Sales Tip: Selling to new technicians

Selling to new techs can be a big risk. But it can be a big reward, too. They may not have a lot of cash, but they don’t likely have a house payment, a family or a lifetime of debt, either. Keep in mind they have a whole career ahead of them. That’s a lot of potential years as your customer.

The major issue is that a young technician isn’t established yet, so they probably don’t have a credit history. That’s a lot different than having a bad credit history. They just need a chance to prove themselves. You can be the one to give them that chance.

That doesn’t mean every new technician will prove to be a good customer. But if you’ve been a dealer for any length of time, you probably already know that’s true of any new customer.

“If it’s a young technician, he’s going to need a basic set of tools, which you’re going to have the opportunity to sell them,” says northeastern Illinois-based Cornwell dealer Ken Jaros. “But it’s also a roll of the dice a lot of times. If you can’t get the young guy approved on credit, you’re going to be holding a significant balance … I’m more of a gambler than a lot of the dealers are … and that’s worked out for me.”