"IWouldAddai4U" (brian-lamar-horne)
07/31/2015 at 14:37 • Filed to: None
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"IWouldAddai4U" (brian-lamar-horne)
07/31/2015 at 14:37 • Filed to: None | 1
| 14 |
How much does it suck? Lost my job a couple weeks ago and have seen a few postings around here looking for salespeople. I’ve always known more than the person selling me my car, I’m friendly, and I talk to people easily. I’d imagine I’m probably too honest to be a good salesman, but I can’t help wanting to be that guy who actually knows what he’s talking about when someone walks onto a lot.
What are the odds that selling cars doesn’t suck? Any anecdotes you’d like to share?
Sn210
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 14:39 |
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BugeyedBeetle does. I don't think he likes it very much...
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 14:40 |
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BugEyedBeetle, Coty, and a number of others on here are in sales. BugEyedBeetle’s last post on the topic seems to indicate it has some big ups and downs.
Nerd-Vol
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 14:42 |
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I'm a salesperson. I enjoy the job. I think a lot of it is based on the quality of the dealership. I love the brand I work for and the dealership takes really good care of us. I recommend giving it a try.
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IWouldAddai4U
> Nerd-Vol
07/31/2015 at 14:43 |
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Good to know.
SlickMcRick
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 14:47 |
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Hours can be a bit on the long side and customers you speak with never show back up on the day you’re actually at work. Enthusiasm sales cars. Also ask if you get paid on both the front and back end of a deal (finance portion). If you don’t get the back end I personally suggest to keep it moving.
Iforgotmygoddamnaccountname
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 14:47 |
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It sucks ass if you’re a bona fide car enthusiast with lots of knowledge about cars. Those things get in the way of selling to 80% of the car buying public.
E92M3
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 14:52 |
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I’m not a sales person, but it’s always been a backup plan I’ve flirted with. I would give it a try if I was desperate. The main reason I haven’t tried it yet is the fact that you have to work weekends, and most holidays (other than Thanksgiving and Christmas) you’ll have to work because of holiday promotions. Then there’s the whole culture on how how the salesmen are treated from management, and society.
Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 14:52 |
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I’ve done it. Buy-here-pay-here and leasing. Honestly 90% of how good it is depends on what sort of clients you get and if the business pushes you to sell or not. In my case I had shitty clients but I wasn’t pushed to sell anything. Sure I made commission but I also got a bit of regular hourly wages. If you really want to be one, my suggestion is to get to know the cars REALLY well so you can give a very informed decision on what fits someone’s lifestyle the best. Memorize fuel economy numbers, as well, since almost everyone who isn’t buying a dually 4x4 turbodiesel truck will care how much it costs to run. I don’t really have any stories of selling, mostly stories of what lease/finance customers do to cars once they’re out driving around in them. People who drop insurance then go get involved in a hit-and-run, people who wreck vehicles, people who use them as rolling dumpsters, etc.
Humanity is gross.
nermal
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 14:53 |
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I’m in non-automotive sales, but have bought a buncha cars and shopped around over the years.
I think your experience in automotive, or any sales job, will depend on the people you are working for, as well as how you approach the job. The most important thing is to find an organization that you will fit in with. For example, it’s not uncommon for the biggest raging asshole in the company to be the one that’s leading the sales organization. As a result, you will only succeed under them if you are also a raging asshole that does exactly what you are told.
On the flipside, the person in charge may have no clue what they are doing, and just give you free range to figure things out on your own and try new stuff, with no real sense of direction.
If you’re going to do the car sales thing, try to get in at a premium brand, in a good, high income neighborhood. Usually those will not only have a more laid back environment, but the customer base will be better and the management usually better too. You can make a ton of $$$ at it if you work your butt off, and you’re in the right place. You can end up hating everything and everyone in very short order if you’re in the wrong place.
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IWouldAddai4U
> nermal
07/31/2015 at 14:55 |
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I’ve worked retail sales before (televisions). My managers didn’t like that I was really good at getting people what they needed , not what they wanted. And by needed, I mean what they could afford and should realistically be looking for. I suppose that might not be the best tool for the job in a feast or famine type world, where adding stuff on makes you more $$.
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nermal
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 15:00 |
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Getting over the retail part is half the battle. On the same token, remember that it’s not your $$$.
Carl (@stuffcarlsays)
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 15:08 |
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I’ve done it. First in the late 90s/early 2000s, and most recently about 5 years ago. In fact, I think it was about 5 years to the day that I walked out in anger and never looked back. It’s all about who you work for, at the end of the day.
In retrospect, working for a high-line dealer where people know what they want and can afford is infinitely easier than working for an average new car outfit where people are predicated on how much they can afford.
That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 15:13 |
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I used to, it’s a good job for somebody who’s right for it. You’re going to work a ton of hours, and you’ve really got no days off because customers can and will call you at night, on Sundays, on your days off. Plan on spending at least 6 days a week at the dealership. Try to work at a dealership that’s closed Sundays...it’s nice to be guaranteed one day off a week.
For me, the main problem I had with it was that I wasn’t competitive enough. I didn’t have any interest in stepping ahead of a guy who hadn’t sold a car in a week to get one of my own, even if I hadn’t sold one in two weeks. I’d recommend if you’re going to do this, start at a dealership that does a lot of traffic...down time sucks at a dealership, but if the place you’re working is selling 10 cars on Tuesdays and 30 cars on a Saturday, you’re not going to have a lot of it.
As far as knowing things about cars, you’re better off pretending you don’t. Maybe if you’re selling BMWs, but Toyota buyers, Ford buyers...they don’t care. They want to know what the car has in it, they want to know what it costs, but they won’t really care too much about how much torque it makes or what sort of rear suspension it has.
And on the subject of honesty...I had something I’d say to customers who even implied that I might be being dishonest. I’d tell them “one of us is going to tell a lie here today, and it isn’t going to be me.” Customers are going to lie to you every day...about not having a trade, about what they can pay a month, about what another dealer quoted them for the same car. Lying is how they get a better deal. But if you tell lie number one, you’re fucked, because you’ll be found out.
If you want to know anything else in particular, feel free to ask. It’s not a bad job at all, not like a lot of people will tell you it is, it just wasn’t right for me.
NoneOfYourBiz
> IWouldAddai4U
07/31/2015 at 17:52 |
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Yes, several, if you count private sale. “Corporately?” I used to sell airplanes - everything from sport planes to business jets.
Best honest. Then STFU and listen. Not necessarily in that order.
Biggest sales mistake: saying too much. You’ll talk yourself right out of a sale.