Thread: Looking for Salesman and Good Sales experiences.

If I am reading your post correctly you are going to dip your toe into the Car Biz ???

Originally Posted by gssixgun

If I am reading your post correctly you are going to dip your toe into the Car Biz ???

Yeah, I don't have to get a certificate or move to the oil-rigs or coast to get a job that way. Should still have time to pursue my metal-working hobbies (bikes, blackpowder, razors) in the evenings. And a paycheck would be killer!

***
I'm at mid-life where folks often change horses mid-stream.

but I wasn't really on any horse, i'm just trying to catch a stirrup (or paddle) and get my ass out of this current...

Originally Posted by WadePatton

... Should still have time to pursue my metal-working hobbies (bikes, blackpowder, razors) in the evenings.

That is key right there.

It will work out simply because you have a good attitude about it.

I've never been in 'sales'.
But I do know someone that was doing exactly that, but he didn't fit the whole 'used car salesman', 'pitchman', 'the hard sell' "ambush them on the sales floor' kinda deal and he did great. As a matter of fact he made bank! He sold trucks. I never woulda thought he would make anything at it. I was sure proved wrong. He makes his own hours too. And he said he still has time for his other interests in the evenings and weekends. (mainly surfing, and volunteer math tutor at the city college). Im not sure what hes doing now as I've kinda lost contact over the last couple years.

I'm not a salesman but I am in charge of the IT across a 6 dealership car sales business. Having worked within the industry now for over 7 years I have seen and spoken to a fair number of salesman and picked up a thing or three.

On the whole car salesmen actually know bugger all about cars, half of them couldn't change a wheel if their life depended on it. So knowledge of the innermost workings of a car are obviously not needed, they do know how many doors a car has and what colour it is hehe. The specs they actually just get on a printed sheet as and when they need them (read when a customer asks them anything other than how many doors does it have).

So what makes a car salesman successful? This one is a bit tricky because some people like a brash in your face salesman and some like a quiet fellow. What ever their tactic / act is (all the good ones are acting in a since) all the successful ones have one thing in common and that is the ability to have a conversion with a customer.

I always ask the top salesman how they do it. Most say that they get talking to bthe customer about something they like, could be fishing, could be their kids, could be straight razors It doesn't matter so long as its not cars Once they find that something they say they are 90% there with the sale as the customer then no longer sees them as a slimy used car salesman but just a "decent nice fellow" who happens to be selling them a car

I have lots and lots of little tricks they use, when I have time I'll list a few out.

Good luck and congratulations on your new job

When someone pulls the 'shamwow' act/tricks on me...bye. Sorry, I digress.

Originally Posted by HaiKarate

When someone pulls the 'shamwow' act/tricks on me...bye. Sorry, I digress.

Yeah, no. That's the sort of stuff that I won't tolerate, nor deliver.

Threepeat bidness is what i'm after: The guy/gal I sell today comes back next time--and sends a referral in the meantime. Can't do that by being silly or overpromising/underdelivering or making them feel like I don't care after the signature.

Making each customer feel like he/she is your most important client has GOT to be good for bidness. We'll see.

Originally Posted by mike1011

I always ask the top salesman how they do it. Most say that they get talking to bthe customer about something they like, could be fishing, could be their kids, could be straight razors It doesn't matter so long as its not cars Once they find that something they say they are 90% there with the sale as the customer then no longer sees them as a slimy used car salesman but just a "decent nice fellow" who happens to be selling them a car

That's funny. I've always stopped salesmen in their tracks as soon as they bring up any topic that's not related to the car. Everyone wants something different from the salesperson. Some want the full volume blast in your face kind of thing, and I want the guy who wastes no words, gets one shot at meeting the deal that I'm expecting to get, and talks about nothing else. I always tell the salesman in a trade situation that I have a spare set of keys, and if they want to play any games wasting time (by holding keys and saying someone's not done looking at the car for more than a shot period of time), I'm not afraid to leave with the set that they don't have so that they can mail the first set back.

Many, many years ago I had occasion to associate with a salesman friend who had a favorite motto: ( S#!+ 'em up good, they love it). He made lots of money with that philosophy. He could convince you that you needed a haircut 2 hours after you shaved your head. He just put things in a different perspective for you. It was actually scary.

Originally Posted by mrsell63

Many, many years ago I had occasion to associate with a salesman friend who had a favorite motto: ( S#!+ 'em up good, they love it). He made lots of money with that philosophy. He could convince you that you needed a haircut 2 hours after you shaved your head. He just put things in a different perspective for you. It was actually scary.

There are a few people who have a salesman radar that allows them to avoid that! I am one of them. Character fault or not, I start with disdain for people I don't know and let them prove otherwise.
Most of my relatives, however, are not as cynical. My dad often boasts of deals he's made when he comes to visit, and there are usually some pretty obvious holes in them where a salesman worked him to get him to change his mind or be convinced of something completely unreasonable. On his last deal, he was going to sell a vehicle privately. The salesman convinced him that he'd be robbed if he did, and gave him 2/3rd in trade what he could've gotten in private sale, and managed to convince him that he did him a favor by doing so - for his own safety.

I'd rather do a couple of hours of pre-research, go to the dealer with it and numbers in hand, give them a heads up before I'm coming that I'm short on time and get a yes or no. One attempted shift of the subject gets a warning, the second one, I walk. One lie, no warning, I walk.

I suppose there's another class of folks who are easily fooled, those being folks who can't manage reasonable estimates of numbers on the fly. Life's tough if you're bad at practical mathematics, and can be especially so if you finance things. It can also be tough if you give everyone the benefit of the doubt to start, as opposed to letting people prove that they deserve it.

Having been in sales /marketing most of my adult life, and having trained many thousands of sales people over the years, I can tell you that it is very rewarding financially, emotionally, etc. However... if you don't have a natural knack for it then you'll have to really apply yourself to learning how to sell, and you must NEVER GIVE UP!

The best advice I can give is to learn "The Art of Asking Questions". Good sales people listen a lot more than they talk, and most folks will tell you exactly what they want if you learn to ask the right questions...

...That, and as I say: Persistence is the Key...