Over the many years of this site and the many threads on negotiation I can’t believe “cialdini” doesn’t show up in the forum search.
Robert Cialdini wrote the BOOK (books) on the psychology of persuasion. The link includes a summary of his principles but the books are worth reading to get into the psychology and various studies that back it up.
Dealers definitely use most of those principles.
On the buyer side, specifically I have been thinking about the principle of “Consistency”, where getting someone to say “yes” to small things will make them more likely to say “yes” to bigger things.
I’m thinking of using that in my dealer emails. Instead of presenting the entire offer, I can ask them simple things first (is it available) and then other simple things (will it qualify for X rebate, etc.), which then brings in the sales manager or finance into the “yes” club, before I then move on to asking for my discount and lease parameters. Need to show I’m serious along the way and not simply fishing.
It’s a waste of time over email (probably in person too). Get in touch with a manager, be upfront, and they’ll either do it or they won’t, you’re not going to trick a manager into giving you an insane discount using linguistic and psychological tricks via email.
This seems to go against other evidence on here of people getting their unicorn by working a deal for weeks, especially with aged inventory. And lots of other stories of getting ignored when presenting an aggressive deal up front vs. a bit of back and forth first.
Just looking to get more strategic about it and leverage my strengths (I have more information than the typical buyer on actual market value, inventory in the region, days on market, buy rates, etc. and can run a multi-step email campaign really efficiently). These aren’t jedi mind tricks - anyone who’s read these books or been taught them in B-school or law school would agree - they’re just principles that help nudge the % conversion higher and extract a bit more out of the deal.
For everyone person whose done that, there’s plenty more who got it by just being upfront about it.
Also a bit of back and fourth does not assume they’re doing what you’re suggesting here.
Most of this is about timing. There are a few I’ve been back and fourth on, been clear, but the timing wasn’t right, came back to it later on, end of the next month, etc, and gotten a yes.
Taking advantage of that knowledge would assume that the dealer cares about any of this. It’s commonly noted here that if you see a car thats 150, 200, 250+ days aged, it’s likely that you’re not going to get a good deal on it, because that dealership clearly is more interested in running a museum. It’s very rare that there hasn’t been one single lead or opportunity worth taking in 100+ days unless that manager is holding out for MSRP or damn near close to it.
Has that been proven in the specific context of getting a car dealer sales manager to agree to a deal that they otherwise would never agree to? You have managers who either will or won’t take the deal, or ones who will, but only at the right time.
You’re not going to word track a manager who doesn’t do deals into giving you a blowout.
I think that a lot of that method assumes that what you’re asking of the person you’re employing these tactics on is something they would actually already consider doing or acceptable, they just need some motivation to get there.
Let’s play this out…
GC: Hi Mr. Manager who normally doesn’t do deals, are you open to doing a deal on this stock number?
M: Yes, we’d be able to work a deal
GC: Great, do I qualify for these rebates?
M: Yes
GC: Would it be okay if I picked up this Saturday?
M: Yes
GC: Great, do you offer tire warranties? I think I’d like one
M: Yes, we do.
GC: Okay awesome now can I please have this loaner for 25% off MSRP with buy-rate money factor
M: Well damn, I was going to say no, but since you’ve put me in the mindset of saying yes, congrats, it’s yours
My TL;dr is it’s more about timing and being realistic in your ask than trying to soften someone up.
While we’re at it, I do find this topic interesting and have read and listened to some of the top negotiation experts, many would tell you that you actually want to find a way to get someone to tell you no instead of yes, in a way that agrees with your ultimate goal. Getting a no is easy, it’s low commitment, people like to say no. “Given this is a loaner and is essentially a used car, would a decent discount be unreasonable on this unit?”
and tbh, I still wouldn’t even use that to try to buy a car, but it tracks logically.
The corporate trainers are my favorite. Never sold cars before but somehow their models of selling are superior and close every deal.
This doesn’t work in emails since it is an emotional approach rather than an analytical one. Assuming you believe in this, emails create an emotional disattachment since you are only invested for the few minutes you read/respond to it. Buying a car in person is much more emotional than analytical so creating positive responses is needed. But I view this as more of a trial close than a closing tool since it helps you uncover any objections at the first no.
From my 100% not a dealer perspective, a dealer’s principle tool is time/sunk cost. You spend hours at a dealership you don’t want to walk away empty handed. You negotiate and negotiate and don’t want to have wasted half your Saturday with nothing to show for it. And most people don’t have days and days to do that at 5-10 places before they get a car they want at a price they want to pay.
That’s one reason, albeit probably a secondary one, so many dealers tell you to come in when you email to negotiate a deal via email or even phone. They can’t grind you down doing a remote deal. I can almost indefinitely spend 30 minutes a day, during a workday, negotiating on price. Whereas I absolutely don’t have time to spend multiple weekend afternoons at a dealership negotiating. If I needed a car and a dealer got me to the dealership, I am likely gonna make a bad deal due to my constrained calendar.
Psychology can be fascinating, not just persuasion but also cognitive bias. My 2 cents:
On the practical side, there are so many ways to skin the cat but you have to find the one that works best for you and the amount of time you have. Going in person to extract small yeses leading to a big one works in a world where we can only conceivably go in person. Maybe that’s the best way to achieve a deal at that one dealership.
Or we can look at the business as a commodity business. You’re looking at, say, 16 dealers within a radius you’re willing to drive back from. 4 of them are looking for a customer like you to enhance volume in a reasonable amount of time spent per customer and with a reasonable expectation that the customer will leave happy (CSI scores, google reviews, etc).
Is there an overlap between those POVs? Maybe there is. Maybe try the first approach at the closest dealer. Try the second approach at places further away. But that doesn’t mean it has to completely impersonal. Get on the phone at some point with the salesperson. Say you’re going to send a written offer and ask if they can help you get it approved. Don’t come across as the type who blast the same generic email everywhere like confetti.
PS:
It’s always enlightening to hear what @brokers and dealers say about what works and what doesn’t. There’s theory and then there’s practice, and they won’t always overlap.
If we’re not quite where you need to be, I’ll lobby as much as what’s within reason for your deal based on your attitude and genuine respect for our time and efforts.
Hit the nail on the head with that one. We can all try to figure out the psychology behind a car purchase transaction and getting to “yes” and what not, but at the end of the day, it’s all theory and can have zero application in the real world. If my dealer has a cutoff on what they can do in terms of discount on a car, no matter how much you go back and forth with me and try to get to the discount you want, the answer will still be the same at the end. As @IAC_Scott correctly said, it’s more about timing than anything else. The right timing is much more likely to yield a “yes” versus the psychological buildup on back and forth emails. My 2 cents.
I’d also add that one of the most disappointing business classes was Negotiations. Because “Getting to Yes” focused entirely on what to negotiate but mostly ignored how you did it.
As already mentioned, DBAA (don’t be an asshole). Don’t be too smart. Be literally anything else. Be a likable doofus like Kramer from Seinfeld. Be a self-deprecating type like Tyler from Hoovies Garage. Be down on your luck and they’d really be helping you out. Many right ways to do it and a couple wrong ways.
