Trainee Sales Exec Interview Advice
Discussion
Thanks everybody for the advice. Some points taken on board.
Has anyone had an interview recently or knows what they go like? On the email I was sent after the tele interview it said they were collecting all the candidates together for the said assessment day. Does anybody know if it will be a group based interview or a one to one? They've also asked me to prepare a presentation to be delivered to all present in the room from a recent mystery shop that I've done on a competitor main dealer that's not part of the VW group.
Anybody know what there asking for here? Or is it simply my opinion on there customer experience and how I was treated?
Cheers again all
Josh
Has anyone had an interview recently or knows what they go like? On the email I was sent after the tele interview it said they were collecting all the candidates together for the said assessment day. Does anybody know if it will be a group based interview or a one to one? They've also asked me to prepare a presentation to be delivered to all present in the room from a recent mystery shop that I've done on a competitor main dealer that's not part of the VW group.
Anybody know what there asking for here? Or is it simply my opinion on there customer experience and how I was treated?
Cheers again all
Josh
Al U said:
Pull out your pen. Say to the interviewer,
"Sell me this pen".
I had an interviewer from a dealership say this to me. I answered it right, asked him to sign something and told him he needed a pen (Target their needs innit), he told me I had to sell the pen on it's comforts, the benefits, create the attraction to want the pen. Can't win."Sell me this pen".
Also had one where I was about to be offered a position, then my girlfriend (who had just been offered the other position) asked how I'd gotten on as I was her boyfriend. Instant tone change, didn't get it.
I've also taken part in an assessment day set up for a Range Rover dealership for an apprenticeship position - trainee with an nvq. Got down to the last few, through the: Maths and English assessments, the personal presentation, Down to the last 3 for the personal interview with the dealer GM.
I asked if I could take my jacket off (as it was stuffy and about 25 degrees!) then about 10 minutes in got asked why I was dressed so scruffily and wasn't wearing my jacket followed by a barrage of crap questions like "What would you do if I gave you a Daewoo Matiz as a company car", "Why are you even bothering with looking at going into car sales? You haven't done it before" (News flash, if I had I wouldn't be going for a trainee role!), "Tell me when you'd want to sell your first car" To which I answered with once I'd learnt the sales process, the legal side, got an understanding of how the dealership functions and blah blah blah, then got pressured to put a definitive date on it, which was wrong in his eyes, and then got lectured and he backtracked, sidetracked, jumped time zones and pulled a rabbit out of his arse. 8 Hours and the cost of dry cleaning wasted. The lad who got the job, nice but dim.
Mind if I ask how old you are? At an assessment day you'll find it's primarily 18 year olds. I was 23 when I went for mine.
LewG said:
Josh,
I worked for Ford as a trainee sales exec for a short while and a previous poster was absolutely spot on in what he said. You are jumping into a pool of sharks that aren't going to give you an easy time and let you 'gain experience' on customers that could potentially be earning them money. We all used to stand at the windows like hawks, particularly on slow days where any customer at all was a bonus. Cold calling was a regular thing I'm afraid, being given lists of previous customers and following them up, informing them of sales and deals available generally being a nuisance.
If you've got the right attitude and a truckload of confidence then go for it, you can be earning a small fortune straight away at a young age. It really wasn't the industry for me unfortunately and stressed me out to the point that I couldn't wait to leave, the only plus point being that you'll get to drive some half decent cars! A good friend of mine still works as a training manager at the company and tells me they have had tens and tens of trainees come and go, so it's really not an industry that's for everyone.
As for the interview process mine was quite simple, I was asked the standard questions, told what I was expected of, and then asked to sell the nearest item to them at hand, that being a calculator. Show its good points and promote them, you get the idea, refer to your previous experience and try not to let the nerves get to you!
Yeah pretty much this.I worked for Ford as a trainee sales exec for a short while and a previous poster was absolutely spot on in what he said. You are jumping into a pool of sharks that aren't going to give you an easy time and let you 'gain experience' on customers that could potentially be earning them money. We all used to stand at the windows like hawks, particularly on slow days where any customer at all was a bonus. Cold calling was a regular thing I'm afraid, being given lists of previous customers and following them up, informing them of sales and deals available generally being a nuisance.
If you've got the right attitude and a truckload of confidence then go for it, you can be earning a small fortune straight away at a young age. It really wasn't the industry for me unfortunately and stressed me out to the point that I couldn't wait to leave, the only plus point being that you'll get to drive some half decent cars! A good friend of mine still works as a training manager at the company and tells me they have had tens and tens of trainees come and go, so it's really not an industry that's for everyone.
As for the interview process mine was quite simple, I was asked the standard questions, told what I was expected of, and then asked to sell the nearest item to them at hand, that being a calculator. Show its good points and promote them, you get the idea, refer to your previous experience and try not to let the nerves get to you!
It's not a job for slacking off or thinking you're going to have an easy ride. The lows are low but the highs are high too
Ignore what people say about 60 hour weeks, it doesn't really happen. I've had 4 late nights in the last 6 months and even that was finished by 7.30 which is hardly crippling.
Be confident, don't talk like a chav, don't go on about how much you like cars and that you're a petrolhead, they won't care tbh.
Think the one I did for Peugeot in 2008 was about 15 others aged around 23 to 43, couple of ex military looking for a career change, ex used car sales owner, with two managers around a hotel conference table, introducing ourselves, asked to describe career so far, best life experience ever etc, sell an item I think was one also iirc.
User33678888 said:
Come up with a good excuse why you want to work 60+ hours a week for a pittance for the next few years
You drive a 13 year old Beemer, I drive an 2015 F-Type R. I'm a humble car salesman, what do you do?OP - you can make a very good career selling cars and make plenty of money. Lots of people don't of course but don't be put off by naysayers. It's a job where you get out of it what you put in.
Yes, I know I'm not in the UK but I'm British and I know plenty of people in the UK trade who do very well thanks.
Andy665 said:
Absolutely no need to gen up on facts and figures - knowledge can be acquired
Attitude is all important
Do not state that you want to sell cars because you love them
Understanding / appreciating that there is a sales process is good
FFB - feature, function, benefit. What is it, what does it do, what benefit does it provide the customer with
Yes, people buy from people but many sales peoples failings are a failure to talk and listen in direct proportion to the number of ears and mouths they have, failure to actually ask for the business and an unwillingness to accept hat every customer is unique
I used to run assessment centres for VW so I could go on and on.
Be yourself, don't be afraid to say that you don't know the answer to a question
Best of luck
Good post. Slightly disagree with you about not needing to love cars, I've seen people fail simply because they lacked enthusiasm or empathy for the product. I agree, many salesmen talk too much and listen too little. Attitude is all important
Do not state that you want to sell cars because you love them
Understanding / appreciating that there is a sales process is good
FFB - feature, function, benefit. What is it, what does it do, what benefit does it provide the customer with
Yes, people buy from people but many sales peoples failings are a failure to talk and listen in direct proportion to the number of ears and mouths they have, failure to actually ask for the business and an unwillingness to accept hat every customer is unique
I used to run assessment centres for VW so I could go on and on.
Be yourself, don't be afraid to say that you don't know the answer to a question
Best of luck
I've also seen sales people who simply couldn't ask for the business. As I'm an assumptive closer by nature the temptation to jump in has sometimes been difficult to resist...
unrepentant said:
Andy665 said:
Absolutely no need to gen up on facts and figures - knowledge can be acquired
Attitude is all important
Do not state that you want to sell cars because you love them
Understanding / appreciating that there is a sales process is good
FFB - feature, function, benefit. What is it, what does it do, what benefit does it provide the customer with
Yes, people buy from people but many sales peoples failings are a failure to talk and listen in direct proportion to the number of ears and mouths they have, failure to actually ask for the business and an unwillingness to accept hat every customer is unique
I used to run assessment centres for VW so I could go on and on.
Be yourself, don't be afraid to say that you don't know the answer to a question
Best of luck
Good post. Slightly disagree with you about not needing to love cars, I've seen people fail simply because they lacked enthusiasm or empathy for the product. I agree, many salesmen talk too much and listen too little. Attitude is all important
Do not state that you want to sell cars because you love them
Understanding / appreciating that there is a sales process is good
FFB - feature, function, benefit. What is it, what does it do, what benefit does it provide the customer with
Yes, people buy from people but many sales peoples failings are a failure to talk and listen in direct proportion to the number of ears and mouths they have, failure to actually ask for the business and an unwillingness to accept hat every customer is unique
I used to run assessment centres for VW so I could go on and on.
Be yourself, don't be afraid to say that you don't know the answer to a question
Best of luck
I've also seen sales people who simply couldn't ask for the business. As I'm an assumptive closer by nature the temptation to jump in has sometimes been difficult to resist...
I am involved in assessing at these centre's.
The observations will begin from the moment you enter. We always do an informal meet and greet before the initial group meeting and more than one person has been ruled out before the fire exit / mobile phone housekeeping speech is concluded.
Any group task - get involved early and have an influence on the table - in a friendly way with humour is the most effective.
Solo presentation - confidence is the main thing here. Don't try to bulls
t if your unsure. We have all had trainee bullstters on our team, they typically burn out and leave a trail of destruction behind. Basic presentation skills will see you through. Most large groups are currently obsessed (and targeted ruthlessly on) with selling after products GAP/Supaguard/Tyre insurance etc... Your mystery shop could be key here. State how good/poor they were at presenting the products . If someone seems keen on selling "Valued added products" it will stimulate the sales managers trouser area....Interview - if your crap it will be a tick box exercise with softball questions, in and out in 5-10 mins. If they are putting you under pressure and drilling down into answers it means they are keen and testing your mettle.
Good luck!
unrepentant said:
You drive a 13 year old Beemer, I drive an 2015 F-Type R. I'm a humble car salesman, what do you do?
Me? I take some pride from the fact I'm not a to people about their choices. Having a new car, well done. Lording it to people as a status symbol, not cool. No-one really cares other than you. andy-xr said:
unrepentant said:
You drive a 13 year old Beemer, I drive an 2015 F-Type R. I'm a humble car salesman, what do you do?
Me? I take some pride from the fact I'm not a to people about their choices. Having a new car, well done. Lording it to people as a status symbol, not cool. No-one really cares other than you. For the record, the GGR reference does put you firmly in the
class. Johnson Motors badger is far nearer the mark. 
My nephew has a drama degree, and is an estate agent. He's also probably a bit aspergers.
He gives not a st about anyone he works with. They are his enemy. They will stop him getting his commission.
within 12 months he is selling more house than anyone in his multi-office company.
How does he do this ? First to answer phone, first to meet them at the door, first to get them sat down, and talking about what they are REALLY looking for. First to take down their details, first to get them viewings of the houses that should meet their needs, first to get feedback, and first to go to his boss and ask to take over the "hot buyers" that his colleagues have failed to find properties for. first in the office and last out. and always always working.
Oh and he'll st on those he shares space with, if he thinks they've just fecked up a sale, and will chase it like a dog with a bone until he gets the sale.
I guess with cars it will be similar.
I guess the acting the part comes in useful.
He gives not a s
t about anyone he works with. They are his enemy. They will stop him getting his commission. within 12 months he is selling more house than anyone in his multi-office company.
How does he do this ? First to answer phone, first to meet them at the door, first to get them sat down, and talking about what they are REALLY looking for. First to take down their details, first to get them viewings of the houses that should meet their needs, first to get feedback, and first to go to his boss and ask to take over the "hot buyers" that his colleagues have failed to find properties for. first in the office and last out. and always always working.
Oh and he'll s
t on those he shares space with, if he thinks they've just fecked up a sale, and will chase it like a dog with a bone until he gets the sale. I guess with cars it will be similar.
I guess the acting the part comes in useful.
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