Just started in sales for my local BMW dealer :) Questions..
Discussion
Depthhoar said:
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.)
They're apparently the most profitable AUC dealer in the country by quite a margin. What they do is buy high spec cars that someone/somewhere will want.....they also can hold cars for more than 90 days because they are privately owned so can afford to be aggressive on price. But they are just about to be sold to a dealer group so that may all change but I doubt it!With regards to the OP's question the relationship with the salesperson/dealership is very important to me.....you often here people moaning about customer service. I get good prices when I buy cars from my dealer because I've been buying cars from them since 1996 and if I have any problems the sales person I first started dealing with now is Head of Sales so he gets things sorted with the service dept.
When I bought my first car from them my tactic was as follows which I still maintain works today. I told two dealers the spec of the new E36 328i Sport I wanted to buy....I asked them for their best price and made it quite plain there would be no haggling and no second bite at the cherry, best price wins. The dealer that won that "auction" has had every new BMW I have bought since (the other one couldn't believe it when I wouldn't give them a second chance), I've always got great service and never need to put them in direct comp, they know I know what a car is worth and what kind of deal I should be getting. They've got me in cars with huge waiting lists and even told me not to buy an E70 X5 when they were launched as they had got wind that the ED cars were going to be launched three months later (to combat Red Ken's proposed 225g/km congestion charge zone).
That dealer is Hexagon but I've never bought an AUC car from them
Again because they are privately owned they'll do deals on new cars that bigger dealer groups won't.It's all about the relationship with the dealer for me but then I have generally bought new cars...second hand you have to go where the right car is if there is a spec you want. As a sales person being punctual, attentive and efficient with great product knowledge will get you a long way. The opposition isn't very good.
Honestly?
I always make a short list of cars and call maybe 3-6 dealers and say "You have this car that I want to pay £xxxx for, so have 3 other dealers, who ever comes back to me to say yeah first will get a £500 deposit and I will collect by the end of the week."
So far I have always got the car I want at the price I want, someone always wants to hit their target even if if means maybe not making anything on that car.
I don't want to becomes friends with sales guy, although I have stayed in contact with many of them, and I don't want sales twaddle, I know Lombard etc. can offer 2.5% above libor so please don't even bother getting your finance guy to call me if he is going to be above 5% apr, and be honest with condition etc. Once I have collected it I won't bother returning it for a little mark etc. but I won't use you again if it is not right.
I just expect people to be straight with me.
I always make a short list of cars and call maybe 3-6 dealers and say "You have this car that I want to pay £xxxx for, so have 3 other dealers, who ever comes back to me to say yeah first will get a £500 deposit and I will collect by the end of the week."
So far I have always got the car I want at the price I want, someone always wants to hit their target even if if means maybe not making anything on that car.
I don't want to becomes friends with sales guy, although I have stayed in contact with many of them, and I don't want sales twaddle, I know Lombard etc. can offer 2.5% above libor so please don't even bother getting your finance guy to call me if he is going to be above 5% apr, and be honest with condition etc. Once I have collected it I won't bother returning it for a little mark etc. but I won't use you again if it is not right.
I just expect people to be straight with me.
Forgot to add to the 'knowing your stuff' comments.
I recently went into my local Skoda dealer as I wanted to have a poke around a Superb. Good car - massive and high spec for the money but wanted to know about the twindoor thing (saloon or hatch opening). Approached a salesman (I didn't get approached) and asked him about it. He looked confused (this was a car 10 foot from his desk in the showroom) and said it was a saloon. I explained that some/all Superbs had the twindoor option and how it worked. He picked up a brochure and flicked through it where he was "educated". So after telling the salesman about the car he was meant to be able to sell, I then had a conversation with him generally about what I was wanting from a car, during which he used the f word 3 or 4 times and admitted to not even having an interest in cars.
Suffice to say, I wasn't massively impressed...
I recently went into my local Skoda dealer as I wanted to have a poke around a Superb. Good car - massive and high spec for the money but wanted to know about the twindoor thing (saloon or hatch opening). Approached a salesman (I didn't get approached) and asked him about it. He looked confused (this was a car 10 foot from his desk in the showroom) and said it was a saloon. I explained that some/all Superbs had the twindoor option and how it worked. He picked up a brochure and flicked through it where he was "educated". So after telling the salesman about the car he was meant to be able to sell, I then had a conversation with him generally about what I was wanting from a car, during which he used the f word 3 or 4 times and admitted to not even having an interest in cars.
Suffice to say, I wasn't massively impressed...
My tip: don't judge a customer by what they are wearing. I visited my local BMW main dealers twice to look at 2 cars. First dealer treated me like crap, no offer of coffee or any help just stood around waiting for the rep I had spoken to on the phone while he was doing paperwork. Rep was friendly at first but I had the feeling he was very uninterested in spending any time with me as I had turned up in 'work clothes' which are logo'd hoody and electrician type work trousers.
Showed me to the car and offered me to look around it but then wandered back in to the warmth of the showroom without leaving me a key or offering any assistance. He sat on another reps desk chatting away for the next 10 mins and I walked off. He clearly couldn't be bothered as he assumed I couldn't afford the car.
One of my customers also went to see the same car and dealt with the same rep, he arrived in a suit and was given amazing treatment, coffee, biscuits, test drive and even some free BMW merchandise, just for enquiring. He couldn't afford the car until next April so didn't purchase.
I contacted the Sales manager and complained about the way I was treated, nothing was done. He asked for my email address so that he could contact me and I gave it but specifically asked not to add it to any database. Weeks later I am still being spammed to death by BMW with s
te emails about promotions, discounts, VIP events.....
About a month ago I found a dealer with the correct spec car, went along, was treated well despite wearing work clothesand I bought it. I would have probably bought the first one if I was treated well.
Not sure what the commission is on a used £50k+ car but that first sales rep lost it that day by making an assumption on my bank balance based on how I looked.
Showed me to the car and offered me to look around it but then wandered back in to the warmth of the showroom without leaving me a key or offering any assistance. He sat on another reps desk chatting away for the next 10 mins and I walked off. He clearly couldn't be bothered as he assumed I couldn't afford the car.
One of my customers also went to see the same car and dealt with the same rep, he arrived in a suit and was given amazing treatment, coffee, biscuits, test drive and even some free BMW merchandise, just for enquiring. He couldn't afford the car until next April so didn't purchase.
I contacted the Sales manager and complained about the way I was treated, nothing was done. He asked for my email address so that he could contact me and I gave it but specifically asked not to add it to any database. Weeks later I am still being spammed to death by BMW with s
te emails about promotions, discounts, VIP events.....About a month ago I found a dealer with the correct spec car, went along, was treated well despite wearing work clothesand I bought it. I would have probably bought the first one if I was treated well.
Not sure what the commission is on a used £50k+ car but that first sales rep lost it that day by making an assumption on my bank balance based on how I looked.
Call the customer back. Don't text or email. If he's gone to the trouble of going into the showroom he/she is interested. You never know, they might have been to several and if you are the one that calls back you'll get the order.
Even if I'm trolling into a dealer to buy some bits I don't look as if I've just come off a building site or have just signed a contract with Chelsea. A friendly 'morning, sir, cold out there!' isn't corny or creepy. I don't know what the psychology is - maybe the customers are supposed to be kept on edge. Nothing annoys me more than seeing two or three salesman in cheap Next suits at desks filling in forms, chatting to Dawn from accounts or each other. I prefer the chaps in parts - great one at Vines in Redhill. Wasted, really.
Oh, I know what's worse - a whole troupe of management in its way to a meeting with laptops and folders. We, the customers, are paying for them. I was told, by someone close to a very big, privately owned multi-brand dealership including BMW, that they could sell X,000 cars at a profit every year. Customers would be happy, odd discount here and there and super post-sales service with top staff. Problem is, BMW (Merc, Audi etc) insist they sell X,000 + 20% cars, with all the forms, bonuses, angry, customer-hating salesmen desperate for commission etc or they lose the franchise.
Was told by another ex-BMW franchise owner to buy the car not the salesman. Fact - even if you hate him if it's the best deal go for it. If, as a buyer, you are in the "I've spent months researching the market and really want a Violet car with white interior and Business sat-nav but they are really hard to find" camp and this car comes up: buy it. Just don't moan about not getting a discount. You've found your dream car, after all.
As a 'reasonable' buyer I would probably buy from the salesman I like but at - or near - the best price I have been quoted. So, with me, being nice and sensible helps.
Even if I'm trolling into a dealer to buy some bits I don't look as if I've just come off a building site or have just signed a contract with Chelsea. A friendly 'morning, sir, cold out there!' isn't corny or creepy. I don't know what the psychology is - maybe the customers are supposed to be kept on edge. Nothing annoys me more than seeing two or three salesman in cheap Next suits at desks filling in forms, chatting to Dawn from accounts or each other. I prefer the chaps in parts - great one at Vines in Redhill. Wasted, really.
Oh, I know what's worse - a whole troupe of management in its way to a meeting with laptops and folders. We, the customers, are paying for them. I was told, by someone close to a very big, privately owned multi-brand dealership including BMW, that they could sell X,000 cars at a profit every year. Customers would be happy, odd discount here and there and super post-sales service with top staff. Problem is, BMW (Merc, Audi etc) insist they sell X,000 + 20% cars, with all the forms, bonuses, angry, customer-hating salesmen desperate for commission etc or they lose the franchise.
Was told by another ex-BMW franchise owner to buy the car not the salesman. Fact - even if you hate him if it's the best deal go for it. If, as a buyer, you are in the "I've spent months researching the market and really want a Violet car with white interior and Business sat-nav but they are really hard to find" camp and this car comes up: buy it. Just don't moan about not getting a discount. You've found your dream car, after all.
As a 'reasonable' buyer I would probably buy from the salesman I like but at - or near - the best price I have been quoted. So, with me, being nice and sensible helps.
IMO being sold to well is a pleasure. I err on the side of caution in most areas of my life and every now and again need to be pushed to make a better buying decision. A while ago I had saved up enough money to but a quality Swiss watch. I decided on the model and then, while on a routine business trip, went around retailers in Geneva to get the best deal. Found myself in a small jewellers being looked after by a very smart middle aged woman. She knew I was after a deal that day and sold me the watch I wanted. However through skilful questioning she asked what I was going to get for my wife. I had no plans to buy her a gift let alone a watch. She explained how thoughtful it would be if I returned home with a watch for each of us and that the deal she had given me allowed me some leeway on my budget. She came up with suggestions for the brand and model and effectively chose for me. I left the shop with two watches. When I got home my wife was over the moon and I felt like a hero although I had spent extra dosh. That's good selling. I since bought two more watches from that store.
ChasW said:
IMO being sold to well is a pleasure.
If your interaction with car sales people is mainly in franchised dealers looking at new cars then it's important (as a reference point) to realise that the main thing they're selling is finance, GAP, paint protection etc. And, despite what you might think, they'll be pretty good at it - or they won't be in the job long.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff