Just started in sales for my local BMW dealer :) Questions..
Discussion
Different buyers want different things, but I research cars a lot before buying and usually know more about them than the sales guy. I've test driven an X5 with the 6 speed gearbox and was told by the sales man it was the 8 - so I flipped it into manual and proved him wrong.. I've been told no end of porky pies and move on to the next dealer. If you come across a petrol head, respect them for that.
The other thing I find is the website lags - cars on the forecourt not on the web, cars on the web that have sold. As you've heard here, a lot of us find the car then go to the dealer.
inconsistent pricing - I hate seeing the same car at different prices at the dealer and on line. There's no real excuse - and having been offered a discount at a dealer to the price it was advertised on autotrader I felt insulted.
Don't offer someone 10k less for a car if you have a near identical one on the forecourt. That insults my integrity.
I think car sales people need to look again at the rule book they use. I guess they feel it works, and it might for many, but there's a band of people that get turned off by it. Trick is to spot them
The other thing I find is the website lags - cars on the forecourt not on the web, cars on the web that have sold. As you've heard here, a lot of us find the car then go to the dealer.
inconsistent pricing - I hate seeing the same car at different prices at the dealer and on line. There's no real excuse - and having been offered a discount at a dealer to the price it was advertised on autotrader I felt insulted.
Don't offer someone 10k less for a car if you have a near identical one on the forecourt. That insults my integrity.
I think car sales people need to look again at the rule book they use. I guess they feel it works, and it might for many, but there's a band of people that get turned off by it. Trick is to spot them
Over the last ten years or so I have purchased a number of new BMW, mercedes and Porsche. i would like to say that the relationship with the salesman is important but in my experience they move around so often you never meet the same one twice. Therefore, in my case, the quality of the after sales service is much more important. The service managers can see that you are a long term customer from their records and tend to treat you accordingly
Johnthepotter said:
The service managers can see that you are a long term customer from their records and tend to treat you accordingly
Yep.. "accordingly" can however be "badly" as they don't think you'll go anywhere else. I've had good bad and indifferent depending on the person you meet on the day and what mood they happen to be in at the time. My 6 series gran coupe was treated as if it was a 5 year old 318d and my expectations that it shouldn't have a vibration through the steering were initially laughed at until I protested. The main thing for me is if you say you are going to do something then do it.
When I bought my car i bought it from a dealer about 100 miles away, when I got home I found out I hadn't got the hand book. Several calls back to the sales man later I still hadn't got it. A call to the dealer principal later and I got a humble call from the salesman and then one arrived the next day. The wrong one. Several more calls and many promises later still nothing, another call to the dealer principle then another humble call then the right one arrived the day later.
Everything else about the buying process was great but this annoyed me a lot. I'm buying a high quality product and I expect a high quality service.
Good luck with the job though fella, I hope you enjoy it.
When I bought my car i bought it from a dealer about 100 miles away, when I got home I found out I hadn't got the hand book. Several calls back to the sales man later I still hadn't got it. A call to the dealer principal later and I got a humble call from the salesman and then one arrived the next day. The wrong one. Several more calls and many promises later still nothing, another call to the dealer principle then another humble call then the right one arrived the day later.
Everything else about the buying process was great but this annoyed me a lot. I'm buying a high quality product and I expect a high quality service.
Good luck with the job though fella, I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for all the kind words guys 
Car sales is new for me and I'm really excited about it.
Thanks for all of the advice. I really see that there is a theme of the right car will bring most of you in but the attitude and service before, during and crucially after the sale will keep you. Unfortunately, I personally have no control of the AUCs on the forecourt but what I can control is my attitude.
I come from a highly technical back round so I am confident that I can get most of the technical info. Almost impossible to get it all but as said above there is no shame is saying I don't know but we can learn together.
Thanks again for the thoughts, I'm going to bookmark this page and call it my 'Down to earth' page
Who's looking forward to the new M3 and M4?
p.s We have just received a Z4 GT3 (could be GT4)Race car that you can buy....
Car sales is new for me and I'm really excited about it.Thanks for all of the advice. I really see that there is a theme of the right car will bring most of you in but the attitude and service before, during and crucially after the sale will keep you. Unfortunately, I personally have no control of the AUCs on the forecourt but what I can control is my attitude.
I come from a highly technical back round so I am confident that I can get most of the technical info. Almost impossible to get it all but as said above there is no shame is saying I don't know but we can learn together.
Thanks again for the thoughts, I'm going to bookmark this page and call it my 'Down to earth' page
Who's looking forward to the new M3 and M4?
p.s We have just received a Z4 GT3 (could be GT4)Race car that you can buy....
Our horror stories are easy to tell, our good experience we often take for granted.
Another tip is to steer clear of residual values on pcps unless you know they're decent. I looked at a 3 year old audi r8 and he suggested it would lose 30k in 2 years.. 54k down to 24k.. Personally I doubt that's true and as a result it damages credibility. Also keep an eye on the internet brokers to see what discounts they offer. A quick search on broadspeed or others will give you a starting point for negotiation, a sales guy that denies the market doesn't come across well.
Another tip is to steer clear of residual values on pcps unless you know they're decent. I looked at a 3 year old audi r8 and he suggested it would lose 30k in 2 years.. 54k down to 24k.. Personally I doubt that's true and as a result it damages credibility. Also keep an eye on the internet brokers to see what discounts they offer. A quick search on broadspeed or others will give you a starting point for negotiation, a sales guy that denies the market doesn't come across well.
I'm too poor/tight to buy cars new from BMW so not your target audience.
However, just posting to say best of luck in your new role. My advice is to know your products inside out. If you don't know the answer to the question the buyer is posing, state that but explain you'll find out asap for them. Don't lie, or bulls
t (imo).
However, just posting to say best of luck in your new role. My advice is to know your products inside out. If you don't know the answer to the question the buyer is posing, state that but explain you'll find out asap for them. Don't lie, or bulls
t (imo).As others have already said, don't judge people by how they look (for a start off, plenty of mega-rich types don't feel the need to dress to impress and actually prefer to remain low-key).
Treat all your customers as though they're buying a top spec M5 - even if the reality is that they're actually only buying a 116. Make them feel special - Never look down your nose at anyone!
Be honest! If a cars not really suited to their needs (for example: selling a diesel version to a customer when you know they'll never reap the benefits of it as they only tootle around town), explain to them why they'd be better off with a different version rather than trying to make the sale regardless.
Also, if you say you'll call them/e-mail them about something, make sure you do it promptly! - Don't leave them having to constantly chase you for information.
After the sale has gone through, let the customer know that if they need anything at all, to call you and you'll sort things out for them (and then make sure you do it if they do call!). Don't just think: "Okay! - That sales sorted! I can forget them and move on to next punter!". Do a follow up after a couple of weeks to make sure their happy with the car and if there is anything you can do for them. Build up a relationship with them, that way, in future they'll want to deal with you rather than anyone else in the dealership!
If someone comes to look at the cars and you get the impression that they're not going to actually buy one, don't just ignore them! - Treat them as a prospective buyer for the future. They might not be buying a car that day, but the effort you put in may result in them being a future customer.
Where possible, try to go the extra mile to ensure your customer is happy! - Even if it means putting yourself out a bit (Again, make them feel special!).
Don't be too pushy! - You'll end up losing sales if people start to feel you're bossing them around!
Be friendly but not smarmy! Customers want to feel relaxed when buying a car, and many customers will possibly feel a little bit intimidated by the posh surroundings! Put them at ease but don't come across as though you're just sucking up to them just to get a sale!
Do your research and know your product! - There's nothing more embarrassing than a salesman trying to blag his way through a subject only to get caught out by a customer who knows more about the product than he does! If a customer asks how something works on the car, try to make sure that you know the answer! - Desperately thumbing thumbing through a brochure hoping to find the answer never inspires confidence in a customer! If you genuinely don't know, be honest about it and then find someone who can explain how it works (even if it means asking someone on the service desk!).
Now for a reality check:
You're new to the car sales game and hopefully, you'll be entering it with all the best intentions of worrying far more about customer satisfaction than number of sales. If so, then that's highly commendable!
If your going into cars sales purely because you think it's easy money and it pays big bucks guaranteed then you'll not last long!
Car sales is a dog eat dog business based on results! - And at the end of the day, results means number of cars sold per month!
The sales-Manager is going to be applying pressure for more sales from you and it's very easy to fall into the trap of forgetting the customers needs in order to make a sale. Rivalries between salesmen/women don't help this situation either. It can be a cut-throat business to be in, where you're constantly trying to outdo your fellow sales staff.
The thing is though, it's a fine line between making sales and making sure customers are happy! Whilst you're dealing with a follow-up on a customer who's already bought a car, you'll realise that you're missing out on another prospective customer who's just walked in! Which way do you go? - Concentrate on the new customer? (after all, it's more money coming in!), or concentrate on the existing customer? (they've already spent their money but there is always the possibility of repeat business in the future!). Ideally, you need to do both, but as I say, it's a fine line!.
Don't be too surprised if one day you suddenly become completely disillusioned by the whole business! - Plenty of salesmen end up getting out of the business because the reality of the job does not match the expectations.
Treat all your customers as though they're buying a top spec M5 - even if the reality is that they're actually only buying a 116. Make them feel special - Never look down your nose at anyone!
Be honest! If a cars not really suited to their needs (for example: selling a diesel version to a customer when you know they'll never reap the benefits of it as they only tootle around town), explain to them why they'd be better off with a different version rather than trying to make the sale regardless.
Also, if you say you'll call them/e-mail them about something, make sure you do it promptly! - Don't leave them having to constantly chase you for information.
After the sale has gone through, let the customer know that if they need anything at all, to call you and you'll sort things out for them (and then make sure you do it if they do call!). Don't just think: "Okay! - That sales sorted! I can forget them and move on to next punter!". Do a follow up after a couple of weeks to make sure their happy with the car and if there is anything you can do for them. Build up a relationship with them, that way, in future they'll want to deal with you rather than anyone else in the dealership!
If someone comes to look at the cars and you get the impression that they're not going to actually buy one, don't just ignore them! - Treat them as a prospective buyer for the future. They might not be buying a car that day, but the effort you put in may result in them being a future customer.
Where possible, try to go the extra mile to ensure your customer is happy! - Even if it means putting yourself out a bit (Again, make them feel special!).
Don't be too pushy! - You'll end up losing sales if people start to feel you're bossing them around!
Be friendly but not smarmy! Customers want to feel relaxed when buying a car, and many customers will possibly feel a little bit intimidated by the posh surroundings! Put them at ease but don't come across as though you're just sucking up to them just to get a sale!
Do your research and know your product! - There's nothing more embarrassing than a salesman trying to blag his way through a subject only to get caught out by a customer who knows more about the product than he does! If a customer asks how something works on the car, try to make sure that you know the answer! - Desperately thumbing thumbing through a brochure hoping to find the answer never inspires confidence in a customer! If you genuinely don't know, be honest about it and then find someone who can explain how it works (even if it means asking someone on the service desk!).
Now for a reality check:
You're new to the car sales game and hopefully, you'll be entering it with all the best intentions of worrying far more about customer satisfaction than number of sales. If so, then that's highly commendable!
If your going into cars sales purely because you think it's easy money and it pays big bucks guaranteed then you'll not last long!
Car sales is a dog eat dog business based on results! - And at the end of the day, results means number of cars sold per month!
The sales-Manager is going to be applying pressure for more sales from you and it's very easy to fall into the trap of forgetting the customers needs in order to make a sale. Rivalries between salesmen/women don't help this situation either. It can be a cut-throat business to be in, where you're constantly trying to outdo your fellow sales staff.
The thing is though, it's a fine line between making sales and making sure customers are happy! Whilst you're dealing with a follow-up on a customer who's already bought a car, you'll realise that you're missing out on another prospective customer who's just walked in! Which way do you go? - Concentrate on the new customer? (after all, it's more money coming in!), or concentrate on the existing customer? (they've already spent their money but there is always the possibility of repeat business in the future!). Ideally, you need to do both, but as I say, it's a fine line!.
Don't be too surprised if one day you suddenly become completely disillusioned by the whole business! - Plenty of salesmen end up getting out of the business because the reality of the job does not match the expectations.
Good advice; a proper passion for cars makes a huge difference too. One bad sales guy we saw appeared to have almost zero interest in them; it was like he was reading off a prompt sheet.
There must be plenty of tyre kickers though; must be tricky to deal with?! One rubbish sales guy seemed to have decided I couldn't afford an M135i and tried to put me off changing. Then didn't call as promised. I eventually has a call back (after words with customer service); I took enormous pleasure in telling him I had just ordered a new one elsewhere.
There must be plenty of tyre kickers though; must be tricky to deal with?! One rubbish sales guy seemed to have decided I couldn't afford an M135i and tried to put me off changing. Then didn't call as promised. I eventually has a call back (after words with customer service); I took enormous pleasure in telling him I had just ordered a new one elsewhere.
DaveyBoyWonder said:
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 is critical.One of my friends went to a BMW dealership when he was running a bit early for a 5 a side football game, and presumably because of the clothes he was wearing they made no real effort to help him, and the salesman clearly thought he was a time waster when he pointed him to the used 1 series cars. 5 days later he bought an M3 from another dealership.
Buster73 said:
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 .
^^^^^ This every time and if you get a customer like us make sure you tell the finance guys not to BS us either. All this smoke and mirror sI 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 .
te really gets me especially when I tell them I won't talk finance until I have a price for the car but yet they try to make you sit there and listen to a lot of BS.I also really dislike it when a salesman tries to sell you a lesser car/spec than the one you want just because he thinks the better cars price might put you off a purchase altogether or the sales guy tries to put you off a certain spec/colour as he is worried about 3 years down the line and trade in.
and extras don't try to sell us magical paint shields, gap and tyre insurance. leave all that other s
te for your muppet customers.FamousAfroJay said:
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?
What would draw me in is the presence of the car I want, at a price I consider competitive, with the specification I am after, on the BMW website. It pretty much is that simple - if you have one that meets the criteria I have, you'll get a call.What would put me off is crappy aftersales service - ie messing about with whether you'll submit something under warranty for approval, etc etc.
My folks have delegated car choosing/ringing around etc etc to me for the last 10 years purely as I'm a petrolhead that's also quite obsessive about details and will know more than the salesman about any car that I've been asked to check out or I've recommended to them. So it does irk me somewhat when a salesman gives me BS about a car and usually my old man will take my advice/double check with me anyway. I think this is due to some salespeople seeing this as just 'another sales role' applying generic sales technique as opposed to being a 'BMW car salesman'. The mere fact you're posting here shows that you're in the latter category. Usually what gets us through the door comes down to price, it's not difficult to do a national AUC search and wait for the right balance of price/spec/mileage and it's blindingly obvious the ones that are way overpriced. Obviously this is not in your control. Having said that, we do have some 'preferred' dealers and certain dealers we wouldn't touch with a bargepole regardless of price and we will give some leeway to give a preferred dealer/salesman business even if the car is a little more than a comparable one.
I would also say that you need to know your customer well - there's a lot of great advice given here, but I'd imagine the pool of customers you will face on a daily basis and over the phone/email will not be like us. If you can see that it's someone like us then yes, I'd say fully take on board everything that's been said here. HOWEVER, I think you need a different approach for everyone else, as at the end of the day it is a numbers game. While us folk would like to feel like you're going the extra mile when we choose our next pride and joy for the next x number of years and that you know the product inside out etc etc, there will be many many more who will rock up absolutely clueless that 'just want a BMW' for their next company car and will probably blindly finance it without really knowing what they're signing on for or all the different options available. Let me give you a genuine example. A guy in my office recently bought a 1 series coupe. I asked him which model? Dunno. Is it an Msport or SE? Dunno. Can you atleast tell me if it is a petrol or a diesel? Diesel. I honestly couldn't believe that's all he knew when he showed us a receipt for his deposit. Moreover he bought a pre-reg car on finance that was going to cost him more than a build-to-order car on the new car finance deals. Admittedly he needed the car sooner rather than later but you get my drift. This kind of customer will not really feel the benefit of being well taken care of, probably won't remember your name when he comes in for his next car, and will probably do the same thing again buying something he doesn't know from a salesman who's hit the jackpot for least effort for maximum gain. I'm not saying he 'deserves' to be treated poorly due to his ignorance or that he was 'just' getting a 1 series, it's purely that I'd imagine when your time is restricted you will need to be able to judge very very carefully which side of the line you need to tread in allocating your resources.
I've requoted 4rephill's reality check as I do think this is the crux of the matter. Your passion and care for your customers will be admirable, especially as you build your client book, but you have to be aware of BMW's business model and what is required of you in order for you to ultimately make money to survive in this game (most likely volume volume volume). It's an incredibly tough gig imo, as obviously BMW are marketed as an aspirational luxury brand, yet the head honchos are in a war against their rivals for bragging rights about who's the biggest (aka most units sold) manufacturer. Hence the ridiculous finance deals to get cars out the door. You can't tell me that a cheaper car manufacturer salesperson is going to use the same style of selling an everyday runaround 'necessity' to get from A to B as someone who is selling a more niche, considered product where a car is something they really want to enjoy from pre-purchase to servicing etc etc.
I would also say that you need to know your customer well - there's a lot of great advice given here, but I'd imagine the pool of customers you will face on a daily basis and over the phone/email will not be like us. If you can see that it's someone like us then yes, I'd say fully take on board everything that's been said here. HOWEVER, I think you need a different approach for everyone else, as at the end of the day it is a numbers game. While us folk would like to feel like you're going the extra mile when we choose our next pride and joy for the next x number of years and that you know the product inside out etc etc, there will be many many more who will rock up absolutely clueless that 'just want a BMW' for their next company car and will probably blindly finance it without really knowing what they're signing on for or all the different options available. Let me give you a genuine example. A guy in my office recently bought a 1 series coupe. I asked him which model? Dunno. Is it an Msport or SE? Dunno. Can you atleast tell me if it is a petrol or a diesel? Diesel. I honestly couldn't believe that's all he knew when he showed us a receipt for his deposit. Moreover he bought a pre-reg car on finance that was going to cost him more than a build-to-order car on the new car finance deals. Admittedly he needed the car sooner rather than later but you get my drift. This kind of customer will not really feel the benefit of being well taken care of, probably won't remember your name when he comes in for his next car, and will probably do the same thing again buying something he doesn't know from a salesman who's hit the jackpot for least effort for maximum gain. I'm not saying he 'deserves' to be treated poorly due to his ignorance or that he was 'just' getting a 1 series, it's purely that I'd imagine when your time is restricted you will need to be able to judge very very carefully which side of the line you need to tread in allocating your resources.
I've requoted 4rephill's reality check as I do think this is the crux of the matter. Your passion and care for your customers will be admirable, especially as you build your client book, but you have to be aware of BMW's business model and what is required of you in order for you to ultimately make money to survive in this game (most likely volume volume volume). It's an incredibly tough gig imo, as obviously BMW are marketed as an aspirational luxury brand, yet the head honchos are in a war against their rivals for bragging rights about who's the biggest (aka most units sold) manufacturer. Hence the ridiculous finance deals to get cars out the door. You can't tell me that a cheaper car manufacturer salesperson is going to use the same style of selling an everyday runaround 'necessity' to get from A to B as someone who is selling a more niche, considered product where a car is something they really want to enjoy from pre-purchase to servicing etc etc.
4rephill said:
Now for a reality check:
You're new to the car sales game and hopefully, you'll be entering it with all the best intentions of worrying far more about customer satisfaction than number of sales. If so, then that's highly commendable!
If your going into cars sales purely because you think it's easy money and it pays big bucks guaranteed then you'll not last long!
Car sales is a dog eat dog business based on results! - And at the end of the day, results means number of cars sold per month!
The sales-Manager is going to be applying pressure for more sales from you and it's very easy to fall into the trap of forgetting the customers needs in order to make a sale. Rivalries between salesmen/women don't help this situation either. It can be a cut-throat business to be in, where you're constantly trying to outdo your fellow sales staff.
The thing is though, it's a fine line between making sales and making sure customers are happy! Whilst you're dealing with a follow-up on a customer who's already bought a car, you'll realise that you're missing out on another prospective customer who's just walked in! Which way do you go? - Concentrate on the new customer? (after all, it's more money coming in!), or concentrate on the existing customer? (they've already spent their money but there is always the possibility of repeat business in the future!). Ideally, you need to do both, but as I say, it's a fine line!.
Don't be too surprised if one day you suddenly become completely disillusioned by the whole business! - Plenty of salesmen end up getting out of the business because the reality of the job does not match the expectations.
ETA And finally Good Luck! I hope I run into you some day and you can deliver!You're new to the car sales game and hopefully, you'll be entering it with all the best intentions of worrying far more about customer satisfaction than number of sales. If so, then that's highly commendable!
If your going into cars sales purely because you think it's easy money and it pays big bucks guaranteed then you'll not last long!
Car sales is a dog eat dog business based on results! - And at the end of the day, results means number of cars sold per month!
The sales-Manager is going to be applying pressure for more sales from you and it's very easy to fall into the trap of forgetting the customers needs in order to make a sale. Rivalries between salesmen/women don't help this situation either. It can be a cut-throat business to be in, where you're constantly trying to outdo your fellow sales staff.
The thing is though, it's a fine line between making sales and making sure customers are happy! Whilst you're dealing with a follow-up on a customer who's already bought a car, you'll realise that you're missing out on another prospective customer who's just walked in! Which way do you go? - Concentrate on the new customer? (after all, it's more money coming in!), or concentrate on the existing customer? (they've already spent their money but there is always the possibility of repeat business in the future!). Ideally, you need to do both, but as I say, it's a fine line!.
Don't be too surprised if one day you suddenly become completely disillusioned by the whole business! - Plenty of salesmen end up getting out of the business because the reality of the job does not match the expectations.
Edited by Fezzaman on Saturday 21st December 20:13
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