Up-Care is three times more effective than Up-Sell!

Imagine a situation as portrayed in the following brief video…

This urge to Up-Care is actually biological. It’s an emotional response when we feel convicted about something. It’s no longer just about selling…it’s about looking after the best interests of others… and people can tell the difference.

It’s how our brains are wired. In fact, we now know from research that Up-Caring is three times more effective than Up-Selling. Yet, surprisingly, Up-Selling remains the norm in most dealerships across the country. Maybe that’s why people are so apprehensive when they come to our stores.

You can’t afford to ignore the impact of up-care. The growth and sustainability of your business truly depends on it.

THE SURPRISING BIOLOGICAL TRUTHS

Neuroscience has revealed that the emotional brain (Limbic) drives 75% of decisions and behaviors, while the rational brain (Neocortex) only accounts for 25%.

The rational part of our brain, the neocortex, is responsible for logical and analytical thinking. It also happens to be the part of our brain that controls speech.

The emotional brain, the limbic system, is responsible for how we feel, but has no capacity for speech – hence why we can easily recite data and statistics, but have a hard time putting our feelings into words.

The important point here is that the limbic [emotional] brain has three times more influence over our decisions and behaviors than the neocortex [rational brain]. To make up for this lack of influence the neocortex has even came up with a word to make our emotional decisions seem more rational – we call that rationalization.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

In the car business our short and long-term success is tied to three customer behaviors: today’s purchases, repeat purchases, and referral purchases – all of which are directly impacted by trust. Most people will acknowledge that, but don’t know why that is the case or to what extent. To better understand the impact of trust we need to look at the inner workings of the brain.

Did you know that trust also has two important components – a rational component and an emotional component – just like our brain has two parts that are involved in the decision making process and directing behavior? How we respond or react is directly correlated with how our brain works.

Rational trust is established when we prove ourselves to be competent and reliable. Being capable of doing what we say we will do, or at least creating the perception, is a way to establish rational trust. And when we actually follow-through and do what we said we would do we build rational trust. This all works fine as long as experience matches with expectations.

Rational trust is where most people in the car business focus their efforts (quality, price, speed of service), probably because it is more comfortable, controllable, expedient, and involves little need for vulnerability. It is based on what we do. Unfortunately rational trust only accounts for 25% of what influences decisions and behaviors.

The real influencer, however, is emotional trust, which accounts for the bulk (75%) of what influences our decisions and behaviors. Emotional trust is established when we are authentic and display true care (i.e. putting the other person’s interests ahead of our own). Being based on who we are – our character, our motives and attitudes – it is harder to fake. And while the limbic brain may not have the capacity for speech it is the part of our brain where “gut feelings” come from.

So, Key is to be genuine and display true care. This is accomplished by being transparent, vulnerable, and putting customer interests above ours. We need to care more about the person than the sale. Work more for the customer than for the commission. Invest in long term relationships than today’s gross and you will be amazed at how today’s gross will improve as well.

People will give us a tremendous amount of forgiveness and grace when we establish emotional trust, but that does not mean that we can neglect the rational elements.

So, when car dealers practice up-selling they are essentially working with only 25% of their influencing tools. Which suggests that they have to work three times as hard for the same results. Why would anybody continue to focus on up-selling once they understand the biology of human decision making, choices, behaviors, and motivations.

NEXT STEPS NOW THAT YOU GET IT?

Sounds like it is time to tweak operations to adopt an Up-Care™ model.

Think of Up-Care™ like a turbocharger attached to an up-sell engine. The art of selling is still applicable as a framework for qualifying and moving customers closer to a decision. What really changes in a Up-Care™ model is the underlying motivation of the sales person or service adviser and their language/interaction with the customer. The exchange is more win-win and relationship based than one sided where the store dominates.

I realize this aspect alone, the perception of losing control, could be scary for many in the industry, but remember the culture and reputation of distrust we have today is a result of what we have done thus far.

In order to pursue a brighter future we need to do things differently. And a great place to start is by looking at how we do what we do today and evaluate how it aligns with the science.

That is where I come in. I will work with you and your team to evaluate your current operations, processes, and procedures and identify where simple tweaks can make a world of difference.

For a free no obligation consultation contact me:

Herb Mast

402.202.1053 (call or text)

hkmast@healthyDEALER.com