to feel something reminiscent of a father or a

How do you hook a customer and keep them? How do you relay to a mildly interested car purchaser that, hey, some auto dealers do have your best interests at heart and aren’t just trying to squeeze a profit out of you?

That some automobile companies don’t just want to sell you a vehicle but want to enter into a partnership with you—want to feel something reminiscent of a father or a mother when we hand you those car keys and give you a congratulatory pat on the back.

And I know that most people don’t have sympathy for car dealerships or car sellers. They think that we’re all crooks with slippery tongues who only see potential money not people.

And I’m not denying that some of my brethren haven’t played that crooked game and probably played a few car purchasers.

But what about the goodies out there like me who really want to invest in selling a car? Who really believe in client first, self-interest second?

How do we communicate to clients that we care and want to sell them the best vehicle at the best price for them? How do we keep those clients from giving us the "look" and walking away?

I don’t know. It’s hard work guys (and girls) I tell you, and I’ve been pressed to find a solution since begging doesn’t seem to work (wow was I embarrassed by that one).

But I’ve scratched my head and tried to come up with spectacular solutions for attracting clients, maintaining clients, satisfying clients, and until recently I was really disappointed by how lackluster my performance was.

My sales were down, my self-esteem was down (did I mention that my feelings bruise easily?), and making a sale to a customer was becoming an event (seriously, we were starting to say, "Ooh, a customer sighting!").

So it was looking pretty bleak for us, but then I discovered, and by discovered I mean a really good friend mentioned it to me in passing (Thanks Roy!), automotive advertising.

Pretty much you hire some outside company to come into your dealership and take over for a bit. (Wait, takeover sounds too to