Car Sales Professional

The Downside of Being a Car Salesman a Rant

2012-05-16T12:42:45Z

There is one question that seems to be on the mind of so many people that are considering a career in car sales and I have not talked much about it up until this point, but it’s time for me to speak out. It seems everyone wants to know about the downside of being a car salesman. Well since you asked I going to tell you want I think. You may need to take this with a grain of salt and my intentions are not to offend anyone, but I am sure I will.

There are negative aspects of every profession and that includes being a car salesman. However it seems that there is more focus on the car sales profession for some reason. I don’t know why, but I am tired of hearing about it. If you are more focused on the downside of being a car salesman than the upside I am not so sure you are right for the job. Do people spends endless amounts of time researching the downside of being an attorney, dentist or accountant? Not usually, they focus on the rewards and the potential income.

Unemployed is the Downside of Being a Car Salesman

The downside of being a car salesperson is much like any other vocation and that comes down to one thing, if you suck at your job you will be out of a job. I don’t care if you shine shoes or you are the CEO of a major corporation. If you can’t do the job you will be on the street and that is the way it works no matter what job you have. The turnover in the car business is typically higher than it is than many other jobs, but the reason isn’t because the job is extremely difficult or nearly impossible, it is because of the people that become car salesmen and saleswomen and their attitude.

Through the years the one thing that I have found to be common among Green Peas when I asked people why they decided to be a car salesman was that they heard there was good money to be made selling cars and they thought they would give it a try. So here they are giving it a try, no commitment, no determination, no goals and a half assed attitude. Thirty to ninety days later they are complaining about every single aspect of the job because they are expecting the worst rather than expecting all the great things about being a car salesman. They create their own reality because of their lack of commitment, after all they were only giving it a try. Since when do you take a job that can pay you more than you have ever been paid and just give it a try? The downside of the job is not the job, it is their lack of effort to succeed. Practically anyone can do this job and do it well if they would set their mind to it and do the work they need to do to learn the profession.

Maybe people don’t appreciate the opportunities that the car business has to offer because they didn’t spend four or six years studying to be a car salesman. Maybe it is too easy to get the job even without experience so they naturally assume the worst. Yes, selling automobiles is a profession that is easy to enter, but there is a price to pay. You have to do the job, but many people fail to recognize that fact. The industry is full of people that gave it their all and they are now making a six figure income and enjoying the fruits of their labor, but they didn’t give it a try, they did it!

Every Job Has a Downside Including Selling Cars

I know many people that have successful careers and they can tell me all about the downside of their particular profession, but they also love to tell me all the good things about their position. There is always a downside to every job, but there are very few careers where you can make great money and have fun doing it like the car business. One of the common complaints I hear about auto sales is the hours, if all you are concerned about is working your forty hours and going home then you need to look for a job in a factory where you punch a clock. People that make a six-figure car salesman income work more than forty hours a week and so does almost every other profession that makes that kind of money. Stop thinking about the downside of being a car salesman and start thinking about the positive aspects of being a car sales professional. Don’t give it a try, do it and succeed or get out!

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

You can be a Successful Car Salesperson with Car Sales TrainingSimilar Posts:

The Car Sales Take Over or TO

2012-05-09T22:14:38Z

It goes by many names such as the “Take Over”, Turn Over” or “T.O.”, but the premise is the same. When a salesperson has reached a point in the sales process where there is no longer any forward movement and no sales has been made it’s time for the customer to be turned over to another salesperson or sales manager and then they attempt to close the deal. This is a standard practice throughout the industry and one that is taught during your car sales training, although the exact steps vary from dealer to dealer, but the idea is the same.

Most Common Car Sales Take Over Steps

The first and probably the most common procedure for turning over a customer is where the Sale Manager takes over the customer and does their best to wrap it up. An experienced sales manager typically has the authority to cut the price or do whatever is needed to make a deal. Then if they close the sale the salesperson comes back in and delivers the car and gets a full commission. If they fail to close the sale they thank the customer for coming and let them out professionally leaving the door open for them to return.

My favorite method for turning over a customer works a little differently and it adds another step to the process. When the first car salesman comes to a point in the negotiation where they can’t close the deal and there is no longer any forward movement such as bumping them the salesperson tells the sales manager to turn them or the sales manager decides to turn them out of the deal. Then the sales manager or desk manager has another salesperson take over the deal. The second salesman takes over the deal and does their best to make a deal. Then if they make a sale they deliver the car and the first salesman collects half a sale and the second collects half a sale. However if they don’t make any progress the deal gets turned to the sales manger like the scenario above.

Some Finer Points of the Car Sales Turnover

In the three step turnover scenario above (my favorite) the first salesperson must complete all the steps of the sale up to negotiation including a test drive, no test drive and the first salesman is out. Then if the second salesman bumps the customer to make the deal they must bump them a certain amount to qualify such as $250. It could be a $250 bump on the price or a payment bump that totals over $250. But if it is not about price or payment and they get them to make the deal they still deliver the car and get a half deal. The second salesman often has an advantage because the customer often thinks they are talking to a sales manager. This is also a good way to break in Newbies for the first 30 days until they learn the steps to the sale.

This is my favorite take over process for five reasons. #1.It helps the sales staff hone their closing skills. #2. It provides opportunity for the other sales staff members. #3. The sales person will usually take the extra time needed that the sales manager won’t to drive them in additional cars and build rapport. #4. The first sales associate will make sure they drive them in a car and perform all the steps to the sale which will sell more cars in the long run. #5. The first salesman will do everything they can to close the sale because they don’t want a salesman closing behind them (car salesman ego).

When we sell cars for a living there are times when we just clash with a particular customer and these are the times when the car sales turnover is good for everyone including the dealership. There are also sales people that are so determined to make the sale that they don’t know when to stop before they cook the customer and then nobody would be able to close them, but with a turn over closing is still a possibility. Sometimes a second face that says the same thing as the first is all that is needed to make a deal. A half a deal and half commissions are better than no deal and no commission.

This post was recommended by Lee a sales manager that left a comment on the site.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

KBSimilar Posts:

Sell More Cars with Stories

2012-05-02T23:48:04Z

Have you ever heard the saying “stories sell”? If not you should pay close attention because there is merit in that saying. I am not saying that you need to make up tall tales or spin a yarn, but you should collect the stories that your customers tell you and tell them to your prospective customers when the scenario applies. You will sell more cars and make more commissions when you put this simple truth to work for you on a regular basis.

Not only will you end up selling more cars, but you will also create a closer bond with your customers. Let me give you an example of a true experience that I had early in my car sales career to illustrate my point. I received a phone call from a customer that I sold a car to about six months earlier and he asked me if I would be in that afternoon and if I had a good selection of the model car that I sold him six months earlier. I said that I would be in the dealership and that I did have a great selection. I then asked him why and he told me that he would be in to see me in a little while and tell all about his request.

Connect with Your Customer and Sell More Cars

About an hour later he came in with his wife and daughter and told me why he asked such a question. It seems that he and his family were in a nasty accident in the car I sold him only six months ago and that the car was totaled out by the insurance company. He told me that he was broadsided in an intersection by a larger vehicle than his and that the only injuries that he and his family incurred were some scratches and bruises. Both he and his wife told that they wouldn’t even consider owning a car that wasn’t the same make and model that they had. I was relieved that they were alright, but talk about selling more cars.

Obviously I sold them another car and several more cars since that time. Each one was easier to close because they felt comfortable with me based on the previous experience I provided when buying a car. However the real payoff was the story that I have shared with many car buyers over the years. I have sold more cars and created more relationships with buyers than I can recall by using that story. This story portrays the experience that my customer had and ultimately became a third party testimonial.

Selling Cars is a People Business

This is a real-life story and one that people like to hear when they are considering the same automobile. The value of such a story and similar stories can be exactly what you need to close the deal sometimes. It’s not a commercial or a brochure; it’s a real-life story that can help you sell more cars. I may not have ever heard this story if it wasn’t for good car sales follow up and a positive car buying experience. I feel compelled to tell you that I have also received several referrals from that customer.

I am not telling you to fabricate a story to sell more cars because there are plenty of these real-life experiences to go around. Take your time, listen to your customers and learn more about them. People buy from people and more of them will buy a car if they feel that you care about their wants and needs. Do your follow up and ask for referrals because you can always sell more cars with stories.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

You can sell more vehicles when asking for referrals and doing your follow up.

Check out the book Prospecting, Referrals and Follow Up!Similar Posts:

This Car Salesman Drug is Amazing

2012-03-22T14:29:32Z

The power of this drug and the amazing transformation that occurs is absolutely incredible. You won’t find it at the pharmacy and you can’t get from your doctor, it can only be acquired at the car dealership. The way it changes the ordinary car salesman into Incredible, Powerful and Unstoppable car salesman is hard to describe unless you have experienced for yourself, but I thought everyone should know about the power of this phenomenal car salesman drug.

I can tell you firsthand that it can’t summed up with a few words or even a couple sentences so I will have to provide you with this scenario so you will be better able to comprehend the experience. It’s Saturday morning and you just came out of the morning meeting, which was held by the General Sales Manager. It was a positive and motivating meeting rather than the standard “Bitch and Moan Session” and you head out to the lot to find your first customer.

Within minutes you find your first customer who is a middle-aged couple without kids and you start doing what you do best. Everything is going smoothly and you make a deal before you know it. Credit check, F@I, delivery and you’re thanking this couple for their business and waving good-bye as the taillights get smaller and smaller. You are feeling good and you look at the clock and realize that it is too early for lunch so you head back out on the lot to look for another one.

Twenty minutes later you are talking to a guy in his mid 30’s that is eyeing up your latest and greatest model. It’s loaded up with all the bells and whistles from sunroof to navigation. Test drive, evaluate the trade and present the numbers. You negotiate, overcome his objections and shake hands to close the deal. Credit, F@I, delivery and once again you are waving good-bye as he pulls his new car out of the dealership.

The Car Salesman Drug Kicks In

Your head swells, your chest is pumped up and you are unstoppable. The clock says it is 3:10 and you are you’re not even hungry at least not for food you want buyers. You don’t care about eating because there are unattended customers on the lot and they won’t be able to resist your charm, sales skills and abilities. You are Super Car Salesman and there are cars to sell. You are feeling like a million bucks, you have a positive attitude and you know that you can close like nobody else. You are walking on air and you know that your next customer doesn’t stand a chance of driving out of here without a new car.

The car salesman drug causes this euphoric feeling. You find yourself with another customer at your desk and you are laughing along with your customer having a great time and negotiating effortlessly as you close another deal. Regardless of obstacles or objections you simply work through them as if they didn’t exist. Your spirit can’t be broken because you are Super Car Salesman. The feeling can last anywhere from a day to a couple of days and you will love the car business.

The only side effects of this amazing car salesman drug are bigger commission checks, respect from your sales managers and admiration from the other car salespeople on the floor not to mention the happy customers that tell everyone about the good time they had buying a car from you and the referrals they send.

I told you that you had to experience it firsthand in order to fully appreciate what this drug can do to the ordinary car salesman. Not everyone that sells cars for a living has experienced this incredible feeling, but they can if they really want to do what it takes to be a car sales professional. Warning, the powerful effects brought on by this amazing car salesman drug can be addictive and can cause a salesperson to strive for higher and higher sales and commissions so be careful or you might find yourself loving the car business too! And you thought this was going to be about drugs!

Later, fresh Up on the Lot

If you are ready to be a Car Sales Professional Get the Book!Similar Posts:

Being a Top Car Salesman Starts in Your Head

2012-03-14T16:29:49Z

What do you think is possible as a car salesperson? Is selling 12 cars a month your idea of success or is it 20 cars a month? Is your idea of being a successful car sales professional influenced by your co-workers and your environment? Are you limiting your potential without even realizing that you are? Being a top car salesman starts in your head and it is probably limited by what you believe is possible for you.

None of us got into the car business for the great hours, personal freedom or the retirement benefits, we got into the car business for the money. The potential is practically unlimited, but salespeople all over the world are limiting their potential by what they believe to be true for them. Setting a goal for 20 cars a month or for earning $100,000 a year is great, but if you don’t really believe that you can achieve that goal you are simply fooling yourself. I don’t mean that you don’t believe that your goal is possible, I mean that you must believe with every fiber of your being that the goal is not only possible, but that you will do what it takes to achieve that goal.

You Can Be a Top Car Salesman

I hear from automobile salespeople all over the world that talk about wanting to make a six figure income as a car salesman or to be a top car salesman, but wanting is not enough. You must see it, feel it, think about 24/7 and then make it happen. Get out of your comfort zone and do that little bit extra on every deal, every day, every week and every month to bring that goal to reality.

Most people prefer to stay in their comfort zone regardless of what they may say and when they push themselves to do more they achieve what they truly believed was possible for them and in most cases that is a 10 or 20% increase. That may be admirable, but is that their new comfort zone or are they capable of much more? The answer is that they are capable of more and in order to be a top car salesman you need to believe that there is no limit to your abilities.

Here is great example of the point I am trying to make; most big lottery winners find themselves in the same financial position that they were in before they won only a few years after their windfall. Their beliefs caused them to do things that returned them to their comfort zone. They did not feel comfortable with all that money and their internal beliefs caused them find a way to get back to what made them comfortable. Sad, but true and the same goes for being a top car salesman. What you believe is possible can be achieved, but you must be willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

Top car salespeople all over the country are earning $1000,000, $200,000 and more a year because they truly believe it is possible. Get out of your comfort zone and do what it takes to make it happen. You can be a top car salesman or car saleswoman if you if you really believe you can. Others have done it and you can too!

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

It is time to be a Car Sales Professional, Get the Book.Similar Posts: