In any business, you need to understand your audience. In the case of the auction, it is the buyer. You need to understand their thought process from the realisation of the need to the final acquisition of the vehicle.
When to use it
The buyer process is not a tool, but more a concept to be kept top of mind when conducting an inspection and writing a report. Your information must appeal to the buyers on the auction.
Overview
- Every buyer has different ideas of the vehicle’s value based on estimated recon costs.
- Understand what the buyer needs to get out of the vehicle. How will it be used in their business.
- Learn to know what’s on their floor and what’s happening in their business. Find the gaps that need to be filled.
- Understand what they may think and deduce when looking at an auction listing. What could cause them to turn away from a deal.
Here's what you should know
Understand what the buyer needs to get out of the car.
How will it be used in their business?
When you build your customer relationships, you begin to understand what their requirements are when it comes to the vehicles they purchase on auction. Ask the question “Is it for internal processes” or “is it for the dealership floor”? When you have this information, you can assist your buyers and drive them towards the vehicles that will suit their needs, whether it be heavy machinery for a construction business or a vehicle to re-enter the market on a dealership’s used car floor.
Learn to know what’s on their floor and what’s happening in their business.
Find the gaps that need to be filled.
This may be dependent on the buyer’s business type. For some, there may be the need to acquire a certain stock type to fit their dealership profile while for others, their stock depends on customer demand. To build your knowledge on the vehicles desired by buyers, it is important to conduct research into their business, the profile and their customer base. Understand their business and sales strategy to become wary of what their eyes focus on when browsing on auction.
Understand what they may think and deduce when looking at an auction listing.
What could cause them to turn away from a deal?
Before listing a vehicle on auction, review the inspection report through the eyes of the buyer. Does it give the buyer enough information to make a decision without viewing the vehicle in-person? Is all the vehicle damage disclosed in the report to assist the buyer in their decision? Have you provided accurate recon amounts for the buyer’s budget consideration? If you cannot answer these questions positively, then you need to relook and edit the inspection report to incorporate all of these details. Failure to do so may cause a buyer to turn away from the vehicle listing and lose trust in the auction’s reliability.
