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If you do not like the conditions you work in, then you will need to take a pay cut and work at another dealership. If you make this much money and do not want to leave this behind, then you will have to continue to deal with it. But you will have to make a choice. Myself personally, if I were making good money but miserable, I would probably walk away.
yep I know. My choices are either go to another dealership and probably make between 50-100K, try another industry and make god knows what or continue to tolerate the negatives. And here, i'm not saying the place I work at is all negatives. Beyond the money, I do have great benefits, I work at a beautiful facility and my co workers are fantastic. In the spring and fall, when the weather is mild and everything is working smoothly, I would actually say I'm fairly happy (just always on edge because you know you can get your head bitten off for the smallest of things by the management staff)
The whole point of the thread was to see what others would do in my situation, I'm genuinely curious
I live somewhere in between of a poor person and a rich person. I have a real nice car and a nice house but my house is 2,000 sqr feet and 3 bedrooms, it's not the 6000 sqr ft mini mansion that a lot of people with my income have.
and no there is nothing else I can think of doing that would make me happy and I'm not interested in taking a paycut. I love the money I make and I want to earn 250-500K at some point but I dunno how
I'm in my middle 60s and I know a lot of people and I do not know even one person that made enough money to buy their own house of any size or price when they were only in their mid 20s. Look at your friends that are your age, how many of them own houses?
BTW, the only people that I know with large homes are established married adults with children, possible on their second or third home. It least in my area, you have to have an income substantially higher than $150,000 to $170,000 a year to own a 6,000 square foot house (unless you had a lot of equity from a previous house, saved or inherited a bundle of money for an enormous down payment).
How many people do you actually know who make $150,000 a year have 6,000 square feet mini-mansion? I would be surprised if it was even one or two. And, I really doubt that they are in their middle 20s.
BTW, make sure that you have excellent short and long term disability insurance. A serious health problem could substantially change your life.
Last edited by germaine2626; 04-19-2015 at 02:05 PM..
I'm in my middle 60s and I know a lot of people and I do not know even one person that made enough money to buy their own house of any size or price when they were only in their mid 20s. Look at your friends that are your age, how many of them own houses?
I know, I realize I'm in the elite range for my age range but I still save around half of my income so I consider myself to live below my means
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BTW, the only people that I know with large homes are established married adults with children, possible on their second or third home. It least in my area, you have to have an income substantially higher than $150,000 to $170,000 a year to own a 6,000 square foot house (unless you saved or inherited a bundle of money for an enormous down payment).
I could afford a 4500 dollar mortgage payment (that's around an 800K house), it would chop my savings down to about 2000 a month but I could swing it. Depending on where you want to live here, that's a 4000-6000 square foot sprawling palace
No point in that though, my current place is 2000 sqr feet and it's got all the room I could need. I don't even use my upstairs living area unless I have company
How long does a typical general manager last at your dealership? Maybe the current 'micromanager' is going to be leaving soon, because they go through them quickly?
Often companies go through managers every year. So if you are unhappy with your manager you just wait it out and soon you get a new manager.
Maybe you take your vacation during the hottest summer months, to avoid dealing with the heat when wearing long sleeves. And save your sick days for the hottest days of the year. And look into purchasing very lightweight fabric for those hot days. So that you meet the rules of long sleeves, but the fabric is thin so it's not as hot.
Sounds like you enjoy your career but it's the manager that you don't enjoy. In this case, either wait out the manager's dismissal or come up with ways to have this manager be less bothersome to you. Ways of coping mentally, that is. Where they don't 'get to you' in a negative way. Get some books, google, or even see a therapist. There has to be some tips on how to deal with the micromanager successfully with less stress.
How long does a typical general manager last at your dealership? Maybe the current 'micromanager' is going to be leaving soon, because they go through them quickly?
Often companies go through managers every year. So if you are unhappy with your manager you just wait it out and soon you get a new manager.
He's been there for 10-20 years, he makes around 500-800K a year...he'll die on the job.
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Maybe you take your vacation during the hottest summer months, to avoid dealing with the heat when wearing long sleeves. And save your sick days for the hottest days of the year. And look into purchasing very lightweight fabric for those hot days. So that you meet the rules of long sleeves, but the fabric is thin so it's not as hot.
interesting suggestions. I know it sounds petty but I'm a big guy and I get hot easily so the long sleeves in the summer is just torture
For the vacation days, I actually save them for the winter. The winter is the slow time of the year for the business and the weather in the winter here is horrendous
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Sounds like you enjoy your career but it's the manager that you don't enjoy. In this case, either wait out the manager's dismissal or come up with ways to have this manager be less bothersome to you. Ways of coping mentally, that is. Where they don't 'get to you' in a negative way. Get some books, google, or even see a therapist. There has to be some tips on how to deal with the micromanager successfully with less stress.
I don't mind the job
If I worked at a place that allowed us to wear polos in the summer, didn't believe in such extreme micromanagement, it would be okay
yep I know. My choices are either go to another dealership and probably make between 50-100K, try another industry and make god knows what or continue to tolerate the negatives. And here, i'm not saying the place I work at is all negatives. Beyond the money, I do have great benefits, I work at a beautiful facility and my co workers are fantastic. In the spring and fall, when the weather is mild and everything is working smoothly, I would actually say I'm fairly happy (just always on edge because you know you can get your head bitten off for the smallest of things by the management staff)
The whole point of the thread was to see what others would do in my situation, I'm genuinely curious
you're not going to get fired by management. you're their bred and butter. if the GM fires you, odds are the owner will be pissed at the GM who in turn be on the hot seat to be canned.
odds are the sales manager, general manager,finance manager, pre owned sales manager dont all hate you.
I too am a big guy, and spent my entire work life working in sales, and have never drawn a salary. I was making in today's dollars what you are making at your age. I am currently 83 years old and retired.
I would wear long sleeve shirts in the summer, as my arms would blister if exposed to the direct sunlight, even using sunscreen as I have no tanning pigment. I found they are actually cooler than wearing a polo shirt. There are thin lose weave shirts available that are dress shirts but breath and help keep you cooler.
A sales manager like you have, is really needed in a high volume car dealership, as some salespeople do not have your ability, nor driven for the big dollars. You do not need driven, but some do and he cannot treat you and some of the others differently. I spent a lot of my career in management positions, and know what it takes to keep the type of sales volume your firm apparently has. From 1972, I was in commercial/investment real estate brokerage till I retired.
If you are smart, don't let the manager get under your skin. Buy some white shirts that protect but are cooler than the ones you wear in the winter. And enjoy being the high volume salesman at your dealership. Be the Creme de la Creme of auto salesmen in your area. Meaning the best.
I too am a big guy, and spent my entire work life working in sales, and have never drawn a salary. I was making in today's dollars what you are making at your age. I am currently 83 years old and retired.
I would wear long sleeve shirts in the summer, as my arms would blister if exposed to the direct sunlight, even using sunscreen as I have no tanning pigment. I found they are actually cooler than wearing a polo shirt. There are thin lose weave shirts available that are dress shirts but breath and help keep you cooler.
A sales manager like you have, is really needed in a high volume car dealership, as some salespeople do not have your ability, nor driven for the big dollars. You do not need driven, but some do and he cannot treat you and some of the others differently. I spent a lot of my career in management positions, and know what it takes to keep the type of sales volume your firm apparently has. From 1972, I was in commercial/investment real estate brokerage till I retired.
If you are smart, don't let the manager get under your skin. Buy some white shirts that protect but are cooler than the ones you wear in the winter. And enjoy being the high volume salesman at your dealership. Be the Creme de la Creme of auto salesmen in your area. Meaning the best.
You say that a sales manager like that is needed, but I'm so incredibly driven and motivated constantly every single month, he adds nothing to my productivity. He only decreases productivity with how uncomfortable he makes me feel
Biggest thing that kills me is that I can have a month where I sell 30 cars, make more money than anybody else in the store and he still threatens my job over one single customer.
Troll alert! No car salesman makes 150k/year much less 175k.
What are you selling Maseratis on a lot located between Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley?
If not then I'm calling you out on your BS.
If you owned the dealership I could see you bringing in at least that much, probably far more, but the fact is that you work for someone else as an employee, get next to nothing in wage/salary, and probably don't make much more than 3-5% commission of the gross sales price (not profit).
And oh by the way...no one who's boss makes them shovel snow off the sidewalks earns 150k/year.
If car salesmen made that much there would be tens of thousands of people clamoring for such a great gig. The fact of the matter is that car salesmen are lucky to be making $500-700 a week, and that's if they get a couple sales.
The fact that you work 50-55 hours a week tells me that you HAVE to work that much just to be able to pay your rent and put food on the plate, which is fine, we all do what we have to, but don't go around pretending to be an I.B.A. who's earning income in the top 0.5% bracket.
According to Glassdoor the average car salesman brings home 47k. Salary: Car Salesman | Glassdoor Not bad for someone in their mid-20's, but not close to something a troll would throw out.
yep I know. My choices are either go to another dealership and probably make between 50-100K, try another industry and make god knows what or continue to tolerate the negatives. And here, i'm not saying the place I work at is all negatives. Beyond the money, I do have great benefits, I work at a beautiful facility and my co workers are fantastic. In the spring and fall, when the weather is mild and everything is working smoothly, I would actually say I'm fairly happy (just always on edge because you know you can get your head bitten off for the smallest of things by the management staff)
The whole point of the thread was to see what others would do in my situation, I'm genuinely curious
I would just stay, keep your mouth shut, stay out of trouble, and keep selling until you have a few million in the bank.
Then consider other options. If you are a talented salesman, you can sell other things that might be much easier and more fun (financial options, high end residential or commercial real estate, etc.) A talented and successful commercial broker works as hard as you do but makes 5-10 times the money. If you have the looks and the charm, you can go into entertainment or sports agency. Again, way more upside to the money for the same work.
Once you have a few million in the bank, you can explore these options. But for now, just keep grinding the cars. Keep in mind though that over time, your dissatisfaction with the basic sales grind may take a toll on that charm and energy. Most car salesmen in their late 30's and beyond are truly miserable and have crossed a line from which there is no way back. It is not a creative job or a challenging job. It's more of a hustle than anything else. Sort of like the life of a professional gambler. One dimensional, and it pays the bills, but is ultimately unimportant. It can be financially rewarding, but that only goes so far as you have one life on this planet and you should be doing something that you love.
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