Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

Buy This Car!

Confessions of a Car Salesman
At one point, during a sales seminar, I was actually taught how to shake hands. The instructor, a veteran car salesman said: “Thumb to thumb. Pump one, two, three, and out.” Another vet told me to combine the handshake with a slight pulling motion. This is the beginning of your control over the customer. This would prepare the “up” [car salesman slang for a potential buyer] to be moved into the dealership where the negotiation would begin. The car lot handshake is sometimes combined with the confident demand, “Follow me!” If you employ this method, you turn and begin walking into the dealership. Do not look back to see if they are following you. Most people feel the obligation to do what they are told and they will follow you, if only to plead, “But I’m only looking!”

What a great article! I’m reminded of Robert Cialdini’s wonderful social psychology book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. If you plan to ever buy another car, you MUST read this great “insider’s view” of the car sales business.

Oh… those duplicitous salesmen!