“To me there is a major difference in someone who is a buyer and someone who is being sold,” Karel told Dealerfloor. “Anyone can be sold by a great salesperson, but I believe now is not the time for that. Now is the time for strategically locating buyers.”

According to Ferreira, a buyer is someone who is actively looking for, or is in real need of a product, a service and an offering to improve his or her business or quality of life. “I support an approach that has more to do with who you are dealing with, requiring a focus on others and not just yourself,” said Karel.

Ferreira, who has been the DP for the past six years, is hyper-invested in data about potential customers’ activities with social media platforms providing information to find buyers that are actively looking for a vehicle. “If, and only if, our offering is a good potential match, will we approach them,” he said. “That is why we invested in upgrading social media platforms to enable us to interact more with our customers, as well as providing information on what is available in the dealership.”

He said a holistic approach was not only about selling the vehicle, but also being able to provide services and parts exceeding the buyer’s expectations and thus providing a united front of excellence to the customer. “The service and parts department have a massive responsibility to retain our customers to ensure future transactions and customer satisfaction,” said Karel.

Discussing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business, Karel is pragmatic in his approach, with the past year teaching him that people are able to do so much more than what they thought they could. “Cutting down on unnecessary expenses that provided comfort to us as employees provided opportunities to cut costs without sacrificing jobs,” he said.

Since selling vehicles rely heavily on connecting with people, the imposed restrictions of the past year proved a challenge to salespeople. However, he believes by showing genuine concern and empathy, one should be able to make authentic connections. This includes picking up the phone, calling people and using the opportunity to build a long-term relationship. “I experienced many people who were starving for intimacy and personal connection. It was a very humbling experience,” said Karel. “I feel like we became foxhole friends with a lot of our customers.”

According to Karel, the majority of BB Nissan’s customers are from around Polokwane, but it is not unusual doing business outside a 50km radius, especially with fleet businesses and tenders.

With the country in an economic contraction phase, approval rates prove to be a challenge, but the current lower interest rate makes it a great time to buy. “Banks understand the competitive nature of the deal. To be first and the best still assist in clinching the deal,” he said.

The BB Group (the BB used to stand for Boere Benodighede), started back in 1959 as a one-man business when the founder, Doep du Plessis was one of the first dealerships to import a brand-new Datsun bakkie (later to be known as a Nissan 1400) to South Africa. Under the current leadership of his son, Arnold, the BB Group expanded to include 55 dealerships country-wide.

Today, the top selling commercial vehicles are the NP300 and the NP200, with the X-Trail and Qashqai topping the best seller list for passenger vehicles.

“We are very excited about the future, as Nissan will launch the Magnite, the Navara and the X-Terra during the first half of 2021,” he said. “Although Nissan describes the new Navarra as having a minor face lift, I believe it’s a massive change, cementing this bakkie as a firm competitor amongst its peers.”

Being a proud sponsor of various schools, charities and sports, BB Nissan Polokwane is fully involved in its community and supports that age-old adage of giving back to the community that supports your business.

Looking back on 2020, Ferreira commends the staff for making this incredible difficult year a successful one. “The dedication and hard work of all our employees are a guarantee that BB Nissan Polokwane is going into 2021 as Champions,” he concluded.

Discussing the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business, Karel is pragmatic in his approach, with the past year teaching him that people are able to do so much more than what they thought they could. “Cutting down on unnecessary expenses that provided comfort to us as employees provided opportunities to cut cost without sacrificing jobs,” he says.

Since selling vehicles rely heavily on connecting with people, the imposed restrictions of the past year proved a challenge to salespeople. However, he believes by showing genuine concern and empathy, one should be able to make authentic connections. This includes picking up the phone, calling people and using the opportunity to build a long-term relationship. “I experienced many people who were starving for intimacy and personal connection. It was a very humbling experience,” says Karel. “I feel like we became foxhole friends with a lot of our customers.”

According to Karel the majority of BB Nissan’s customers are from around Polokwane, but it is not unusual doing business outside a 50km radius, especially with fleet businesses and tenders.

With the country in an economic retraction phase, approval rates prove to be a challenge, but the current lower interest rate makes it a great time to buy. “Banks understand the competitive nature of the deal. To be first and the best still assist in clinching the deal,” he says.

The BB Group (the BB used to stand for Boere Benodighede), started back in 1959 as a one-man business when the founder, Doep du Plessis was one of the first dealerships to import a brand-new Datsun bakkie (later to be known as a Nissan 1400) to South Africa. Under the current leadership of his son, Arnold, the BB Group expanded to include 55 dealerships country-wide.

Today, the top selling commercial vehicles are the NP300 and the NP200, with the X-Trail and Qashqai topping the best seller list for passenger vehicles.

“We are very excited about the future, as Nissan will launch the Magnite, the Navara and the X-Terra during the first half of 2021,” he says. “Although Nissan describes the new Navarra as having minor face change, I am of the opinion it is a massive change, putting this bakkie as a firm competitor amongst its peers.”

Being a proud sponsor of various schools, charities and sports, BB Nissan Polokwane is fully involved in its community and supports that age old adage of giving back to the community that supports your business.

Looking back to 2020, Ferreira highlights the staff for making this incredible difficult year a successful one. “The dedication and hard work of all our employees is a guarantee that BB Nissan Polokwane is going into 2021 as Champions,” he says.