Just started in sales for my local BMW dealer :) Questions..
Discussion
Hi all,
Just started to work for my local BMW dealer here in the south and the first thing they have got me doing this week is driving all of the cars we have that are different. Today, the highlight was the M135i and the 125D M sport. Interesting pair, and yesterday included the 428i M sport, amazing, feels a million miles away from a 3 series saloon in feel and presence.
Anywho, the point of my post. What draws you into a dealership to buy? Is it the relationship with a particular sales person? The choice of 2nd hand cars on site? Also, what's the main thing that would put you off and turn you from a loyal buyer to a rival franchise/brand?
A lot of questions I know but it would be really interesting to hear what you guys think about dealers in general.
Just started to work for my local BMW dealer here in the south and the first thing they have got me doing this week is driving all of the cars we have that are different. Today, the highlight was the M135i and the 125D M sport. Interesting pair, and yesterday included the 428i M sport, amazing, feels a million miles away from a 3 series saloon in feel and presence.
Anywho, the point of my post. What draws you into a dealership to buy? Is it the relationship with a particular sales person? The choice of 2nd hand cars on site? Also, what's the main thing that would put you off and turn you from a loyal buyer to a rival franchise/brand?
A lot of questions I know but it would be really interesting to hear what you guys think about dealers in general.
Internet allows you to find the cars you are interested in, them e-mail/phone call which can often confirm if car is worth viewing or not, this also helps buyer confirm if salesman/dealer is someone they would feel comfortable dealing with. But as a a general guide I would avoid like the plague any of Arnies dealerships, but that is becoming increasingly difficult as he seems to now buy up rivals but keep their original trading name, however one should be able to tell about 2 mins after stepping in the door anyway!!
Edited by briang9 on Thursday 19th December 22:33
For me, the quality of the cars and realistic pricing above all. Franchised dealers will always charge more for their stock but some are totally unrealistic eg. Hexagon - their prices seem to be random makey-uppy numbers. (Hexagon must have identified a niche London car buyer demographic who are totally oblivious to price.)
I also like dealers to return my phone calls/emails promptly with the info I'm after not just a load of sales patter about some other vehicle they're trying to shift. That seems to have happened to me a lot...notably from 2 particular BMW franchises.
I like the sales people I talk to to know a lot about the car/s I'm interested in, and have discretion to cut a deal rather than have to always refer to their sales manager/director. I know it's a sales softening up exercise/tactic as well so I try and cut through the b/s and ask to talk directly to the sales manager directly when this happens.
Well done on the new job! It's good you're looking for advice from enthusiast customers.
I also like dealers to return my phone calls/emails promptly with the info I'm after not just a load of sales patter about some other vehicle they're trying to shift. That seems to have happened to me a lot...notably from 2 particular BMW franchises.
I like the sales people I talk to to know a lot about the car/s I'm interested in, and have discretion to cut a deal rather than have to always refer to their sales manager/director. I know it's a sales softening up exercise/tactic as well so I try and cut through the b/s and ask to talk directly to the sales manager directly when this happens.
Well done on the new job! It's good you're looking for advice from enthusiast customers.
The sales person is important.
Most here on PH know a fair bit about cars and having someone "overselling" a product and talking down to you about product knowledge is a no no.
Show me a salesman who recognises that you know your product, invites you to ask questions if you have any knowledge gaps and genuinely feels like he will work with you to achieve a mutually successful outcome then you have a winning combo.
The mantra "people do business with people" is very true - look after someone and they will not only do further business but will speak positively about you to others.
Most here on PH know a fair bit about cars and having someone "overselling" a product and talking down to you about product knowledge is a no no.
Show me a salesman who recognises that you know your product, invites you to ask questions if you have any knowledge gaps and genuinely feels like he will work with you to achieve a mutually successful outcome then you have a winning combo.
The mantra "people do business with people" is very true - look after someone and they will not only do further business but will speak positively about you to others.
thegreatdogwood said:
The sales person is important.
Most here on PH know a fair bit about cars and having someone "overselling" a product and talking down to you about product knowledge is a no no.
Show me a salesman who recognises that you know your product, invites you to ask questions if you have any knowledge gaps and genuinely feels like he will work with you to achieve a mutually successful outcome then you have a winning combo.
The mantra "people do business with people" is very true - look after someone and they will not only do further business but will speak positively about you to others.
This....I spent 6 years in a Toyota dealership as a salesman and sales manager (for what the title was worth) and I made many 'friends' with customers. I never made a point in getting involved with bringing customers to the dealership (apart from re-organising the used car display as it was awful) but when anyone entered the showroom they were a potential buyer and needed information to make them decide that a Toyota was best and this garage was the best for them!Most here on PH know a fair bit about cars and having someone "overselling" a product and talking down to you about product knowledge is a no no.
Show me a salesman who recognises that you know your product, invites you to ask questions if you have any knowledge gaps and genuinely feels like he will work with you to achieve a mutually successful outcome then you have a winning combo.
The mantra "people do business with people" is very true - look after someone and they will not only do further business but will speak positively about you to others.
My main memory is drinking a bottle of wine and eating french bread and pate with a customer that had come to pick up his new Celica. He left it at the gargage, got the bus home and collected the next day.
That's what I aimed for (not pissed up customers!) in a sales relationship.
Don't forget that they need 'steering' into the right decision, but at the end of the day, that decision is theirs (or at least they think it is!)
Good luck
I'm BMW buyer.
I often find a car I want and then go to my preferred salesperson to get it for me. The relationship between salesperson and customer is more important than anything else.
My advice would be to ensure the business manager does not ruin your sales by being greedy, ensure that you are fully up to date on the offers from BMW and appreciate that someone buying a car is spending their own money. Treat them as you would like to be treated if you were spending 10, 20 or 50,000 pounds.
This doesn't mean be a sycophant, but respect that they worked hard for the money they are spending with you, and treat them fairly.
I often find a car I want and then go to my preferred salesperson to get it for me. The relationship between salesperson and customer is more important than anything else.
My advice would be to ensure the business manager does not ruin your sales by being greedy, ensure that you are fully up to date on the offers from BMW and appreciate that someone buying a car is spending their own money. Treat them as you would like to be treated if you were spending 10, 20 or 50,000 pounds.
This doesn't mean be a sycophant, but respect that they worked hard for the money they are spending with you, and treat them fairly.
Price.
I make it quite clear to all salesmen I've dealt with over the years it's all about price.
It's not an emotional purchase , I'm not interested in a bunch of flowers , a pair of wine glasses or being invited to "special events" which are anything but.
I make it quite clear at the outset , any salesman who doesn't listen or insists waffling on loses me as I just get up and walk.
Learn to read your customer and listen carefully .
I make it quite clear to all salesmen I've dealt with over the years it's all about price.
It's not an emotional purchase , I'm not interested in a bunch of flowers , a pair of wine glasses or being invited to "special events" which are anything but.
I make it quite clear at the outset , any salesman who doesn't listen or insists waffling on loses me as I just get up and walk.
Learn to read your customer and listen carefully .
Price, but also the extras that come with buying from a franchise dealer, plus the feeling of having been looked after and respected.
For example, we looked for a clubman cooper-s for my wife. None locally, but one down near Cambridge. Price reduced and now in-line with what we'd expect to pay from a non-franchise dealer or good private sale.
I went to look on my way to work. Liked it.
My wife and son made the journey to look at it, taking our old p/ex car along for valuation. They were well looked after.
P/ex price agreed i then went in again on my way home to test drive and negotiate.
The salesman stayed late to see me. We test drove once and talked numbers. I asked for the alloys to be changed with those from another vehicle and wanted the next service thrown in. I was almost ready to commit, but wasn't sure. He knew that we lived miles away and i said i wouldn't be coming past again for another week. We went for another test drive so that i could open it up a bit.
I then committed to buy.
Despite the hassle involved, we were treated well and looked after.
We got vouchers for the next few MOTs, plus discounts on valeting, etc.
1 yr later and we're happy with the decision and would buy again from there.
Another anecdotal:
Went to BMW dealer north of us to look at a MINI Paceman. Also noticed they had a few M135i in stock. I was there for an hour chatting about them and looking at their finance packages. I went back the next day to show my wife. At each step we were taken seriously despite turning up in our walking gear (on way back past after a walk in woods). Tea and biscuits and putting up with my 3 yr old investigating their stock in the showroom.
I'm not in a position to buy now, which i did make clear, but i'll be back when i am. They wanted me to come back for a test drive anytime i fancied.
For example, we looked for a clubman cooper-s for my wife. None locally, but one down near Cambridge. Price reduced and now in-line with what we'd expect to pay from a non-franchise dealer or good private sale.
I went to look on my way to work. Liked it.
My wife and son made the journey to look at it, taking our old p/ex car along for valuation. They were well looked after.
P/ex price agreed i then went in again on my way home to test drive and negotiate.
The salesman stayed late to see me. We test drove once and talked numbers. I asked for the alloys to be changed with those from another vehicle and wanted the next service thrown in. I was almost ready to commit, but wasn't sure. He knew that we lived miles away and i said i wouldn't be coming past again for another week. We went for another test drive so that i could open it up a bit.
I then committed to buy.
Despite the hassle involved, we were treated well and looked after.
We got vouchers for the next few MOTs, plus discounts on valeting, etc.
1 yr later and we're happy with the decision and would buy again from there.
Another anecdotal:
Went to BMW dealer north of us to look at a MINI Paceman. Also noticed they had a few M135i in stock. I was there for an hour chatting about them and looking at their finance packages. I went back the next day to show my wife. At each step we were taken seriously despite turning up in our walking gear (on way back past after a walk in woods). Tea and biscuits and putting up with my 3 yr old investigating their stock in the showroom.
I'm not in a position to buy now, which i did make clear, but i'll be back when i am. They wanted me to come back for a test drive anytime i fancied.
I think it's a combination of things for me - the salesman is important and to date I've often had better buyinge experiences from ladies then men mainly because they don't act like wideboys. They've also been better with the aftersales stuff.
The first MINI I bought was from a chap who was OK but a bit of a wide boy and he wasn't interested once I'd signed the paperwork, the next two were both sold to me by ladies who were much better. More open to negotiation and followed up that I was happy with car etc. They were better at returning calls etc. My E46 was bought from a main dealer and the guy started off as pretty good but once again wasn't interested in returning calls once I'd signed the paperwork he also didn't honour some of the things that we'd agreed.
Sales people need to listen too - I like cars and typically know what I want. I also research problems / recalls etc so I am armed with as much knowledge as possible and there is nothing more annoying than someone who doesn't answer these questions or gives some BS answer. Just be honest and don't tell me that I don't want X car, I should have Y car. This is what Renault did when I was thinking about a Clio 182, I was quite young at the time and the guy was trying to get me to but a smaller petrol car when I was quiet clear what I wanted. I frustrated the hell out of me. Whereas the MINI dealer listened to me, let me drive a few Cooper S's and got my business.
I've always found that my local MINI dealer is very good at treating you like a potential customer no matter what you look like / how you dress / how young you may be. The equivilent BMW dealer is good for this too. Other's aren't so good. I was in one dealer with my step uncle looking at M3's / M6's and whilst not in out Sunday best the sales people in the dealership ignored us and looked at us like we were scum bags. Their loss because he bought an RS6. I guess what I'm trying to get at, is don't dismiss people just because they may not look like the type to buy a quickish car.
Then there is the price / deal. With the internet, it is easy to search for cars to get an idea of what else is out there for a given budget etc, especially for people who like cars. Having said that, I would probably pay a slight premium for a better experience / after sales service.
Sorry for the mega long post!
The first MINI I bought was from a chap who was OK but a bit of a wide boy and he wasn't interested once I'd signed the paperwork, the next two were both sold to me by ladies who were much better. More open to negotiation and followed up that I was happy with car etc. They were better at returning calls etc. My E46 was bought from a main dealer and the guy started off as pretty good but once again wasn't interested in returning calls once I'd signed the paperwork he also didn't honour some of the things that we'd agreed.
Sales people need to listen too - I like cars and typically know what I want. I also research problems / recalls etc so I am armed with as much knowledge as possible and there is nothing more annoying than someone who doesn't answer these questions or gives some BS answer. Just be honest and don't tell me that I don't want X car, I should have Y car. This is what Renault did when I was thinking about a Clio 182, I was quite young at the time and the guy was trying to get me to but a smaller petrol car when I was quiet clear what I wanted. I frustrated the hell out of me. Whereas the MINI dealer listened to me, let me drive a few Cooper S's and got my business.
I've always found that my local MINI dealer is very good at treating you like a potential customer no matter what you look like / how you dress / how young you may be. The equivilent BMW dealer is good for this too. Other's aren't so good. I was in one dealer with my step uncle looking at M3's / M6's and whilst not in out Sunday best the sales people in the dealership ignored us and looked at us like we were scum bags. Their loss because he bought an RS6. I guess what I'm trying to get at, is don't dismiss people just because they may not look like the type to buy a quickish car.
Then there is the price / deal. With the internet, it is easy to search for cars to get an idea of what else is out there for a given budget etc, especially for people who like cars. Having said that, I would probably pay a slight premium for a better experience / after sales service.
Sorry for the mega long post!
Shezbo said:
Never ever the sales person, the web and the cars on it is the initial point of purchase. If the images are good and the price is right - in I come..............
The website and cars on it get me through the door but it is then up to the sales person to make me want to buy their car. That said, at my last purchase there was not a lot of stock around - Z4 35iS - so it came down to the salesman just needing to do enough not to put me off and I did buy.Unfortunately the number of problems with the car - even though all covered by warranty as it was AUC - will stop me buying BMW again. It doesnt' help that the dealers do not seem to think that over 15 return visits to the dealer is out of the ordinary.
I've just bought an AUC BMW.
The dealership setup was very strange (I assume they are all like it), when you walk in the door there is just a reception desk in a corridor, and they make you sit in a waiting room area for a salesman to present himself.
I'm not sure what would happen if you said you were 'just browsing' I wouldn't be surprised if they tackled you to the ground and asked you to leave
Not very welcoming at all, and I said as much on the customer feedback form (although the rest of the transaction was perfect)
The dealership setup was very strange (I assume they are all like it), when you walk in the door there is just a reception desk in a corridor, and they make you sit in a waiting room area for a salesman to present himself.
I'm not sure what would happen if you said you were 'just browsing' I wouldn't be surprised if they tackled you to the ground and asked you to leave
Not very welcoming at all, and I said as much on the customer feedback form (although the rest of the transaction was perfect)
As above, never ever judge a potential customer. A guy I do business with has hundreds of thousands worth of BM's at any one time but steadfastly refuses to go near his local BM dealer because of how he was treated as a teenager.
I would say that they have easily lost out on a millions worth of sales over the last 20 years because of one idiot salesman many many moons ago.
I would say that they have easily lost out on a millions worth of sales over the last 20 years because of one idiot salesman many many moons ago.
I have purchased 5 out of the 6 beemers ive had from AUC & I always look on the website for the car I am after & then go to see it & luckily all the cars I have been to see have been very good examples so I have ended up buying them.
In terms of the sales person ive had three great experiences & two not so great the two not so great didn't seem interested in me or the car they just wanted to sell me all & sundry to make the commission but the other three genuinely seemed interested in giving me great service & understood my needs well & it does leave a nice lasting impression when you bond with the salesperson imo.
I have purchased two bmws from the same dealer & I have just received great service again so when I want to change I will look to going there again if they have the right car.
In terms of the sales person ive had three great experiences & two not so great the two not so great didn't seem interested in me or the car they just wanted to sell me all & sundry to make the commission but the other three genuinely seemed interested in giving me great service & understood my needs well & it does leave a nice lasting impression when you bond with the salesperson imo.
I have purchased two bmws from the same dealer & I have just received great service again so when I want to change I will look to going there again if they have the right car.
Never judge a book by its cover. Just because I dress in jeans and a t-shirt does not mean I'm there to purely day dream about owning a car. I'm not going to dress up smart just because I'm off to look at a car from a premium brand at a dealership 
That said, as per my note further down about getting a 3-series, I wandered around a few dealerships last weekend looking my usual casual (scruffy) self. The Audi and BMW dealerships couldn't have been more helpful (Cooper BMW and JCT600 (I think) Audi York). The other non-"premium" brand dealerships I went into (VW, Vauxhall and Toyota) didn't even bother to approach me so I walked (nothing in their ranges I wanted anyway).
So don't judge your potential customer as you see them wandering around the forecourt, don't underestimate how much they know about the cars they're looking at (ie, don't feed them rubbish - a salesman at a Ford dealership in Huddersfield once tried to sell me a car by standing in front of me and reciting from the brochure and then went on to tell me ISOFIX was nothing more than a label on the seat!!!) but don't be too pushy. Nobody likes a pushy salesman.
That said, as per my note further down about getting a 3-series, I wandered around a few dealerships last weekend looking my usual casual (scruffy) self. The Audi and BMW dealerships couldn't have been more helpful (Cooper BMW and JCT600 (I think) Audi York). The other non-"premium" brand dealerships I went into (VW, Vauxhall and Toyota) didn't even bother to approach me so I walked (nothing in their ranges I wanted anyway).
So don't judge your potential customer as you see them wandering around the forecourt, don't underestimate how much they know about the cars they're looking at (ie, don't feed them rubbish - a salesman at a Ford dealership in Huddersfield once tried to sell me a car by standing in front of me and reciting from the brochure and then went on to tell me ISOFIX was nothing more than a label on the seat!!!) but don't be too pushy. Nobody likes a pushy salesman.
t. I won't choose a dealership just because I've heard its good or its local, I'll go there if they've got the car I've shortlisted from my internet searching. So to make sure your car is in my shortlist it has to have a decent amount of good quality pictures showing relevant areas and any options added. Then it needs to have a proper description rather than a fairly typical autotrader list of standard features. We all know its got body coloured bumpers so don't waste everyones time to pad out an advert and make me think you know nothing about the car.
If those things are in place then I'll consider your car maybe over a cheaper one and travel further to see it. How the dealer experience stacks up will only matter once you've got me through the door.
If those things are in place then I'll consider your car maybe over a cheaper one and travel further to see it. How the dealer experience stacks up will only matter once you've got me through the door.
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