Several weeks ago, I was entered as a contestant in the Auto Fair in Charlotte, NC, a semi-annual car show that has become one of the premier auto shows in the Southeast. Participation is by invitation only, usually sent out first to car clubs, with the number of entries based upon past participation. This year our PT Cruisers club earned 27 slots.

Photo of Richard’s Car

As is customary, different clubs are asked to “judge” other clubs, using subjective criteria and some formal criteria. Our club could not find any other club to judge. Since we were allocated 5 trophies for 5 categories, we wanted to find judges. After several minutes, someone suggested that I use my sales and sales training background to “find” judges. I accepted the challenge. We persuaded attendees walking by the cars to share their feelings. We did this by selling the benefits of having their opinions.

I approached attendees, introduced myself, and asked if I could ask them some questions about their experiences and perceptions about our cars. Most were delighted and eager to share. I then asked if they would record their feelings. Most were thrilled to express their views. In fact, we had 100 completed ballots for 5 categories for our cars, and were able to award all our trophies to our club. We used a very simple, fundamental process….asking people to buy, rather than telling them what to do.

How many of us in sales have ever “told” people what they should do or “sold” what we had, rather than asking what they needed or wanted? We asked them to “buy in” to providing feedback which is the essence of successful selling. Even at a car show!

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