{"id":21717,"date":"2016-04-01T10:34:16","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T15:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crazyeggblog.wpengine.com\/?p=21717"},"modified":"2026-01-06T15:15:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:15:13","slug":"used-car-salesman-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crazyegg.com\/blog\/used-car-salesman-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Things That The \u201cUsed Car Salesman\u201d Can Teach Us About Online Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cUsed car salesman\u201d is synonymous for sleazy, pushy, crooked sales.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too bad, really. Sure, there may be some dishonest used car salespeople, but certainly the entire industry can\u2019t be that bad.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the stereotype persists. Why? Because we\u2019ve all experienced the greasy, false friendship of that kind of salesperson. It\u2019s off-putting, to say the least.<\/p>\n

\"cal-worthington\"<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Is it possible that online marketing can come across in the same way as the annoying used car salesman?<\/p>\n

The answer is yes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Because of its digital facade, most of us aren\u2019t aware that some of the marketing techniques we\u2019re using can come across in much the same way as a big-mouthed, bright-suited salesman pushing you to buy a lemon rattletrap at a Ferrari price.<\/p>\n

We can learn from these guys \u2014 at least their stereotype.<\/p>\n

Most of what we\u2019ll discuss in this article are all the negative things to avoid, but we\u2019ll also discuss some positive things to emulate. As a result, you will be able to improve your online marketing.<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t \u201csell.\u201d Help people to buy.<\/h2>\n

Online sales has fallen into the trap of trying to, well, sell stuff<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no question that online sales are growing, and will continue to grow.<\/p>\n

\"us-ecommerce-sales-2011-2016\"<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

With the growth in sales volume has come a proliferation of selling techniques. Some are good. Some are bad.<\/p>\n

It is this unvarnished push to sell<\/em> that is off-putting to many people.<\/p>\n

We find this parallel in the stereotype of the used car salesperson. According to lists of the salesperson\u2019s \u201cdirty tricks<\/a>,\u201d the push to sell is precisely what gives them an unsavory reputation.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to understand: People want to buy. But they don\u2019t want to be sold to<\/em>.<\/p>\n

They want to make an informed and autonomous decision. They want to come to the conclusion themselves<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Not to get too psychological here, but the customer\u2019s desire for autonomy is a deeply-rooted psychological need.<\/p>\n

\"autonomy-definition\"<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Put in that context, it\u2019s no wonder that we resist being sold to, but invite more information that assists us in making an autonomous decision.<\/p>\n

Humans are self-determining beings, meaning that we pursue goals and objectives according to three innate drives \u2014 competence, autonomy, and relatedness.<\/p>\n

\"three-innate-psychological-needs-self-determination\"<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Abstruse as it sounds, these three drives should be present in the sales process, informing how we structure our marketing and communicate our objectives.<\/p>\n

But what does this look like practically?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my point:<\/p>\n