Rejoining workforce and Car Sales

[PorscheGAL]

I have been homeschooling my son. He is now in the 9th grade. When he hits 11th grade he will be taking all of his courses at the local university so my presence will not be needed in the same way. In addition to teaching him, I have been serving on the local homeschool board and in May will end my term as Chairman.

That all being said: I am a planner. I will be rejoining the work force at some point, probably during his 11th grade year and I would like to go into car sales. I know there are several of you who do this or have done this and I would greatly appreciate any thoughts and advice.

I had thought about asking a dealership if I could do a sort of internship or job shadowing to learn, possibly next year. Is this something you think they would go for? I've done some searches online and it doesn't seem that this is very common.

I have been reading several books about car sales in general. Are there any you suggest?

Anything I should look out for when interviewing?

Internet vs Floor sales?

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

TIA

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Do women trust women or men more when buying a car?

My gut says a woman, especially a car person who also understands the customer, would clean up selling cars to women. Could you open your own used lot buying off auctions and reselling? Might be a good angle. Just a thought.

[Oh Haha]

I can't offer any advice on learning the business but I think your experience as a non-typical female driver would bring something extra to the table.

[BK911]

Lots of money if you are willing to work the hours. Plus Saturdays.

[sc_rufctr]

I sold cars for about 18 months and loved it. I was 28 at the time and looking back it really was fun.
(used GM and new Hyundai)

Recently I was talking to a lady salesperson in a dealership and she couldn't wait to tell me how hard it was today because of the "internet".
I'm not really sure what she meant because the smart operators use the net to get people into their dealership.
Yes the customers can compare many cars online but at the end of the day they will buy from you because of the service you provided them.

My manager once told me "you sell cars because you marry your customers".
He also told me, "how lucky are we that we can work and make money here when someone else built this dealership?"

Like anything it's about your attitude and the results you get are really up to you.
Back then we worked a phone. I guess it's much the same now but you're also generating leads from online adds.

[sammyg2]

A good friend of mine just got into that business two months ago out of necessity. $9 an hour to be a peon and bait the customer, then hand him off.
The top salesman at that dealership makes maybe $70k, the average is around $35 to $40k.

The more he tells me about it the sleazier and more disgusting it sounds.
They literally programmed him what to say and what to do and how to act to control and manipulate the customer. No respect whatsoever.

[porsche4life]

I thought about it, but the more I talked to dealers the more it sounded like s bad idea. Check into local regs, how hard is it to get a real estate license there? I went that path and am loving it so far.

[asphaltgambler]

I could not imagine in today's automotive retail environment recommending anyone taking that plunge. You'll have better odds gambling the family's money at Vegas. Today in sales and the service side (front and back of the house) the deck is sooooo stacked against you the only thing you could bank on is having everyone's hands in your wallet.

[dennis in se pa]

I did car sales for 1 month. At the end of every day I felt dirty, very dirty. The sleazy tactics and lies they use are just not something I could be around. Maybe they are not all the same. This was at a large chain of various dealerships in SE PA. And 10-12 hour days was just too much.

[ckelly78z]

I've often wanted to have my own small used car dealership, but never took the plunge because of financial reasons. I believe what would be better now in this day and age, is to buy cars at auction and sell them on the internet, and not have the dealership lot to pay rent on and hire salesmen. You could have a detail guy who cleans up/fixes the cars and takes the pics for the adds, but no other salesmen.
I don't think I have the willingness to put up with a dealership job and the misdirection/lies that are told to trusting people.

[PorscheGAL]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Do women trust women or men more when buying a car?

My gut says a woman, especially a car person who also understands the customer, would clean up selling cars to women. Could you open your own used lot buying off auctions and reselling? Might be a good angle. Just a thought.

That's what I thought. Statistics I have seen say that women are in control of 70% of all car purchases. I think being a woman would help. And for the husbands: I actually like cars. I work on my own with my husband, read about them, etc.

Here in SC if you want to sell cars as a dealer or broker, you must take a class and get a license. I thought no matter what I chose, I might take the class to learn something about the laws of the state. Its under $200, so not a huge investment to learn something.

Originally Posted by sammyg2

A good friend of mine just got into that business two months ago out of necessity. $9 an hour to be a peon and bait the customer, then hand him off.
The top salesman at that dealership makes maybe $70k, the average is around $35 to $40k.

The more he tells me about it the sleazier and more disgusting it sounds.
They literally programmed him what to say and what to do and how to act to control and manipulate the customer. No respect whatsoever.

I do know there are dealers like that. I would attempt to avoid that set up. My hope would be to find a dealer that allows me the opportunity to talk to and close deals as they come up. I do not want a scenario where I do the leg work and someone else makes my money.

Originally Posted by porsche4life

I thought about it, but the more I talked to dealers the more it sounded like s bad idea. Check into local regs, how hard is it to get a real estate license there? I went that path and am loving it so far.

I have my real estate license in Alabama on hold. Here in SC I would just need to take some CE credits and pay the fee. The problem is that the housing market is not that great here and is over saturated with realtors.

[GH85Carrera]

The stereotype of the car salesman rated only slightly above a politician as a sleaze ball is not undeserved.

I worked across the street from a large used car lot. Their favorite contest amongst the sales crew was to see how far upside down in car payments they could get a customer.

[recycled sixtie]

Having recently purchased a Lexus RX350 and before that looked at Toyota's , Honda's and Acura's the best customer experience bar none was Edmonton Lexus.

I talked to one of the young salesmen and he sold Mitsubishi before that. Possibly you have to work your way up into a good dealership by getting experience. What struck me was that everyone seemed happy at the Lexus dealership which is most unusual for a car dealership.

The Toyota dealership drove me nuts with their song and dance routine. I think you need to believe in your product to sell it. You have to know your product well. I would buy a car from a woman before a man. I would give it a try.

Guy

[afterburn 549]

Is a salesperson taught to use all that schmooze?
Or does it come naturally .................
Every time i leave a show room I have to take a extra HOT shower to get the them off me.
No offence but i have had to deal with sales people that would make Forest Gump look genius.
The last ones -
Did know what galvanizing is ..
One b4 that wanted to pay max low for my trade and charge max high for new.
i explained "ya cant have both ways"
On and on

[Aragorn]

Auto sales can be a hard job. Know a few people who have tried it and didn't like it. To be successful, you have to find a way to get someone to outlay a substantial sum but still go home with your soul. I would only apply to dealerships that you know have a good reputation and you trust.

One of the local Ford dealers has a very successful salesperson who is a woman. She has a "veneer" or "shine" that attracts certain male customers, but when you speak with her, she understands the product and how it fits the consumer. She doesn't use hard sales tactics like "hiding the keys" or "quota bashing." She just shows how the person fits the car. I like her because she seems real. She gets the person the car they want for the best price.

[PorscheGAL]

I don't know if it's taught to be a sleaze. I have been reading through some books written by dealer owners and sales people; the common theme being tell the truth. You will make more if you have referrals and repeat business.

I have dealt with salespeople who had no idea about the cars they are selling. We wanted a Boss. Went to the local Ford dealers, they had no idea what we were talking about. Very frustrating as a consumer.

Honestly, I would be pretty picky about where I work. Not only is the environment important but I want to be somewhere that I can be excited about selling their cars. I just can't get excited selling a Kia.

[sand_man]

i did Porsche sales for about 7 months or so. I got laid off from a corporate IT job in 2009, as the economy tanked. I had never done sales before. I was fortunate to have landed a position at a very professional and ethical Porsche dealership. They offered lots of training and coaching. I did well at it for a few months and then it became a game. The "customers" (lot lizards) wore me down!!! If car sales guys have a sleazy reputation, I can't begin to describe how nasty some of the people are that you face in a would-be "car deal"!!!!!!! The customers who got the best deal were the ones who embraced the process (and yes, it can be long and painful) and were willing to negotiate.

Anyway, I was married at the time with two kids and the hours took a toll. Had I been single with no kids, I likely would have kept at it. It really is what you make of it. Like anything, it's a craft and you have to continually hone your skills. Practice your approach, role play with other sales professionals during the slow moments, continually walk the lot and familiarize yourself with the inventory, practice negotiating, be fast on the phone. And just be honest...

[KNS]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

That all being said: I am a planner. I will be rejoining the work force at some point, probably during his 11th grade year and I would like to go into car sales. I know there are several of you who do this or have done this and I would greatly appreciate any thoughts and advise.

You're homeschooling?

[sand_man]

Another thing I'll mention: my passion and knowledge of Porsche really helped me to land the job. That's what I was excited about! And while I was able to sell a few new and used Porsches, most of the gravy was made selling other makes (Mini, VW, Honda, Audi, Jag, etc) from our used lot. So that got old for me...forcing myself to get excited about selling the other schitt.

[PorscheGAL]

Originally Posted by KNS

You're homeschooling?

Does it make you feel better that I fixed that little misspelling? Would it also help that my 14 year old took the ACT and scored in the top 7% in the nation? Didn't mess him up too bad, did I?

Now, back on topic.