14 years ago, I bought my first new car. I worked for a radio station at the time and the top sales rep’s husband was the General Manager for a car dealership. I worked out the pricing before I ever showed up. I paid $1 over invoice. I thought I got a great deal (until after I purchased, I found that was the deal for everyone and that I can usually get below invoice if I am patient… but I digress).

After we worked out the details over the phone, I came to do a test drive and make sure that I liked the car okay. I liked it fine.

Because the General Manager doesn’t want to be saddled with the details of one car sale (I don’t really blame him for that), he called one of his salesmen over to complete the transaction. The salesman did nothing more than fill out a sheet or two of paperwork and then hand me off to the finance office.

After I sat and waited for the finance office for about 4 minutes, I noticed the salesman walk over to their big board of sales and write:

"Smith, Ford Escort, $12,740, Sold"

He must have been so proud of that sale… that bluebird of a sale… that he couldn’t even wait until I was in the finance office to write on the board. If I knew then what I know now, I would have gotten up and walked out… but I wasn’t as arrogant then as I am now, so I just sat and thought negatively about him.

Next time you brag about your sales, consider who might be the audience. If your clients know that you brag about sales, they may view themselves as only a statistic to you.

As for my car buying habits? There are a number of car dealerships that I have purchased multiple vehicles from… I never went back there. Never even considered it. After all, I really didn’t get that great of a deal and I was simply a statistic to them.

Tags: Car Sales, Statistic

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