Any Car Salesmen Here? (Industry: sales, credit score, unemployed)

[Tex22]

Hey y'all. Quick background...

I worked in car sales at my last job almost two years ago, I was let go because I didn't meet the 7 car minimum sales quota, since then I've been unemployed looking for work that doesn't have to do with sales.

Now I've been thinking a lot about getting back into car sales. There's an opportunity at a really big dealership by Northstar mall, 600+ inventory, company car, benefits etc. I know I have all the ingredients to be a great car salesman, if I didn't think that I wouldn't be giving this thought.

Now I just want some advice from y'all. I know the economy is rough, but you can still make money if you know what to do, especially at such a large dealership. Should I give this another shot?

I'm 22 years old btw, I'm really aching to get back to work and get some money, I'm hungry.

[TexasGuy22]

well if your hungry and you need to eat I would definitely get back into car sales lest you starve

[elnina]

It is not about a big inventory, but about shopping experience, customer service, cars quality, and honesty. You look for work where you get a great benefits, company car etc. That does not mean that you will sell lots of cars there. In my opinion you should find out which dealership is highly praised by customers and actually sell most cars.
Your great benefits means nothing to customers. If they are not happy, they will not come to buy anything.
And cars are not selling like hot rolls anymore...

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you must still live with your parents, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to go two years between jobs. It's a great time to try again as a car salesman, while you still have the safety net of having a roof over your head if you don't sell any cars.

You should set yourself a time limit, though, and if it becomes obvious that you're not making a go of it, whether it's because of the economy or other reasons, find something else or go back to school. It's okay to go a couple years between jobs when you're very young, but when you're not a teenager and you've got big gaps in employment, employers wonder if you were in jail or rehab or something for those periods of time.

This is also one job where your age may work against you. Lots of people don't want to buy something major from someone a lot younger than them, and people near your age don't always have the money to buy a new car from a dealership.

[ggeorgie]

I wouldn't get into that dealership; sounds like North star Dodge. Unless youve been there a long time and have a customer base, it will be very hard for you. Those hi volume stores don't treat their sale people very well. If you want to get into car sales, pick a marque that attracts higher income, educated, better credit scores, like Honda dealerships. Try Cavender or Gunn dealerships; they treat their sales people much better.
If you go to a "turn em and burn em" type of mentality store, you will never make a fair paycheck..

[TexasRedneck]

You've got a coupla things working for you, and some that COULD work against you. At 22, you have to be cognizant of your customer base, which means being able to approach them on their level. You take someone that's older and hit them with the "hip talk", call them "dude/man", etc - the next you'll see is their posterior as they hit the door.
If someone tells you they want a price - give it to them. If they tell you they want a certain payment, that's a different (and generally less educated) buyer, and you've got wriggle room. I spent several months many years ago selling Pontiacs to folks who, on average, "got it" and generally were focussed on the bottom line. I'd try to get them on a demo to get them "invested" in the vehicle and refocussed on why they wanted to buy a car from ME to get them off the cost focus - but it didn't always work. When it didn't, we'd get right down to it, usually with a question from me as to whether they had a price in mind that would get them to commit now. It's all about being able to negotiate with folks on THEIR level - and yours. I'd get folks looking at $30,000 cars wanting a $300 payment, and would have to show them how it just wasn't possible unless I was REALLY going to rip them off (after all, the guy they talked to at XYZ Pontiac told them it COULD be done). I did well with it, always hit the quota, but frankly knew that it wasn't "for" me - because my preferred style of selling is so different than what you really need to do to be successful in car sales. You CAN be honest and forthright, but the hours are long and you DO have to be willing to give up a lot of yourself in terms of days off, etc.
The key is to develop a rapport with them - they're more than just a sale today, they can be outstanding referrals for future sales. Treat them with respect and honestly, and you WILL have repeat customers. Treat them like a "sell and forget", and that's what you'll have - ONE sale.
Good luck to ya!

[Z06Girly]

Originally Posted by Tex22

Hey y'all. Quick background...

I worked in car sales at my last job almost two years ago, I was let go because I didn't meet the 7 car minimum sales quota, since then I've been unemployed looking for work that doesn't have to do with sales.

Now I've been thinking a lot about getting back into car sales. There's an opportunity at a really big dealership by Northstar mall, 600+ inventory, company car, benefits etc. I know I have all the ingredients to be a great car salesman, if I didn't think that I wouldn't be giving this thought.

Now I just want some advice from y'all. I know the economy is rough, but you can still make money if you know what to do, especially at such a large dealership. Should I give this another shot?

I'm 22 years old btw, I'm really aching to get back to work and get some money, I'm hungry.

I work in a dealership, but I'm in a upper management position.

Going to a huge dealership with a large inventory your going to have salesman who have been there for a long time and have a huge customer base so you'll be up against that and that won't be easy. Also means you probably won't make much gross on your sale since they tend to give away their cars in order to make a sale and stay high volume = you will make a mini commission of $100 for hours you spent to sell ONE car. So you better sell 20+ cars a month to make a semi decent paycheck.

If you couldn't meet a minimum 7 cars sold a month then the automotive industry is not for you. Sorry but it's true...

Also dealerships do not give Salesmen a company car which would be a demo car, so don't know who gave you that false info. Dealers only give demo's to GM's and Upper Management if that.

Not trying to be negative here but the Automotive Industry is not easy and being young sometimes can have it's odds against you.

[ggeorgie]

Originally Posted by Z06Girly

I work in a dealership, but I'm in a upper management position.

Going to a huge dealership with a large inventory your going to have salesman who have been there for a long time and have a huge customer base so you'll be up against that and that won't be easy. Also means you probably won't make much gross on your sale since they tend to give away their cars in order to make a sale and stay high volume = you will make a mini commission of $100 for hours you spent to sell ONE car. So you better sell 20+ cars a month to make a semi decent paycheck.

If you couldn't meet a minimum 7 cars sold a month then the automotive industry is not for you. Sorry but it's true...

Also dealerships do not give Salesmen a company car which would be a demo car, so don't know who gave you that false info. Dealers only give demo's to GM's and Upper Management if that.

Not trying to be negative here but the Automotive Industry is not easy and being young sometimes can have it's odds against you.

Nicely said Zo6Girly....

[kevcrawford]

The best salesmen are rising to the top in this economy. In all fields.

Whether or not you can be one of the best, that's on you. If you failed once before, that doesn't mean you'll fail again. But ONLY if you change some things. If you do the same things and expect different results, then you're crazy.

But remember, Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team.

[Paul56]

It is all about marketing and knowing how to deal with the customer
as many customers these days are a lot more savy than in years past.

If you register at all on the customer's "this is nonsense" scale then you
have lost them.

With some dealerships you are going to be behind the 8-ball to begin
with so pick carefully considering the brand, location and what is already
going on there.

I disagree with the blanket statement that sales staff are not supplied
with vehicles... as that is not the case in all dealerships. I'm not going
to argue this point... as I know from personal experience... and no not
as a car sales person.