26: How Car Salesman John Hinkson Sold 1600 Cars in his First 3 Years

0:00 Scott Ingram: 2 quick things before we get into this episode. First, if you'd like to increase the effectiveness of your emails and significantly increase your response rates, check out our exclusive sponsor, ViewedIt by Vidyard, and their free plugin at top1.fm/v. Second, we had to re-record the beginning of this conversation, and you may notice just a little bit of it is redundant, and you'll probably understand why based on John's comments at the very end, but I feel like we get off to a bit of a slow start. You may have to be a little bit patient, but I think you'll find it's totally worth it as we get going. Thanks for listening.

0:42 Scott Ingram: You're listening to the Sales Success Stories podcast, where we deconstruct world-class sales performers to provide insights and strategies to help you improve.

0:51 Scott Ingram: To learn more, visit us at top1.fm. Here's your host, Scott Ingram. Today on the Sales Success Stories podcast, my guest is John Hinkson. Hinkson of Dan Cummins Chevrolet. It's taken me almost a year to get a car salesman on the show, but I had to find just the right one. And John has one heck of a story to tell. And a special thanks to Logan Kierstedt and Josh Mitchell for connecting me with John. Let me give you just a super quick preview before we jump right into what John believes are the top 3 things that have allowed him to become not just the top seller in his dealership, but easily one of the top sellers in the country. So Dan Cummins Chevrolet is in a small town in Kentucky with just under 10,000 residents. And last year they sold over 9,500 cars. Now, John Hinkson, who is their top seller there, came into sales later in life and started just 3 years ago and is consistently selling over 40 cars every month. To put that into perspective, the national average is 12 cars a month. Welcome to the show, John.

1:57 John Hinkson: Hey, thanks, Scott. Thanks for having me.

1:59 Scott Ingram: So let's start like we always do with those top 3 things.

2:05 John Hinkson: Okay. The top 3 things to me are your attitude. I feel like you must maintain a positive attitude at all times. You should smile on the phone, even though you're talking through the phone, they can't see you. You should portray that positive attitude at all times throughout your day. And once you get up in the morning, Service. You know, I'm providing a service for my customers. I'm not just selling a vehicle. They're coming in, spending a lot of money. So I'm wanting to take care of them, you know, give them a good experience, follow up. So take care of them before, during, and after the sale. It's all about the service and following up. You know, take care of them after the sale. Reach out to them, check in with them, make sure everything is going okay, and take care of any problems that they may have. Hit them head on. Just take care of the customer all the time. Be of service. Maintain a positive attitude even though they may have some problems. Smile, get through it, take care of it. And it's all about them. It's not about me.

3:16 Scott Ingram: Excellent. When it comes to that attitude, so you talked about attitude, you talked about service, you talked about follow-up. How are you maintaining a positive attitude in your approach?

3:27 John Hinkson: Well, I believe in what I'm doing. So, I'm committed to the dealership, the business. I feel it's important that I have to be upbeat. I have to think good thoughts, no negative energy. I don't want that involved at all in my life. So I don't really… I try to stay away from the news and anything negative, just positive stuff. You know, I look for good stories that I may see on Facebook, good things, good articles, or people doing good things for them, you know, for the communities or anything like that. And then just being of service to your customer. They will pay again to come see you if they know they're going to be taken care of. I mean, it's huge. Like I said, it's the difference between you having a humdrum salesman who's just an order taker to somebody who's providing the whole service before, during, and after that sale. And then just following up with them, letting them know that you're always there for them, whether you send them a little note. I always send handwritten thank you notes, you know, tell them that I appreciate their business, you know, call them up and ask them for referrals. Do they know anybody about me? So those 3 things are, are very important to, uh, being successful.

4:59 Scott Ingram: Excellent. And how, how did you get into this? I mean, this is… it's not like you finished college and went right into sales. This is something you came to later. How did you start down this path?

5:10 John Hinkson: I basically, I was just tired of, of doing managing. I was always in a supervisor or management role, uh, for the probably the last 28 years, uh, in my career. Um, just, just wasn't happy anymore. Didn't have that. It was, it was getting harder for me to maintain that, that positive attitude. And I'm not like that. I don't miss work. I'm always up early. And when I saw myself not being that way anymore, it concerned me. So I took action and I had… well, I went and bought a car before I started working at the dealership and it made me feel good because buying cars makes you feel good. I felt good for about probably a couple of weeks and then I was right back to where I was. But I liked the atmosphere that I encountered, my experience at Dan Cummins Chevrolet that day. Changed my life. And my salesperson at that time, I had known him my whole life, so I just kept asking him, hey, do you think I could do this? Do you think I could sell cars? I go, you seem like you're happy. And he used to work in a factory. He actually built Toyotas. And he's like, he's been there probably 10 or 12 years. And he said, I don't see why you couldn't. You probably do pretty good at it. So I kind of sat on it for 3 months and then never could get in to talk to anybody for a while. The GM kept blowing me off. And finally, I think it was on my birthday, I finally got an interview and told them, hey, I've never sold anything, haven't done anything like this in the past. And he goes, well, how do you get your people to work for you? You're managing 250 people. How do you get them? He goes, you're selling yourself. You're always selling yourself. You sell yourself every day to get what you want. So I never thought about it like that until he mentioned it to me. So I thought, well, that makes perfectly good sense. So that's kind of what got me into it. And then, obviously, the monetary and the rewards that come with it, both of helping people and actually getting somebody appreciating you. And the company cares about you. They want you to succeed. And those are the biggest things on why I did the career change.

7:44 Scott Ingram: Yeah, great stuff. So, John, let's talk a little bit about… I mean, since your sales history is pretty short, just 3 years, talk about how you got into sales and kind of how, what you think it was that allowed you to so quickly get to the top?

8:00 John Hinkson: Well, I've always, uh, pretty much I've always been in either a supervisory or management role, so I've had to deal with people a lot. Uh, I feel like I have a little bit of knack of, of kind of predicting what they're gonna do or say, and, uh, I guess kind of I read people very well. I kind of qualify them, if you, if you will, if that's a, that's a term that you could use. But, uh, I think where I've managed people in the past, uh, not being scared to talk to anybody or approach, you know, questions that, you know, not being scared to ask, you know, because if you don't ask, you don't know. And if you can put somebody in a relaxed situation, you can usually get you know, the answers that you need. But, uh, that I believe. And when I came into this, you know, I, I didn't know how to sell a car. I bought a lot of cars in my life, but I, I never sold one. And, uh, when I first came in, we didn't have a lot of training. We were, we were just starting to grow. They were starting to grow. And that's a big reason why I had bought a car there. I like the atmosphere. It wasn't as big as it is now, but they were on that upswing. It's almost like getting a stock tip. You could tell this place was going somewhere, and I just felt like I wanted to do something different, and I never could figure out what I needed to do. I like helping people, and what better way than to get somebody in a car, give them a good experience, And I've been to other dealerships besides the one I work for, and I always felt like I needed a shower when I left. And I told myself, since I've been on the other side so many times, you know, I want to do something completely opposite. I want it to be a good experience. I want it… it should be a joyous experience. You're buying a car. People in America love their vehicles. Or they wouldn't buy so many and buy them so often. And I just wanted to give them that, that service and just take care of them at all times.

10:19 Scott Ingram: Yeah, excellent. Now, before we talk about John's results, I want to thank the exclusive sponsor of this episode, ViewedIt by Vidyard. Thanks to ViewedIt, the rest of this episode will be completely uninterrupted, and I hope you'll help me thank them and help yourself in the process by getting their free Chrome plugin that allows you to create personalized videos that you can include in your email outreach and really stand out and get significantly higher response rates. Just go to top1.fm/v, that's the letter V, or go to any page on top1.fm and click on their ad. So John, quantify your results for us. I mean, put, put this all in perspective for us.

11:02 John Hinkson: That's kind of difficult. I mean, uh, are you talking about, you know, monetary-wise or What are you…

11:10 Scott Ingram: well, well, all of the above. I mean, talk, talk about kind of your sales results over those 3 years and, and kind of the trajectory and the volume. And, you know, would love to understand kind of what the monetary impact of that's been.

11:22 John Hinkson: Uh, well, when I, when I came into it, like I said, I didn't, I didn't know a whole lot about it, but, uh, it seemed like my first month I, I had, uh, I think I sold 36 cars my first month. Not even knowing what I was doing. And I probably lost another 20 deals during that time because I didn't know what I was doing. But, uh, I just kept plugging along, kept learning, writing things down. When I didn't succeed on a deal, I was trying to figure out what did I do wrong, you know, what did, what did I say? And it always came down to the… I didn't ask enough questions. So, uh, I think I kind of surprised people there. Um, they hadn't seen the number like that. But then the next month I sold 40-something, and then the next month 40-something, and it just kept going and going and going. Um, my first complete year there, I sold 501 cars, which they told me was… I had no idea. I was just going in doing my job. They told me that was a huge number. Um, like nobody does that. And I didn't understand. I just said, oh, I kind of looked back and go, well, I guess that is, you know, I, I really didn't know the, uh, percents, you know, what the averages are and things like that. But we were in a… I was in a unique situation on a… in a dealership that was growing, doing the right thing. So it, uh, it made it easier, I guess, the volume of people that were coming to our dealership helped do that. I always had a decent job, $50,000, $60,000 a year I thought was good, but I've tripled that income and did it pretty quick. And it's a life changer.

13:21 Scott Ingram: And John, what was it that brought you to sales in the first place?

13:27 John Hinkson: Just, uh, you know, 28 years of kind of in the same, uh, you know, factory settings. I just got burned out of, you know, reaching the top. I was always one of those people that, that always got to, you know, where I would… the plateau, and that would be it. And then there was no other room for growth. You know, you hit it, and then of course you obviously you do more work and, and people rely on you and sometimes take you for granted. And I just felt like I was missing something. And in sales, it's unlimited. The harder you work, the more you gain from it. And I was able to use what skills, my people skills or whatever, to just increase my income. And like I said earlier, it's a life changer when you do those things. And that's the biggest part, I believe, is just finding something that you want to do that you enjoy. I mean, I almost don't feel like it's a job. I don't look at it like that. I look at it as, who am I going to help today? Somebody's got a problem I need to solve. And, and the money comes if you just do that.

14:53 Scott Ingram: Love it. What, what's the biggest challenge or the hardest part of all of this?

14:59 John Hinkson: Uh, I would probably say, um, you know, being able… I've gotten to a point now that I have a lot of, a lot of customers. Uh, over the last 3 years, I've probably I think I've sold 1,600, 1,700 cars, somewhere in there. So I have a lot of customers, and, uh, they've gotten so comfortable with me that they, they'll text me or they call me, and then I'm still working other deals and just trying to juggle everything. So I have to be really good at multitasking, you know, checking out this vehicle for someone. They've gotten so comfortable that They just call me and they ask me opinion on this car or that car or whatever. So just trying to maintain everything, the customer that's in front of me while people are texting me, calling me, and I'm following up, getting back to them as quick as possible. A lot of them do understand. They know I'm busy now because they come into the dealership and if they're getting an oil change, they stop by and they see that I'm busy. So that's probably the biggest challenge is maintaining that follow-up and letting them know that you're still there for them. And it's just getting… as I sell more and more and more, it's getting tougher to do that. I may have to hire an assistant at some point just to keep this going.

16:29 Scott Ingram: And how are you dealing with that at this stage? Just all of those competing demands that are sometimes coming at the same time?

16:36 John Hinkson: Well, I have to… I usually am probably the first one at work every day. I get there at 7. I get up about 5. I get there at 7. Some of the things that are weighing on me, I don't like having any tasks that are unfinished, so I try to knock those out. If I got to get somebody in for, say, they had a seat that needed to be repaired, I'm on top of it trying to get that scheduled in, trying to work their schedule with our guys. Following up as far as people that had called, and then I try to call them back and didn't get a hold of them for whatever reason. So I go in and lay that all out, try to knock those out real quick, and so I can move on to other things. So it's balancing your time, using your time to the… I'm always doing something. Whether it's taking care of an issue for someone or it's still trying to drive activity, trying to get more customers in the door. I guess I take massive action, just always just doing something, always trying to get that lead, always working at customers that are sent to me by referrals or who somebody calls into our internet sales team and they need some help on something, I'll jump in there too. So it's just keeping organized and following up. That's the key to it all.

18:13 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Well, and walk us through the specifics of that routine. You said you're up at 5 and in at 7. Walk us through kind of how you're structuring your day and what some of those key elements are.

18:24 John Hinkson: Yeah, like, I try to get up… I want to get up early. I like my routines. Um, I usually do a little stretching. Yeah, I'm not big on working out, which I should, but I feel like I'm in pretty good shape for my age. Um, I start immediately, uh, turning on, uh, training videos that we use. It's, uh, through Grant Cardone University. We do that every day, so I do those in the morning. While I'm getting ready or stretching, do that. Obviously have my shower and everything, come back out, kind of go over them again, write down some notes about that training that I did that day, and then grab a bite to eat, head on into work. Once I get to work, I do a little meditation like I talked about earlier, write down my gratitudes, write down my goals. Today, the week, month, year, long-term goals. I just keep writing them out every day. And usually by that time, people are starting to come into the store about 8 o'clock. So I'll start making some phone calls. I don't like hitting people too early in the morning, but then I start making phone calls as far as things that I… that people had called me yesterday about or text me during the night or whatever. I start taking care of them. Then we go, we do a training in our dealership from 8:30 to 9, and we kind of go over the videos that we watch that morning, and we do a lot of role-playing. We're just trying to hone in our craft. We're trying to get better every day. And, you know, we talk a lot about service, you know, how are we taking care of our customers. It's, it's, it's a culture thing. Our dealership. So everybody's trying to be on the same page. You know, we, we have to be of service to each other too. So I'm always willing to help out somebody that needs some help. Maybe they're having a difficult time closing a customer. Um, you know, we'll help each other out there. Just another face saying the same thing. Sometimes that's all it takes, you know. And, uh, those usually are my daily routines there from 9 to 10. Try to make 30, 40 phone calls a day following up, you know, new leads, try to get a hold of them. And from 10 on, you know, usually you have somebody coming in. But I, you know, my goal every day is I want to sell 5 cars a day. You know, do I hit it every day? No. But I, if you, if I say I'm going to sell 1, I mean, what kind of goal is that? So I always shoot it high and, uh, You know, if I, if I sell 3 that day, I'm not disappointed, but I want that 5. You know, I just… if you set your goals too low, then you achieve them, what did you achieve? You really didn't. You know, it doesn't push you hard enough. So you always got to push yourself, set those goals high.

21:28 Scott Ingram: And the… you said the training piece, is that, is that every day?

21:32 John Hinkson: Every day. You must train every day. I think that's It's very important. We'll go over objections, just things to help you help your business. Basically, even though you're in sales and you work for the dealership, you're still kind of like your own business inside the dealership. So it's important to train. Great stuff that we learn every day, and it helps you build your business, how to cold call, just a variety of things, closing objections that people might have and how to overcome them and succeed, basically. And if you don't train every day, I mean, look at the top athletes in the world, your Michael Jordans, your LeBron James. They don't just show up to the basketball game that day. They're out training day in, day out. They're doing the extra training. That puts them in that elite status. You know, they, they do it every day. It doesn't matter if it's Sunday, Saturday, whatever. You're constantly… you need to train so that you're better. You can't just be complacent and say, hey, oh, I hope somebody shows up today. No, you got to do that work. You got to constantly work and train and, and, and make yourself, uh, the top. So I think it's very important that anybody that's in sales, they need to learn. You don't know everything. Things change. Technology changes. You always got to be on top of the game. So training is so important. Reading, soaking in knowledge from different things. Even go in and look at other salespeople, what they're doing. You get some great ideas like that. They may be in another state. There's a guy that we We've watched his videos, you know, how he… what he does after a sale. You know, he takes a selfie video with his customers, and the guy's pretty successful. You know, he's selling 25, 30 cars a month. You know, he's doing pretty good. But there's… you should always be looking for that extra, that edge, because things change. Obviously, you know, You can read a book from 10, 15 years ago, but that's not, that's not what's happening today. You got to be on top of technology, the social media. You got to be in that. People are, are into that kind of stuff. So you got to learn about Instagram and Twitter and, you know, Facebook and, and how to promote yourself.

24:15 Scott Ingram: Yeah, well, and let's come back to that. I definitely want to touch on the social media piece, but let's, let's finish up on what does the other end of your day look like? So when, when are you typically finishing up. And I guess in your world, I should also ask, like, what days are you typically working?

24:31 John Hinkson: Uh, we work Monday through Saturday. We're only off Sunday. We do get a day off during the week. Uh, Tuesdays are my day off. I typically don't take them. I'm usually busy. I usually have things lined up, or I may, you know, leave early that day just Because sometimes the daily grind gets to you. So I may leave early that day just to spend some time with the family. But a normal day, we close at 8. So you're there till 8. And then if a customer shows up at 7:30, you may be there till 11. So usually people are getting off work about 4 or 5. So that's when we usually get really busy is in the evenings. During the day, you know, if somebody comes in during the day, they're there. They've got a problem. They, you know, they're needing a vehicle. They've taken off work and you just got to figure out what they're wanting and how to get them into it. So days are long, very long. Don't have to be there as early as I am. It's just me. Most of them, you got late days in where you can come in at 11, 11:30. I usually don't do that. I'm stuck. I'm a man of routine. I got to do these certain steps every day, and I feel like that helps me be successful.

26:00 Scott Ingram: Yeah, absolutely. So going back to the social media piece, what are you doing? What seems to be working best today for you?

26:10 John Hinkson: Well, I've, I've, I usually, you know, I post a lot of pictures of my customers when they purchase a vehicle for me, from me, on Facebook. I use Facebook a lot. Um, a lot of people like to see their picture up there and, and, you know, let people know that they bought a car. And I take a picture of them and their vehicle and write a little bit about who they are, where they came from. And congratulate them on their sale. That generates a lot of interest. So I try to get them to share it so that their friends know, hey, this is a guy to go see. So Facebook's very powerful. From time to time, maybe once a week, I'll get on there and just talk about things. I usually don't bring up anything about car sales or the dealership. I just talk about things that you should do to better yourself because I'm more about… I'm not just a car salesman. I am also a human being, and I want people to see that aspect of me too, that I actually do care. I have other thoughts. I'm not just trying to take your money. So I'm trying to go… I'm trying to do things different. So when I get on there, I may talk about being kind to one another today. Look for positive things in other people, you know, be nice to each other, whatever, uh, things, just, just different topics, whatever hits me. You know, I may be grateful over something, something I experienced during the week, um, that hit me. And, uh, I, I'm always on there, you know, throwing a little video. And then whoever follows me, you know, I've had them text me going, hey, I needed that today. You know, you're right. I came in on a Wednesday a couple of weeks ago, and everybody… I don't know what was going on, but it's like everybody I ran into is like, I can't wait till Friday. I can't wait till Saturday. Just joke. What about today? God gave you today. What are you going to do today? Why are you worried about Friday and Saturday? We got work to do today. Let's make this the best day. You know, why is everybody wishing their life away? I just didn't… it kind of irritated me. So I put a little video like that, got a lot of response off that. And, um, it's just… I, I try not to just be that car salesman, you know. There's other things to me that are important too.

28:41 Scott Ingram: Yeah, absolutely. It… so it sounds like Facebook is kind of the primary place. Have you found success on other social media platforms?

28:50 John Hinkson: Uh, not as much as Facebook. You know, I occasionally, you know, tweet some things. Uh, usually it's like the Facebook. That's, that's the, the major, uh, where I get a lot of activity, a lot of messaging from there. Um, people that, uh, will friend request me, and then, you know, once they do that, it may not be that day, but a day later or something when they, you know, figure out what they what they need to ask me, and I'll get it then. Uh, I mean, I'll put stuff on Instagram and things like that, but I, I guess where my age is and most of my group people are in my age group or, or on Facebook, and I get a lot of, I get a lot of feedback from that.

29:37 Scott Ingram: Yeah, well, it obviously makes sense to go where your customers are, and a lot of people on Facebook. So, John, are there particular tools or apps that are core to your process? Process or routines?

29:51 John Hinkson: Yes, we have some, uh, dealers, uh, apps that we use, uh, you know, during the day, uh, like, uh, it's called DSA. It's just a… it's from GM. It… you can look up things really quickly, uh, that way. So if somebody has an oddball question about gear ratios on a rear end, you know, on certain models, because there's a lot of motorheads out there that really know their stuff and they're just testing you. You know, it's a quick reference way to look up things, towing capacities. It's hard to remember everything, so it's a quick way to, to look things up. We also use an app called Podium, which after the sale, you know, you invite people to do a review, you know, on their experience. And we try to fill up our web page with reviews. I don't know, we probably have 6,000, 7,000 reviews on our web page. Every now and then you'll get those bad ones, but if you keep getting good ones, most people see the good ones. So I think that's huge because people are so… they know how to… there's so much information out there. And they look at everything. They look at the reviews, what other people are saying about the dealership, what everybody's saying about you, you know, you as a salesman. So if you can get people to mention you, talk about their experience, that helps your business grow and the dealership grow too.

31:29 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Well, and you mentioned the technical kind of car buyers, but you and I have talked a little bit beforehand. How much of the time are you really talking about cars in your sales process?

31:42 John Hinkson: As far as when a customer's in, is that what you mean?

31:45 Scott Ingram: Yeah, I mean, just, just in, in the course of the entire conversation that you're having with a customer as they're going through their purchase process, how much of the time are you really into the details about the car?

31:58 John Hinkson: Really, uh, most people know what they, what they want when they come in. Uh, there's, there's some added bonuses because the technology is changing so rapidly on the car, especially the The GM products are a little bit ahead of everybody else as far as having built-in Wi-Fi and Apple CarPlay and things like that. But usually during the sales process, I'm more doing fact-finding. I'm trying to figure out what their need is, what their budget is looking like. I'm thinking, okay, you're looking at this used car, but you keep talking about budget. Uh, what you really need is a newer one, get you a fixed cost because you'll have that warranty, that bumper-to-bumper warranty. If you get this other one, you know, something happens, you know, now you have… you don't know what your cost is going to be if a computer goes out, blah blah blah. So, you know, I'm trying to… I'm trying to see where they are. Would this be catastrophic, a $2,000 repair? Then, you know, is that gonna, you know, that came up 6 months down the road where they have to make a decision on repairing that car, letting that car go back, or do they just need a fixed item where they know, hey, it is going to be fixed if something happens? So I'm always asking those kind of questions. I'm trying to get them in a position where they succeed and not fail. And, uh, that's one of the biggest things that I feel like is important. So I'd say You know, you do talk about the car a lot and you do that on the demonstration and the selection process. But, you know, in order to close somebody, they have to… it's got to be able to fit their budget. They have to like all the amenities that come with the car. Is it going to be… is it going to take care of their problem that they came in there with? You know, that's what you're solving, a problem. They're not there they have a problem to fix. So, and I always attack it that way. And I'd say most of it is, is just doing that fact-finding. I think that's probably what I do the most.

34:10 Scott Ingram: Yeah, so just, just that questions and understanding what the customer is looking for on the front end.

34:16 John Hinkson: And usually when you… well, the time you get down to the numbers and stuff like that, uh, you know, I've, I've done enough fact-finding that I know Hey, they're trying to be in this price range. So I try to get them the most that they can get, the best car, best deal for what they're wanting to spend.

34:34 Scott Ingram: Awesome. Now, is there a particular sales philosophy or approach that you subscribe to?

34:43 John Hinkson: I just probably just being of service, not worrying so much about the sale of it. I think that's Probably it's the customer. It's not me. Uh, it's, you know, it's not my commissions or whatever like that. It's, it's the service. That's what I think. That's what our culture is in our store. I think that's why we're successful. It's, it's service-oriented. I'm trying to create a fan here. I want those people to think of me only when they go get their next car purchase. So, you know, and people are willing to spend a little extra for the service. I mean, that's the difference between going to McDonald's and going to a 5-star restaurant. You want that service and you're willing to pay for it, and that's true. That's what you're getting. So I try to differentiate from that. So I, I… it's, it's service. I believe that's the key to it all.

35:39 Scott Ingram: Yeah, nice. Now, John, what motivates you, or how do you think about motivating yourself?

35:46 John Hinkson: Well, I think about, uh, my family. And what I can do to help others. So the last 3 years have been amazing. It's allowed me to give back, give back to the community, give back to churches, contribute money to causes. Those things motivate me. Just having that capacity to help others at all times. I like giving back. I probably do way more than I should, but that's what makes me feel good. I like seeing smiles on people's faces. I like helping out causes that I feel are important in the community, and I like contributing to the schools. Just doing whatever I can. If somebody's asking me and they need some help, you know, and I'm blessed enough to do it, you know, I'm gonna do it. Uh, you know, previous customers have had children who've had operations, that things that come up, you know, uh, you know, they'll set up a GoFundMe page or things, and I'm, I'm glad that I'm able to contribute to those, uh, people and those causes. So that's the biggest thing, and, and just taking care of my family, giving them a a different kind of a life, a better life. And, um, you know, this… just being comfortable, you know, even though I know I have to go out there and grind it out day in and day out, because in this business there's no guarantees, you know. But I like not having a guarantee because nobody can tell me how much money I can make, you know. It's unlimited. So that allows me to just be able to keep giving back. And, um, I think that's the key to everything, is, is, uh, is not being selfish or hoarding your money or anything. It's stimulating the economy, doing things, spend money. I mean, I don't mind spending it, um, because it's stimulating the economy. You know, people are coming in spending money with you, you should go out and spend money with them. Uh, it's a funny thing, um, A year ago, my, my daughter got married, and everybody that was involved in that wedding were a previous customer of mine, from the photographers to the everything. Everybody who I hired had done business with me. So I feel like giving back that way too. And, and, you know, weddings are expensive, obviously, but, um, I don't know, I just… that's what motivates me. Is just being able to, to help others.

38:30 Scott Ingram: Yeah, that's awesome. Well, and this next question I'm particularly interested in because I think your approach is really turning the traditional car sales approach upside down. So what is it that you believe or you do that the typical car salesperson would think is crazy?

38:54 John Hinkson: I would think, um, what, what they would think was crazy. I don't know, taking my customers out to dinner, um, sending their kids, uh, birthday gifts. Um, heck, I've even put down a, a payment for somebody that was… they just didn't have the cash. You know, I've done things like that. To me, it's not about the money. The money will come. I just feel like it's… you got to do the right thing. Um, you know, those… I don't think a typical salesman would say, here, hey, I'll make your first payment. You know, they're, they're having a problem. They didn't… they don't have that $300. You know what, let me help you out. Let me, let me do it. I'll take it out of my pocket. Um, I, I, I don't think anybody would do that. I really honestly… I know when I was buying a car, no, I don't think my salesman in the past would ever have done anything like that. But that's part of what I think is part of giving back. It's just not the sale. It's just not about the money. It's affecting people's lives. And those people in turn give back. They'll send people to you. So it pays off tenfold when you do things like that. And I'm not looking just for that reason. If I can help somebody out, and obviously I couldn't do that for every customer, but Um, sometimes there's situations where, uh, I know they're struggling. I know this is, uh, this is life or death because if they can't get to work and I know their income is limited and they're driving a really bad car, those, those things I'll do, um, just because I can and I'm able to. So yeah, yeah.

40:48 Scott Ingram: And, and what about the flip side? Like, what is it that the typical car seller does that you think just nuts?

40:56 John Hinkson: Um, promise something that, you know, they're not gonna, um, honor, you know, lie to a customer, you know, just to just say anything to get a sale, you know. I've had that happen to me in the past when I was on the other side. Um, I think those things are, uh, just, just fabricating stuff, you know, just saying things that are not true, you know. Or, um, you know, I mean, just be honest, you know. If you don't know the answer, just say, hey, I don't know, but I'll find out. I think those are the probably the worst things you could do is, is just try to make a sale and, and, and lie to somebody. I mean, you know, people aren't stupid, and I feel like it'll come back on you. Uh, I've, I've tried to talk people out of buying vehicles before. I just heard something in it. I'm like, um, Um, you know, this one don't sound good. Maybe we ought to look at something else. You know, uh, I, I think sometimes that I cringe when I hear, uh, sometimes it's salespeople, you know, trying too hard, trying to get that sales, and, uh, maybe overstating, you know, overpromising what they, they can actually honor.

42:13 Scott Ingram: Yeah. And I'm, I'm really interested in… you said, I mean, your first month You did 3 times what a typical salesperson does. Not, not typical for their first month, but typical for, you know, regular sales cycles. What advice would you have for somebody that's just getting started in sales to, to have a really good, strong start like that?

42:36 John Hinkson: I, I would think you… the biggest thing I did, because when I obviously, when I went into the sales, my wife thought I was nuts. I don't think she spoke to me for a couple days. She's like, what, what are you doing? But, you know, I told myself I made a commitment, you know, that I was going to be the best at this, whatever it took. You know, I was going to work the, the longest, be there the longest, work all every day. But it's that commitment, and I had to believe in the company, and I had bought a car there. Just 3 months prior. And after talking to the managers, the general managers, I understood that they were different. So I had to believe in what I was doing. If I didn't believe and wasn't committed to the product, to the dealership, then I wouldn't be able to sell anything. But I believed in them and I buy the products there and I feel that's important. I've talked to some sales guys that I work with and, you know, this guy, well, how do you sell so many new cars? Well, you know what? I buy those cars. You're driving a 15-year-old car over there that's not even our brand. How do you expect to sell them? You know, if you don't know them and you don't believe in your product. So I think that's a huge… you have to be committed to what you're doing and wholeheartedly. If you have any… if you have one little doubt in your brain, you're not going to succeed. So you have to be committed, and that's in any, any job or career. You have to be committed 100%.

44:17 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Now what about somebody that's a little bit further in? Um, you know, we were trading some notes this morning and you said that, you know, the, the average seller is doing about, uh, 12 units a month, but at your dealership, uh, folks are doing about 20 and, and making twice as much money, uh, in, in that process. And I'm sure a lot of them come to you and, and are looking to your advice for how do they improve. What advice do you have for folks who are already established at some level and they're doing okay, but, but they're not the best? What, what, what do you tell them?

44:51 John Hinkson: I just tell them to, you know, cherish the customers that they have. I said, those are your power base. You know, any, any of those, those are the ones you, you got to maintain them. Don't… there's nothing worse than you've sold a customer a vehicle a year ago and then they walk in and go straight to another salesman. So you didn't do your job. And that's what I, you know, it's happened to me before too, but it's a bad feeling. You know, they didn't think enough of you or you didn't make enough impression on them for them to come back to you. And it happens. It happens all the time. But I think the follow-up is what I try to stress on most of them. If they do have a problem, don't avoid them. Don't avoid it. Take it, just hit it head on. Take care of it. Do all that you can to remedy the situation. Just don't put it off. That's the… those are the keys. And, and just that service, it always comes back to the service. I mean, it's… you have to take care of these customers. You got to keep following up. And it's, it's getting harder for me to follow up all the time as thoroughly as I had when I first started than it is now. So, um, you know, make those phone calls. I mean, you never know. You may talk to 20 people and then that 21st one says, oh yeah, oh, my brother's actually looking for a truck. Here, here's his number. Give him a call. He was just talking to me about it yesterday. And if you don't make that call, that brother is going to go somewhere. He doesn't know your dealership. He don't know anything about you. You know, he's going to call somebody else or go somewhere else, stop in and buy a vehicle. So that's the, that's the biggest things I tell them is just to, to keep pushing and keep making those phone calls and take care of the customers that you have. Just stay with them, just follow up. A lot of people don't like getting that phone call. Hey, I'm just checking in with you, making sure everything's all right. While I got you on the line, you know, do you got any family or anybody looking for a vehicle or anything like that? You know, just don't be scared to ask. Just ask. And a lot of times they go, yeah, I got a friend at work that was… we were talking about it. We pulled up your website. Great. Can I get their name or number? Or could you give them my number? Or things like that. So, um, and I try to tell them, you know, and I think the whole dealership as a whole, you know, not hanging out with each other a whole lot while you're at work, you know, because there's not a salesman out there who's going to sell another salesman a car. So, you know, be… keep busy, I guess. Make those phone calls and not just hang out. You know, those are the biggest things that I try to reinforce to them.

47:38 Scott Ingram: Yeah, absolutely. Now, I don't know that I'll be able to find somebody that's selling more cars than you are, but if we found somebody at sort of a similar level, what, what would you want to know about what they're doing and why they're being successful?

47:54 John Hinkson: Uh, yeah, I would absolutely, you know, um, I would probably know or want to know how are they taking care of their customers, what is it they're doing, are they branding more, are they doing a lot advertising. Uh, yeah, I definitely would want to know, uh, what their approach is, you know. Um, yeah, those are probably the biggest things I would ask is just, you know, what are you doing different, this is what I'm doing, you know. Um, you know, ask them how their routines are. Are they training or, or what are they doing? That, that would probably be the biggest thing. Yeah, find out.

48:29 Scott Ingram: Well, and, and what else are you doing? Because I, I know we talked before, you're doing a little bit of advertising. I mean, you are doing some unique and different things. What, what else does that look like?

48:39 John Hinkson: Um, I've got an ad in the paper. Um, I've run a little Like in a couple of the grocery stores and restaurants, you know, they have a video up there. I have an ad running on the TVs in there. I'm on some… at the golf course, I'm on the scorecard right there. Pretty much that's it as far as advertising. And then just, I really use Facebook a lot. Probably the most, and that's probably about it.

49:16 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Which… what's most impactful? I mean, of, of all of the things that, that you do, and, and I know when, when Josh connected us, he said you're getting, you know, your referral business is probably as substantial as somebody who's been in the business for 20 or 30 years. I mean, is, is that the, the biggest thing?

49:36 John Hinkson: I'd say the referrals are, are Yes, that's it. And like I said, when I talk to people, like I said, I don't just sell a car. I build relationships when I'm with a customer because I'm spending 3 or 4 hours with them and there's a certain level of trust I get from them at that point. And they want everybody that they know to come deal with me. They know they're going to have a great experience. That's it. It's just giving them that experience, making them feel special, making them feel important, making them feel like they're the only ones there. And they will send you people. They want their… they're excited when they leave. They're not like, oh gosh, did I do the right thing? No, they're excited. They're happy. And they want people to come to you. They want them to have that same experience. You know, you're changing that mindset that, hey, it's not a bad thing to go buy a car. This is a really good experience. I got a great deal. You know, it was very easy, smooth. Um, and they want people to come experience you. And I think that's… I get probably 20, 20 to 25 referrals a month, and those are usually easy sales because they've already pumped you up. They've already told them about you so that when you come in, you just reinforce it and the, the sale usually goes pretty smooth.

51:13 Scott Ingram: Yeah, well, I mean, it sounds like at the end of the day, I mean, your formula is pretty simple, right? You are really, really taking care of people, giving them a great experience in a space where, I mean, like you said, when in all of many of your previous purchases, buying a car sucks generally. So, so you're creating an experience where that experience doesn't suck, which, you know, one would think that bar is not, not very high, but not only are you stepping over it, but you're going way above and beyond. And then the other ingredient really is, it sounds to me, and tell me if I'm right here, you're probably working about twice as hard when you look at the hours and just the fact that you're always grinding when you're at work, you're working twice as hard as anybody else.

52:02 John Hinkson: I, I don't know how they're working. I just know what I'm doing. Um, I really probably, uh, yeah, maybe, probably I'd say that's what it is. I, I just, it looks like they're working. I don't know if they are or not. Um, I kind of get in my little bubble there and I just get, I just work. I mean, that's, uh, it's just massive action. You got to take massive action. All the time. You just gotta keep, you know, everybody, anybody that calls you, texts you, writes you anything, emails you, just be on it and be on it within minutes. You know, those are the ones you got to make them feel important, that, hey, yeah, I'm on you, I got you, I'm gonna find this car for you, I'm gonna do it. And just keep doing it. And yeah, it's a lot of work. I feel like I work pretty hard.

52:50 Scott Ingram: Yeah, yeah. I mean, is there anything else that you feel like you know, if, if we super simplified it, obviously we started with, with kind of your top 3 things. And, and you also sent me a note, um, that maybe you want to talk about a little bit around kind of qualifying the buyer. But is there anything else that we left out? Because I, I feel like what you're doing is very, very repeatable if somebody will just completely commit to it and, and do the work.

53:17 John Hinkson: I, I think it's just, uh, One of the biggest things is just being… taking responsibility. Um, if somebody doesn't buy a car from me and I hear other salesmen up there, oh well, they, they're cheap, or they're blah, or, you know, it's, it's everybody's fault but theirs, uh, the excuses. You know, if I lose a customer, there's no excuse. It's, I did not do my job. I didn't fact-find enough. I wasn't… if somebody doesn't see the value in what you're selling them, they're not going to buy it. It's got to be worth more than what they're paying for. So it's taking responsibility, being accountable for you.

54:11 Scott Ingram: If you…

54:11 John Hinkson: it's easy to blame, you know, blame, point finger, uh, it's them, it's that, or that car was blah blah blah. Um, no, it's, it's your fault. You're, you're the reason. When you look in the mirror, what did you do wrong? What… you didn't ask the right questions, you were on the wrong car, um, maybe you just didn't mesh, you know. But anytime I lose a deal, I did something wrong, and I apologize to people before they leave. I'm like, I am so sorry. Uh, I failed at my job. I didn't get you in a car. You came here with a problem and I did not solve it. And I apologize to people. A lot of times they'll sit back down. You know, you just gotta ask, you know, what it… what was it? Was it me? Was it the dealership? Uh, was it the car? You know, you know, and if you can say, no, no, it wasn't you, you were fine, We just, we just wanted one with sunroof. Well, heck, is that all it was? People are scared to tell you sometimes, you know, they don't want to hurt your feelings or something. And, uh, you know, there's, you know, unless there's something they think they can get a $60,000 vehicle for $200 a month, you know, something like that. Now there's… you can't overcome that, but, uh Usually, um, it's your fault and you should take responsibility for it. Nobody else in there is responsible for you not selling that vehicle. They've given you the dealership, they've given you the inventory, they've given you the tools, uh, the training, the support. You didn't sell them. It's your fault. You didn't do it. You didn't do your job.

56:00 Scott Ingram: So, John, let's…

56:01 John Hinkson: I think… no, go ahead. And another thing I think is very important, kind of touching on that, is you need to do things that make you uncomfortable. Asking those questions, like I do those… I didn't used to do videos on Facebook. I'm uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable about talking to you today when you asked me. Uh, it's getting out of that box, you know, you know, the comfort zone. Do things that, you know, on a daily basis or whatever that make you uncomfortable. That, that helps you grow as a person too. I think that's very important. You know, I was very nervous about talking to you today, but as we go on, hey, I didn't… nothing, nothing happened to me, you know, so far. So I think that's a big part of everybody's being successful is doing things that make you uncomfortable. Yeah.

57:02 Scott Ingram: Well, and now that I've got you wound up and more comfortable, what is there anything else that we didn't talk about that you really wanted to, that you want other sales professionals, other car dealers to know and understand before we wrap?

57:20 John Hinkson: Uh, yeah, just, uh, you know, build a culture of service, you know, uh, in your dealerships or as a salesperson in general. Um, don't just think about the sale. I think those are the, the main things I've been stressing on to help people, and, and that's what it's all about. If you do those things, you be of service, um, you follow up with your customers, you take care of them, Treat them like they're gold, and they'll keep coming back to you. You'll build a business and you'll grow it within your dealerships, and you'll be very successful. And just be grateful for the things and give back. I mean, those are… it's a pretty simple formula that's worked for me. Now, I don't know if it'll work for everybody, but I think those are the key ingredients to being successful in sales. You know, train in your craft every day. Um, things like that will help you succeed. It just doesn't come to you. You got to keep working on it. It's continuing, continuous work. You're always a work in progress there. You just keep trying to get better, trying to look at other people, what they're doing, um, seeing what's… what helps. You know, I've heard some people or seen some things from other salesmen that go, man, that was really neat. I like that. I may do that sometimes. So you don't know. I don't know everything. I'm always learning and just have an open mind. But if things… if you do try different things, go back to what works for you too. Don't leave that, but continue to learn. Because, uh, you know, you'll struggle and, and eventually you'll, you'll just grow and you'll succeed. So those are, those are the biggest things I think that'll help any other salesperson, uh, be successful in their career.

59:23 Scott Ingram: Yeah, well, and so let's wrap up. I always try and end with a really actionable challenge. So the person listening to this What would you suggest that they do over the course of the next 2 weeks to improve themselves and improve their own sales results?

59:41 John Hinkson: I think probably get a routine. Get up 2 hours early before you go to work. Just do it. You've got to build that endurance. You got to get a routine going. Write down your goals every day. Write down what you're thankful. I would challenge people to do that. You can't achieve a goal unless you have it written down. You may think about it, but when you put a pen to paper, that, you know, handwrite it out day in, day out. Make those phone calls, make those uncomfortable phone calls, you know, hit those challenges that when people have problems, hit them square on, face them. Take care of them, do them, and they'll get easier once you do that. Because people get upset. They just spent a lot of money and something happens. Just take care of it. Figure out a way that it's going to benefit everybody around. You can't just go in there and say, hey, yeah, I'm going to take care of everything. Talk to your manager, come up with a solution. Don't leave people hanging. They have made a big investment. And, and try to help them out that you can. And, and those are the biggest things. And just do it. Try it for the first week, you know. Get up, get your goals, do some training, uh, make those phone calls, and, uh, and you'll see results at the end of the… at the end of the day. Just got to keep pushing, keep grinding it out.

1:01:14 Scott Ingram: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's, it's funny, you, you got to make room. I just pulled up my Fitbit stats, uh, because I'm a fan of getting up early. I'm up quite early most mornings, but today was, was extreme. I woke up at 3:49 AM so that I could pull it all off, right? I had, I had a new episode we needed to get out the door today and had to get everything ready for our conversation today. And, you know, that's… you just got to do whatever it takes. And one, one last ask that I'll make of the person listening to this. Come, come join us. Come be a part of what we're doing here and working to improve sales and general and yourself, go over to top1.fm, join our mailing list, and in the first email that you'll get… I don't send a lot, it's weekly at most, mostly just kind of new episode updates and things like that. I do try and put some special goodies in there, but the very first email you'll get will be an invitation to our Sales Success Community, and I try and put a lot of interesting, valuable resources in there. It's all free, just another value-add, me trying to serve my audience. So, John, thank you so much for taking time with us and sharing all of your insights. I think this has been incredibly valuable.

1:02:31 John Hinkson: Well, thank you, Scott. I really appreciate you having me. And, um, you know, uh, just another thing that, like I was talking about earlier, uh, that was uncomfortable, but, uh, it was great. I learned a lot from it. Thank you so much for having me. Thanks for listening to the Sales Success Stories podcast. To be sure you never miss an episode and for an invitation to our Sales Success Community powered by Influitive, subscribe to our newsletter at top1.fm.