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There is no easy money! and the things you complain and very minimal for your income level. If I were you, I would save probably 600K in 5 years and open my own store. You are making 170K in a year and just imagine how much the dealership is making in a year!!! Be the big boss
LOL, I love when people assume you are just supposed to take a ton of abuse if you make more money then them.
As I have posted twice in this thread, I fully understand what the OP is going through. I remember the movie Glen Gary Glenn Ross, and that whole sales meeting of coffee being for closers, is pretty mild compared to about half of the car sales meetings I have been in.
The hardest part of selling cars for me was not the customers, or the car deals, it was the bull**** managers pulled through micromanaging and constant berating of all their sales people. It was the dealership's costs on cars being inflated in between when I sold the car and when the financing got done (I believe they call it inventory adjustment now), or not having them place a work order on the car I just sold as one of the manager's buddies just sold one fresh out of the shop and needs the money on his commission. Have you ever been screamed at for taking to long with a customer? What about being blamed for a customer not having the credit to buy a car, but you should have known that on the lot?
Let me tell you about one of my days on a car lot, and it was not out of the ordinary for me on a car lot. My day started out at 8 am on Saturdays as that was our 2nd sales meeting every week, with the 1st one being on Wednesday where you had to attend even if it was you day off, so for the 1st hour of being on the lot I had a manager standing in front of the room bitching that our sales were only up 20% from the previous year, and that we needed to quit screwing around and sale some cars, or they would replace us all with someone who could. That meeting was meant to get us pumped up, but the only part most of us even bothered to listen to was the bonus money, you see you get cash bonuses for selling the right cars or selling enough cars. That day it was $150 bonus for selling 3 cars, which I had done by 5pm, and which put me at 25 for the month which gave me the top salesman bonus which was $500 and the 5% commission bonus that paid me an extra 5% of all the profit on the cars I had sold that month, plus the $150 cash handed out when the dealership closed that night. Well needless to say I was pretty much done, on the side of the building talking to one of my friends eating 4 hour old pizza for the lunch I skipped and trying to relax for a little while. One of the sales managers caught me though, and pointed out a couple that had just pulled onto the lot, he promised me that he would fire me if I did not go talk to them I was fired, which meant I was not qualified for the bonuses (and as everybody in the car business can tell you if you did not have the vouchers you did not get paid on those deals either). So I had to make a choice between talking to the customers or losing $5000, so I went and talked to them. Well what do you know they wanted to buy a car, and so I sold them the car, unfortunately due to having to go pick up their trade and having their buddy a backyard mechanic having to look at it, I was still trying to get the paperwork done at 9pm when the dealership officially closed. Then I was screamed at for making the same ****ing manager stay at the dealership late as I was the last deal.
Now I wish I could say that it was a rare day, but it was a common occurrence, and just another day in paradise. I eventually found a way out, and while I currently do not pay myself near as much as I made selling cars, I am much happier. Plus my net worth is much higher now than it was selling cars. I made more money in the 90s through 2010 as a mortgage broker, and never had to put up with near the crap I did selling cars, so no sometimes the money is not worth it especially if you are a good salesman.
LOL, I love when people assume you are just supposed to take a ton of abuse if you make more money then them.
As I have posted twice in this thread, I fully understand what the OP is going through. I remember the movie Glen Gary Glenn Ross, and that whole sales meeting of coffee being for closers, is pretty mild compared to about half of the car sales meetings I have been in.
The hardest part of selling cars for me was not the customers, or the car deals, it was the bull**** managers pulled through micromanaging and constant berating of all their sales people. It was the dealership's costs on cars being inflated in between when I sold the car and when the financing got done (I believe they call it inventory adjustment now), or not having them place a work order on the car I just sold as one of the manager's buddies just sold one fresh out of the shop and needs the money on his commission. Have you ever been screamed at for taking to long with a customer? What about being blamed for a customer not having the credit to buy a car, but you should have known that on the lot?
Let me tell you about one of my days on a car lot, and it was not out of the ordinary for me on a car lot. My day started out at 8 am on Saturdays as that was our 2nd sales meeting every week, with the 1st one being on Wednesday where you had to attend even if it was you day off, so for the 1st hour of being on the lot I had a manager standing in front of the room bitching that our sales were only up 20% from the previous year, and that we needed to quit screwing around and sale some cars, or they would replace us all with someone who could. That meeting was meant to get us pumped up, but the only part most of us even bothered to listen to was the bonus money, you see you get cash bonuses for selling the right cars or selling enough cars. That day it was $150 bonus for selling 3 cars, which I had done by 5pm, and which put me at 25 for the month which gave me the top salesman bonus which was $500 and the 5% commission bonus that paid me an extra 5% of all the profit on the cars I had sold that month, plus the $150 cash handed out when the dealership closed that night. Well needless to say I was pretty much done, on the side of the building talking to one of my friends eating 4 hour old pizza for the lunch I skipped and trying to relax for a little while. One of the sales managers caught me though, and pointed out a couple that had just pulled onto the lot, he promised me that he would fire me if I did not go talk to them I was fired, which meant I was not qualified for the bonuses (and as everybody in the car business can tell you if you did not have the vouchers you did not get paid on those deals either). So I had to make a choice between talking to the customers or losing $5000, so I went and talked to them. Well what do you know they wanted to buy a car, and so I sold them the car, unfortunately due to having to go pick up their trade and having their buddy a backyard mechanic having to look at it, I was still trying to get the paperwork done at 9pm when the dealership officially closed. Then I was screamed at for making the same ****ing manager stay at the dealership late as I was the last deal.
Now I wish I could say that it was a rare day, but it was a common occurrence, and just another day in paradise. I eventually found a way out, and while I currently do not pay myself near as much as I made selling cars, I am much happier. Plus my net worth is much higher now than it was selling cars. I made more money in the 90s through 2010 as a mortgage broker, and never had to put up with near the crap I did selling cars, so no sometimes the money is not worth it especially if you are a good salesman.
interesting stuff
I had my job threatened twice last year in about a 5 month period for not being able to get a customer to give me their information (dead serious). This was a 5 month period where I was averaging 20-25 cars a month with big profit and nearly perfect customer satisfaction feedback/surveys
Not sure what you want. Everyone has different skill sets and personalities. I don't have the personality to sell cars so it is not for me. But some of your complaints fall on deaf ears. I work hard and get a lousy 45k with no benefits. It took me 3 years to get a whopping 6 days off. I used to have a job that paid 65k, lots of benefits and vacation time, but got laid off a few times. I know people who couldn't find jobs in their field and forced to work in crappy jobs where their bosses are half their age. So just think of the good in your job and not let the boss get to you. The grass is not greener on the other side.
lol yeah, I would tolerate all of that for $100k a year. For the extra $50k-$70k I would be publishing the cars and stuff during a slow day. Just think in 10-15 years you'll have enough money to retire, open your own business, or even write music for a living
save 600K in 5 years? I'm not even sure I'm going to take home 600K in 5 years. You know how badly I get taxed?
I calculated it wrong. You can probably save close to $75k per year which is still amazing amount of money per single income.
Have you ever asked yourself what your long term goal is? Do you want to stay in car sales or want to move to another industry? Do you want to go back to school, advance your career and get a new job? You should never think about the short term plan and should focus on your long term goals. For example, entry level business jobs pay a lot less than $160k per year but they have potential to pay more than $200k based salary plus bonuses. Of course there is chance that you may get stuck in a dead end low paying job. These are all the risks you should factor in. Do you currently have benefits and a good 401k/pension plan? These may not make sense at the moment but these are great investments for future.
Some people only care about money and they do not care whatever they do. There are some people who really care about titles and will work for less money for a better title. There are some people who really values the family and work life balance and they do not want to have a crazy job. You should determine what you really enjoy. If you love interacting with people and selling cars then definitely stay in the business. Having a difficult boss is a common in any industry. If you love interacting with people but do not want to sell cars and want to have an office job then you can get the right education and start to sell ideas/project to fortune 400 companies. If you can sell cars, you can sell lots of other things and having this unique skill set is very important in any business. Try to figure out what you enjoy and make your decision based on your long term goals.
I got my ass chewed out today a couple times over very small things. The abuse is just never ending but how do I say no to the money? I think I'm going to make 16-18K this month...just been a monstrous gigantic month
Doesn't matter . You are a top 0.1% super sales guy , you can anyway make 150-175 K where ever you go .
Wrong. The ability to make top money as a commission retail salesperson, depends on what dealership or store you work at. Reason, some stores and dealerships attract more buyers than others. No matter how good a salesperson you are, you cannot make real money if it does not draw sufficient and qualified buyers.
Some posters figure he must be selling high end exotic cars to make that kind of money. They are wrong. You cannot sell enough high end cars to beat the volume you get in a good run of the mill auto facility. 20 to 30 cars will mean a much higher dollar volume for a salesman than 3 ultra high end vehicles.
The same was true, when I worked in the furniture business. I had a much higher sales volume, than I ever could possibly dream of hitting in high end stores. Fact: There will only be one or two car dealerships in a city, where a good salesman can earn top dollars.
These are the truth in sales, that the OP keeps saying, but so many do not listen.
Some doubt that 20% of real estate people, sell 80% of the houses or other real estate they specialize in. But that is figures, that the Association Of Realtors have been able to compile. And 85% of all real estate salespeople that go into the business, will fail out of the business in less than 2 years. The truth is that figure is not far off of the percent of people that enter retail commission sales, that are not successful.
But a person that has the right personality and drive to be successful in the business, can make a lot of money. Each successful person finds the niche, and eventually the right dealership, or store to make top money.
If I had to sell single family homes for a living, I would have been out of the business in a month. In the commercial/investment end of it, I had a wonderful career from 1972 when I went into the business till I finally retired. My first day I was in the business, I sold a 3 year old brick upscale apartment house to a former co-worker. 2 days later, I sold the identical one next door. The next week I worked, I made a 1031 exchange of a 16 unit upscale apartment house for a large irrigated farm. More dollar volume than most real estate salespeople will do in a year. From then on I was off and running. I had figured out, how to get investors come to me, and handled their accounts like a portfolio manager. I worked regular office hours, with only an occasional after hour or weekend appointment. Much different than selling single family homes when the best salespeople work 60 and even 70 hour weeks.
Salespeople like the OP and myself who have been extremely successful, found a niche to work in, and when working for others were able to find a dealership or store where we could do high volume and make real money. For people that have never been involved in commission sales successfully have no idea or understanding of what a good salesperson can earn.
I posted proof of my income in a post or two above this.
I'm not saying you don't make the income you claim to, nor that I think there are not some car salespeople who can earn what you claim, but the stub you posted doesn't actually prove anything. That could just as easily be a stub from the end of last year as it could be one from this month. And they are easy to fake anyway.
You really can't "prove" it here, so don't bother trying. No matter what "proof" you offer, some will believe you, some won't, and some (like me) don't care either way.
Your general question of "should I put with this to earn a high income" is still valid.
OP is not a troll.
My husband's uncle is a car dealer that deals with El Paso and Juarez cars. He makes bank, roughly $300,000 a year, owns a three story 3000 square foot home, always drives newer cars like convertibles. His wife works in rodeo, she doesn't even HAVE to work, but she likes doing rodeo shows.
I asked my husband long ago if he ever wants to be a car dealer, he said no. Who knows? Maybe his opinion changed. I was almost hired at a car dealership myself, they said for me to finish school first and then come back. I came back, but they didn't remember me lol.
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