Sales Tip: Receiving down payments

When making sales, Cornwell Tools dealer John Patterson says, he focuses less on a customer’s potential payment schedule and more on what he can receive for a down payment at that time.

"Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the number the person tells me is more than the number I had in my head,” he continues.

By “putting the ball back in the customer’s court,” Patterson adds, it lets the customer feel like he or she is in control of the purchase terms. “Let them think they are making the decision. Because they want to pay it down, and they owe less after good down payment.”