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
The commission slip should supply the details. Maybe the car in question is sold as a “Mini”. Not enough info to say for sure.
I have extensive exposure in sales but am considering, for the first time, auto sales. Do dealers often support a 2-3 month draw for “newbies”?
KB,
I have accepted an offer to become a car salesperson in Tallahassee, FL. What should I do first to get started?
Thanks,
Bill
Hi, just a question regarding taxation. I’ve been paid minimum wage @ 40 hours for my first week of training with a used car dealer ($266 after taxes). I’m on my fourth week, their only outside salesman, and I’m recieving a second check this friday. After totaling 13 cars (5 whacked) in weeks 2 and 3, they’re counting that money as draw, and taxing my comission after REMOVING $290 from my total.
There’s no on paper agreement for my employment and no handbook, but certainly a verbal at 25% initial or front end ($100 on mini’s), and they’re holding up their end of the bargain. It’s a bit harder to find, but I wanted to know the most common practices with draw money, and if I should be paying it back in FULL to them as well as paying to the IRS. It seems illegal in a way, and any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the info here and as I said, excellent site, I plan on checking back frequently.
Is there a reason you promote your six figure income book but not your closing the sale e-book through clickbank affiliates, or am I just missing it.
You are just missing it.
It is hard to say for sure without the details, but you will have to check with some that knows taxes.
Every dealer is different, but most offer a draw.
Hey i just started in the business about a week ago.. i have no experience in sales and ive never even talked to a customer before… how do i get people to come in for a “appointment”?
They’re not giving me internet leads or anything like that yet just owners that have bought cars from the dealership in the past years.. they told me usually after around 2 years people get the itch to buy a new car.. how do i go about this?? I would really like to start making some money and i just feel so out of place because ive never done ANYTHING like this before.. kind of over whelming at times. Any advice??
at most dealerships i worked at, you are a comissioned sales pay program. most dealerships are on a monthly pay plan with you getting draw checks during the month to get you by. they are required to pay you minimum wage by law if you dont make enough in sales commissions to cover the hours worked, once you have made enough commission to cover the minimum wage they will take the hourly out as a draw. If you are good at sales and it sounds like it you wont ever have to worry about min. wage again. I have been in sales for 15 years and NEVER have gotten a min. wage check.
I am a 49 yr old car saleswoman. I wear slacks and a nice blouse or turtleneck and jacket with comfortable black non heel shoes. My husband always argues that I should be wearing a pencil skirt and heels to work to look more professional. I dont think running around a car lot with potholes and puddles is a good idea in heels and showing the vehicle in a skirt could be difficult at best if you need to climb around inside to show various features! What do you think?
Hi Sue,
Comfort is important, but have you tried his suggestion? What were the results?
I am not a fan of overdressing which can sometimes make the customer uncomfortable. A neet and professional look is ideal, but you don’t have to go overboard. You want your customer to feel comfortable with you and not think that you are a shark. The area and customer base can also dictate the your attire. He make like heels and a pencil skirt (like most men), but what makes your customer feel comfortable?
Thanks Tom,
If you are worried about a minimum wage check you might need to look in the mirror for an answer.
Don’t give up.
I everyone could do it you wouldn’t be able big money as a car salesman.
Just wondering, in your experienced prof opinion, how you would list a car on the internet that has had an accident listed on a CARFAX. Do I mention and move on? DO I mention and go into how the vehicle doews not have any issues? Do I detail the incident? Im having a little problem with this since I do all the descriptions here.
thanks for your input
I really have to commend whoever wrote “How To Be a Car Salesman – Are You Sure”. It encapsulated “the good, the bad and the ugly” parts of auto sales! I grew up in the auto business since both my father and grandfather were both auto dealers and I’ve seen it all and most of it was captured and presented in short order in this great article and that isn’t easy to do! Fun reading and thank you.
Thanks Carson
You have to mention it and move on because if you try to cover it up it will come back and bite you. Also mention that even the small of accidents are reported and sometimes is could be a scratch or ding.
I’ve been in the business for a year now, and I currently live in the midwest. I have had success and always cover my draw, but would like to be more consistent month to month. The hardest thing for me has been calling people other than customers and base owners. Is there some advise that you can give on getting more customers in the door?
Hi Darrin,
Check out http://carsalesprofessional.com/car-sales-prospecting/
Calling past orphan customers isn’t that bad. You should also start talking to service customers. I have sold many cars to service customers that were waiting for their vehicle to be repaired or serviced.
KB
Hello Karl. What do you think about Truecar.com. It is making customers confused about prices and above all, it makes really a lot difficult deal with them because prices. Thanks for the answer.
Hi KB
I’m thinking about a career move and have always wanted to sell cars but have had nagging doubts whether it was really for me. But on to my question. Is it possible to job shadow or just “hang out” to see if this proffesion is really for me. To see how other proffessional really work. If so, how would one approach this. Would sales staff or management be keen on this.
Thanks for any input you can offer!
Hi Glen,
I think would have a very hard time finding a dealer would be willing to allow you to do such a thing. You are either in or out.
KB
Hi KB,
I live in IL and I have been an engineer for 15yrs. Lately, the engineering field has not been good to me and I have always thought I could be a good salesman. I have interviewed with a Lexus dealership and a Hyundai dealership. I pretty much just have to make a decision about a career change first of all, then where to sell. I know the commission is better at Lexus than Hyundai, but the traffic and sales at Hyundai is a lot more, almost double the monthly sales. I’m just wondering who I should sell for if I decide to do this?
I am waiting for some ruling by the states in which they operate. They have many legal issues to resolve before they will last.
Hi, I asked you the other day about customer follow up, mirroring my real estate type of marketing. I found a company online called Grandmaster Follow up. What do you think of this type of system?
Hi Diane,
I was checking out Grandmaster Follow-Up system you mentioned and I like the quality of the piece and the concept, but the cost can get quite expensive once you have been in the business for a while. Plus you will need a way to track who and when to follow up with. I have been testing out a few software programs to help with that and I hope to publish my findings soon.
KB
Hello, I have a question, I want to get my car salesman license, but I was told I can’t because when I was 20 I got a felony charge I am 43 now, not on parole or probation since my 20′s. How do I find out about getting my car salesman license? I am working for car lot now in the garage. Please help me with this question thanks…
Hi Morrie,
You are going to have to talk to the DMV in the state where you reside. They will be able to provide you with the information you need.
KB
Hello. I sent you an email on 1/3/12, and just wanted to see if you had received it. Please let me know either by responding to the email, or this post. Thank you.
Hello: love your site. may jump on the train…..
My question is on trade-ins? how does a salesman make money on a trade-in? And please tell me any and all scenarios, such as…
Dealer values a trade at 10k in a deal to buy their other for $20K. I get paid front-end for the $20k deal but do i get paid anything more if…
the $10k car sells wholesale for $11k
the $10k car sells for $9k
or sits on the lot and doesnt sell
Thanks, JD
I am not sure or at least I don’t recall.
KB
Hi JD,
Thanks for visiting.
It comes down to what they “book” the trade for. If they show giving the customer $10,000 and “book” it for $10,500 that is an extra $500 profit on the front end.
What the trade sells for shouldn’t matter, only what the trade is “booked” for matters.
KB
Hello everyone. I hope your all having a great start to 2012. I have been in the business for 12 yrs in every capacity (Sales, f&i, desk manager, sales manager, GSM). June 2010 I decided to leave Mgmt and go back into sales with a different company, but still with chevy. Since I am in a new town and don’t have the social network I had back home. I ranked 9th out of 18 in sales in 2010 (6 months) and top guy with 247 sales in 2011. There was A LOT of hard work and hours put in to sell that many vehicles in one year off fresh ups.
This year one of my goals is to have more referrals, repeat business, and come up with a system to get people to call me directly. Last year I worked very hard to have my web presence shine. I encouraged my clients to write reviews on a couple different sites and I have actually received a couple calls, and sales off of that alone. This year I am working on a plan to build my own website, and do some pretty aggressive advertising.
What I am looking for any help I can get in this area. I am pretty smart guy and want to do this correctly. If you know anyone in car sales that has done his own site (yes i know this is rare) I would love to see it. If you have any suggestions, comments (all positive ones please) or references I look forward to them.
Thanks in advance.
Mike Davenport
Mike.a.davenport@gmail.com
My name is James and I am actually working on a Marine Corp base overseas. The base is small (very similar to a small town in the United States), I don’t have a problem with selling people once they reach my office, but rather actually getting them INTO THE OFFICE. I call some people daily but they are very busy on this base. How can I incentivize them more or how do I actually get them in once I have gotten good blueprinting and contact info? I can see how this is very different because I dont have a “lot” per say but rather 3 cars that are in a regular parking lot in front of the main store on the base!
Hi Mike,
Sounds like you are on top of it and moving the right direction. Great Job!
KB
Hi James,
You have a very unique situation. If possible you could use the standard attention getters like flags, banners, prices on the windshield etc…
KB
I have been doing door to door comcast cable sales for 7 months and make on average 2800 a month. I go door to door so I seen every personality there is and know how to talk to people even better now and I learned alot about myself.but i recently got hired at buick/gmc they said 2100 month salary base plus 350 a car sale and could be more if i meet a certain number. I have never been more skeptical about anything in life and I think I would feel more comfortable if it was Toyota or Honda because that’s all that is selling nowadays.
Can you still make a six figure income selling cars in today’s economy?
Yes Kim you absolutely can!
I wouldn’t to be selling door to door, that has to the the toughest sell.
You should do well in the car business.
Forget about Honda or Toyota they have their own problems and the domestics are doing well.
KB
I am considering getting into car sales and was wondering if you have to sign a contract with the dealership to work there for a period of time, or could you move on to another dealership if needed.
Thanks,
Lon
I am just getting my feet wet and was wondering if you have any examples of forms I could download ex.offer to purchase
cheers
Bill
Hi Lon,
Never heard of such a thing.
KB
No, not at this point, but my new book that will be released in the Spring will contains items for Follow-Up, Prospecting and Referrals.
KB
Would love to respond to Sue about her attire, the hubby suggested. I work in a Toyota dealership that requires all sales people wear black pants and green polo shirts.There is one other female that work here.We feel that being female gives us a real advantage because we build relationships with our customers that lead to more business. Everytime either her or I get a sale we call each other and say “You go girl”! We are both newer to the business and find we are making a great living, having fun don’t believe what we wear makes us any better or worse at sales. It’s simply how you relate to customers.
Would anyone know if new car dealerships hire part time positions?
I’m intrested in working part time because in 4 years I will be retiring from my current career.
Thanks.
Hi Chet,
Some do and some don’t’ it really depends on the dealership.
KB
I am serious about making a good living and like the income potential in selling cars.
I am new to the business and researching auto brands and local dealerships here in Los Angeles area.
I am wondering if the best money is in high line auto sales or going with the most visable dealership selling the most popular volume brands?
Go for the volume until you get some good experience.