What does assertiveness and a visit to the car dealership have to do with life in general? The CEO of Car Pal, Lindsay Graham, spends a lot of time in deep philosophical contemplation about the meaning of her work. A question she regularly asks herself is, “How can I help my clients beyond saving them from the general car buying grief and over paying?” Lindsay recently concluded that Car Pal’s blogs and YouTube videos can also be read and watched for pure “assertiveness training” whether or not a vehicle is ever purchased.
At the end of the day, the deficiency when a car deal goes south (translation: not in the preferred direction for the client), is directly related to the client’s inability to be incredibly self-assured, knowledgeable and assertive. The best of intentions and talents can be run over by a talented car dealer. As Car Pal has said many times over, the average car dealer practices negotiation skills 50-75 times/month whereas the average car purchaser practices every two or three years, or less.
That said, clients sometimes talk proudly about their attempts to“bully” a car dealer employee. That doesn’t work as well as one might guess. Assertiveness and aggressiveness have nothing to do with each other. Assertive behavior is generally effective, aggressive behavior tends to backfire more often than not.
Two good ones to view for assertiveness training (as well as the inherent car buying tips…should there be an interest) are:
http://youtu.be/m5JmkhF-hmk and http://youtu.be/K9s8MwjlmIE
If you are simply in the mood to be more effective in your interactions with the world at large, try some of these videos out. Feel free to pass them along to a friend as well.
