Too often, I see car salespeople trying to go from just meeting the customer to closing right away. And every chance they get, they are trying to close the sale on price. Sure, you might sell a few vehicles and make some money. But it's not even close to what you should or can earn in the car business.

Getting the customer to like you is key to grossing high per deal and closing the sale. You must get the customer to like you if you want to make real money in the car business. So why not slow down and build rapport and get to know the customer? What this will allow you to do is gain control of the sales process. Building rapport will slow things down and allow you to smoothly follow the basic step to a sale.

Look it's not a big secret that the customer came into your dealership interested in purchasing a vehicle. And this shouldn't be a surprise to you either that you're there to sell them one. So slow things down and ease that tension away from the customer by building rapport. People hate being sold to. So make them feel as if they are here to own a vehicle rather then you are there to sell them one.

Since almost all customers don't like to be sold, it's your job to get that nervousness out of the air and ease that tension. Start asking them open-ended questions and allow them to talk. Break the ice and start asking them questions about themselves such as:

What do you do for fun?

Do you have any kids?

Whatever it is you are talking about to build rapport, just get off the topic of trying to sell them something and make them feel comfortable with you ASAP. Now as you're building rapport, you should also qualify the right way. Building rapport and qualifying goes hand in hand. If you qualify properly, this will allow you to present the proper vehicle rather than wondering the lot presenting fifty million choices, which would only confuse the customer. But the point I'm trying to make is you must build enough rapport. If you do, it will only increase your chance of closing the sale.

Is there a set amount of time the car salesperson should spend building rapport?

No one can tell you how long it should take. That will vary from customer to customer. Some are easy and some people are tough. But if you have control over the conversation then I would say it's fairly easy to build rapport.

If one of your strong points is that you're very humorous, use that to your advantage. Just don't be rude. Customers are much easier to close when they are having fun, laughing and having a great time. Mastering these selling skills is a must. There are tons of others I teach. But building rapport is a must to succeed in the car business as a salesperson.