[CDJSalesPro]

To buy now or wait till later......


　
I was faced with this dilemma this morning with a previous customer of mine. Mother has bought two Grand Cherokee's ,brother owns a Wrangler, and she came in to trade her 2006 Liberty. This will be the 5th Jeep I have sold this family. My customer "Kaitlyn" came in to trade her Liberty wanted to see the 2012 Liberty and possibly look at the 2014 GC. A 2012 with 3k in rebates would have fit her budget. She had never heard of the 2014 Cherokee . If I wanted to I could have easily sold her a 2012 Liberty. She came in and was ready and capable of buying a new Jeep today. But after sitting down and discussing her needs and wants I knew the 2014 Cherokee would suit her needs better.
She looked at the 2014 and LOVED the interior. She wants ,better fuel economy, navigation and backup camera. Would like a V6 but that is not a deal breaker. She never goes off road but wants 4x4.


Now...... because I am their "Car Guy" I had to put her needs over the wants of my dealer principle. He(the owner of the dealership) definitely would rather have had me sell her a 2012 Liberty today. However I knew the 2014 Cherokee would suit her needs better. There is nothing wrong with her 2006 she is just ready for a new Jeep. She wants to spend less than 30k but loves the 8.4 nav in the 2014GC.Grand Cherokee seemed too big to her. I showed her pics of the 2014 on my computer and she loved it. Now all we can do is wait.


Kaitlln and her family are loyal Jeep customers. I have no fear of them going to go see another salesman at another Jeep dealership. I will probably sell mom her 3rd GC later this week. But the Cherokee is 3-5 months away. My fear...is that between now and then she doesn’t look at a Hyundai Tucson, Escape,Rav4 or other CUV. Right now she wants a Jeep...but I am not so arrogant to believe that we are the only game in town.
I am comfortable with my decision to point her towards the right Jeep for her. However I would hate to loose her as a customer to another brand. Ill keep in touch and keep my fingers crossed


I hope the Cherokee launch is not delayed.....

 

[SouthPawXJ]

Not to burst your bubble man... but...

Marchionne said production of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, which replaces the Jeep Liberty, begins "sometime in the middle of June" -- a delay of about a month from the May 23 date he gave earlier this year.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20130506/OEM/305069989#ixzz2SYTmYtn5
Follow us: @Automotive_News on Twitter | AutoNews on Facebook

 

[CDJSalesPro]

Not to burst your bubble man... but...

No bubble here.....perhaps I should have said further delayed......

. But the Cherokee is 3-5 months away. My fear...is that between now and then she doesn’t look at a Hyundai Tucson, Escape,Rav4 or other CUV. Right now she wants a Jeep...but I am not so arrogant to believe that we are the only game in town.
I am comfortable with my decision to point her towards the right Jeep for her. However I would hate to loose her as a customer to another brand. Ill keep in touch and keep my fingers crossed


I hope the Cherokee launch is not delayed.....

 

[SouthPawXJ]

Whoops! Been staring at a screen too long today... my bad.

 

[UN4GTBL]

Props to you good sir.

Let's hope she waits.

 

[66coronet]

What's a couple of months to look at a new vehicle and to see if it actually fits her. Seeing pictures compared to sitting in it.

 

[saltydog]

Good choice and the best way to approach the customers needs. This will go along way for dealer perception.

 

[MickM]

I'm gonna play devils advocate here and ask what are you going to do if she actually wanted the Liberty and you took her power of choice away from her because in your opinion it is an inferior vehicle. I think if I came in looking for a certain jeep and the salesman worked to change my mind for any other reason the I just cannot afford the one I want I would leave and never come back.
Mick

 

[aldo90731]

Did she see photos of the Cherokee exterior?

I have a hard time believing a Liberty owner would be able to embrace the Cherokee exterior w/o doing some serious soul searching first.

 

[CDJSalesPro]

I'm gonna play devils advocate here and ask what are you going to do if she actually wanted the Liberty and you took her power of choice away from her because in your opinion it is an inferior vehicle. I think if I came in looking for a certain jeep and the salesman worked to change my mind for any other reason the I just cannot afford the one I want I would leave and never come back.
Mick

You obviously didnt READ the post......Whenever I have a customer at my desk I do an interview with them. I ask them whats important and what it is that they want in their next vehicle. She told me fuel economy was at the top of her list, and the options that were must have are Nav and backup camera. Features that she like from driving her mothers GC.. I explained the good and the bad of the Liberty. The good is that it was well under her budget.The bad crappy fuel economy the old nav system(no 8,4) and no back up camera at anyprice(factory). The 2014 GC is parked right outside of my office. she sat inside and LOVED the 8.4. I showed her pics of the Cherokee on my computer and it was over she loved it!!!!

Its not my job to change peoples minds based on my personal likes or dislikes. I sold one the last Liberties on our lot to a lady who owned an XJ. She actually came in looking for a wrangler unlimited. The Liberty was the perfect choice for her. She had no desire to take the top off.She wanted 4 doors, She never intends to go offroad, and finally she wanted to be in the mid 20's with her trade. The Liberty was perfect for her....... All I do make suggestions ultimately its the customers choice.

Did she see photos of the Cherokee exterior?

I have a hard time believing a Liberty owner would be able to embrace the Cherokee exterior w/o doing some serious soul searching first.

you are letting your personal bias cloud your thinking. Actually I have yet to show the picture of the Cherokee to anyone and have them not like it.

in her own words " OMG I love it!" :thumbsup:

 

[aldo90731]

You are letting your sales profession cloud your senses. Actually, I have yet to show the picture of the Cherokee to anyone and have them like it :thumbsdown:

If she REALLY meant "OMG I love it! :thumbsup: ", then you have nothing to worry about and did not need to start this thread.

 

[TWX]

Consider it this way...

If they as customers trust you, they should be comfortable with your recommendation that they wait a comparatively short time. The WK2 may have year-to-year changes that might leave a 2013 or even a 2014 slightly different than the 2012, but if they do wait for a KL Cherokee and don't like what they see, they can still buy a WK2 Grand Cherokee, even if that particular 2012 that you mention is no longer available.

The risk in waiting is fairly low and I assume that their trade-in value won't be dramatically affected by a few months, but their options are very much increased by just a few months.

 

[CDJSalesPro]

You are letting your sales profession cloud your senses. Actually, I have yet to show the picture of the Cherokee to anyone and have them like it :thumbsdown:

If she REALLY meant "OMG I love it! :thumbsup: ", then you have nothing to worry about and did not need to start this thread.

when someone has the itch.....3-5 months can be an eternity......a couple of weeks or a monthaint bad....my ace ...is I am pretty sure I am going to sell Mom a 2014 this week.......that should buy me some loyalty time......but it wont last forever

 

[66coronet]

when someone has the itch.....3-5 months can be an eternity......a couple of weeks or a monthaint bad....my ace ...is I am pretty sure I am going to sell Mom a 2014 this week.......that should buy me some loyalty time......but it wont last forever

I saw the pronto cruiser and prayed it would be produced. Then the PT cruiser 4 dr came out and I decided I'll settle for that. I know the first years has bugs in most new vehicles so I waited until 2003. I saw how the dealerships overpriced what was suppose to be an affordable car for $16000. Dealers added $4500.
I waited and grabbed a base model 2003 with a $3500 markup.
Internet says the dealership has it at $16000 ish but the sticker on the window clearly shows $4K markup - $500 special weekend. So I basically paid for a Touring and got a basic.
I wanted a Diesel PT cruiser and would have traded mine in, in a hart beat, but that never happened.
They changed the body some and ruined the interior and never made additional models (other than the cool convertible) like what the BMW Mini Cooper did.
I waited 4 years for my PT cruiser before buying. Going to car-truck mopar web sight. Now no more.
No other auto manufacture was going to make something from the 1938-1941 style without making it over priced over done like the SSR & prowler.
Prowler was cool and the 3.5L was a nice mid motor. Would it be wrong if they had offered a 2.4L with 16" rims to maybe drop the price of the vehicle?
Sure people wanted the V8 and the Howler could have satisfied that. But the V8 also makes it like the SSR, un-affordable to the masses.
I was happy GM made the HHR but disappointed that it didn't have the shelf strength like the PT cruiser. I was also disappointed that GM didn't want to make a FWD pickup with the HHR. It would have sold very well.


MY point, if she really likes the 2014 Cherokee interior, she will wait. If she comes from a Jeep family, she will wait just to look.
If she changes her mind and wants a 2012 Liberty, I'm sure the dealership will find it and truck it in. Sure the last one on this lot is sold, but some one some where on a lot, it isn't sold.

 

[Charger Red]

Historically, betting on accurate availability dates is like betting on the weather - you'll lose every time.

If you were to lose this customer due to your honerable intentions you should (and probably will) gain another two because of this.

 

[chewie402]

You are letting your sales profession cloud your senses. Actually, I have yet to show the picture of the Cherokee to anyone and have them like it :thumbsdown:

If she REALLY meant "OMG I love it! :thumbsup: ", then you have nothing to worry about and did not need to start this thread.

Objection!

My wife owned a Liberty (first Gen) and loves the new Cherokee

 

[bumonbox]

I remember the realtor who helped me buy my first house. I invited her over to dinner months after we moved in, and she mentioned she's not always sure if she'll hear from her clients again because sometimes people end up not being happy with their house, and the realtor is blamed on some level. Mind you we liked her a lot. She was extremely honest and helpful. She read into what I said I wanted and was able to point out the flaws of houses we were looking at when they didn't fit our needs. When we settled on a foreclosed home, what resulted was a lot more work for her, but she did it with out complaint of course.

Of course we always tossed out her name to friends buying a house. And greatly appreciated her. But going back to the previous point, even her honesty cannot ensure home buyers don't land in a home they end up not wanting. It's just inevitable, her not being sure if she'd hear back from us is because - in the end the salesperson that helped guide them to their final decision will be blamed on some level. For some salespeople, it's deserved, for others - they just did what the customer asked. If this lady doesn't care about off road ability on any level and (I must insert jab here) has poor enough eye sight to love the exterior, and loves the rest of the new Jeep then it sounds like it's the better option. Not to mention, if you had sold her the old Liberty, and she saw the new Cherokee in a matter of months, she'd probably be kicking herself and regretting her decision.

Point is, I personally thank you for fully educating her, cars are a huge purchase, and once you commit, they're expensive to get out of. I know too many people who regret their final car purchases. I'd have to imagine she'll be back, and in the end you'll almost assuredly maintain a great relationship with them.

 

[Longtimejeep]

Integrity is hard to come by....Hope it works out on this sale but am confident that in the long run your honesty will be rewarded and your Dealer principle and Chrysler will be the better for it.

 

[Stratuscaster]

If she REALLY meant "OMG I love it! :thumbsup: ", then you have nothing to worry about and did not need to start this thread.

Except to, you know, SHARE his experience with Allpar. It's kind of what we do here.

 

[aldo90731]

Sorry, I have met people over the years who tell me they LOVE(D) each one of these things. Still doesn't make any of them attractive to my eyes.

Three of them are no longer available --their names now living in infamy.