Can anybody who works in this field help me out? (vehicle, manual transmission)

[iwantyall2know]

I have found out that I get a base salery which is not a draw on the 1st of the month of 750 dollars, then I get my commission check on the 15th of every month. Anything under 1,600 profit off the front end is only a mini of 100.00 for used vehicles and 150.00 for new. Its a sliding scale from that ranges from 16-20% from there all the way up to 4,100 front end. I was told the average cars sold monthly for each sales consultant at this paticular location is 10-12 per month. Basically the worst I could do is 9,000 yearly (assuming I dont make any commissions), and the best I could do is 200,000 (assuming i'm a top seller). Realistically I expect my first year to be 30,000-40,000. There is alot of potential money as a car salesman. You essentially write your own check!

I am still in training and am taking in as much information and criticism as I can from as many people as I can. I understand car salesman have a bad image and many people may have formed bad opinions of them but I would like to keep this a positive thread. Can anybody who 'works' in this field or who has worked in this field share with me any tips, tricks, or suggestions to make me a great car salesman? Even basic information is welcomed.

[duster1979]

I sold cars for a short time. My base was $400/week because I also did TTL, commission was 25% of gross profit (which was very high), and a mini was $100 new or used. The dealership was in a small town and wasn't very busy, and it got shut down after a few months because the owner was selling cars through his leasing operation in Chicago and not paying Chrysler for them, but it was a great experience because of everything I learned about the car business from the general manager who had been selling cars for 30+ years.

I don't really have any "tips," but I can tell you that the thing I found most frustrating was the unreasonable expectations the customers had, especially regarding their trade-ins. It seems like everybody who wants to trade seems to think that they've taken better care of their vehicles than anyone else in the world and therefore deserve a premium.

My best advice would be to qualify the customer to understand what will best suit his or her needs, then make the sale based on that and nothing more. I don't know if you manager will go for that approach, but my nephew earned $100K a year using that method for several years until he was promoted to management.

Good luck!

[flynavyj]

I can't give you advice from a selling point, but I can from a buying point. I'm a car enthusiast, and absolutely LOVE the automobile and have since I was about fifteen years old. That said, I love to have a sales rep who is enthusiastic about the brand, the product, and the vehicles. I think this is especially true in some of the more niche markets (Subaru, VW, Audi, etc) more so than the stable brands (Say Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet). I've had some AMAZING experiences chatting cars with people from my old local VW dealership back in the day, both dealerships in my area could have sold me a car on conversation, service, and knowledge alone.

Years ago when my mother purchased her Ford Mustang, I remember taking a test driver with a dealership and the guy initiating the test drive new significantly less about the vehicle we were driving than I did, and i'm not a Ford expect by a long shot.

As a test driver, I'm normally test driving the experience as well...I'll know if I like or dislike a car when I'm behind the wheel, but look to make conversation with the salesman as we go. I'll often ask questions, some I know, some I don't. Now, I'm not expecting the salesman to know EVERYTHING off the top of his head, such as price, every option, etc...but some basic understanding is nice, such as..."This car is equipped with a 2.0 turbo-charged diesel engine, the transmission is a DSG, essentially a dual clutched manual transmission that forgoes the clutch pedal to act like an automatic" If i say "So this engine is?" And the guy has to look at the window sticker (after i asked him to pull the car around...we've got issues).

All in all, remember that car sales are just like any other sales. You're selling a product that people need, and want. Immerse yourself in the brand you're selling, learn the ends and outs of the business, and make the customers happy. But most importantly, PLEASE show some enthusiasm about the vehicles you're selling...while it doesn't always guarantee a sale, I can tell you from personal experience that it can ruin any potential of one...

I took a test drive about two weeks ago at a local St. Louis area VW dealership. The test drive was a promotion based on previous service appts i've scheduled with the dealership, and would give me a free upcoming service appt. Knowing my wife and I are in the market for a new car at the beginning of next year I decided it would a perfect time to go test drive a new vehicle, and had narrowed my selection between a couple brands, but VW was leading the pack with the new TDi Passat. The salesman made several totally incorrect assumptions about me:

1. He assumed that because this was a promo drive I had no interest in actually purchasing the car.
2. He apparently thought he remembered me taking a test drive in the same car a week prior.
3. He failed to show any interest/knowledge in the vehicle lineup, models, changes, etc (He was there to sell cars).

In answer to all of the above points, I do have an interest in buying a new vehicle, particularly the one I test drove, just not on the given day. I had never test driven a vehicle at that dealership, I had set in a couple in the showroom months ago on a previous service appt. And explaining to me that he had been selling cars since the Carter administration, and this was his first stint with Volkswagen, and that he didn't necessarily "enjoy" the vehicles he was selling really did him in...the simple fact that he stared out the window for most of the test drive with the exception of telling me to "turn right, turn left, make sure you stop at that stop sign because there's a redlight camera" pretty much guaranteed that he didn't receive a sale when I purchase in a year...It sucks, but truth be told, I don't feel a tear of pity here...it's a service industry, and he didn't provide service.

In short, if you want to sell cars effectively, don't be the guy I just described.

[iwantyall2know]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

I can't give you advice from a selling point, but I can from a buying point. I'm a car enthusiast, and absolutely LOVE the automobile and have since I was about fifteen years old. That said, I love to have a sales rep who is enthusiastic about the brand, the product, and the vehicles. I think this is especially true in some of the more niche markets (Subaru, VW, Audi, etc) more so than the stable brands (Say Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet). I've had some AMAZING experiences chatting cars with people from my old local VW dealership back in the day, both dealerships in my area could have sold me a car on conversation, service, and knowledge alone.

Years ago when my mother purchased her Ford Mustang, I remember taking a test driver with a dealership and the guy initiating the test drive new significantly less about the vehicle we were driving than I did, and i'm not a Ford expect by a long shot.

As a test driver, I'm normally test driving the experience as well...I'll know if I like or dislike a car when I'm behind the wheel, but look to make conversation with the salesman as we go. I'll often ask questions, some I know, some I don't. Now, I'm not expecting the salesman to know EVERYTHING off the top of his head, such as price, every option, etc...but some basic understanding is nice, such as..."This car is equipped with a 2.0 turbo-charged diesel engine, the transmission is a DSG, essentially a dual clutched manual transmission that forgoes the clutch pedal to act like an automatic" If i say "So this engine is?" And the guy has to look at the window sticker (after i asked him to pull the car around...we've got issues).

All in all, remember that car sales are just like any other sales. You're selling a product that people need, and want. Immerse yourself in the brand you're selling, learn the ends and outs of the business, and make the customers happy. But most importantly, PLEASE show some enthusiasm about the vehicles you're selling...while it doesn't always guarantee a sale, I can tell you from personal experience that it can ruin any potential of one...

I took a test drive about two weeks ago at a local St. Louis area VW dealership. The test drive was a promotion based on previous service appts i've scheduled with the dealership, and would give me a free upcoming service appt. Knowing my wife and I are in the market for a new car at the beginning of next year I decided it would a perfect time to go test drive a new vehicle, and had narrowed my selection between a couple brands, but VW was leading the pack with the new TDi Passat. The salesman made several totally incorrect assumptions about me:

1. He assumed that because this was a promo drive I had no interest in actually purchasing the car.
2. He apparently thought he remembered me taking a test drive in the same car a week prior.
3. He failed to show any interest/knowledge in the vehicle lineup, models, changes, etc (He was there to sell cars).

In answer to all of the above points, I do have an interest in buying a new vehicle, particularly the one I test drove, just not on the given day. I had never test driven a vehicle at that dealership, I had set in a couple in the showroom months ago on a previous service appt. And explaining to me that he had been selling cars since the Carter administration, and this was his first stint with Volkswagen, and that he didn't necessarily "enjoy" the vehicles he was selling really did him in...the simple fact that he stared out the window for most of the test drive with the exception of telling me to "turn right, turn left, make sure you stop at that stop sign because there's a redlight camera" pretty much guaranteed that he didn't receive a sale when I purchase in a year...It sucks, but truth be told, I don't feel a tear of pity here...it's a service industry, and he didn't provide service.

In short, if you want to sell cars effectively, don't be the guy I just described.

This is very insightful, thank you for your information.

[vmaxnc]

Originally Posted by duster1979

My best advice would be to qualify the customer to understand what will best suit his or her needs, then make the sale based on that and nothing more. I don't know if you manager will go for that approach, but my nephew earned $100K a year using that method for several years until he was promoted to management.

Good luck!

Is there any other way to sell? Any manager who won't go for that approach needs to be fired. Any salesperson who doesn't understand that approach needs a new career. Anyone who thinks that doing anything but qualifying and then addressing the customer's needs is selling is clueless.