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

KB

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I have talked to many people over the years that bought cars and most of them said that the sales people from other dealerships never or rarely called them to follow up after their visit. They said that they assumed that the salesperson didn’t care if they bought a car or not once they left the dealership. I have noticed that there has been a trend over the last few years that more sales people are following up with their Be Backs, but it is not significantly higher than it was. So why did these people come back to buy a car? Because the salesman followed up with them and seemed to be genuinely interested in helping them purchase a vehicle. The net result is that the car salesman that is following up is selling more cars than their counterparts.

Be Backs are Buying Cars

Very few people come to a dealership to spend an hour or two with a car salesman unless they are going to buy a car. It doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes to follow up with your Unsolds via the telephone or email, but if you want to sell more cars you better start making some calls with the people that you didn’t sell yesterday. Granted you will learn that many of them bought cars after they left your dealership, but not all of them. When you follow up with a customer from yesterday that you weren’t able to close they might tell you they bought already, they changed their mind and they are going wait or they will be pleasantly surprised that you cared enough to call or email.

The people that you talk to that give you excuses like they bought already or that they are waiting don’t want to talk to you for some reason or another, but the ones that will talk to you and tell you what is going on can be your ticket to your next sale. So the next order of business is to get them to return to your dealership. However you need to give them a good reason to come back. The reason needs to be compelling, or informative so they have a reason to return that benefits them. It could be to have another look at their trade-in, new incentives or you believe that you can get closer to their price (don’t make any promises on the phone and check with your Sales Manager first) or maybe you did some research on the vehicle they were considering and you have the answers to the questions they had while they were there earlier.

Be Backs Will Help You Sell More Cars

When a Be Back returns to your dealership the closing ratio is significantly higher than it was on their first visit. In fact most Be Backs sell on their second visit. You have several things on your side when you are able to bring a Be Back back into the showroom. 1. One is that they are ready to make a purchase or they wouldn’t bother. 2. They are getting tired of shopping for a car want to get it over with rather than visit more of your competitors. 3. They know where you were last time on price and trade value so they won’t expect crazy results.

I am not saying that you are going to get a great number of Be Backs to comeback and buy a car from you, in fact the percentage will be quite low. However the time you spend with customers that return to your dealership will be less than the first time and they are very likely to leave with a car. This is a great way to add a few more sales to your monthly car count which will allow to you to sell more vehicles month in and month out and often help your reach a bonus.  Don’t count on Be Backs because we have all been disappointed in the past, but this one easy way to add a couple deals a month and ultimately sell more cars and make more commission.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

KB

You can sell more cars too! Get the Car Salesman Book.

Start generating Your Own Customers and Get Be-Backs Back-Prospecting Referrals and Follow-Up

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I have seen and have been involved in many car Internet deals that were 3, 4, 5 and Six Pounders. Granted the customer will walk through the door with their quotes and all their research wanting to buy a new car for a $1000 back of invoice, but there are plenty of “Fresh Ups” that think the same way. The question is whether you are an order taker or a car salesman?

Internet Car Buyers and Profit

If you are an order taker you can count on seeing your commission check get smaller and smaller in the future, but if you are a car salesman and do your job you can make some real coin. When I say do your job I mean that you will sell the vehicle, demonstrate and test drive the car and maybe even switch cars. You will sell accessories, appearance products and upgrades.

When most customers shop on the Internet for their next new vehicle they are usually focused on price. They will build a car online and they will select options based on price. However when they get to your dealership and you demonstrate some of the features and benefits of the vehicle they will start thinking about how nice it would be to have this or that, but if all you do is show them the car they came to buy you will probably make no more than a “Mini” because that is all order takers make.

Car Salesman or Internet Order Taker

If you are satisfied with taking orders and delivering cars for a “Mini” you can stop reading now, but if you are determined to make money selling Internet customers you can continue. Everyone wants a good deal when he or she purchases a new automobile, but they also want to feel good about their purchase and when feelings get involved there is money to be made. When they are sitting in front of their computer doing their car buyer research and getting quotes they are thinking about money and payment. But just like a “Fresh Up” after they test drive, feel the wheel, smell that new car smell and picture themselves in their new ride they start thinking with their feelings and emotions create opportunity.

Being able to switch every Internet car customer is not realistic, but if you don’t try you will rarely make more than a “Mini”. Emotional car buyers pay profit and you Can Make Money on Internet Customers. The same way that we successfully bump customers on price and payment is how you will get Internet customers to switch and pay profit.  Selling is the difference and that is what a true Car Sales Professional does, sell.

Whether you sell Fresh Ups on the floor or you work with Internet customers every buyer is different. There are mooches on the floor and on the Internet and you take the good with the bad or the “Minis” with the “Big Grossers”. It all works out at the end of the month. The truth is that you can make money on Internet customers when you change your attitude about Internet customers and change the way that you handle them.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

KB

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1. Two People Meet and One Gets Sold.

When it comes to people and selling cars this is one thing that is always true. Somebody gets sold. Whether you sell your customer on why they should buy a car from you today or the customer sells you on why they are not buying a car today. What is it going to be? Are you going to sell your customer an automobile or are they going to sell you on one of their reasons for not buying now?

This is one thing to ask yourself every time you are with a customer and probably one of the most important things a car salesperson should know. Who is getting sold you or them?

2. They’re All Just Looking.

Of course they are all at the dealership to look at cars and nothing will happen until they meet a salesperson, but not just any salesperson it must be a car sales professional. They won’t tell you that they are here to buy a car they will tell that they are just looking and buying in the future, but if you are a REAL SALESMAN or SALESWOMAN you can sell them a car. Just looking is the car buyer’s first line of defense against the car salesman you can accept it or you can sell them a car, you decide.

3. Bad Mouthing Your Competitors Will Hurt More Than Help.

Don’t let yourself get caught in the trap of bad mouthing the competition because it will do more harm than good. You don’t know what they are thinking and you might even be insulting them without knowing it. Show them why you, your vehicle and your dealership is the best place to buy a car. I have seen many deals lost after a salesman talks trash about another dealership or brand. Your customer might be a regular customer at the dealer you are running into the ground for the past ten years and they just came by to see what you have to offer. Stay positive and show them what you have to offer and let them decide or you might be chasing them back to that competitor.

4. The Dumber the Better.

Use the selling system that you were trained to use to sell cars and don’t start thinking that you know a better way. This is the quickest way to see your sales drop. When you start leaving things out and short cutting the system you could be shooting yourself in the foot. Sales and training systems were designed to work throughout the dealership and be consistent. One step is made to work with the next and the one before. I will guarantee that you will lose deals when you start thinking you know better. Get back to basics and you will sell more cars.

5. There is Always More and F&I Will Prove It.

We have all had the customer that wouldn’t dump another dollar, but after they got done in F&I their payment went up 20, 30 or 40 dollars. There is always more, but when you believe that they won’t go another dollar think again. Maybe you didn’t show them a reason to spend more or provide enough value. Think about how bumping them another $100 will equal 20, 30 or 40 dollars in your pocket. If you don’t get it the F&I Department will.

6. Price Isn’t Everything.

Stop thinking that price is the only thing that will close the deal because that is not the case. Almost everyone is will to pay more when they see the value in something. Stop working the desk and start working the customer and provide more value. Many salespeople work the desk harder than they work the customer, but when you show them “What’s in it for Them” you provide more value and ultimately make more commission. This is something every car salesman should know whether they are a newbie or a veteran, but some times they forget.

7. “Be Backs” Won’t Be Back.

You may have heard this one a few hundred times, but that is because it is usually true so I will say it again: Be Backs won’t be back. They say they will, but what they are really saying is that my car salesman didn’t sell me on why I should buy a car from them and their dealership. They think there is more to be had somewhere else because you didn’t make them feel otherwise. They sound so sincere and they have numerous reasons, but that is their way of giving you the bad news. Granted they may visit another dealer and feel the same way about them, but if they meet a REAL CAR SALESMAN they will buy and a car and all the follow in the world won’t help.  Once they tell you that they will “Be Back” your only chance is that they visit another dealership and tell them the same thing and then you have a remote chance with follow up if you something more to offer.

8. Enthusiasm Sells Cars.

Even the grumpy old fart that buys a car is excited about buying a new car, but they certainly aren’t going to tell or show you that. Car buyers don’t want the salesman to think they are excited about the prospect of driving home in a new ride, but they are and enthusiasm will heighten that excitement and engage more of their emotions. Being positive and enthusiastic about them having a new vehicle will only help you sell more cars and increase your commission. When people use their emotions to purchase a vehicle you are the one that comes out on top. Enthusiasm is an emotion and your ticket to sales and logic is the quickest way to a short deal. Be enthusiastic and upbeat with your customers and you will sell more cars and make more money.

9. The Sales Manager Wants to Sell a Car as Badly as You Do.

You might think otherwise, but it really is true. The sales manager gets paid based on sales and gross and they really do want to sell cars. When the desk or sales manager won’t accept your deal it is because they feel there is more room, the customer can be bumped or that the next person will pay more for the same car. It’s not personal they want to sell cars just like you do.

10. Buyers are Liars.

I left this one for number ten because too many salespeople like to use this for an excuse when they don’t make deal, but it is true in many cases. Talk to enough car buyers both on and off the car lot and you will find out that the average consumer thinks that lying to the car salesman is acceptable part of the game. Even that person that never tells a lie thinks that it’s not a lie, but part of the car buying process. Again this is one of the few things that the customer uses as a defense because they don’t want to be taken advantage of by a car salesman. Every car salesman should know that this is how the customer thinks and understand that they need to break down this barrier to what the customer thinks is acceptable. This is also where body language, tone and facial expressions are important when selling cars for a living. Most people are honest unless they are buying a car so they will usually give themselves away with their facial expressions and eye movement. Accept this fact, but don’t use it as an excuse for not selling a car.

These 10 things every car salesman should know are basic, but true nonetheless. They are many other things that you should know when you are selling cars for a living, but these will get you started or remind those of you that may have forgotten some of them. If you have some things that car salespeople should know please add them in the comment section below and I will publish them when appropriate.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

KB

Back to Basics is thrown about the dealership all the time, but there is a lot of truth to it.

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Selling Cars – Male or Female

Some people today may say that a woman might have an even better chance of being a top salesperson if she had the experience, but others say that a man is better at negotiating. You didn’t think I would be stupid enough to pick one over the other did you? I have worked with women in the car business that were absolutely remarkable at their job and quite successful that included floor sales, F&I, sales managers, GSMs and GMs and I don’t think there is an answer. I have seen some women that were better than others and I have seen men that couldn’t sell a car if their life depended on it. Although I must admit that I think that a woman with the experience and the determination to succeed could do very well in every department at the dealership.

I really don’t think gender matters when it comes to selling cars professionally. The person is what makes the difference not their sex. Some say that the woman in a family makes the final decision when it comes to purchasing a vehicle so a woman would be a better choice, but I have seen men that can connect with women just as well as any woman. Others say that if the man is dead set against the purchase his other half won’t need to make the decision to buy.  However not every customer is a couple. Buying a car is not a job best done by a man today like it was yesterday. I have sold cars to many women that were much tougher to deal with than most men.

Agree to Disagree on the Best Car Salesperson

This debate could go on forever. There may be pluses and minuses on both sides of the fence, but when it comes right down to it there are many factors and skills that make a top salesperson and I don’t believe that being a man or a woman matters. Whether you are male or female you likely have your own opinions on who would make a better car salesman or car saleswoman, but talk is cheap and the proof is in the results. So lets sell a bunch of cars, have some fun doing it and may the best car salesperson win.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

KB

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