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Lemco pens new sales book

‘Motorcycle Sales Made Easy’ debuts Feb. 15

Sales consultant and Powersports Business blogger Steve Lemco has written his second sales book, “Motorcycle Sales Made Easy,” which focuses on his premise that the buyer is the winner of any sale.

Steve Lemco

“The book is about doing your best to get the deal today, but at the same time, if you did it right and did your follow-up calls, you’re going to get it eventually,” Lemco said.

The brother of the late Ed Lemco, who was a well-known consultant in the industry, Steve Lemco is a sales consultant who travels across the globe sharing his decades of experience.

But, as Lemco explains, he wasn’t always a sales superstar. He first began working for his brother in June 1972, immediately following his high school graduation.

“I went to work at Albany Suzuki, never sold a thing in my life. I was scared to death of people,” he recalled. “My nickname was Last Place Lemco.”

As Lemco says, the other sales staff could have taken half a month off, and he still wouldn’t have caught up to the lowest person’s sales numbers. But that all changed with one sale.

Ed offered a $100 weekend spiff to any salesman who could sell a Honda 750 for full price, plus $100 worth of accessories. Because this particular customer was poised to buy, he made it easy for Lemco to close the sale. Lemco was eager to get the $100, but he began to realize what the sale meant not only to him, but to the customer, especially as the customer became a regular at the dealership.

“Once I learned I wasn’t trying to hurt someone and it wasn’t about money, getting paid was the last thing that happened,” he said.

Following that realization, Lemco became the top salesman at the dealership. He then became a sales manager at another one of Ed’s motorcycle dealerships, followed by a stint as a sales manager at a car dealership Ed acquired. When Ed started Ed Lemco & Associates in 1980, Steve Lemco helped him sell the concept before becoming one of the company’s 20 Group sales trainers.

What he learned throughout his years in the industry was that everyone who walks into a motorcycle dealership wants a motorcycle, so by closing the sale, the salesperson is actually making the customer’s dream come true.

“You don’t try to sell something to someone if they don’t want it, and people want motorcycles,” he said. “I ask a key question, ‘Would you be happier if you bought one?’”

In 1999, Lemco pooled his knowledge into his first sales book, “You Gotta-Wanna,” which moved well in the industry.

“Everyone’s ‘Gotta-Wanna’ is having a plan of what you want to make happen and being in motion and doing it,” Lemco said.

More recently, Lemco began thinking about some of the advice that wasn’t in the first book, so he wrote “Motorcycle Sales Made Easy.” Some of the content is rehashed from “You Gotta-Wanna,” and some builds on blogs he’s written for PowersportsBusiness.com, but most of the information is new.

It includes tips on building a relationship with the buyer, overcoming objections, making a bike affordable, asking for the sale, closing and more. Lemco uses real-life sales scenarios, hypothetical situations and personal stories to emphasize his points.

The book debuts on Feb. 15. It will be available for $32.95 each for one to three copies or $29.95 each for four or more copies. It can be purchased through Amazon or by emailing Lemco at stevelemco@aol.com.

 

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One Comment

  1. Back in the early 90’s I was working full time at a car rental place until I saw an ad at the bike shop hiring sales people. Steve was there doing a week long class that I ended up taking and absolutely LOVED it. I’m still in the industry today and incorporate all of his wisdom on a daily basis. You gotta wanna!

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