Car Sales Questions, Comments, Tips, Advice or Anything Else!
I have set this page aside to post anything that you may think would be of value for Auto Sales Professionals. Feel free to send in anything you would that pertains to Selling Cars for a Living, Car Salesman Tips, or Car salesmaan Income. You can add anything to the comment form below or you can email to KB @ CarSalesProfessional.com
Hi KB, I need the help!!!! I sell pre certified used cars for Enterprise and it has been tough getting referrals from our rental branches and from anywhere for that matter. Also, many of my customers that come in either cannot get approved with the tightened credit market today or they do not have enough down. DO YOU HAVE ANY IMMEDIATE SUGGESTIONS THAT COULD HELP ME NOW???????
The tightened credit has made things a little more difficult for some buyers of used cars. The new car sales business has not been effected as much as used car sales. I know that doesn’t help because you don’t have new cars to sell, the best advice I could give you to try and work those buyers for a co-signer or ask them about borrowing money for a down payment from a friend or family member.
Since the car business has been a little slower leads of all types are down, I have been noticing that we are working harder to sell cars lately. Sales people have been doing more emailing and calling of past customers for prospects and referrals.
People still need cars, sometimes the hardest part is getting them financed.
Bro, tell me about it, i had 3 5K deals fall apart this month due to credit issues
HEY ALL,
I SELL PRE-OWNED IN LOUISIANA AND THINGS HAVE GOTTEN REALLY TOUGH…FROM CREDIT LENDERS TO THE OVER ALL CUSTOMER. I HAVE BEEN A 15-20 CAR/MO. SALESMAN FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS AT THIS ONE DEALERSHIP. THE LAST FEW MONTHS I HAVE AVERAGED HALF THAT….WTF!?! NEED SOME ANSWERS……..
Hi CJ,
Thanks for stopping by.
I hear you, it has been tougher than usual these last few moths since our recession. I have noticed that you have to work 2 or 3 times as hard to sell a car lately. It is definitely harder than it used to be.
The buyers are either credit challenged and we can’t get them financed with the tougher credit restrictions or they are shopping us to death. Things have been slowly getting better with the credit lately, but it is happening very slowly. I hope you can hold out CJ, it sounds like you are one of the pros in the car sales business, we don’t want to loose you.
I have found spending more time with them to better understand their motivation has been helpful and a good follow up with the buyers that can buy has helped as long as you don’t follow up to the point of being a pest.
The people that want to buy, but can’t because of credit is something we can’t do too much about. I am sure the seasoned pro that you are, you done the whole co-signer thing to death, but we have to keep trying.
It is getting better, we just need to hang in there.
Good Luck
K.B.
I was interested in purchasing the book, but I didn’t see any information about the author, or even the authors name. Makes me feel like he/she’s hiding something.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for stopping by the blog. I added some more information about myself in the Meet and Greet section plus I went into greater detail in the book.
Hello all of you guys,
I have been selling automobiles for twenty seven years. I sell for a large Ford Dealership here in Winston Salem,NC. I guess what makes me love my job so much is the product I believe in and the people I get to meet on a daily basis. I also love to make my customers happy and my goal is to keep selling.
Hi Alesia,
Thanks for stopping and telling some of the Green Peas how great it is to sell cars for a living.
Glad to hear from you.
Hi and thanks fow this web site i was just wondering if there was a way to create more ups.I do my follow ups and ask for refferals.Our dealership has a great program to come up with the downpayment(90 day same as cash) and we have lenders that will do challenged credit but i need a way to create more ups and was just wondering if you knew of any ways even if it was a paid lead site for salesman.Thanks again Nick
Hi Nick,
When it comes to creating more ups the only way you can do that is to start promoting yourself outside the dealership. Handing out business cards, talking to people, friends and relatives. Work your past customer for referrals and possibly new or additional vehicles.
Don’t forget to work your current ups like you won’t get another one. Many sales people give up too quick on a Up when they hit an objection. They sometimes let the best ones go.
hey I just started as a car salesman 4 weeks ago up till then I was waiting tables …any tips would help I am not used to being the underdog and it feels like crap.
Welcome to the Car Biz
Make sure you stick it out, it gets easier. I have seen way to many people throw in the towel too soon and miss out on a great career as a car salesman. The big money will come if you can stick it out.
Hi KB
I am starting a new career in car sales after 28 years of driving a truck. During the 28 years that I drove truck I did however have a 3 month stint in 1985 as a car salesman. During those 3 mo. I sold about 12 cars a month, and ended up getting a bad taste for car sales because of the dealership that I worked for, so I went back to driving trucks. I have heard that selling cars has changed a lot for the salesmen and women from the time I sold cars until now. Is this true and how much has it changed??
KB
Thank you for this site. I read the whole site last night
and found that a lot of what you wrote about was stuff I tying back in 1985 during my short stint as a car salesman.
Like I said in my previous post, I sold about 12 cars a month for the 3 months I was there. Trying the tactics that
you wrote about back then would get me in trouble with management, even though I was #1 in sales the last 2 mo. I was selling cars.
The problem I had was that at any given time we had 10 sales people on the floor at any given time. The dealership was small and it cut into my sales.
Reading your site is giving me insight into what worked for me 25 years ago. I am also finding it helpful to read the sites on how to beat a car salesman,to get me ready for Ups that try and use those tactics on me. By being informed I will be able to use what I have learned here and what I have learned on the beat the salesman sites to go in and be the best that I know I can be.
Greg
PS: I will keep in touch.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for coming and welcome back to the car business. I read both of your posts and yes things have changed in the car business, but not at all dealerships. Selecting the right car dealer is important if you plan on being a car sales professional.
The car dealer that condones and encourages unethical tactics is very often the same dealership that will mess with your pay and be less than honest with you as an employee.
Don’t get me wrong, we still use a few tricks now and then, but not outright lying or anything that could be considered unethical.
Welcome back Greg and keep in touch.
Hello KB,
I am another newbie to the business (I should be starting next week.) I have been reading your website, and am getting excited about trying car sales for a career. Honestly, I am motivated by the income possibility and will love it if (no, when, )I make a six figure income.
I plan on purchasing your e-book in the near future and look forward to the knowledge I can gain from it.
Thank you for an informative site to help everyone advance their careers!
Adam
Thank you for this great site. If you new people to the business can hold out untill the economy turns around, then please dont give up. After 16 years I had to leave the biz to be able to provide for my family in the short term. I miss the busness terribly bad. People complain how they hate the car saleman but when you stay at a dealership for a long time, your customers begin to feel privalidged to have a freind in the business. Take care of those customers and they will take care of you. Remember this…if you put your customers needs ahead of your own, you will have a very prosperous career. Good luck guys and gals!
I was a salesman at the number 1 Vette dealer in California. I made money, like 60k, and I scrapped for ever deal half deal house deal. There were other people making more . I was in the top 4 out of 12. There was a lot of competition. It was straight sales too so you had to close your own deals. But some new people came in , I got into an argument and got blown out. You know shit happens but Ill have a job in 5 minutes. Ive been doing it for 8 years I’m a pro.
Good to hear from you Adolph.
Nice to hear from a Pro in the biz.
I like that attitude, it will serve you well.
Welcome to the Car Business and stay in touch.
KB
Start monday at the dealership. I can hardly sleep. I have been sucessful in furniture sakes for 13 years and want to make a transition to cars. I will be selling new cars chevrolet and cadillacs, do you find one of the big 3 companies better to work for or is it more on the dealerhsip than company.
thanks
Also wanted to know how many customers will I see a day just by lot traffic? 2 or 3. I know nothing about the day to day traffic. In furniture I saw between 5-10 customers a day and 10-20 on the weekends. I know thats not going to be that way. Also the dealership Im going to work for are closed saturday and sunday. How much will this hurt me even if I will love having the weekends off for the first time in my life
Hi Greg,
I have had days when I didn’t even get an up. Not one customer and other days I have had more than I could handle. It’s hard for me to guess because there are too many variables.
Stick it out, it gets easier after about 90 days. I promise.
KB
I hope things are going well Greg.
I know people that are very successful selling almost every brand, besides Chevy and Caddy are good ones to sell.
I’m thinking of becoming a car salesman, and i wanted to know, Is working for bmw, lexus or mercedes better than working for lower models like honda and toyota?
Hey there KB,
I have been in an outside sales for 16 years and I am making a career change. I want to get into automotive sales for the income potential and although I know it will be challenging, I know I will have fun. I interviewed with a MAJOR national used car dealership about a month ago. They sent me a letter stating I didn’t get the position. I just sent my resume to another local Honda dealership that is hiring and I’m waiting for a call to interview. I want the job and don’t want blow the interview by doing one thing wrong. Do you have any interview tips for an automotive sales position?
Thanks!
Hello KB
I just thought I would drop you a line. Well after starting on the 14th of Oct., I ended up #1 on my team for the month, and #5 over all. I only had 10 deals for those 2 week I feel pretty good. I do have some advice for other green peas. When you first start selling cars you are going to run into a lot of negative attitudes from other sales people, as I did. The best thing to do is distance yourself from the negative, and do your own thing. Most of these people want you to fail so they won’t have any competition, because they themselves are failing. Another thing is to watch for the ones that are negative because if you start doing good the will try and ride your shirt tails just to get 1/2 of a deal. Don’t let anyone walk over you.
Greg
KB
Forgot to tell you. I don’t miss driving a truck..lol
I have already made more in 2 weeks selling cars than I would have in 1 month driving.
Hi Greg,
Glad to hear about your success.
You car salesman tips are great and it’s great advice for the Newbie.
Thanks for keeping in touch.
KB
See, it can be done. You just have to decide.
Hi,
Don’t worry about getting turned down once or twice when applying. I was rejected by several dealers when I first started.
The sales manager that interviews you will be looking for enthusiasm and the drive to sell lots of cars so you and they can make lots of money. Money if the major driving force in car sales. The more you make, the more they make.
Hang in there, it will happen.
KB
Hi Nicholas,
Those are all good brands to sell, but you will probably see more traffic and opportunity with Honda or Toyota. Once you get some experience you might think about moving to the High-Line brands. When you have more traffic you have more chances to sharpen your car salesman skills. With the High-Line brands the smaller amount of traffic will hamper your earnings until you get more experience.
Thanks KB!
Well I submitted resume to the Honda side of a a Honda/Toyota/Hyundai dealership. I didn’t hear anything for a few days and the the Toyota side posted open positions. I sent resume in for that. The Toyota sales manager called and set an interview for end of next week. That was great. Today the sales manager from the Honda side called me and wants to interview this Friday November 5th which I agreed to. I would prefer to work for the Honda side since I’m more of a Honda fan. My goal will be to walk out of Honda with a job offer and then cancel the Toyota interview. I’m not sure how much separation there is between the two dealers as they are part of the Penske Auto Group on the same lot. On the job posting they said they encourage cross selling between the brands. This is going to be interesting.
Fantastic blog! I genuinely love how it is easy on my eyes as well as the facts are well written. I am wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your rss feed which must do the trick! Have a nice day!
HOW DO I TURN LOOKERS INTO BUYERS. I AM NEW TO THIS INDUSTRY BUT I KNOW I WILL BE ONE OF THE BEST. I JUST KEEP HEARING FRON CUSTOMERS “THIS IS MY FIRST DEALERSHIP IVE BEEN TOO AND I DONT FEEL COMFORTABLE BUYING A CAR FROM MY FIRST DEALERSHIP” OR “I STILL WANT TO DO SOME MORE RESEARCH ON THE OTHER CARS I AM CONSIDERING” HOW DO I GET PAST THIS?
Hi KB I’m new in the car business I just start working with Volkswagen on nov 15th I’m been in sales over 25 years and is my first experience selling cars. I don’t feel with confidence yet talking with customers that they know more than me about the car.I know takes time to have product knowledge and learn the business but??? I have to ask sometimes to my coworkers and I feel they taking advantage of me with my ups and want to get “half” 1/2 of every deal if I just ask any question about the car features or paperwork info,some times I feel lost and don’t know what to do next. I want to be successfull in the business. Thank God for this site is giving me some tools to start learning about the business with good tips
Hi Freddy,
Welcome to the car business.
Some people say selling is selling, but the car business is not like any other business. You are still on your first month so pay close attention to what goes on. Listen and learn. Yes they probably are taking advantage by grabbing half you deals which should motivate you even more to learn the ropes quickly. Don’t get discouraged and you will be on your way to making some real money.
Hi Darryl,
I am going to be brutally honest. Car buyers always say they want to go to several dealers. That is their only defense. You need to give them reasons why they want to buy from you so they don’t have to waste their time going to other dealers.
Listen and pay close attention to your words, body language and style…you may be turning buyers into lookers.
Many sales people do just that and then learn from their mistakes.
KB
Hello, I just put in an application at the local Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep store last night. As I handed the receptionist my app I asked if I needed to speak to anyone, she said no, but then the sales manager came out and asked what position I was applying for. I told him sales and within 5-10 minutes had an interview scheduled for this coming Friday. This will be my first experience with car sales, or sales period. The sales manager told me a guy recently made $2500 his first
month and was a low seller. Also a new girl made over $7500 her first month. I would love to make that kind of money. Do you any advice you can give to a green pea with a small family about sticking it out?
Welcome to the car biz Ben,
That is the main reason I maintain this website and blog.
Read all the posts you can.
KB,
I am still new to the business, I have been in it for about four months, and read just about everything you have online. I can say that some of the things that I have noticed you were SPOT ON. So thank you. One thing that I have noticed is that when, I am myself, my deals are better. If I take an “up” and I am the salesman it usually falls apart quickly. LOL. But, when I am myself and get the UP to laugh I excell faster and make more deals.
Again thank you for your wisdom and knowledge.
since i just moved to the state of penn from florida, i may have had a chance to sell cars. i had e-mailed a local ford dealer about wanting to maybe sell thier cars. well, i recieved a e-mail from the sales manager about a sales trainee position opening up, and to come down and fill out a application. i started going to this dealer for service, and i liked the fact that its been in business since 1920. for a dealership its pretty neat inside and lots of history. its in the middle of farmland, and you will see amish go by with thier horse and buggys. to make along story short, i never did go there and fill out that application because even though i love cars, i dont think i could make aliving selling them. im not sure i can be in that zone all the time to really sell cars, so i was honest with myself because i know myself best. ive seen really bad salesman who really should not be selling cars, and i didnt want to be one of those………… richard from penn
You can if you want to!
thanks for the reply kb. i really enjoy checking out your web site, and find it interesting even though i dont sell cars. but like i had said in my other post about not being a good fit to sell cars, i still stand by that but i do admire someone who is a pro and sells cars with style and class. have a great christmas kb, and everyone else on this site, ill be reading and learning from your site when i can get time……….. richard
Hello kb,
I wrote in a few posts back that I applied for a dodge dealership. i just spoke with the sales manager and I start Jan.3rd. kinda nervous about the whole thing since I’ve never been in sales before. I’m going from corrections to sales, big difference. Hopefully I’ll catch on right away. Are sales in Jan. and feb. down or steady or depend on location?
KB,
Thanks for the advice awhile back. I got the position at the Honda dealership and have been on for three weeks now and learning everyday.
Ben,
I am new to automotive sales like you although I have been outside sales for many years in another industry and that has helped me. This is very different from anything you have ever done or will do. For my dealership, December is supposed to be the best month of the year and January will be slower but many factors can come into play so take that with a grain of salt. What I have noticed is the guys who hustle get the cheese. The Honda dealer I work for has an open floor so every “up” is fair game. We have a person at work that bitches moans that they do not make enough money but all that person does is walk around and talk to the other reps all day. What I’ve learned in the few weeks I’ve been doing this is to jump in with both feet and don’t be afraid to mess up. There will be not so pleasant people you have work with and you will run into walls from time to time. Don’t let the sales floor “politics” mess with your mind and don’t let that lost deal get you down. A new person will walk in the door ready to buy a car. Saturday I had a lady driving a $50K Lexus walk out on me because we wouldn’t include a free $300 tint job on a Honda Civic she wanted as a second car. We already discounted all we could. That same day, I had a guy write a $23,000 dollar check for a Honda Accord and all we had to do to make him happy was discount the advertised price by $200. He said it would make him feel good about buying the car. Just remember to have fun and maintain a positive mindset. Good Luck!
Welcome to the Car Business Ben,
Thanks for writing, sounds like you are on your way.
Good Luck
Hi Ben,
January can be good, but February is a little weak.
Hello, KB!
Thanks so much for your website and blog. I also appreciate the way you include the word Saleswomen in all of your postings. I am new to the business also, I have been working as a car saleswomen for about 90 days now and have been doing pretty good despite all of the bull@#$! that has been thrown my way. I am the only female that works at the dealership in sales, and at times it can become difficult and lonely, I am a happy person by nature and the grumpy old man thing can become old really fast. My question to you however would be how do you negotiate with a customer without losing the trust you have already built with them? In the beginning my sales managers would pencil my deals now they want me to take it all the way to the end, and I feel that this area is not coming across as my strongest.
Hi Kay,
Welcome to the business.
Stick it out. Women have to deal with a bunch of B.S. while they are making their way, but it will be worth it.
You will earn respect by selling cars and making money.
I applaud you for making it 90 days. It gets better.
It is a fine line when it comes negotiating, you have to get your customer to believe that you are siding with them, but you still have to have the support of the desk. With time and experience it will improve.