NJD!!! (new job day)

[84camarofreak]

Lost my job in rug sales end of July, been looking ever since. Just got hired at a local Nissan dealership. Very excited, nervous as hell. Gonna be a huge change from the type of sales I did before. Looking forward to having scratch for new gear though!!!! Please no negative remarks about salesmen either. We aren't all scumbags.

[newking70]

good luck......can you get me a deal on a gt-r?

[Push to Shuv]

Congrats. I am an Inventory/Internet Manager at a dealership. The car business can be rewarding but also stressful. I worked 72+ hour weeks when I was selling cars at Dodge. I went to the dealership I am at now after 3 months and got promoted 3 months later. I really enjoy my work and like who I work for.

With prior sales experience you will be fine. Just know that most big dealerships are very strict about sales processes and/or turnovers. You can make some really good money too. Will you be selling new or used?

[TheLivingDead]

Congrats and good luck.

[B2D]

Congrats dude!! I'm in a similar situation - lost my job in mid-November, just got hired as a Producy Specialist at a Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealership. Good on ya!

[gilaltom3]

Congrats, dude! just don't hound everyone as soon as they walk on the lot!! That's the only reason I don't like car dealers. They're just trying to make money, but being pushy isn't cool.

[Push to Shuv]

Congrats, dude! just don't hound everyone as soon as they walk on the lot!! That's the only reason I don't like car dealers. They're just trying to make money, but being pushy isn't cool.

+1. Your managers will likely hound you pretty bad but just find your own groove. You can stay on top of customers without being rude. When I started selling cars I took a different approach, I was friendly, professional, and honest, sold a car a day for my first week. Take a genuine interest in your customers, it makes people more comfortable and most dread car buying experiences so bringing down their wall is important. Get as many customers as you can on the lot, your income depends on it. Also, work the phones and craigslist hard. We sell a lot of cars on craigslist and that way you can ensure that people ask for you directly. Don't hesitate to shoot me a message if you want info or advice.

Also, be careful about splitting deals with other salespeople, some like to take advantage of "green peas" (newbies) to get easy half deals. That being said, if you truly need help, ask for it. Half of a deal is better than no deal.

Best of luck to you, Sir!

[lex666]

Congrats on the new job. I hope it works out well.

I think the more important question is:

What gear are you gonna buy with that extra dough?

BTW - IME car dealers have been very cool. Actually, I feel bad for them sometimes. I'll haggle them for hours to come down on price. Otherwise, I threaten to walk away and shop elsewhere. You can tell I'm wearing on their patience but that's part of my game.

[LesStrat]

Congrats dude!! I'm in a similar situation - lost my job in mid-November, just got hired as a Producy Specialist at a Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealership. Good on ya!

Wait, what

I thought you'd be in charge of the joint by now.

[Push to Shuv]

BTW - IME car dealers have been very cool. Actually, I feel bad for them sometimes. I'll haggle them for hours to come down on price. Otherwise, I threaten to walk away and shop elsewhere. You can tell I'm wearing on their patience but that's part of my game.

Its a 2 sided game. Customers want to pay as little as possible and dealers want to make as much as possible. New cars are tough because the markup is much less than most customers think. When I was at Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep, markup on Calibers and similar cars was around 700. Most sales people make around 25% so selling AT STICKER would gross the sales person about 175 bucks, and no one pays sticker. Jeep Wranglers had very low markup as well, less than 1500 IIRC. The Rams were by far the highest at around 3-4000.

Used vehicles often have more room, but it depends. We sell many cars for what we own them for, sometimes less due to having to pay taxes on all inventory in stock.

Customers expect to haggle, every single one does. Sales people expect it as well. But as I said, in some cases there truly isn't room to drop prices. Negative profit is never a good thing.

[LesStrat]

If markup was only $700, how can they advertise trucks at $7000 off MSRP

[Push to Shuv]

Marketing. The Rams were 3-4k as stated above. If you go ask them about the 7k off, that includes every single discount that can possibly be put towards it. Many of which most people dont qualify for. Military discount, Farm Bureau discount, Loyalty discounts, you name it and its factored into that 7k off. It gets people in the door.

[KoreanGuitarMan]

If markup was only $700, how can they advertise trucks at $7000 off MSRP

MSRP and actual retail price are two very different things. MSRP is often a complete BS figure to make the sticker price look more attractive.

Happens everywhere. When you buy a shirt for %75 off, it's likely 75% off MSRP and not the regular retail price. Sometimes they'll even raise the regular retail price to inflate the sale percentage.

The "invoice" price and what the dealership paid for the car are different too. If they advertise a car selling for X amount below invoice the discount isn't as steep as it appears.

[84camarofreak]

Wow!!!! Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone!!! Don't really have sales managers, it's an owner operated dealership. Will be selling new and used. And they have been stressing not to be too high pressure. But I have a month of training and certification to go through before I'm on the floor, just in time for the presidents day sale. As far as gear... Need an amp bad. Probably gonna pick up a used blues jr for now. And start a savings fund for a two rock studio pro 22. And a good SSS strat. Have a two hum squier deluxe that's balls but I miss singles really bad lol

[Push to Shuv]

Sounds like you found a good one bro. That's a lot of initial training!

[HamerPlyr]

I'm sure that you'll learn fast and you'll do fine.

If I may be so bold as to offer you a bit of advice, I would tell you to learn to help your customer justify paying a little more to do business with you/your dealership. It may be that you're closer to their home, closer to their office, whatever. It's not likely that you're going to be the cheapest on every car that you try to sell, so I would suggest that you help your client to see that the best deal is not necessarily the cheapest price. They've been conditioned to think that if they don't get the dead cheapest price, they've failed. I would suggest that you help them to redefine a good deal. I think that you'll see what I mean soon enough.

Above everything else, treat them the way that you would want to be treated. Best of luck.

[Push to Shuv]

^ +1

[LesStrat]

Marketing. The Rams were 3-4k as stated above. If you go ask them about the 7k off, that includes every single discount that can possibly be put towards it. Many of which most people dont qualify for. Military discount, Farm Bureau discount, Loyalty discounts, you name it and its factored into that 7k off. It gets people in the door.

And THAT is the dishonesty that keeps me off the lot.

Telling me it's $7000 off just let's me know that you're really ripping me off to begin with.

[newking70]

i'd venture to say 99.99% of car salesmen are lying scumbags.

[Push to Shuv]

LesStrat - I agree that its twisted. It is possible to get there, but as I stated most people would qualify for just a few of the discounts. I hated when customers came in off those ads because they would usually end up upset that they cant get the full amount off. I did not like selling new cars because of all those shady things and I left there after 3 months. I did well but was under too much stress and 80+ hour weeks were killer. The dealership I have been at since is preowned and we dont play those games, or advertise sales unless ANY customer can get that exact discount. I absolutely love it here, our staff is so friendly and honest, and our customers are ALWAYS satisfied. It is a night and day difference.

newking70 - Majority are, but not all. I have known some really wonderful sales people.