So you want to be a car salesman
- September 22, 2020
I see a lot of Facebook posts from people who are new to selling cars and it’s can be tough to watch the emotional roller coaster ride that many of them are on. Below, I’ve outlined (and paraphrased) much of what I have been seeing lately but I’ve also shared a way to stop this rollercoaster so you can take control of your sales career.
Week 1 posts: Hey everybody I’m at ABC motors so tell your friends I’ll take good care of them and give them the best deals. Manager pats you on the back because you’re letting everyone know that you work there.
Week 2 posts: check out the pictures of this car! It’s a great deal at only $XXXX so come get it!
Week 3 posts: Hmmmm….
Week 4 posts: Really? After all that work they came in on my one day off and I don’t even get half? #SHM
Any of this sound familiar?
Selling cars can be one of the most rewarding and lucrative professions in the world but there are a few things we have to do if we want to be wildly successful so here are a few tips to help you get started on the right foot.
Tips for being successful selling cars
Start with the right expectations
The biggest downfall of most sales people who start selling cars is that they think they’re going to sell 30 cars per month right away and that usually isn’t the case. Make no mistake, it is possible but not without a lot of hard work and sometimes a fair amount of financial investment. Ask during your interview how what the lowest paid salesperson made last year and the highest paid person so you can get an idea of the range. Ask how long they think it will take before you’re at the average of those two numbers. Realistically expect that it will take 3-6 months of long hard hours before really starting to see great results mostly because you will need time to properly prospect.
Take sales training seriously
Another area that causes failure for many new sales people is their lack of proper training. Many dealerships are signed up for a training program but do not encourage a serious focus on it let alone enforce accountability for that sales training process. Ask about the training that you’ll receive before you take the job! If you’re new to auto sales and you don’t get great training you will almost certainly struggle.
Don’t compromise your integrity
Most car sales people are great individuals with great morals and good integrity but let’s face it, there are bad apples in every profession. You may hear someone at the dealership say or do something that is absolutely out of line. You may have a ‘veteran’ tell you that you have to do this or do that if you want to be successful and the things they’re referring to may be out of line. Don’t compromise your integrity and don’t waste time trying to convince that person to change. People of low integrity likely aren’t selling much but they’re always quick to hand out bad advice. Be honest. Be straight forward. Be respectful to every customer. You always know right from wrong and there is never a situation where being dishonest is ever going to be worth it.
Remember that your job is to serve the customer
Sales people get mad when a customer doesn’t buy but usually the anger is ill placed. If a customer doesn’t buy from you it isn’t their fault, it’s yours. Your job is to serve their wants and needs. You won’t alway be able to give them what they want for their trade or get them to the payment they’re asking for but at the end of the day you can always be an honest, straight forward servant to the customer. Listen well, do your best to get them into the vehicle that fits their wants needs and desires and if they want it, they’ll usually find a way to make the money work.
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