After being awarded the Triad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last…read moreyear, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new stores and restaurants, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Brambleton Imports in Roanoke, Virginia, is the perfect example.
After an incident I had with my first salesman there that caused me to loose his trust, I inquired among my friends, community leaders, and business owners, more in depth about their opinion of Brambleton Imports. Every single one of them had a positive opinion and wonderful impression of this car dealership that has been in business for around 30 years and who's founder and owner, Robert "Woody" Woodward, is still involved in its operation.
With this excellent background about the business, I decided to return with a retired pilot who was a friend of a good friend of mine, and deal with another sales consultant. For in sales the customer is not owned. He has to be earned all the step of the way. And I am a firm believer of Relationship selling.
"Relationship salesmanship, is a sales approach that prioritizes building trust and long-term relationships with customers over simply closing a deal. It involves understanding the customer's needs, offering tailored solutions, and fostering a genuine connection that leads to ongoing partnerships."
This second time when we arrived, we found Sales consultant Danny, in his office and went to him. He did an excellent job in listening to both of us, in explaining what they had available at the time, and in taking us for a test drive, first of a Honda Accord and then of the 2022 Lexus ES 350 Luxury Edition, which I ended up purchasing cash, with my 5 years of savings and investing with this goal in mind. After all, I once taught at the university level a very popular course titled: "How to Make Your Money Grow."
On the second day, I went to put together the deal. Danny gave me a copy of all the paperwork with the description of the Lexus and one with a photograph of it on top, and a breakdown of the costs and total payment I needed to have the check made. He also gave both my friend and I a Brambleton Imports cap. What is even better, he introduced me to Woody, the owner of the dealership, and wonderful person, who congratulated me for the ownership of my new car, and told me to come by anytime if I needed my car washed.
On the third day, Danny understood that it would take some time to gather my high-interest savings and investments, together and transfer the amount to my Credit Union here. As a sign of good intention I wrote a deposit check for $1,000 and handed it to him.
Today, we successfully finalized the deal, it was a win/win situation. He not only obtained my business, but what's even more important, my trust and my future referrals. And I received the beautiful Lexus of my dream. His delivery of my Lexus was exceptional. He showed me how some of the basics worked, connected my cellphone Bluetooth with the car, and programmed my home address.
