I received a call from a close personal friend of mine the other day who is actually a member of the master mind groups I hold once a month too.
Dave is a great guy who is in the “used car job” and before I hear you all say the usual gags “I was going to be a used car salesman, if only I could turn the clock back” this guy is as straight as a die and a great friend to boot.
The reason for his call was to let me about a great deal that he had found with a lady he deals with a lot at Citroen on a LEASE car, now as a trader I have always been a pound notes guy and shied away from any sort of loan or finance although the deal he went on to tell me about truly was out of this world, so, here it is. A brand new Citroen C1 5 door VVTI Feel with air con and touch screen computer for £843.00 deposit and then monthly payments of, wait for it ……£12! That’s right £12 a month for a brand new car and the best thing about it was it was on a 12 month lease deal so after a year I give the car back, no worries and no hassle.
So of course curiosity got the better of me and I went down to see the lady at Citroen myself to find out what the “catch” was? On the way into Manchester I passed several bill boards a few of which caught my eye (especially the new Terminator film) and then as I pulled up at the lights just before I reached the garage alongside me pulled a truck with a billboard on the back which unfortunately for whatever it was being advertised I didn’t even notice, I was more concerned with working out exactly how much this whole exercise was costing, the truck, the driver, the diesel, the insurance, the tax! Arriving at the showroom I had a good look around before speaking to anyone as I always do and instantly fell in love with an all-white C1 just like the one Dave had told me about, I then asked for the lady and she ran me through the whole thing, the deal really was too good to be true and great value for money, then I asked the question, could I have the car stickered up with my company details? “Yes of course” she replied.
Brilliant, my manager had been asking for a pay rise recently so I called her up and asked her to get down to the garage pronto. She arrived, fell in love with the car and the deal was done. So please do not think for one minute think I am endorsing Citroen or having a lease vehicle although what I am asking you to do is use your sales skills wisely and this time, as a consumer.
The deal I was given has resulted in a happy manager, great advertising and marketing for my company 24/7 all over the northwest, all of this for £12 a month! So about as a trader you put your negotiation skills to the test and go out there and get yourself a great vehicle and a load of free advertising and brand awareness to go with it? I will post a pic of my new car on twitter as soon as it is stickered up although for now here is one from the archives which still gets talked about today and more than paid for itself in the advertising and brand awareness it created me back in the day…