Problems already in my new job (car salesman)
Discussion
Hi folks,
I started my new job (first job infact) at my local Platinum Vauxhall dealership two weeks ago and up until now I have throughly enjoyed it. I sold my very first car yesturday and I was well and truely over the moon. Then today my manager called me into his office to have a chat, nothing bad was said against myself, however we have this new salesman starting and he will be taking my desk, in which I have been relocated in a dingey office away from the showroom window and just away from anywhere to see potential customers. This upset me as it felt like I was being pushed to one side.. Then my manager went onto saying, "let the other salesmans serve before you and then pick up the dribs and drabs". At this point I was incredably pissed off, not only because it felt like I was being excluded, but I am very competitive and I really do enjoy talking to customers about our products. I get quite a kick from it.
Another thing which hacked me off was, at the same time I started, so did another chap (a lot older than myself) and he didn't get any of this mentioned to him. Ok, he has sold one more car than myself, but my manager has been sent emails from customers saying how much of a polite young man that I am and I have a great product knowledge.. This other chap hasn't had anything of this sort. Oh, and this chap got a company car straight away, whereas I have to wait for 3 months. We are both on the same contract so I am not sure what is going on there..
Am I taking this a bit too heart? Or should I have a word with my manager tomorrow as I am really not happy? I really do not want to upset anyone, partly because I am on my 3 month trial period and also because I am the newbie, of which I don't want to sound like a wingey cock.
I started my new job (first job infact) at my local Platinum Vauxhall dealership two weeks ago and up until now I have throughly enjoyed it. I sold my very first car yesturday and I was well and truely over the moon. Then today my manager called me into his office to have a chat, nothing bad was said against myself, however we have this new salesman starting and he will be taking my desk, in which I have been relocated in a dingey office away from the showroom window and just away from anywhere to see potential customers. This upset me as it felt like I was being pushed to one side.. Then my manager went onto saying, "let the other salesmans serve before you and then pick up the dribs and drabs". At this point I was incredably pissed off, not only because it felt like I was being excluded, but I am very competitive and I really do enjoy talking to customers about our products. I get quite a kick from it.
Another thing which hacked me off was, at the same time I started, so did another chap (a lot older than myself) and he didn't get any of this mentioned to him. Ok, he has sold one more car than myself, but my manager has been sent emails from customers saying how much of a polite young man that I am and I have a great product knowledge.. This other chap hasn't had anything of this sort. Oh, and this chap got a company car straight away, whereas I have to wait for 3 months. We are both on the same contract so I am not sure what is going on there..
Am I taking this a bit too heart? Or should I have a word with my manager tomorrow as I am really not happy? I really do not want to upset anyone, partly because I am on my 3 month trial period and also because I am the newbie, of which I don't want to sound like a wingey cock.
Yes,
I think you are taking it to heart - quite rightly so IMO, and so would I!
Initially, it sounds a little bit like you're being persecuted because of your age.
I would approach your manager, but in such a way that you would like a few things clarifying - ask him to explain why you are being moved into the closet for this other salesman (maybe he has a good track record - not a good enough reason to move you, tho), why you've waited for a car when others haven't. That way it doesn't look like you're a winge-bag.
However, things aen't always as they seem.
A positive spin can be put on this - have you considered that your manager may think YOU don't need a desk in a key position to sell cars, that YOU don't need the easy sales like the others. Could be that he believes you could sell sand to the arabs!!
HTH,
Scott
I think you are taking it to heart - quite rightly so IMO, and so would I!
Initially, it sounds a little bit like you're being persecuted because of your age.
I would approach your manager, but in such a way that you would like a few things clarifying - ask him to explain why you are being moved into the closet for this other salesman (maybe he has a good track record - not a good enough reason to move you, tho), why you've waited for a car when others haven't. That way it doesn't look like you're a winge-bag.
However, things aen't always as they seem.
A positive spin can be put on this - have you considered that your manager may think YOU don't need a desk in a key position to sell cars, that YOU don't need the easy sales like the others. Could be that he believes you could sell sand to the arabs!!
HTH,
Scott
kybo said:
Yes,
I think you are taking it to heart - quite rightly so IMO, and so would I!
Initially, it sounds a little bit like you're being persecuted because of your age.
I would approach your manager, but in such a way that you would like a few things clarifying - ask him to explain why you are being moved into the closet for this other salesman (maybe he has a good track record - not a good enough reason to move you, tho), why you've waited for a car when others haven't. That way it doesn't look like you're a winge-bag.
However, things aen't always as they seem.
A positive spin can be put on this - have you considered that your manager may think YOU don't need a desk in a key position to sell cars, that YOU don't need the easy sales like the others. Could be that he believes you could sell sand to the arabs!!
HTH,
Scott
I was just thinking of how I should approach this situation and you are right, that would be the best way. I am not expecting a car at all, however it is incredably harsh on their behalf to let me wait. It an insurance thing, as I was the easiest to insure out of myself and the other guy who started. Party because he has 9 points and quite a few claims and I have a clean licence and almost 5 years no claims. I think you are taking it to heart - quite rightly so IMO, and so would I!
Initially, it sounds a little bit like you're being persecuted because of your age.
I would approach your manager, but in such a way that you would like a few things clarifying - ask him to explain why you are being moved into the closet for this other salesman (maybe he has a good track record - not a good enough reason to move you, tho), why you've waited for a car when others haven't. That way it doesn't look like you're a winge-bag.
However, things aen't always as they seem.
A positive spin can be put on this - have you considered that your manager may think YOU don't need a desk in a key position to sell cars, that YOU don't need the easy sales like the others. Could be that he believes you could sell sand to the arabs!!
HTH,
Scott
The positive side of being in the "closest", is I will have my own office, so very little distractions for myself. I will also be closer to my line manager for any help if needed, I will have air con and no longer the slowest computer in the whole universe
Downsides - It seems like I am being pushed out, as I was told there was only going to be 2 positions at the dealership because of the previous two people leaving. I won't be able to see any customers what so ever, so I will constantly have to be up walking around (no problem, but annoying at the same time), the "closest" gets used by everyone at lunch and lastly, the other guy that started the same time as I did is allowed his desk, a car, doesn't have to change desks and doesn't have to look like a complete tit by going to chat to the branch manager tomorrow about this. Oh bugger!!
You've only been there for two weeks. If you want to keep your job think very carefully about how you conduct yourself.
I personally would not mention it for now. Keep performing and review the situation in three months. Keep a record of all that is said to you down to every last detail.
Chin up - welcome to life.
How old are you by the way?
I personally would not mention it for now. Keep performing and review the situation in three months. Keep a record of all that is said to you down to every last detail.
Chin up - welcome to life.
How old are you by the way?
Tonberry said:
You've only been there for two weeks. If you want to keep your job think very carefully about how you conduct yourself.
I personally would not mention it for now. Keep performing and review the situation in three months. Keep a record of all that is said to you down to every last detail.
Chin up - welcome to life.
How old are you by the way?
I am 22 (just turned) and I haven't been rude or anything other than polite to anyone. I really need this job and I am really trying. It is something I enjoy and have wanted to do for a while, so I really do not want to mess anything up for myself. Plus, my parents would kill me I personally would not mention it for now. Keep performing and review the situation in three months. Keep a record of all that is said to you down to every last detail.
Chin up - welcome to life.
How old are you by the way?
Tonberry said:
You've only been there for two weeks. If you want to keep your job think very carefully about how you conduct yourself.
I personally would not mention it for now. Keep performing and review the situation in three months. Keep a record of all that is said to you down to every last detail.
Chin up - welcome to life.
How old are you by the way?
What the man said above, keep it shut for now, plod on, be professional, polite and get selling some more cars, you'll get there i promise.I personally would not mention it for now. Keep performing and review the situation in three months. Keep a record of all that is said to you down to every last detail.
Chin up - welcome to life.
How old are you by the way?
I fully understand your frustrations however as previously mentioned all may not be as it seems on face value and you may find out a few weeks/months down the line why certain things happen.
My advice - as with any form of sales environment, get selling and the rewards/priviledges will come. Concentrate on the sales and all this other stuff make secondary in the back of your mind. Demonstrate your abilities (and hone those abilities so you sell smarter (rather than harder)) and you will be able to demand which desk you sit at, which car you take home at night etc.
My advice - as with any form of sales environment, get selling and the rewards/priviledges will come. Concentrate on the sales and all this other stuff make secondary in the back of your mind. Demonstrate your abilities (and hone those abilities so you sell smarter (rather than harder)) and you will be able to demand which desk you sit at, which car you take home at night etc.
Monkey news said:
.....I really do enjoy talking to customers about our products. I get quite a kick from it.
... my manager has been sent emails from customers saying how much of a polite young man that I am and I have a great product knowledge..
Pher's will probably hate this, but as a sales manager (in a different industry) I would say you should be careful not to enjoy the talking too much - you want to be spending your employers time selling. Emails from customers are great, but what the boss wants to see is customer orders. Those customers probably sucked you dry for info, and then went and ordered from a broker.... my manager has been sent emails from customers saying how much of a polite young man that I am and I have a great product knowledge..
I bet the top sales person in the dealership doesn't know the first thing about the cars (or at least he'll pretend he doesn't).
Stevenj214 said:
Take a different approach. Integrate yourself with online make specific forums. Be helpful and polite. Sometimes mention where you work. Build a reputation.
When people come into your showroom and ask for you by name, it doesn't matter if your office is through the back!
Great idea, worth a try OP ?When people come into your showroom and ask for you by name, it doesn't matter if your office is through the back!
You could play the office card too taking customer to your office might make them feel a bit more special that they are dealing with a higher level sales man than the usual "showroom desk" guys.
main thing though is selling, get cars sold your only young and just started so don't get down heartened.
main thing though is selling, get cars sold your only young and just started so don't get down heartened.
The thing is I reckon that you know absolute everything about each one of those cars, that means that if I came in and talked to you, I would love you, I WANT to know about the car I am buying.
'Dorris' does not though, she loves to know, but she does not have to know for you to sell her the car. I think maybe your have all this information, which is good if asked, but you need to learn to close the deal so to speak. Maybe your boss sees that you had 10 more people than this other new starter yet closed less deals than him?
Rather than telling people about how great the car is and all the tech spec, act interested in them, ask them what they want from a car and find out what they enjoy. Then whatever car they look interested in is the one you must convince them will solve all their problems. It is the best car ever to shop in, it is the best car to transport the dog in and by God it is the best car to be seen in since the Veyron. The only reason you would not be doing this is if there is no way on Gods earth you could convince them that a small 107 will fit a full drum kit.
Knowing a lot about the cars is only half the battle.
'Dorris' does not though, she loves to know, but she does not have to know for you to sell her the car. I think maybe your have all this information, which is good if asked, but you need to learn to close the deal so to speak. Maybe your boss sees that you had 10 more people than this other new starter yet closed less deals than him?
Rather than telling people about how great the car is and all the tech spec, act interested in them, ask them what they want from a car and find out what they enjoy. Then whatever car they look interested in is the one you must convince them will solve all their problems. It is the best car ever to shop in, it is the best car to transport the dog in and by God it is the best car to be seen in since the Veyron. The only reason you would not be doing this is if there is no way on Gods earth you could convince them that a small 107 will fit a full drum kit.
Knowing a lot about the cars is only half the battle.
Tonberry said:
You've only been there for two weeks. If you want to keep your job think very carefully about how you conduct yourself.
I personally would not mention it for now. Keep performing and review the situation in three months. Keep a record of all that is said to you down to every last detail.
Chin up - welcome to life.
+1I personally would not mention it for now. Keep performing and review the situation in three months. Keep a record of all that is said to you down to every last detail.
Chin up - welcome to life.
as an ex car salesman, i would NOT speak to your manager about this, this is a problems but its a small problem and moaning to manager after a couple weeks in the job will make it a big problem.
The postitive side is your manager has put you behind everyone else, and doesnt need to keep an eye on you, so he might think its not going to affect your sales.
as for the office, if your a good salesman having a crap office isnt going to be deal breaker.
you want to be like liked not loved by other salesman, let them know your here to make money and not a push over, and dont moan to much to other sales staff/managers, do all the moaning at home, you dont want to show signs of weekness, as it could affect your sales.
For the company car, if he started the job after you, i would have small talk with the manager then move on to how come he got a company car straight away, but dont make an official meeting or big deal.
good luck
The postitive side is your manager has put you behind everyone else, and doesnt need to keep an eye on you, so he might think its not going to affect your sales.
as for the office, if your a good salesman having a crap office isnt going to be deal breaker.
you want to be like liked not loved by other salesman, let them know your here to make money and not a push over, and dont moan to much to other sales staff/managers, do all the moaning at home, you dont want to show signs of weekness, as it could affect your sales.
For the company car, if he started the job after you, i would have small talk with the manager then move on to how come he got a company car straight away, but dont make an official meeting or big deal.
good luck
master L said:
as an ex car salesman, i would NOT speak to your manager about this, this is a problems but its a small problem and moaning to manager after a couple weeks in the job will make it a big problem.
The postitive side is your manager has put you behind everyone else, and doesnt need to keep an eye on you, so he might think its not going to affect your sales.
as for the office, if your a good salesman having a crap office isnt going to be deal breaker.
you want to be like liked not loved by other salesman, let them know your here to make money and not a push over, and dont moan to much to other sales staff/managers, do all the moaning at home, you dont want to show signs of weekness, as it could affect your sales.
For the company car, if he started the job after you, i would have small talk with the manager then move on to how come he got a company car straight away, but dont make an official meeting or big deal.
good luck
Listen to this man on both pointsThe postitive side is your manager has put you behind everyone else, and doesnt need to keep an eye on you, so he might think its not going to affect your sales.
as for the office, if your a good salesman having a crap office isnt going to be deal breaker.
you want to be like liked not loved by other salesman, let them know your here to make money and not a push over, and dont moan to much to other sales staff/managers, do all the moaning at home, you dont want to show signs of weekness, as it could affect your sales.
For the company car, if he started the job after you, i would have small talk with the manager then move on to how come he got a company car straight away, but dont make an official meeting or big deal.
good luck
Monkey news said:
nothing bad was said against myself.....(a lot older than myself) ......he has sold one more car than myself,
Just a quick thing. My apologies for picking you up on this and I hope it doesn't detract from the thread, but it seems you've grabbed it and won't let go - so I genuinely hope this will help you. All the "myself"s that you've written above should be "me". It's called the 'reflexive pronoun'. To my ears/eyes, and I suspect many of your customer's too, it really detracts from an otherwise well constructed sentence and paragraph.The moral? Don't use "myself" when "me" is the right word. It doesn't make it sound more business like, it simply makes it wrong
You sound like a good chap, hence I hope you take this with the good feeling with which it is intended.
As for your problems you outline - I agree with the others above about keeping quiet. Give it a few months, learn the ropes, understand the countless intricacies and politicial issues that will be going on and then be able to view it with more informed eyes.
PS: Yes, I'm certain I have some spelling and grammar errors in here somewhere.
Have to agree with the above post, wait till youre past the probation period before saying anything!
Young guy I knew who was on the ramps then went into sales, ended up embarrasing the older guys as he was able to talk to the younger buyers without the "dad style buy this" attitude.
Enthusiasm may not make up for experience, but keep your chin up,
head down and stick at it.
Why do you want a company car? just hits you in the pocket when all you need to do is take the demo cars home....
Young guy I knew who was on the ramps then went into sales, ended up embarrasing the older guys as he was able to talk to the younger buyers without the "dad style buy this" attitude.
Enthusiasm may not make up for experience, but keep your chin up,
head down and stick at it.
Why do you want a company car? just hits you in the pocket when all you need to do is take the demo cars home....
TonyHetherington said:
Monkey news said:
nothing bad was said against myself.....(a lot older than myself) ......he has sold one more car than myself,
Just a quick thing. My apologies for picking you up on this ...The moral? Don't use "myself" when "me" is the right word. It doesn't make it sound more business like, it simply makes it wrong
You sound like a good chap, hence I hope you take this with the good feeling with which it is intended.
PS: Yes, I'm certain I have some spelling and grammar errors in here somewhere.
OP - you're 22 and in your first job.
You have to pay your dues a bit and expect to get the rough end of the stick from time to time.
Concentrate on working hard and doing the best job you can. Kick up a fuss and start making complaints and you'll get a reputation. Car dealerships are a small world.....
If you're being seriously mis-treated then you should obviously stand up for yourself but complaining over the position of your desk and having to wait a couple more weeks for your car is minor stuff.
You have to pay your dues a bit and expect to get the rough end of the stick from time to time.
Concentrate on working hard and doing the best job you can. Kick up a fuss and start making complaints and you'll get a reputation. Car dealerships are a small world.....
If you're being seriously mis-treated then you should obviously stand up for yourself but complaining over the position of your desk and having to wait a couple more weeks for your car is minor stuff.
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