A good 2 years ago my wife called me as I was driving home from Alicante airport: ‘I’ve seen your dream car!’ she yelled
And yes – there it was, parked at a restaurant next to the CV32 in a town next to where I live in Spain.
I called the number that was visible on a sign in the window, drove it the day after – and 3 days later it was mine.
I could vividly see myself driving with my surfboards on the roof to the beach. Arm out of the window, the breeze in my hair. This was going to be ‘my buddy.’
Long story short – it didn’t go that way.
The car needed work.
No problem – I was up for that. That picture of what was to come was just too good.
So a befriended mechanic did his magic on the engine. Complete revision.
We painted it in a cool black & white contrast. Redid the interior in with beautiful white leather.
And time went by – and I never got to the point where I’d throw my surfboard on the roof to go out surfing. In fact, I waited to get the roof bars done until it was perfect.
A year went by – and another 6 months – and then it hit me. This was a project. A hobby. And it was not for me.
So after a long debate with myself, I decided to break with my Defender. I put it out for sale again
What happened then told me some valuable lessons about sales…
A garage of some friends on the road from Jesus Pobre to Javea wanted to help sell the car.
It got advertised on the popular car sites – and then the waiting began
Quite a bit of interest – nothing serious. “Tire kickers” so to say. Sometimes coming by, sometimes just communicating via Whatsapp or email. Bold enough to bid just 50% of the price.
Three months went by – nothing but frustration. Until that moment.
We told a friend about the fact the Defender was for sale. She told her daughter-in-law – and that’s where things sparked.
It was exactly what she’d dreamed about. She was about to move from the Netherlands to Ibiza – and this was going to be ‘her buddy’.
The asking price was no issue. She happily paid 10% upfront to reserve it, and 2 months later she came to collect it herself – to proudly bring it home to Ibiza.
The lesson I learned:
1 – That what you might think you want – is not always what your need
2 – That price is a story in your mind. For the wrong people, it’s always going to be too much. For the right one, it’s a bargain
3 – It’s not the features or the facts that sell – it’s the story that sells – the story we tell ourselves, and the emotion that’s connected to that.
Question for you to reflect upon:
What’s a valuable sales story you recently learned (the hard way)?
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