The Car Salesman's Thread
Discussion
T66ORA said:
Just did a google, Pendle lives Can you imagine a PH car sales "expert" coming across one of there salesmen? that would be a 30 page thread on how they would have dealt with him. 
And yes, I can.
Ari - that looks an interesting blog, will give it a skim this evening.
Zwolf said:
T66ORA said:
Just did a google, Pendle lives Can you imagine a PH car sales "expert" coming across one of there salesmen? that would be a 30 page thread on how they would have dealt with him. And yes, I can.
Ari - that looks an interesting blog, will give it a skim this evening.
If so it was alive about 2.5 years ago... And f
king annoying.T66ORA said:
Working for Ford in the 80`s we went to a training complex call "Bower House" any one else remember that place. The Pendle sales system was all the rage back then.
That was high pressure sales, most decent salespeople adapted some of that system to suit there individual style.I still used, and taught some of the "closing" techniques 20 years on.
My father worked for a Ford Main Dealer in the 70s/80s/90s and used to regularly disappear to Bower House for a few days and returned with an addition to his long list of Ford recognised qualifications. I got the impression that the course was secondary and it was more of a company sponsored P*** up. In the days before the tax man attacked any sniff of a benefit and I think from the evidence I've seen from the showroom there was more fun to be had.That was high pressure sales, most decent salespeople adapted some of that system to suit there individual style.I still used, and taught some of the "closing" techniques 20 years on.
His version of the Fiesta / Polo comparison was Mondeo / Cavalier (may have been Vectra). As he'd driven a few of the Vauxhalls he thought Ford have played with them to ensure that the Mondeo was a better place to be, taking out a few seat springs, creating a few rattles etc.
Another one I've remembered is the Dealer launch of the 90s Escort. The day out involved being taken down the Thames in a luxury boat to an all singing and dancing launch extravaganza. At the end of the day he came away distinctly underwhelmed, thinking he had lost interest in cars as he couldn't get excited by it. It wasn't him, it was the car. Still at least it inspired Ford to pull their finger out for future generations.
Just thought of another good Ford one.
We're at HFC for a Ford day, and we're told at the beginning of the day that we have an extra special treat in store for midday.
Having a wander round I spy on the curtained off main stage a vehicle covered in a glittery taup. Aha, thinks I, a sneak preview of the (then) brand new C-Max due out the following year.
So anyway, midday and sure enough we're all summoned to the main stage just before lunch and told to brace ourselves for something special.
The lights dim, coloured lights start to flash, rock music swells, and dancers come on stage left and right, cavorting round the shrouded vehicle. Wow, they really are making a big deal of this!
Afer five minutes of music, lights and dancers it suddenly stops, and anticipation raised to the max, some Ford bigwig steps forward and proudly yanks the sheet off the vehicle revealing.....
A bod standard S-Max.
We all look at each other, surely some mistake? Someone's cocked up, this is just an S-Max, they've been out for three years. How embarrassing.
But no, they proudly announce, this is NEW S MAX!!! It's got ever so slightly different headlights, it's got tacked on DRL's, I think the bonnet was avery slightly different profile. And round the back, drum roll please, LED tail lights, woop woop!
At that point we were invited en masse to come up on to the stage and see this exciting new car for ourselves.
Almost to a man, every salesman turned and wandered off to see what was for lunch.
It was brilliant, the most overblown and hysterical launch of some new headlights on a virtually unchanged vehicle ever.
We're at HFC for a Ford day, and we're told at the beginning of the day that we have an extra special treat in store for midday.
Having a wander round I spy on the curtained off main stage a vehicle covered in a glittery taup. Aha, thinks I, a sneak preview of the (then) brand new C-Max due out the following year.
So anyway, midday and sure enough we're all summoned to the main stage just before lunch and told to brace ourselves for something special.
The lights dim, coloured lights start to flash, rock music swells, and dancers come on stage left and right, cavorting round the shrouded vehicle. Wow, they really are making a big deal of this!
Afer five minutes of music, lights and dancers it suddenly stops, and anticipation raised to the max, some Ford bigwig steps forward and proudly yanks the sheet off the vehicle revealing.....
A bod standard S-Max.
We all look at each other, surely some mistake? Someone's cocked up, this is just an S-Max, they've been out for three years. How embarrassing.
But no, they proudly announce, this is NEW S MAX!!! It's got ever so slightly different headlights, it's got tacked on DRL's, I think the bonnet was avery slightly different profile. And round the back, drum roll please, LED tail lights, woop woop!
At that point we were invited en masse to come up on to the stage and see this exciting new car for ourselves.
Almost to a man, every salesman turned and wandered off to see what was for lunch.
It was brilliant, the most overblown and hysterical launch of some new headlights on a virtually unchanged vehicle ever.
stuwalsh said:
Used to be a great job, but wages are now crap compared with 10-15yrs ago, and even at high end marques punters are just money driven. They'll go 100miles to save £50!
I was talking to a guy I know yesterday, 90 car pitch owner, mostly 08 or newer, been there 35 years, good reputation locally, well prepared cars.....he was saying that he is losing regular customers, they are coming and looking but not buying.....its due to price...travelling 100 miles to save a hundred quid....very little loyalty these days.POORCARDEALER said:
stuwalsh said:
Used to be a great job, but wages are now crap compared with 10-15yrs ago, and even at high end marques punters are just money driven. They'll go 100miles to save £50!
I was talking to a guy I know yesterday, 90 car pitch owner, mostly 08 or newer, been there 35 years, good reputation locally, well prepared cars.....he was saying that he is losing regular customers, they are coming and looking but not buying.....its due to price...travelling 100 miles to save a hundred quid....very little loyalty these days.daemon said:
POORCARDEALER said:
stuwalsh said:
Used to be a great job, but wages are now crap compared with 10-15yrs ago, and even at high end marques punters are just money driven. They'll go 100miles to save £50!
I was talking to a guy I know yesterday, 90 car pitch owner, mostly 08 or newer, been there 35 years, good reputation locally, well prepared cars.....he was saying that he is losing regular customers, they are coming and looking but not buying.....its due to price...travelling 100 miles to save a hundred quid....very little loyalty these days.POORCARDEALER said:
Deffo..........I had a guy travel 200 miles to buy a Vauxhall Agila for 1500 quid yesterday...
I can - just about - compete by not having a forecourt and being 'internet based' as it were, but how do / will traders with forecourts / showrooms and big overheads manage?stuwalsh said:
Used to be a great job, but wages are now crap compared with 10-15yrs ago, and even at high end marques punters are just money driven. They'll go 100miles to save £50!
I do find it amazing how much time/fuel people will burn for "x will do it for 100 less to change"I am new to sales, started in May last year, with motorcycles. Very seasonal, but 72 on the board so far. We have some great regulars, just popping in to say hello, as it is very relaxed, and we have a great cafe.
We also have the unrealistic ones too. Seems quite a few of those recently. You know the sort, 2 year old 5000 miles, wants more than I can buy a new one for. Still learning, but getting there.
daemon said:
POORCARDEALER said:
Deffo..........I had a guy travel 200 miles to buy a Vauxhall Agila for 1500 quid yesterday...
I can - just about - compete by not having a forecourt and being 'internet based' as it were, but how do / will traders with forecourts / showrooms and big overheads manage?I have just pulled away from having an Autotrader site.....its a good medium if you sell on price but we dont, it was costing us 300 quid per sale it generated, clearly too much
My first car sales job was for a high-pressure outfit who used the pendle system. I was sent off somewhere up North to stay in a hotel for a long weekend and have some ahole try to drum it into me.
I got out of the business after about 10 weeks (although in that time, I sold a shed load of cars), and vowed never to get involved in something like that again (which fortunately I haven't), but whilst I think the Pendle system is horrific as a complete approach, it really does teach you a huge amount about psychology and makes you stop and think about things. There are a number of elements which have proven hugely valuable to me in my current career which couldn't be any further away from flogging fecked uber-mileage mondeos for silly rates of finance.
hole try to drum it into me.I got out of the business after about 10 weeks (although in that time, I sold a shed load of cars), and vowed never to get involved in something like that again (which fortunately I haven't), but whilst I think the Pendle system is horrific as a complete approach, it really does teach you a huge amount about psychology and makes you stop and think about things. There are a number of elements which have proven hugely valuable to me in my current career which couldn't be any further away from flogging fecked uber-mileage mondeos for silly rates of finance.
MK4 Slowride said:
I've done two today both on finance with products, so 5 for the month so far.
I did 24 cars in December!!!
No nutters for me today, the new guy is getting them all. He's done a fair few free valuations today and has lots of people 'thinking about it'.
24 in a month. Is that normal? What sort of car - small, family, prestige? New or secondhand?I did 24 cars in December!!!
No nutters for me today, the new guy is getting them all. He's done a fair few free valuations today and has lots of people 'thinking about it'.
Interesting thread. There was some discussion a while back about why car dealers resist using email, which surprised me.
I tend to buy my cars from the net, and while price is a driver I'm more interested in getting exactly the car I want. Get a sensible reply to an email enquiry, and the relationship starts on a positive footing, and saves both sides time and money.
I tend to buy my cars from the net, and while price is a driver I'm more interested in getting exactly the car I want. Get a sensible reply to an email enquiry, and the relationship starts on a positive footing, and saves both sides time and money.
AOK said:
Great thread.
Checking in from a BMW franchise here! Target for this quarter is 24. Sounds great, but trust me it's not that easy with prestige! I've only once done more than 10 cars a month in the last 18 months!
Penetration targets are all set at 50% for finance, gap and paint.
Im ex BMW is the early 90's...my target was 102 cars a year (new and used)....If i achieved that which i did, i was paid 35K a year minimum, plus a car and unlimited fuel...was good fun, worked hard, played hardChecking in from a BMW franchise here! Target for this quarter is 24. Sounds great, but trust me it's not that easy with prestige! I've only once done more than 10 cars a month in the last 18 months!
Penetration targets are all set at 50% for finance, gap and paint.
I've called a few dealers this morning...
Not a complaint, but it seems no-one (Dealers) wants me to come up and look at their car until they have taken my p-x details and come back to me with a valuation. Is this how it's generally done now?
I thought they'd want to get me in to look at the motor ASAP. Could this be because it's a Sunday and they don't have as many staff and therefore want the salesfloor filled with "warm" leads?
I'm after an Octavia vRS dsg, with a p-x offer not £1000 less than the we buy any car offer if any of you guys have anything!
Not a complaint, but it seems no-one (Dealers) wants me to come up and look at their car until they have taken my p-x details and come back to me with a valuation. Is this how it's generally done now?
I thought they'd want to get me in to look at the motor ASAP. Could this be because it's a Sunday and they don't have as many staff and therefore want the salesfloor filled with "warm" leads?
I'm after an Octavia vRS dsg, with a p-x offer not £1000 less than the we buy any car offer if any of you guys have anything!
HBFS said:
I've called a few dealers this morning...
Not a complaint, but it seems no-one (Dealers) wants me to come up and look at their car until they have taken my p-x details and come back to me with a valuation. Is this how it's generally done now?
I thought they'd want to get me in to look at the motor ASAP. Could this be because it's a Sunday and they don't have as many staff and therefore want the salesfloor filled with "warm" leads?
I'm after an Octavia vRS dsg, with a p-x offer not £1000 less than the we buy any car offer if any of you guys have anything!
We sometimes do this....A. We might not want the car in part exchange so it saves each others time. B. See if we are both in the right ballpark pricewise again so not to waste each others time.Not a complaint, but it seems no-one (Dealers) wants me to come up and look at their car until they have taken my p-x details and come back to me with a valuation. Is this how it's generally done now?
I thought they'd want to get me in to look at the motor ASAP. Could this be because it's a Sunday and they don't have as many staff and therefore want the salesfloor filled with "warm" leads?
I'm after an Octavia vRS dsg, with a p-x offer not £1000 less than the we buy any car offer if any of you guys have anything!
MK4 Slowride said:
I've done two today both on finance with products, so 5 for the month so far.
I did 24 cars in December!!!
No nutters for me today, the new guy is getting them all. He's done a fair few free valuations today and has lots of people 'thinking about it'.
Can i ask...how much commision do you get for that amount of cars sold?I did 24 cars in December!!!
No nutters for me today, the new guy is getting them all. He's done a fair few free valuations today and has lots of people 'thinking about it'.
Ive always wondered what salesmem make on top of their "basic" salary?
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