How can I become a good car salesman? I want to understand everything about cars and make sales.
Think of yourself in the “people” business, not the car business. With the internet, your customers will come in knowing more about the car than you - the product knowledge expert.Listen to what’s important to them. I mean really actively listen to them. You have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. They will tell you how they want to be sold.Follow the steps to the sale; this is tried-and-true. Don’t skip steps. Don’t be scared nor distracted when a customer says “I’m just looking” or “I’m not buying.” Keep moving forward. Sell on your feet and close on your seat. Be bold. Be fearless. Most importantly, be persistent.I was in F&I and the new car sales manager at a Mazda store for over 3 years; my top producer consistently made $110K each year. At a MAZDA store! He was a monster. He was relentless. Every now and then he would piss off a customer. And he would piss me off when he would take an “up” at 9pm on a Saturday night! I knew I’d be there (with him) ’til midnight.But this is what it takes to be a top producer. You don’t have to piss people off. But you will have to do things that others won’t want to do. And you’ll have to say/ask things that others won’t want to say/ask.Find yourself a real mentor. This can be and F&I guy or a sales manager in your store. You should role play with this individual. And/or find yourself a virtual mentor. Grant Cardone is a guy that I follow. He’s a pro’s pro. Read his books, listen to his podcasts, watch his YouTube videos. Most importantly, implement what you learn!Lastly, sales is all about initiative. Even though you may be a W-2 employee, you need to have the self-employed mindset. It’s about doing everything you can ethically do to get the job done. This cannot be taught. It has to come from the inside. Read “A Message to Garcia” by Elbert Hubbard. It’s all bout initiative.Good luck!
How much does a good car salesman make?
I've sold cars since 1999 and my worst year was last year $59,000. My best year was 2003 and that was $109,000.00. A good car salesman sells 20 + cars a month. Month after month 20 cars or more. Me? I'm just the average guy. Selling an average of 14 a month at about $550 commission per unit front and back total. To make the most you need to get in a dealership that lets you sell both new and used vehicles. Used cars have more profit in them as no one knows what you own the car for. Now with the internet, anyone can pull the invoice for a new vehicle and demand a dealer to sell it for invoice, leaving no commissions for the sales person. However, some dealers have a unit bonus program where if you sell X amount of vehicles then you get X amount bonus. 15 pays you an extra $1,500, 20 pays you an extra $2,000, etc. As far as the typical thought of the car sales man being a shiester, lier, cheat, etc. That's just not true any more. We don't have to lie to sell cars. We simply have to make a friend and know a lot about our product, in order to get someone else as excited as we are about it. That's all selling is. Transfering your excitement about the product to the other person. Excitement sells. If you are an outgoing person, have good follow up skills, good organizational skills, then you'll be good in this business. But dont' sell 30 cars a month, month in and month out, or you will never get promoted. Why take you off the sales force and put you in management? You're doing more for the company there. So whatever you want to make, you can make. You just need to be in the right location, have the right inventory, and advertisement. People will always need cars, trucks and SUVs. We build them so they will break down and people will have to buy another one. Sales managers make $100,000 + General Sales managers make $150,000 + and General Managers often become shareholders and make over $200,000. It's no cake walk though. The hours are long. The stress level is high. But the rewards are having an above average lifestyle and meeting a lot of people who can help you in this world. (Doctors, Lawyers, Police Officers, Government Officials, Business owners, Electricians, Builders, etc.) Give them a good deal on a vehicle, and you'll get favors like a new deck built cheap, free golf lessons, tickets to football games, etc.
What is it like to be a new car salesman?
Like any sales job, it depends how long you stick with it.First Few Months:You are learning the product (the Audi car line), how to talk to customers effectively, and how to deal with management. Your first few months are generally difficult because everything you do takes a huge amount of time. You don’t know how to handle customer’s expectations, you barely understand how a lease works and how to explain it, and most of your sales are just dumb luck. If you like talking to people and don’t mind working weekends, you stick around. Hopefully you make a friend or two.If you are in a good metro area, you are making $5k-$6k/month. Anything less (in the bay area) and you will consider doing something else since you work every weekend.6 months - 2 years:Your sales start to ramp up as you learn how to efficiently guide customers through the sales process. You learn to calm the monkey minds of the customers, and actively manage their expectations to keep them happy. You learn how to “work your pay plan” and your pay increases steadily. Things are good.If you are in a good metro area, you are making $7k-$9k/month. Anything less (in the bay area) and you will consider doing something else since you work every weekend.2 years-4 years:This is were things split. If you are liked by management (top performer and not crazy) then you will move into finance or internet sales. You will make plenty of money ($9k-14k++/month) and life will be good. You will be used to what you are doing and your loved ones will understand your work schedule.If you don’t ever get things figured out, then this period will be when you start to become dissatisfied with the work. You will see people that you started with move into new positions and make more money then you. You will get lazy as you don’t need to work that hard to navigate through a sale, and you will start to hang out with the other people who aren’t moving up. Often times you will leave during this period to another dealership.Third option, not as common, you will just be content at your pay and will stay at the dealer. You will begin replacing your new customers with repeat customers, giving yourself less work but not more pay.
How to become a car salesman?
It takes a LOT more than liking cars. You'll make crap money, as commission sales are all but gone. Car sales requires no LESS than 60 hours per week. You'll need to put every waking hour into your job. For the first 2-4 years, you'll rely solely on floor traffic. You need to know a little about the cars you sell. However, you need to know a LOT about the sales process, and the psychology of the sale. Most customers don't care that an engine has 200+ hp, and a 0-60 time of 7 seconds. They care about their hot buttons, and payments. Where you go with the sales process depends on the customer's state of mind at any given time, and only experience will teach you that. You'll be hired to bring in your friends and family, and maybe sell a few cars. The managers really don't expect that much more out of you. If you're relying on fresh ups, you're already done. The majority of salesmen are out of the business within a year. Senior salesmen have spent years developing a customer base. If you're going to make it, you need to start marketing yourself in new and unique ways. Don't drop your cards in a fishbowl, or pin them to a bulletin board. Take them to places where you can get some customers in. Try mechanics, body shops, and insurance companies, Get a Facebook set up, and put a picture of every customer you sell. Share videos on social media. Pay a few hundred, and get yourself in the paper (with your picture). Offer bird-dog checks for referrals. Be unique. A good salesman isn't the best person with word tracks, it isn't the slickest person, it's the person who relates to, and builds rapport with, the customer. Be honest, and be real. DO NOT LIE. EVER. Don't use the same approach with every customer. Last, and most importantly, FOLLOW UP with everyone. Be creative with that as well. Send a birthday card for the car's one year birthday (the customer too, of course, but that's played). Make sure they remember you. My advice? Stay in school...
How can I become a good car salesman at 20 years old?
The keys to be a successful sales person are the same no matter what the product.Get to know your customer. Learn why they came into your business, what problem they are trying to solve, and only then suggest a couple of possible solutions that would work for them.Pay attention to the verbal and nonverbal signals. Every sale runs through four stages - collecting information (what do I want to buy?), establishing credibility (why should I buy from you?), agreeing on price/terms (how much will I pay?), and establishing the post-close relationship (how do I engage with you for service, and would I recommend you to the next potential buyer?). Every buyer moves these four steps at different rates and has different buttons that either make the experience positive or negative. Don’t rush the buyer, but definitely lead them through all 4 stages.Develop comfort in being told “No.” They usually are not rejecting you, but rather the product you are offering - it just isn’t right for them, or not right at this specific moment. Most customers get input about 3–8 different solutions before settling on the one they will purchase. So, in normal circumstances, you’ll face 2–7 rejections for every successful close. Get over the rejections quickly and realize sales is a volume game, where the number of people you engage is most important, not what percent of the time you close.Be knowledgeable and passionate about your product, but have humility. Often, your customer walks in knowing more about the product than you do, just from studying the specs and looking at competitor offerings. She will likely know more about competitors than anyone in your office. If you can get to know the competitor offerings, do so. That way you can highlight the advantages that are relevant for this customer at this time. And when your customer already knows what you want to tell them, go back to point one above - find out why they are in your office today.
Is a Car Salesman good for a collge student?
I say go for it. If you love the product, you will make a great salesperson. The hours are long, though. Not all states require salespersons to pay for their own licenses. Our state costs less than $75.00 per year and the dealership foots the bill. BTW, don't listen to people that say you have to lie to be successful, that's bull@#$%. I have worked in the new car dealership business for 23 years, our best salespeople are the honest ones (that's why their customers come back again and again), and while I was a salesman myself, I wanted to prove that you could be successful by being honest - I was right.
How much do car salesmen make?
I feel qualified to answer this. I have been in car sales as a salesperson for over 7 years. I want to put it into perspective as to why I have been able to stay in sales for so long.First, it is not possible to simply work your assigned schedule and be successful. One must be willing to work minimum of 6 days per week from bell to bell. I have watched hundreds of excellent sales people come and go over the years because those individuals are not willing to invest the work hours to be successful month after month and year after year. From what I have read, there are some very rare exceptions to this. There are some people who have unusual connections that have been able to work less and be successful, but in my seven years, I have yet to meet one.Second, there is no guarantee. I personally know of a salesperson who at one time was selling over 250 cars per year, but who now sells only one third of that because that individual was not willing to adapt to industry changes over the past few years. To be honest, it woke me up when I realized how a sales career can change drastically if one is not flexible.The way people shop for cars is different. Not everyone drives through lots looking for cars. Many utilize the internet to shop. Just 6 years ago, I did not have to make a phone call to sell cars, now I am on the phone from 2–4 hours per day chasing internet leads.Another dynamic to consider. Selling to Generation Y vs selling to an older individual can be a totally different process. Many salespeople try to use the same process with everyone. It does not work.If you decide that you want to be a car salesperson, then you must be willing to sacrifice weekends and nights for many years. Please do not take the decision to become one lightly, it is a tough gig.You will have to go beyond being just a good employee, you will have to approach the business as if you are running your own business on a daily basis.The monthly income in my market can vary from $ 1,800 to $ 7,000. The average is probably less than $ 2,000. To get to the higher number you will work at least 80 hours per week consistently. To go beyond $ 7,000 per month average, can take several months to several years to do so consistently.
What makes a good car salesman successful?
This is a great question as I went to three car dealerships this summer looking for buy and sell a car. Here are my observations:The sales people at the high-end dealerships (BMW & Mercedes) were the most engaging. They were the most confident and asked me a ton of questions. When I test drove the cars, it really felt good to me. I felt serviced and not hassled. I currently have a BMW and I’m trading it in for a newer model. The dealership sold me on the value of having a newer car.I went with a friend to Subaru dealership and the sales people were less engaging. They weren’t busy but seemed hassled and understaffed. I did not feel the same level of service I felt at the high end dealership. The also didn’t work with my friend as much as they could have on financing her vehicle. She left disappointed. No sale was made. They sales people were nice but they were not engaging.If you are getting into sales, I would focus on learning how to SERVICE the customer instead of trying to SELL them. When you come off desperate to make a sale people can feel it. No one wants to work with sales people who are desperate for their commission. Focus on helping people get the right vehicle for themselves and their families.A great resource to check out of Grant Cardone. He has an entire learning system set up to learn sales, especially car sales. I’ve been using his products for two years and they have helped me. I liked the Mercedes salesman so much, I have his business card on my fridge!