8 Telltale Signs To Spot Tire Kickers: Tips For Sales Reps

Are you a tire kicker? Well, you must have heard of the freemium enjoyers!

So many buyers browse products online and bounce back without buying anything. These individuals often go to the shopping mall to check out new outfits. They take a handful of products to the trial room, try them on, take a few selfies, and that’s about it.

Yes, you can identify these individuals as tire kickers. The term tire kickers comes from people who visit the car showroom to check out new cars. However, they kick the tires of those cars as if they want to buy them right away. But they leave the store without buying anything.

Well, let’s get into more details. Read this article for a complete overview of tire kickers. If you work in the sales team of a business, this article will be helpful for you.

What Are Tire Kickers?

In simple words, tire kickers your prospects, who will never convert or buy anything from you. These individuals may be interested in buying your product and even would love to check out your products. But they will never buy from you.

The term comes to the people who go to different car dealerships to check out new cars. They even kick the tires of some of the cars and may be interested in taking test drivers. However, they never end up buying those cars.

These individuals never make a buying decision but have the buyer’s intent through and through. Sales individuals find it pretty difficult to battle out tire kickers. The sales executives often showcase the product to leads and spend a lot of their valuable time only to discover them as tire kickers. Tire kickers can lengthen the sales process and are hindrances to a business’s sales cycle.

Also, these are indecisive buyers. These individuals can drain a lot of the sales executives’ energy.

However, do you spot tire kickers? How to weed them out and spend time and patience on real leads with the intent to buy? Well, there are some strategies for you to try out.

How Do You Spot Tire Kickers? 

Here are some popular ways of spotting tire kickers –

1. They Do Not Match Your Target Audience

The tire kickers are not your prospects. They also do not match your target audience. Well, how do you spot them? Ask yourself these questions –

• Do these people belong to the industry or the people you are targeting?
• Do they align with the target customer you have?
• Do your services and your product help solve any of the urgent needs these individuals are facing?

So, the individuals don’t meet any of these criteria? Well, there is a chance that you are dealing with a tire kicker.

2. They Did No Research On Your Product

Next, these individuals come to your store without any prior knowledge of your product. When you sell something that solves a specific buyer’s problem, your prospects usually should have some idea about your product before they come to buy from you.

According to the study, 80% of the leads do some research prior to visiting the store. Also, before the customers buy anything, they spend twice as much time in research as they would in talking to the sales reps.

If you do not see any of these in your prospective client, then you got yourself a tire kicker (possibly).

3. Vague Or Noncommittal Responses

Here is another tip for identifying tire kickers – they don’t have a straightforward response. When the sales reps ask them about their needs, budgets, and preferences, they give vague answers. Also, they will possibly give you little to no details about their intent. In some cases, they look away or move away from the store.

Some of their common responses are –

“maybe,” “I’ll think about it,” or “let me get back to you.”

4. Tire Kickers Have Unrealistic Demand

Sometimes, your potential customers have unrealistic expectations. They have a demand that is too good to be true. They may demand the product or the service for an unrealistic price they mention. If you are dealing with someone like this, it will seem like they are bluffing. Tire kickers often have the habit of setting unrealistic expectations with little to zero intention of buying anything for real.

5. Constantly Concerned About The Price

A warning sign of tire kickers is that they stress too much on the product price. They would frequently ask questions related to product pricing. But when it comes to the products and product details, they don’t show much interest. Sometimes, they just ask for the price so that they can look for cheaper options elsewhere.

6. No Commitment

Genuine buyers generally have commitment and intent toward the product solution a business is offering. They are willing to invest their time or resources to get to know about the product. But the tire kickers will think twice before wanting to set an appointment or visit the store; in fact, they don’t want to take the conversation any further.

7. They Don’t Have An Urgent Need For Your Products

Serious buyer sees their time as money. So they wouldn’t waste either of them. So, if they need your product, they will show a pressing need for it. But, the tire kickers can spend time checking out the products without any concern for their or the sales reps’ time. This will stop the sales from moving forward.

Their need is not urgent. They are also not looking for a solution through your products. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to spot a tire kicker.

• Are the leads motivated to solve their problem?
• Do they devise a timeline for when they want to solve the problem?
• Are they facing other issues that are competing with their attention?

Sales reps can evaluate their leads through their motivation for solving their own problems. However, the leads may be facing other issues that need priority now. In that case, they might not be ready for a purchase just yet. 

8. Tire Kickers Don’t Have A Budget

Prospects are usually inclined to buy a product when trying to solve an existing problem. Usually, they have a budget to carry out their expenses for the solution required. This prospect may need a product solution urgently, but they won’t close a deal if their budget is limited.

For example, you cannot convince someone to buy a G-Shock watch while they are at the store but don’t have the budget for it. But a tire kicker does not come with a budget. They usually make too many budget injections. It is possible that these leads are not potential buyers. You have little to zero chance of converting them.

Weed Out The Tire Kickers!

I have discussed the telltale signs of spotting tire kickers that are common across all industries. Most sales representatives and businesses need more effective leads who will never convert.

However, there is no foolproof way to spot and weed out leads, just kicking tires and speeding the clock. But, it’s best to monitor the warning signs during the lead generation and qualification process. You must try to become the salesperson who can identify the right leads that will convert. Also, learn to shift your focus early from the tire kickers to the qualified leads.

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