• DD-Square-Logo_resized
  • ATTEND LAS VEGAS
    • Attendee
      • Registration & Pricing
      • Agenda Summary
      • Hotel & Travel
      • FAQ
    • Exhibitor
      • Exhibit/Sponsor
      • Advertising Opportunities
      • Exhibitor Console
    • Education
      • Overview
      • Show Schedule
  • ABOUT
    • Conference Overview
    • Testimonials
    • Become a Speaker
    • Press Inquiries
    • Partnership Programs
    • Health & Safety
    • Contact Us
    • Get Updates
  • RESOURCES
    • Webinars
    • Downloads
  • NEWS
    • Auto Retail News
    • Digital Editions
    • Press Releases
    • Submit Editorial
    • Subscribe
  • .
  • ATTEND LAS VEGAS
    • Attendee
      • Registration & Pricing
      • Agenda Summary
      • Show Schedule
      • Hosted Dealer Program
      • Hotel & Travel
      • FAQ
    • Exhibitor
      • Exhibit/Sponsor
      • Advertising Opportunities
      • Exhibitor Console
      • Exhibitor Services Manual
    • Education
      • Conference Overview
      • Conference Speakers
      • Session Schedule
  • RESOURCES
    • Webinars
    • Downloads
  • ABOUT
    • Conference Overview
    • Testimonials
    • Become a Speaker
    • Press Inquiries
    • Partnership Programs
    • Health & Safety
    • Get Updates
  • NEWS
    • AUTO RETAIL NEWS
    • PRESS RELEASES
    • DIGITAL EDITIIONS
    • SUBMIT EDITORIAL
    • SUBSCRIBE

Las Vegas: Oct 17-19, 2023

REGISTER NOW EXHIBIT / INQUIRE
Q

NEWS:

Dealer Management | Dealer/GM News | Sales & Marketing | Sales Management | Sales Strategies | Trending Industry News
April 30, 2018

Unconscious Bias Doesn’t Just Happen at Coffee Shops: 5 Steps to Being Proactive and Increasing Your Bottom Line

Posts:
Dealer Management | Dealer/GM News | Sales & Marketing | Sales Management | Sales Strategies | Trending Industry News
April 30, 2018

Unconscious Bias Doesn’t Just Happen at Coffee Shops: 5 Steps to Being Proactive and Increasing Your Bottom Line

Unconscious behaviors of your front and back end teams can be tricky and difficult to recognize, but they can make all the difference between a successful transaction and one that fails. Taking the intentional steps to realizing unconscious bias when it comes to women has a direct, positive impact for your stores bottom line.

Consider These Numbers:  

  • 60% of women who leave a dealership without buying a car never return.
  • 59% of women don’t buy at a branded dealership closest to their home.
  • 46% of women are going to three dealerships while shopping – this is twice the national average

Women and TRUST and RESPECT as their top reasons for buying from a specific dealership and sales advisor. So, women who don’t perceive that this is going to happen or is happening, will go elsewhere. These emotive factors can be challenging to establish if your women customers sense unconscious bias.

What Is It?

Unconscious bias can come in many forms and start with assumptions about a customer and what she needs. Here are some examples where bias might creep in to a sales discussion:

  1. A woman shopping on her own might only be “looking” until her husband can come with her.
  2. The male accompanying a woman must be her partner or husband.
  3. A woman shopping alone or with children probably needs a lot of guidance about the type of car she needs.
  4. A woman shopping for a luxury car probably can’t afford it.

The above examples show how easily ideas can enter a sales advisor’s thoughts without any effort. Everyone makes assumptions. Our brains work that way; its natural. However, when those assumptions cut into dealership sales, corrective action must be taken.

5 Ways to Prevent Unconscious Bias:

  1. Know the right questions to ask. The best way to overcome bias is to gather information. Establish a list of questions to ask your customers, and frame them in a positive light. For example, “Do you have a car in mind?” can identify what type car interests your prospect. “Is the car for you personally?” identifies if she is shopping for herself or a family car. Asking short questions opens the discussion for gathering more information and immediately sets the stage for the rest of the deal.
  2. Assume your prospect has most of the information she needs. Chances are, a woman has done her research before coming to a dealership. Internet searches are standard preparation. A sales advisor’s role today is to help answer questions and guide the process along.
  3. Don’t try to help a woman make up her mind. The days are long gone when a woman tolerated being led through their decisions. Women are savvy customers when it comes to car shopping. Assume they understand what they need.
  4. Realize that trust is the number one goal in customer engagement. Selling a car is great, but establishing a long-term, trusted relationship is more important. Trust can never be established if a sales advisor makes an incorrect assumption based on unconscious bias. It is best to create a profile of a prospect based ONLY on what the customer tells you.
  5. Phrase questions to avoid implying any bias. Questions asked should always be neutral, allowing prospects to fill in the blanks. A young woman who proudly saved money and established credit to buy a car will not appreciate questions that imply otherwise. A single mother will not appreciate asked about her husband. Questions that have the possibility of offending someone will quickly shut down a transaction.

Be Proactive

Selling autos in today’s world is challenging. People have volumes of information at their fingertips and have many choices when it comes to buying a car.  Savvy dealerships work to enhance their ability to be a trusted partner in and are proactive to eliminate negative bias that can send women customers elsewhere. Eliminating unconscious bias and replacing it with solid information gathering will drive dollars directly to your bottom line and ensure that your dealership becomes a trusted destination for women.

Dealer Management•Dealer/GM News•Sales & Marketing•Sales Management•Sales Strategies•Trending Industry News

SHARE

Share on Email
Share on Linkedin
Share on Facebook
Share on Pinterest
Share on Twitter
← Previous Article Next Article →
Posts Industry Press Releases

Focus Advisors Represents Vinart Dealerships in their Body Shop Sale and Services Agreement

Posts Sales & Variable OpsTrending Industry News

The Power of Transparency in Used Vehicle Sales

Posts Industry Press Releases

Focus Advisors Represents Vinart Dealerships in their Body Shop Sale and Services Agreement

Posts Marketing & AdvertisingTrending Industry News

How Digital Marketing Propels the New Way to Sell Cars

Posts Dealer Ops & LeadershipTrending Industry News

Standing Too Close to the Elephant

Posts Sales & Variable OpsTrending Industry News

Enhancing and Transforming the Automotive Sales/Service/Parts Lifecycle with ChatGPT

Posts Dealer Ops & LeadershipTrending Industry News

Four Steps for Successful Digital Retail Adoption

Posts Dealer Ops & LeadershipTrending Industry News

The Who, What, Where and How of AI-Built Solutions

NEWSLETTER

SUBSCRIBE

DEALER MAGAZINE

Dealer Magazine March/April 2023 Issue Featuring an Interview with NADA 2023 Chairman
MAGAZINE
Digital Dealer Logo White
FOLLOW US ON
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
© 2023 Emerald X, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ABOUT    CAREERS    AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERS    TERMS OF USE    PRIVACY POLICY