A Great Test Drive

Step 6 The Test Drive

Once you have finished your walk around, don't ask your customer to drive the vehicle. Before your presentation began, you should have already gotten the car running, pulled out of the space and faced towards an exit, and your presentation should end or be very close to finishing with everyone in the vehicle and the driver having their seat, mirrors, steering wheel and radio station set to their preference.

"All I need is a copy of your license, and we can see how fast it can go" is something you could say in place of asking someone if they wanted to drive a vehicle. Asking someone if they wanted to drive a car is the quickest way to get a no that could be a challenge to get past. Although, if you did everything right up to this point, they should want to see how the car feels. If you feel compelled to ask I suggest asking if they wanted to see how fast it can go as that sounds a lot more fun than “test drive.“

After your customer hands you their driver license is a great time to get a phone number. “Just in case you guys try to kidnap me what’s the best number to reach you at?“

The test drive is where I have always started to try to lighten the mood and have fun with my customers and do most of my relationship building. Before running off to get a copy of their license, you could ask them to please not steal the car to start setting the tone for a more fun experience.

Just before driving I have found it beneficial to start with asking a customer "did you want to stay in town, take it on the highway, a bit of both, or is there somewhere specific you wanted to go?" Nine times out of ten they will probably say just in town, however, this will help give those who want to see what the car looks like in their driveway or show a friend the option to do so.

It is a good idea to have a pre-planned route with some city driving that includes some good curves, a hill, close to a highway entrance, a big open parking lot as well as the knowledge of a back "fun" country road for your more spirited drivers. Also, have a good midway point to switch drivers if there are two people. Your route should also avoid other dealerships as much as possible and make as much as an easy to navigate, traffic-free loop as possible and take around 15 minutes to complete.

After the car starts to move, you could say a little joke and ask your customers if they know about the special you have going on and proceed to tell them that it is $500 off for every salesperson they hit with the car today and $1,000 for managers. Be sure to tell them it's just a joke for the potential crazy people.

Keep in mind by now your customers are already sold enough on the car and features that they are willing to drive it and if you blabber on about stuff in the dash you will only distract and probably annoy the driver.

During test drives, my best friend and several others I know have found tremendous success by doing nothing but giving directions on a test drive and being quiet. Personally, this is where I tend to ask people about what they do for a living and ask questions such as "Where is the first place you plan to take a new car when you get one? To the beach, the mountains or on a race track?"

It may be a good idea for you to ask some small questions about the vehicle when they take a sharp corner or go up a hill such as "How did it feel going up the hill? Do you think it has enough power for you? How does the steering feel? Nice and tight?"

When you asked your customers if they preferred to stay in town or take it on the highway and they said they wanted to stay in the city, while you are getting close to the highway always ask if they are sure they didn't want to take it on the highway. This isn't always true because some people just don't care, but I found that if someone first says they want to stay in town and then they agree to go on the highway it is a good indicator that they are interested in making a buying decision. I have usually asked something like "are you folks sure you don't want to see how fast it can go and take it on the highway? It's right there."

When I was new I always found it awkward asking what someone does for a living so here are two ways I introduced that question that I find a little more inviting and less odd than blatantly asking- 1.) "You have me at a disadvantage you know what I do, what do you do for a living?" Alternatively, 2.) "What do you do for a living that allows you to look for a new vehicle on a Tuesday afternoon?"

If your customer has another party that may be a decision maker that is not present or a vehicle they intended to trade that is not at the dealership, now would be an excellent time to get that person or the vehicle. I would ask the customer if they would like to do this, or instead suggest that you do, since you are already out and about.

The reason why I suggested having a place to switch places as well as an open parking lot is because the spacious parking lot is for testing the turning radius. This should take place during the last bit of your test drive after your customers are a little more comfortable with you and the vehicle. Tell them to come to a complete stop in the middle, turn the wheel all the way and make a few turns. Any newer cars of today's age have a much better turning radius than they used to, and it is a fun thing to do.

With your test drive beginning to end, about 1,000 feet from the dealership or so, it would be in your favor to get some yes momentum flowing. Do this by asking 3-4 questions you know you will get the answer yes to such as- Did you like the way it drove? Does this have all the equipment you wanted? Do you like the color? Or whatever else you know you will get a yes to, as this will get that flowing for the next step which is the trial close/ transporting your customer inside.

When your customer pulls back into the dealership, tell them where to park, which should be "in the sold lane in front of the dealership."

If you can't get to the next step TURN

As with all of our car sales training blog posts, please email or place a comment below if you have any thoughts about changes or additions that you think should be made to this post because the goal is to provide the most value to the readers.