The Unsalesman: a new twist

Come for the Jeeps. Stay for the handwriting analysis.

A new marketing angle?

Not exactly. But it worked. And, in business, shouldn't we do anything - legitimately, that is - if it works?

Here's the back story: I was roaming the South Point Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealership late one evening. This was after I'd dropped my own vehicle off at the service station and before my ride had arrived. I knew I shouldn't look at the new Jeeps. You don't frequent bakeries when on a low-carb diet, either. But I did it anyway.

Dain found me near a crimson beauty. Four doors and all for me. She hummed at me. I heard her. When he asked me if I wanted to take her for a test drive, I did the responsible thing and refused.

Yeah right.

If she hummed sitting idly, she sang like a siren on the highway.

When we returned, Dain offered to get me some numbers for me to obsess and wallow and fixate over, although he phrased it as "think about". That's when, as I began filling out the paperwork, he told me about his hobby of handwriting analysis. Hobby? I needed to see this.

With a sheet of paper and a scratchy pen, I scribbled out a page of blather and turned it over to him. From two paragraphs he could see that I:

- deeply valued my personal space
- generally hid my emotions
- could, at times, be quite gullible
- had a general optimistic tone
- nearly always went my own way
- valued physical things, from the outdoors to physical health
- and, once making up my mind, stuck to it.

"You got that from two paragraphs?" I've had lifelong friends know less.

My accidental wandering had actually led to a unique, memorable experience. Why? Because he had me not focusing on my finances but instead focusing on myself. Was this his sale's technique? His marketing mojo? To get the customer thinking about the customer, and then get that customer thinking about the customer and his product.
And then marry them.

My personal space would fit nicely inside that new Jeep.

Had he thrown in a cup of fresh fruit, I would have signed the papers and indebted myself with glee. It was quite remarkable. Testing driving a vehicle had gone from a technical experience to a personal journey.

It works for Dain. That's him marketing himself, whether he realizes it or not. It carved a niche. How can you forget a car salesman with a shtick like that?

Answer: You don't.