Tire Kickers

[canyonwalker]

In Sales we talk occasionally about tire kickers, specifically whether a given customer or prospect is a "tire kicker". But what does that mean? The term may not make sense to people who've learned English as a second or third language, and even some native speakers may not understand how it's relevant to all selling.

I'll start with a solid, basic definition:

A tire kicker is a person who appears interested in making a purchase, but never makes a buying decision. Tire kickers frequently engage with sales teams by asking questions and raising objections, consuming staff time and resources without ever committing to a deal.

So, basically, a tire kicker is a time-waster. But why do we call them tire-kickers? What if the stuff being bought and sold has nothing to do with tires?

Etymology of the Tire Kicker

The term "tire kicker" comes from automobile sales. It literally refers to the act of kicking a car's tires— a test buyers would use many decades ago to determine if a car was in good mechanical shape.

From there the term was broadened as a derisive metaphor for customers who'd visit a car dealership and waste a sales person's time. Tire kickers would ask to be shown different cars, have their questions answered, be taken for test drives, and even haggle for price concessions, all with no intention of buying.

Today, even though kicking a car's tires to determine if it's in good shape is a thing of the past, the term tire kicker persists because the problem it refers to is timeless. And as you can see upon thinking about it for even a moment, it's not specific to car sales. Everybody in sales needs to keep an eye for which customers are serious prospective buyers worth investing time and effort in selling to, and which are just tire kickers who'll waste their time.

Comments

[culfinriel]

Just out of curiosity, how do you tell the difference between someone who collects lots of info from different suppliers and then eventually comes back and buys for reasons, versus people who are just poking around? I mean, some people probably even think they want to do something/buy something and then as they collect info either decide that info has made it not the right thing, or even something may have changed?

Like, I'm sure there are people who are always collecting info, never buying. But how do you tell?

[canyonwalker]

Excellent question! And the topic for my intended next blog in this series. Sneak preview: you qualify the prospect by asking good questions to determine how serious they are.