Thinking of moving to the motor trade

aaakev

R.O.R wrote: »

Or not, because that's what the business manager is there for.

Never needed nor had a business manager myself, I sell the vehicle and the finance. Main dealer, sell around 360 -400 units new and used a year the last few years with 65% + finance penetration. Me and one other lad

khaldrogo wrote: »

Every salesman I worked with in my 22 years in the motor trade worked 6 days.

I can count on one hand the amount of 6 day weeks if done in the last 10 years with a finger for spare. Yep, 4 is the number! I dont work weekends. Now I do a bit of work in my spare time, I will answer the phone whenever it rings day or night because that's just the way I am and I do t mind doing it but I certainly dont work 6 days. Dec to march I do a few hours OT a week, sometimes maybe 8 or 10 hours because it's very busy but other times of the year I work 8.30 to 5 and to 3 on a friday

Cuir_Cosc_Orm

aaakev wrote: »

Never needed nor had a business manager myself, I sell the vehicle and the finance. Main dealer, sell around 360 -400 units new and used a year the last few years with 65% + finance penetration. Me and one other lad



I can count on one hand the amount of 6 day weeks if done in the last 10 years with a finger for spare. Yep, 4 is the number! I dont work weekends. Now I do a bit of work in my spare time, I will answer the phone whenever it rings day or night because that's just the way I am and I do t mind doing it but I certainly dont work 6 days. Dec to march I do a few hours OT a week, sometimes maybe 8 or 10 hours because it's very busy but other times of the year I work 8.30 to 5 and to 3 on a friday

Were you born with 6 digits on your finger?

Or do you have 5 fingers and one thumb? Or do you have no thumb and 5 fingers?

aaakev

Cuir_Cosc_Orm wrote: »

Were you born with 6 digits on your finger?

Or do you have 5 fingers and one thumb? Or do you have no thumb and 5 fingers?

Na I just use my thumb for counting so it's a finger left over

Eric Cartman

Anyone considering this should just check out that 'motor sales memes' Facebook page . Every third post is some lad with holes in his shoes waiting till payday or buying discount noodles or happy to have found 3 quid in a part exchange car ash tray . Plus the headaches of a lot of customers.

Its a job , and will reward you with a paycheque but its long hours, lots of awful customers, headaches etc.. I think too many people watch youtube videos where lads are like "I used to work in Lamborghini Miami and this one time I sold this guy a countache in July smashed my target and took home 15k that month"

aaakev

aaakev wrote: »

Never needed nor had a business manager myself, I sell the vehicle and the finance. Main dealer, sell around 360 -400 units new and used a year the last few years with 65% + finance penetration. Me and one other lad



..... I certainly dont work 6 days. Dec to march I do a few hours OT a week, sometimes maybe 8 or 10 hours because it's very busy but other times of the year I work 8.30 to 5 and to 3 on a friday

Does the other chap do all the Saturdays?

aaakev

Augeo wrote: »

Does the other chap do all the Saturdays?

He does actually but generally just catches up on paperwork from the week or takes some pictures when the place is quiet. He does 3 hours by his own choice. I reckon he wants to get away from the kids for a few hours myself....

Cuir_Cosc_Orm

Do we really need car sales men anymore?

Get rid of fancy showrooms , glossy brochures and just have test drive centres and let the customer order the car themselves and fill out the finance proposal online. Let them take pics of their trade in and put it on the dealers trade portal for traders to bid on it.

This will avoid any inflated trade in prices and will give true discounts on the actual new car.
Cut out all the bull**** and middlemen that haven't a clue about the product in the 1st instance.

Oops!

Cuir_Cosc_Orm wrote: »

Do we really need car sales men anymore?

Get rid of fancy showrooms , glossy brochures and just have test drive centres and let the customer order the car themselves and fill out the finance proposal online. Let them take pics of their trade in and put it on the dealers trade portal for traders to bid on it.

This will avoid any inflated trade in prices and will give true discounts on the actual new car.
Cut out all the bull**** and middlemen that haven't a clue about the product in the 1st instance.

It's not the sales people or motor trade that are the cause of the inflated prices in the first place...

L-M

As much as you might think that people want the “true” price of the car and the “true” price of their trade in, they dont, and won’t accept it.

30000 less 15000 trade to one fella is a much better deal than 28000 less 13000. Before they’re getting more for their car in the first place.

Also the poster above who’s selling 300 cars a year without a business manager, i Hope you’re accredited or someone in there is :eek:

L-M

Augeo wrote: »

Two multiple choice exams and one can be an Accredited Product Adviser. As you say quite a few car sales professionals are going that route.

It’s not multiple choice anymore, you need a Certificate in Consumer credit which changed to a written exam the year I did it.

Cuir_Cosc_Orm

Oops! wrote: »

It's not the sales people or motor trade that are the cause of the inflated prices in the first place...

Who do you think pays for the showroom and the expenses and profits?

L-M

Cuir_Cosc_Orm wrote: »

Who do you think pays for the showroom and the expenses and profits?

According to customers it comes off rainbows

Cushtie

aaakev wrote: »

Never needed nor had a business manager myself, I sell the vehicle and the finance. Main dealer, sell around 360 -400 units new and used a year the last few years with 65% + finance penetration. Me and one other lad



I can count on one hand the amount of 6 day weeks if done in the last 10 years with a finger for spare. Yep, 4 is the number! I dont work weekends. Now I do a bit of work in my spare time, I will answer the phone whenever it rings day or night because that's just the way I am and I do t mind doing it but I certainly dont work 6 days. Dec to march I do a few hours OT a week, sometimes maybe 8 or 10 hours because it's very busy but other times of the year I work 8.30 to 5 and to 3 on a friday

You must be more than just a salesman so? I take it you have some sort of share in the place? I would have thought that a main dealer would have more than two salesmen.

Toyotafanboi

Cuir_Cosc_Orm wrote: »

Do we really need car sales men anymore?

Get rid of fancy showrooms , glossy brochures and just have test drive centres and let the customer order the car themselves and fill out the finance proposal online. Let them take pics of their trade in and put it on the dealers trade portal for traders to bid on it.

Cut out all the bull**** and middlemen that haven't a clue about the product in the 1st instance.

Cuir_Cosc_Orm wrote: »

Who do you think pays for the showroom and the expenses and profits?

Tell us this, what is the difference between a showroom and a "test drive centre" and how are the overheads of a "test drive centre" be lesser than that of a showroom? How or why would it be accepted that a test device centre wouldn't be "fancy".

When you get to a test drive centre, how will you test drive the car? Who will get you the keys? Who will get the car for you? Who can you ask questions to?

If you ran a car dealership, would you make binding offers on cars based on the customers description of the car and a few photos without a physical appraisal? That'd never ever work.

When people are buying big ticket items like cars, they like fancy showrooms, they like glossy brochures, they actually like sales people too. They like to ask questions and have conversations.

There are only two different types of people who dont like car salesmen; car enthusiasts and people who get unfavourable trade in prices.

L-M

L-M wrote: »

It’s not multiple choice anymore, you need a Certificate in Consumer credit which changed to a written exam the year I did it.

APA in loans & regulations is sufficient AFAIK.
Both are multiple choice.

Cuir_Cosc_Orm

L-M wrote: »

According to customers it comes off rainbows

Yes, I realise customers can be an odd folk but if customers focused on the cost to change rather than throwing keys at the salesperson and wanting best price for trade in.

I envisage a lot of Distributors cutting the number of dealerships. BMW and Ford have already done this.

There'll be a more streamlined process where customer orders online and can engage with a product advisor online via facetime etc located in the Distributors call centre with access to cars if necessary. Test drives can be organised in shopping centres after the customer is "profiled" Then finance is arranged and your new car can be collected at a central point or at home address.

L-M

I think that’s all good and well, but who appraised the trade in or where does it go?

The only way that system will work is when we have a very high percentage of leasing, where people just sign to a monthly, take a car and hand it back and the end and go again. Equity etc isn’t an issue.


It’s a very long way away.

aaakev

L-M wrote: »

Also the poster above who’s selling 300 cars a year without a business manager, i Hope you’re accredited or someone in there is :eek:

Yes the qualifications are there, we have to submit them every few years to get our certificate to sell finance for the banks who's products we sell

Cushtie wrote: »

You must be more than just a salesman so? I take it you have some sort of share in the place? I would have thought that a main dealer would have more than two salesmen.

No shares, just an employee. Depends on the dealership to be fair how many they have or need. There are places with more men who sell less.

not2be

aaakev wrote: »

Yes the qualifications are there, we have to submit them every few years to get our certificate to sell finance for the banks who's products we sell



No shares, just an employee. Depends on the dealership to be fair how many they have or need. There are places with more men who sell less.

Is the garage located in Dublin? How many units would the garage carry on average at any one time?

colm_mcm

aaakev wrote: »

Yes the qualifications are there, we have to submit them every few years to get our certificate to sell finance for the banks who's products we sell



No shares, just an employee. Depends on the dealership to be fair how many they have or need. There are places with more men who sell less.

Does the other salesperson work every Saturday when you’re off, or do ye just not open?

aaakev

colm_mcm wrote: »

Does the other salesperson work every Saturday when you’re off, or do ye just not open?

We're not open, he uses the quiet time to catch up on other stuff and get away from the madness of the kids on Saturday morning!

khaldrogo

aaakev wrote: »

I can count on one hand the amount of 6 day weeks if done in the last 10 years with a finger for spare. Yep, 4 is the number! I dont work weekends. Now I do a bit of work in my spare time, I will answer the phone whenever it rings day or night because that's just the way I am and I do t mind doing it but I certainly dont work 6 days. Dec to march I do a few hours OT a week, sometimes maybe 8 or 10 hours because it's very busy but other times of the year I work 8.30 to 5 and to 3 on a friday

The op is asking about main dealers and starting as a junior......you are a 2 man operation. Different thing.

Any junior starting out in a main dealers is working Saturday.

aaakev

khaldrogo wrote: »

The op is asking about main dealers and starting as a junior......you are a 2 man operation. Different thing.

Any junior starting out in a main dealers is working Saturday.

Did you miss the part where I said I'm in a main dealer? Anyway the reply you're quoting was to you not the op, I replied to the OP at the start of the thread....

I'm sales in a main dealer, most main dealer sales guys I know work maybe 1 Saturday a month outside of busy periods in Q4 or Q1 where you could work 2 or 3. I know a few lads who do 4 or 4 Saturdays a month but have a day off during the week so work 5 days most weeks.

What's your experience working as a car salesman?

khaldrogo

aaakev wrote: »

What's your experience working as a car salesman?

So I have to have worked directly as a salesman in a main dealer to give advise based off my first hand experience garnered over 22 years working along side salesmen????

I've never been a milkman but I know they get up pretty early........


I worked many, many Saturdays over the years in the workshop and there was ALWAYS salesmen working, ALWAYS.

So that's my experience.

Maybe some salesmen who work the Saturday get a day off during the week but it hasn't been my experience.

You need to calm yourself. I sorry you're upset that some people out there doing the same job as you don't do it exactly the same. Maybe you need to speak to a professional?

aaakev

Haha I wasnt trying to be standoffish but just asking a question, I re read what I wrote and can see why you thought I was though! Half paying attention to my phone and half to a 4 year old running riot....

Your right though, juniors will always draw the short straw and do the **** hours and **** jobs but that's true for every job, apprentices are glorified cleaners most of the time in every trade but it gets better and being a junior in sales wont last long and the rewards can be great after it if you are good.

Lots of people telling the OP to stay put but have never done the job themselves, they shouldn't really be giving that advice. I know plenty of mechanics who hate their jobs but on the flip side i know plenty that are great mechanics and love it so if someone asked my opinion on whether they should become a mechanic i'd tell them to go for it and see for themselves. Car sales is something I always had an interest in, iv been very successful at and I love it as a job. I know plenty of others who are the very same and also some who hate it and aren't great.

PrettyBoy

aaakev wrote: »

Haha I wasnt trying to be standoffish but just asking a question, I re read what I wrote and can see why you thought I was though!

To be fair the picture you're painting doesn't really apply to the OP. Not sure where you are in the country but a main dealer being run top to bottom by a grand total of two sales people (one of whom doesn't work on weekends and knocks off early every Friday) sounds bizarre to me. Your attitude to working Saturdays is odd as well, as is the claim that very few car sales people you know work Saturdays - am I right in saying that you live and work in Ireland?

I spent a year working in a sales role for a main dealer in Dublin and I got a total of two Saturdays off in my time there - to say they didn't come easy would be putting it mildly. I know many, many senior sales executives and every one of them has to be in work every Saturday. The OP would be going into a role where he would be required to work every single Saturday so let's at least be clear about that. He will likely not get a single day off or be allowed to take any annual leave during the months of January and July.

It's a very demanding job with a poor work-life balance in my experience. There's not a chance you will be working a 39-hour week at any point. Even when you start earning commission it's doesn't justify the hours you work. Relatively speaking, you make fuck all commission for selling the car. You have to convince the customer that they need the Lifeshine kit, the dent repair insurance and the rest of the shit the garage tries to rip them off with.

One of the aspects I hated most about the job is the image of the sleazy, untrustworthy car salesman that most people have before they even walk in the place. They know you're going to try and push something on them that they don't want, whether it's a winter kit (??) or the finance deal. The dealer principal and sales manager will want you to gouge as much money as possible out of the customer by any means necessary so you have to consider if this is something you'd be comfortable doing day in, day out.

not2be

aaakev wrote: »

We're not open, he uses the quiet time to catch up on other stuff and get away from the madness of the kids on Saturday morning!

Am i reading this correctly....

Just two of you in the sales department, both of you also sell customers finance along with vehicles...

Every year the dealership sells 360- 400 vehicles....

The dealership is closed on Saturdays....

aaakev

not2be wrote: »

Am i reading this correctly....

Just two of you in the sales department, both of you also sell customers finance along with vehicles...

Every year the dealership sells 360- 400 vehicles....

The dealership is closed on Saturdays....

What franc

Correct

not2be

not2be wrote: »

Am i reading this correctly....

Just two of you in the sales department, both of you also sell customers finance along with vehicles...

Every year the dealership sells 360- 400 vehicles....

The dealership is closed on Saturdays....

What franc

Sounds like a business focusing on commerial van sales?

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Sounds like a business focusing on commerial van sales?

Quite likely, sells units not cars.

khaldrogo

This post is the most true to life description of being a salesman from my experiences.....

PrettyBoy wrote: »

To be fair the picture you're painting doesn't really apply to the OP. Not sure where you are in the country but a main dealer being run top to bottom by a grand total of two sales people (one of whom doesn't work on weekends and knocks off early every Friday) sounds bizarre to me. Your attitude to working Saturdays is odd as well, as is the claim that very few car sales people you know work Saturdays - am I right in saying that you live and work in Ireland?

I spent a year working in a sales role for a main dealer in Dublin and I got a total of two Saturdays off in my time there - to say they didn't come easy would be putting it mildly. I know many, many senior sales executives and every one of them has to be in work every Saturday. The OP would be going into a role where he would be required to work every single Saturday so let's at least be clear about that. He will likely not get a single day off or be allowed to take any annual leave during the months of January and July.

It's a very demanding job with a poor work-life balance in my experience. There's not a chance you will be working a 39-hour week at any point. Even when you start earning commission it's doesn't justify the hours you work. Relatively speaking, you make fuck all commission for selling the car. You have to convince the customer that they need the Lifeshine kit, the dent repair insurance and the rest of the shit the garage tries to rip them off with.

One of the aspects I hated most about the job is the image of the sleazy, untrustworthy car salesman that most people have before they even walk in the place. They know you're going to try and push something on them that they don't want, whether it's a winter kit (??) or the finance deal. The dealer principal and sales manager will want you to gouge as much money as possible out of the customer by any means necessary so you have to consider if this is something you'd be comfortable doing day in, day out.