Knights of the Blacktop Advanced Automotive Sales Training Guidebook

What is it that makes a great salesperson . . . great? It takes a wealth of knowledge, experience, dedication, and desire to make a sales person great. Greatness comes from commitment within. Commitment allows a sales person to stretch their sales ability and combine skill, passion and finesse in their approach in order to grow to their ultimate potential.

What attributes set that person apart from the mediocre? An elite sales person lays their foundation in the basics of the needs based sales process and expands from there. A Knight of the Blacktop is interested in solving other people’s needs. They have perfected the art of identifying customer’s needs and showing how their product can solve those needs. The needs based sales process is their ally. They have the skills to overcome objections and present their product in a professional manner. They mix all of that with enthusiasm, heart, and power, creating an instinct that is unstoppable.

You see, the Knight helps people get what they want while making them “feel good” about the process of getting it. By doing this they do not need to “sell”. People just buy. Stop trying to “sell” people! Understand your customer’s needs, create relationships, build trust, increase value, and exude confidence in you, your product, and your services and people will naturally buy.

Think about the things you like about shopping. Do you appreciate an over aggressive sales person that does not understand your needs? How do you feel when a sales person is being pushy and just trying to sell you whatever it is that he or she wants you to buy, with no concern for you?

Customers do not want you to “sell” to them. They want you to assist them with their purchase. When you start helping others get what they want, you will have more success in this business than you can ever imagine. Prior to being in the car business, I was a Lifeguard. I actually saved four kids lives. Now, I am saving people from making bad vehicle purchases. I always looked at it like I was helping my customers make the best choices. The best salespeople help their customers and create the want to buy.

In today’s highly competitive market, with narrower margins and challenging customers, it is apparent that those who are “in tune” with the wants and needs of the customer, will make more sales and retain more profits.

If you look around, the top sales people in a dealership are the “natural born sellers” that have devised their own way of selling. Most have done this without any formal training program. They have become skilled at meeting and greeting people, developing instant rapport, qualifying the customer, building value in the product, demonstrating the vehicle, handling objections, closing, delivery and finally building repeat and referral business.

You are probably reading this book for the same reason I decided to write it. You want to figure out how to master the automotive retail business and become ultra successful. Since I started in the business in 1996 I dedicated some of my extra time to writing down everything that I have ever learned in the automotive retail business to bring you this all inclusive training manual. The techniques in this book were not created in some university setting by someone studying automotive sales. They are used daily by other highly successful automotive sales people in real dealerships. These same techniques can be used to take your sales to the next level so you can become a Knight. Learn the business as I have and you will greatly accomplish your dreams and goals.

Knights of the Blacktop is an all inclusive training manual for selling cars. Much like a recipe book, that outlines the ingredients and gives the step by step details to create a great meal, this book outlines specific steps to selling cars and teaches techniques and word tracts within each step that helps sales consultants become an automotive Knight. It is these basic skills and word tracts that increase your ability and effectiveness to become a Knight in automotive sales.

To become a Knight in the automotive retail business you need to take your skills to the next level. This book can become your universal handbook for automotive sales. If you master the basics outlined in this book and follow the formula for success with every customer enthusiastically, and professionally, you will lead your customers further into the sales process, close more deals, and get more referrals. You will become an ultimate success a true Knight.

However, skills, techniques, and word tracts are not the only thing that makes a sales person a Knight of the Blacktop. It all comes back to commitment. A Knight of the Blacktop knows that the single greatest factor of success is commitment. Commitment sparks action and action leads to success. They know that the “doing” is where their success comes from. Their business success comes from the strength of their commitment, religiously followed. They do what it takes to be successful and commit themselves to learning their craft and becoming the best. They provide the best customer service experience possible!

But, it is much deeper than that. Knights adhere to an altruistic set of beliefs, principles, ideals, and values—and it shows in everything they do. They adhere to them every day, in every way.

In the first quarter of this book, you will uncover these traits and ideals that set the knight from the rest. In the last three quarters of the book you will dive deeper into the advanced sales techniques of the Knight and analyze every minute detail of automotive sales.

Use Knights of the Blacktop training guide book to stretch your sales ability to the highest plateau. Fully commit yourself to becoming an elite automotive sales person and hold true the beliefs, principles, ideals, and values shared in this book and you will become a true Knight of the Blacktop!

Tim Northburg started his automotive career in 1996 selling at a Saturn retail facility where he learned highly valuable customer service and needs based selling skills. In 1998 he gained international experience while managing a Rover, MG, MINI Cooper dealership in Chester, England. Since 2000, he has moved into upper management where he currently trains, motivates and leads his highly successful team of sales professionals. He has three years experience running the Business Development Center where he learned valuable customer follow-up, incoming phone call, prospecting, and owner retention techniques and skills. He spent six years as a Used Car Manager /Desk Manager and is fully trained in Finance, Marketing and Public Relations. In 2010 he became a Sales Manager and E-Commerce Director at a highly successful Honda, GMC, Buick Dealership. Tim Northburg’s commitment and dedication to the business, and the sales people he leads, is evident in this complete training guidebook. He shares the knowledge gained, throughout his career, because he wants others to succeed like he has