distortion_69

iTrader: (20)

Anyone in Car sales? I'm thinking of applying to a few places as my cousin just got a job at a Chevrolet dealership.

Do you like it? Does it put food on the table? Are you hounded to sell stuff, or is it pretty laid back?

Thanks,
Josh

Josh@KY-Turbo

iTrader: (120)

I sold cars for a couple yaers. It is a numbers game. The more people to talk to the more you sell. Some dealerships have a base salary that keeps the bills paid. You had better make more than that salary or you wont have a job long. It s a stressful yet rewarding job. I made killer money selling cars but got sick of the slacks, ties and long hours.

To sum it up:
-You wont get rich over night.
-You wont make much $$$ starting out
-Its laid back when your selling cars and stressfull when your not.
-If you can tough out the beginning and stick with it you can make a nice living.

Hope that helps some.

fast

iTrader: (24)

it's work. plain and simple.
I make my goals and relax
90%+ of those who try it don't make it
if it scares you even a little bit . . .don't do it

sciff5

iTrader: (1)

+1

I am in car sales right now but the only reason I am going through it (after graduating with honors from college) is because I want to own my own dealership one day. If it wasnt for that dream I'de prob be doing something else right now.

kbronSS

i hated the **** out of it, but i know people who have never done anything else because they enjoy it. it also depends on the dealership. i was working at one that now went out of business, so i know its not all on the salesmen. i guess u have to try it for yourself....but i would never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever do it again. and i did it for 2yrs.

distortion_69

iTrader: (20)

Good information..

Any type of pay-scale information for a semi-successful salesman?

I think I'm going to apply anyways.. My job now starts at 6pm, so I can always try and get a job 9-5 just to see how I like it.

Thanks for the replies,
Josh

Josh@KY-Turbo

iTrader: (120)

I did it for a solid year and made a little over $61k. Now keep in mind I worked Monday - Saturday at leats 10-11 hrs a day. Usually 8am-7 or 8pm. That averages out to about $17.77 an hour. I enjoyied it. I just got burnt out. If I dodnt have the turbo shop that is very sucsessful I would go back to car sales in a heartbeat for a good dealership. I was Fortunate that the dealership I worked at put me through some very extinsive sales training. It has paid off even after getting out of car sales. Follow a proven system and it will make you $$$ if you stick to it.

URSLOW2

iTrader: (5)

I have sold Cars for the past 6 years and now own a used car lot. I enjoy it for the most part(selling cars). The most important thing is to get into a good dealership one that will provide proper training and guidence. You will need good social skills and be out going. Its like any other job its what you put into it. Try to get into the used car dept they is usually more money to be made then new cars unless you can hit the bonuses for ex. selling over 15 month( every dealership is different tho) Some dealerships are very aggressive trying to shove cars down peoples throats others are laidback just depends. Overall it's a great experience an opportunity to move on to better things finance mgr's , Sales mgr's GM's they all started as a salesperson

fast

iTrader: (24)

most dealerships have a couple of pay options
one where you sacrifice some of your commission for a stable salary to get you going (recommended for a few months to start)
another where you live and die by the sword

like I said, and I'm sure these guys will agree, it is work
but you get out of it what you put in imho

where you live (market) is huge as well, some places just have higher volume of sales and don't have 'winter' like here in IL that cause slow periods just based on a complete lack of 'fresh ups'

good gm and sales managers make a big difference too, if no one is there to support you and help you grow . . . watch customers, ask about quota/goals, ask to talk to other salesmen and ask to see there sales records for the last few months

sciff5

iTrader: (1)

BTW I got no training in my dealership. I basically walked into the business just having a passion for cars and knowing nothing about the car sales process other than sales experience I carry from selling other various **** in the past and I walked onto the floor and sold a car my 3rd day with ZERO training. In my first two months still with zero training I've put about 6k in my pocket after taxes.

Not killer money but with some training I am sure it would probably be quite a bit more money, and its my first 2 months.. so I think its pretty good pay given the circumstances

distortion_69

iTrader: (20)

Well, I have some applications in at Toyota dealerships.. hope all goes well. I am keeping my night time job and working both in the event the salesman job doesn't work out.

Josh

redneck01

iTrader: (3)

i work for schaefer and strohminger pontiac/gmc..we dont sell a whole lotta cars because of the prices, but our top guys get $45k-$65k.

SStolen

iTrader: (22)

So walk us through a normal day. You stand around looking for 'fresh ups'. Do you guys take turns? Then you follow up on customers from previous days with phone calls and emails? Do the customers that you follow up on actually come back? I personally know what I'm looking for so I hunt for it and buy it when I find it. I'll test drive it to make sure it is mechanically sound and if it is I buy it. And I usually tell salesman to go away, that I don't need any help. I'm nice about it, there just isn't anything they're going to say or do to convince me to buy anything else or 'that' particular car that day. At the most I might ask if they have or can get what I'm looking for. Point is, they don't have to sell me. So thats how I work, how does everyone else work? Does a father and daughter stroll in and say, "I'm looking for 'a' car for my daughter, what do you have/recommend?" And then you have to show them and educate them on every vehicle that might fit their needs?

I used to be a Home theater Supervisor at Best Buy and I was damn good. I was thinking about getting into selling cars. I know you can make a lot of money if you're outgoing. I just don't like the idea of long hours and never knowing when you will make your next sale. I don't think that selling cars is possible at part or full-time. If I couldn't make at least $40k and more like $50k+, I wouldn't want to do it.

Anyone have an all-time high for most cars sold in one day, one week, one month?

tonylittle

iTrader: (3)

I run the internet sales dept for a Nissan dealership here in Richmond and on a bad month make about 8k and on a good month between 12-13k. Best month ever in the bussiness I made 18k. Worst month in the bussiness, I didnt even cover my draw and owed the dealership 600 dollars the following month. Ironicly that was the month I made 18k. I was determained never to let that happen agian. I have been with the same place a little over 6 yrs and its where I started in the car bussiness. You get out of it what you put into it. Ill never do anything else. There is no other job on the planet that you can work and just "give yourself a raise"

tonylittle

iTrader: (3)

8 in one day. never figured my numbers for a week. 58 in a month.

Keep in mind I run the internet sales dept though.

When I was on the floor my best was 3 1/2 in a day, and 27 in a month

sciff5

iTrader: (1)

Those are pretty strong numbers!

My first 2 months in the business I sold 9 my first month and 11 my second month and I have 7 sold so far this month. But this is infiniti I am sure if I was selling honda those numbers would be a little higher. We RARELY do spot deliverys here so the deals are usually streched out over several days I have 4 pending right now.. from last week that still havent been delivered.

distortion_69

iTrader: (20)

I've had a few show interest, what kind of wages should I be expecting like besides commission? Because, I assume I will not be selling much at first if at all.

$6 hr? $8 hr? $10 hr? What's normal. I'm going to interview with anybody interested and just bail on the ones if I get them that don't offer me anything to start out with..

Thanks,
Josh

fast

iTrader: (24)

3rd month here
6 first month, 10 sec, 8 so far this month
market is a huge factor
I'm a total slacker

yes we rotate on fresh-ups, calling for referrals is the WORST! I like emailing cause it feels less like begging lol

so far about 80% of my customers who've said they'd return do
I got advice and 3 days of training from a man who owned a dealership in the Houston area, slick is the word I'd use, smart would be the 2nd word

don't expect anyone to offer you X amount of money, this is car sales
you make what you earn
there are NO guarantees, if you want a steady income then go elsewhere
if you are at all scared of not making money go elsewhere

only 10% of people who try it are really cut out for it (naturals)
another 10% can make it but they really work at it
80% (probably more in reality) don't make it or can't make it
these #s came from the GM and sales manager I interviewed with, but they have 20 years each in the biz and make 6-figures so I tend to use this as my guideline

let me tell you though, $1300 com off 1 sale will make your day

SStolen

iTrader: (22)

I'm very interested in doing car sales. I'm a very good salesperson and I have the drive that it takes. I think you get out of it what you put into it and I'm pretty aggressive. I'm also one of the only people I know of who can sell with the big dogs without lying or stretching the truth. I got alot of repeat business and friends and family of previous customers at my last sales job. I have a few questions that some of you guys can hopefully chime in and answer. Please write whether you are in new or used car sales.

How does commission work? Do dealerships give you a set amount on each car you sell or am I thinking of CarMax? I think you get a set amount there on any car no matter how much it cost. I doubt most places are like that. Do you get a percentage of the profit made on the car? How do those formula's work? Let's use a $20,000 car as an example. How much does a dealership usually have in the car versus profit or are they all different? Just use an average.

-What's more profitable, new cars or used cars?
-Is either one easier to sell?

-What's more profitable, foreign or domestic?
-Is either one easier to sell?

-How many hours do you usually put in a day/week?
-How many days do you usually work?
-Are you scheduled for 8hrs but stay for 10 or more or do you work your 8 and go home?
-Do you have alternating shifts? Like three days for 6 hrs and two days for 12?
-Is there such a thing as part-time car sales?

-I live in Kentucky where we do have some bad winters from time to time and really hot summers. Is there a bad time of the year to sell cars? What is the best/worst?

-How many cars does the average person sell per month?
-How many does the worst guy sell per month who is good enough to keep on staff but the worst guy in the dealership?
-How many cars does the best salesperson sale per month?
-Is there one person or a couple people who are consistently better or does everyone eventually get there turn at best salesperson of the month? Basically, is the same guy employee of the month, every month?

-Do you have terms for new people who aren't going to make it?
-Is there this underlying thing where there is a constant rotating door that new people come in and get spit out of all-year round?
-Where yo work, is the staff constantly changing with a few "old-timers" or is the sales team kind of a set group? Basically, is there a lot of turnover? It seems like everyone I meet who sales cars are in their first, second or third month. I never seem to meet anyone who's, "been doing it for years."

-What is a realistic first-year salary for a novice? Intermediate? Natural?

Hill23

I stated about 2 months ago and I quit yesterday lol! Wish I could have made it to 3 months and got some cash back that I put into training. The car business it self is great but the dealership I was working at was not so great. The people that worked there were nice but the dealership wasnt selling anything and you could go down the street and get the same car 3k less. I'm prob going to go to another dealership soon! :cool

Used cars you can make alot.
I worked 60+ hours a week at monday-saturday