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Old 09-30-2015, 12:12 AM
 
414 posts, read 292,581 times
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So Brantley, what are you selling? I might be interested at some point.
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Old 09-30-2015, 12:13 AM
 
65 posts, read 132,904 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brantleygilbert View Post
our store has an internet department. You could spend 8 months talking to the internet rep and come in the store and spend 2 hours with me - I get all the commission, the internet rep gets like 20 bucks
Are all dealers structured like that? According to their website, the guy I was emailng is listed as a Sales Associate, same job title as the guy who I talked to at the dealership. If I buy from the 2nd guy, I guess I could play stupid and act like the 1st guy was "the internet guy" if I go to buy and anyone says anything
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Old 09-30-2015, 12:19 AM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
32,757 posts, read 35,962,679 times
Reputation: 43470
Why don't you ever have any good snacks? I was lucky to get some water or a lousy cup of burnt coffee. Cheapskates.
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Old 09-30-2015, 04:39 AM
 
1,289 posts, read 930,208 times
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1) From what you've seen, how do most of your sales colleagues adjust to having a variable monthly income...e.g. $2,000 one month, $30,000 the next, $5,000 the next, $2,500 the next three, $10,000 the next, and so on. Do most people accept that variation is a part of sales and they allow for it and manage ok, or do most just decide to go into another line of work?

2) Do customer surveys matter to you? Do you think management evaluates them realistically? Does your CSI score have a significant effect on your income?
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Old 09-30-2015, 07:32 AM
 
79,900 posts, read 43,866,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LiaLia View Post
1) From what you've seen, how do most of your sales colleagues adjust to having a variable monthly income...e.g. $2,000 one month, $30,000 the next, $5,000 the next, $2,500 the next three, $10,000 the next, and so on. Do most people accept that variation is a part of sales and they allow for it and manage ok, or do most just decide to go into another line of work?
For me it sucked. In part it's why I got out. I had 4 kids to feed and I was offered a very good regular wage elsewhere (offered by someone I sold a car to). As I noted pages ago, I may go back to it when I retire for something to do and the irregular wages won't matter as much.

Quote:
2) Do customer surveys matter to you? Do you think management evaluates them realistically? Does your CSI score have a significant effect on your income?
It does on the dealerships so yes, they care. It affects how many and what type of cars they get, what their warranty reimbursement rate is and other factors. So if the dealership was happy they were less likely to mess with me so I did care.
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Old 09-30-2015, 07:44 AM
 
79,900 posts, read 43,866,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brantleygilbert View Post
the art of selling cars is pretty interesting. If you can make people feel REALLY comfortable around you and open up more and more, you will generally dominate. This is the biggest part of closing a deal - you have to get customers to like you
This is the best advice you have gave so far.

Quote:
Beyond that, you have to be able to recognize what you have - I don't spend any time with mooches, I try to get to the point ASAP so I can get them in and out. The customers who I can tell I can make profit on, I try to spend a lot more time with so I can maximize the sale
Back when I sold VW sent salespeople a "loyalty" check I believe it was every quarter maybe? The longer you stayed at a dealership the more you were sent. So even on the small deal it was well worth it as it added to the check VW sent me.

I recall that Toyota had an end of the year thing for a dealerships best salespeople. It was based upon pure numbers. This may be all different now as far as I know, but small deals still "paid" in the long run.

As I didn't work in a high traffic dealership I still gave them the same attention in the hopes they would send their friends in. Before you go there, yes, these weren't the types that generally do. Still....

Quote:
The most baffling part of the business for outsiders is that generally speaking, the higher the gross profit on the deal, the happier the customers are. All my big deals, the customer is happy as a pig in sh*t
In many cases this was true. It might have something to do with being treated better by their salesperson? It's human nature but maybe not in the best long term interest of the dealership?
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Old 09-30-2015, 07:56 AM
 
79,900 posts, read 43,866,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brantleygilbert View Post
half and half generally speaking. I try not to get involved with that nonsense. I hate be-backs


be-backs do a lot of research and pay very little profit
Some of my best customers were ones that came back many times BUT I will note that this is influenced somewhat by the market. (I did work in a high market dealer for about 6 months). You were right, in those markets the customer rarely comes back. If they leave they get sold the next place they go.

I remember one guy that came on the lot I bet for 3-4 years. Most times he was riding his bike. I didn't even take him seriously but as I note, I worked in a lower traffic dealer so many times I had nothing else to do but go out and talk to him.

To his credit he never asked to take a vehicle out. He would just stop and look. I'd talk to him a bit and off he would go. One day he walks in and says, I'm ready to buy a truck today. It was quick and easy. I'm still friends with him and that was 25 years ago.

I really liked the sales part, I just hated all the other B.S.
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Old 09-30-2015, 08:20 AM
 
18,481 posts, read 15,427,784 times
Reputation: 16129
Quote:
Originally Posted by brantleygilbert View Post
go ahead
Is it really true that paying cash never allows you to get a better deal like it did in the old days? What about for used cars?
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Old 09-30-2015, 08:46 AM
 
Location: Shady Drifter
2,444 posts, read 2,736,748 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ncole1 View Post
Is it really true that paying cash never allows you to get a better deal like it did in the old days? What about for used cars?
You can't say "never" but 99.9% of the time, a cash offer results in either the exact same deal as someone who financed, or worse as the dealer knows they aren't making anything on the back end. It's never a good thing from the sales side to hear that its a cash deal.
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Old 09-30-2015, 08:50 AM
 
4,833 posts, read 5,674,419 times
Reputation: 5908
Quote:
Originally Posted by brantleygilbert View Post
I fixed your post to what you were trying to convey


no worries though, I would close you in a heartbeat too. I don't fight the mooches, I give them the price they want so I can move on and find a customer willing to pay profit. The more time I spend battling you, the less time I have to take customers who will help me get paid.

Your idea of completely f*cking someone over is selling a car about at about a 10% markup. Anything else you buy anywhere else is generally marked up between 20 to 200% but yea those dealers sure are screwing you over.

The problem is the super mooches who want a price that doesn't even exist. If it's just about honoring another dealer's price or true car or whatever, I make that happen very quickly
And there is the rub. Car salesman are a nuisance and don't add any value to the sales process. They were never there for the customer. They are all there to get paid (which in itself is not a bad thing but the problem is you don't add any value, why would I need to pad your wallet)

I'd rather that money go to the dealer or manufacturer as they put up all the risk and hard costs.
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