Can You Help Me?
I think people are avoiding my car sales business because I'm Muslim. I notice that a lot of other car salesmen tend to do much better than I do. I was born in America, but I think people are still afraid of me given the current political climate. Any suggestions on how to overcome this? I'm hopeful that customers will like me once they get to know me!
It sad to say but it your turn. You can see it everyday. If you go in to you local gas station and a Muslim person is working there, whites , blacks and Asian will talk down to them. The whites did it to the black and the whites and blacks did it to the Asians. And now all are doing to the Muslims. I know that's not what you want to hear but it is the truth. I know that observation does not help to pay the bills or feed you family. It will pass it just takes time. Yes you can run sales and put up decorations and flashing lights over all your more likely to loose money doing that. My best advice is don't worrie about selling the cars, sell yourself. Go to town functions. Spouncer a little league team. Show the people that your business is good for our town. That it belongs there. If you have kids go to pta meeting. Where ever the is a function a big people, a carnival , a fishing derby be there and be passing out your cards. Let them know your there and your a working guy just like them and you know what they go thru and you can help them get to work and get the kids to school. Just remember to sell yourself. It is easy to sell a car to a neighbor or a friend then a stranger.
have noticed, most people are standoffish when it comes to muslim, hindi, ect... my suggestion is to greet them with a smile and joke a little with them. it gets rid of the tension. i am not religious, but i think a good joke can break the ice. let yourself be open to (american humor and lifestyles,personalities) dont change who you are! just be open to what life gives you. not everyone in america hates!!!
Get your customers to start spreading the word about you! Good word of mouth can overcome any hesitancy someone might have about working with you!
I think just keep being friendly and hold your head above it all. Don't take money from people who are afraid of you because of what you believe or your skin color.
Almar, The only way to overcome the stereotypes and faulty biases that are holding you back is for you to get to know the people in the community where your business is on a more personal level. Hold special events like picnics or barbecues. When you give away food and drink people will come to your shop in big numbers; Advertise some kind of special "Get To Know Your Neighbors" promotion, have some kind of giveaways, especially food, have a barbecue or some other kind of picnic-like events that will get people to just stop by and really get to know you. Maybe have the local school marching band stop by. Only by challenging those faulty stereotypes that may be holding you back and replacing them with more accurate representations of who you and your people truly are will you be able to overcome those issues. As you noted once customers get to know you they will be loyal to you. Advertise in the local papers: work with some advertisers to really develop a winning campaign that will help your community get to truly know you. Once they get to really know you; all the negative perspectives should be eliminated. Good Luck; I'm truly sorry that you must deal with this: it just is not fair. Once the local people get to know you personally; those negative issues should cease to be a problem. I wish you good luck.
Smile. Be the happiest guy they've ever seen.
Do a promotions for your business by connecting with friends and family. Word of mouth can do wonders!
Oh dear, this is a tough one. I say that because if someone thinks a certain way about you, there's not really much you can do to change their thoughts.
I love money my name is Robert my Gmail is jashiedwhitaker@gmail.com