Car Salesman Dropped Me Like A Hot Potato
Discussion
Rick101 said:
However he is there to do a job. Sell cars. All he heed to do is let the guy have a 30 min test drive.
If I was his employer, I would not be impressed.
As with any job, some parts are difficult.
How do you know that?If I was his employer, I would not be impressed.
As with any job, some parts are difficult.
You're assuming thats the full story AND the O/P is ready to buy right now subject to a test drive AND is in a position to order the car from that specific salesman and (more importantly) at that particular dealership
truck71 said:
HTP99 said:
truck71 said:
HTP99 said:
If I had a £1 for every time a customer said to me something along the lines of "the commission will be yours" I'd be a very rich man, yep it'll be mine as long as I match the internet quote he has in his hand or if I can get the car for next week, because he's left it till the last minute to get something or I do it for a loss etc etc.
We have only heard half of one side.
You do realise that's your job?We have only heard half of one side.
This is a market that the general public have demanded. They want internet prices from a bricks and mortar business.
If that means a salesman qualifies out someone whos taking a disproportionate amount of their time or who isnt going to buy the car from that dealership anyway then tough, thats life now.
Be careful what you wish for....
Rick101 said:
corozin said:
I'm hardly surprised if the sales guy is particularly bothered
Exactly the problem. Disgraceful.Customer wants to buy car, 'Salesman' can't be bothered.
Rick101 said:
corozin said:
I'm hardly surprised if the sales guy is particularly bothered
Exactly the problem. Disgraceful.Customer wants to buy car, 'Salesman' can't be bothered.
corozin said:
I'm hardly surprised if the sales guy is particularly bothered to fight over a fairly low value hatchback where they are probably going to make bugger all margin on the PCP anyway.
daemon said:
How do you know that?
You're assuming thats the full story AND the O/P is ready to buy right now subject to a test drive AND is in a position to order the car from that specific salesman and (more importantly) at that particular dealership
I'll pick on this one seems as he quoted me. There's clearly a lot of hard done by Salesmen on commenting on this thread. I wouldn't want to buy a car off any of you. In fact I wouldn't buy a car without driving it anyway which is more or less what the OP has asked to do. You're assuming thats the full story AND the O/P is ready to buy right now subject to a test drive AND is in a position to order the car from that specific salesman and (more importantly) at that particular dealership
daemon said:
truck71 said:
HTP99 said:
truck71 said:
HTP99 said:
If I had a £1 for every time a customer said to me something along the lines of "the commission will be yours" I'd be a very rich man, yep it'll be mine as long as I match the internet quote he has in his hand or if I can get the car for next week, because he's left it till the last minute to get something or I do it for a loss etc etc.
We have only heard half of one side.
You do realise that's your job?We have only heard half of one side.
This is a market that the general public have demanded. They want internet prices from a bricks and mortar business.
If that means a salesman qualifies out someone whos taking a disproportionate amount of their time or who isnt going to buy the car from that dealership anyway then tough, thats life now.
Be careful what you wish for....
Get your fleet specialist on to the lead and you have the potential for a different deal altogether. It's all about the sales funnel and getting leads in the top, those leads don't all have to be specific to retail. A well qualified fleet lead with names, contact numbers etc would be welcome if it had come from a cold approach would it not?
My point being, taking a more holisitc and positive approach to business can reveal more leads than you would have previously got.
swerni said:
A salesman (should) have the ability to qualify in and out, it's one of the most important skills in selling.
Chasing every single lead is a road to failure.
Did you ever actually sell, or did you just manage spreadsheets?
I only ask as this is 101 stuff
Yes, was in direct retail sales for heavy commercials for two years. This is significantly harder than retail light commercial or passenger car due to the fact you have no walk ins or enquiries- you have to drive everything. It's a great grounding however with regards to seeing the bigger picture, building relationships for the long term, not selling on opportunity one doesn't mean you won't on two or three.Chasing every single lead is a road to failure.
Did you ever actually sell, or did you just manage spreadsheets?
I only ask as this is 101 stuff
Sure the online culture is hard to compete with but it still represents a small sector of the market, plenty still to go at. Plus, people are emotional creatures and can be persuaded and excited to make decisions they may not have set out to do..
truck71 said:
I'm not insensitive to the challenges sales teams face- I've run two of them for a period of time and heard all the tales of woe. However there are positive and negative ways of dealing with situations. In his original post the OP states he's ready to place an order- taken on face value you would test drive him no? However, lets assume he's been qualified and it turns out he's ordering from a company car list and is just using you for a garage fit check. His company will be ordering cars from somewhere, I'd want to know where from. Get him in the car, he's captive for 30 mins, Open discussions, who's the fleet manager etc.
Get your fleet specialist on to the lead and you have the potential for a different deal altogether. It's all about the sales funnel and getting leads in the top, those leads don't all have to be specific to retail. A well qualified fleet lead with names, contact numbers etc would be welcome if it had come from a cold approach would it not?
My point being, taking a more holisitc and positive approach to business can reveal more leads than you would have previously got.
And it turns out to be a corporate who have a national deal with two or three of the big lease firms...Get your fleet specialist on to the lead and you have the potential for a different deal altogether. It's all about the sales funnel and getting leads in the top, those leads don't all have to be specific to retail. A well qualified fleet lead with names, contact numbers etc would be welcome if it had come from a cold approach would it not?
My point being, taking a more holisitc and positive approach to business can reveal more leads than you would have previously got.
TooMany2cvs said:
truck71 said:
I'm not insensitive to the challenges sales teams face- I've run two of them for a period of time and heard all the tales of woe. However there are positive and negative ways of dealing with situations. In his original post the OP states he's ready to place an order- taken on face value you would test drive him no? However, lets assume he's been qualified and it turns out he's ordering from a company car list and is just using you for a garage fit check. His company will be ordering cars from somewhere, I'd want to know where from. Get him in the car, he's captive for 30 mins, Open discussions, who's the fleet manager etc.
Get your fleet specialist on to the lead and you have the potential for a different deal altogether. It's all about the sales funnel and getting leads in the top, those leads don't all have to be specific to retail. A well qualified fleet lead with names, contact numbers etc would be welcome if it had come from a cold approach would it not?
My point being, taking a more holisitc and positive approach to business can reveal more leads than you would have previously got.
And it turns out to be a corporate who have a national deal with two or three of the big lease firms...Get your fleet specialist on to the lead and you have the potential for a different deal altogether. It's all about the sales funnel and getting leads in the top, those leads don't all have to be specific to retail. A well qualified fleet lead with names, contact numbers etc would be welcome if it had come from a cold approach would it not?
My point being, taking a more holisitc and positive approach to business can reveal more leads than you would have previously got.
You don't win every deal but if you sweat every opportunity you'll do more business than if you don't.
I don't get this...
OP had a car... said car fitted in the garage I assume?
Is the new car:
a) Bigger
b) Same size
c) Smaller
If the answer to B and C is "Yes" then I fail to see the issue.
If the answer to A is "No" then I fail to see the issue.
If the answer to A is "Yes" then "by how much?" is the next question... an inch, a foot, several yards?
Surely this isn't rocket science.
You don't got to Land of Leather and ask to borrow a sofa too see if it fits in your living room...
OP had a car... said car fitted in the garage I assume?
Is the new car:
a) Bigger
b) Same size
c) Smaller
If the answer to B and C is "Yes" then I fail to see the issue.
If the answer to A is "No" then I fail to see the issue.
If the answer to A is "Yes" then "by how much?" is the next question... an inch, a foot, several yards?
Surely this isn't rocket science.
You don't got to Land of Leather and ask to borrow a sofa too see if it fits in your living room...
POORCARDEALER said:
I suspect it went like this:
Customer "can i borrow a car to see if it fits in my garage/parking space"
Dealer " if it fits, do we have the business?"
Customer "Its not my decision, our fleet manager deals with the ordering"
Dealer " I will call you when we have a model available"
Estimated time of phone call......Never.Customer "can i borrow a car to see if it fits in my garage/parking space"
Dealer " if it fits, do we have the business?"
Customer "Its not my decision, our fleet manager deals with the ordering"
Dealer " I will call you when we have a model available"
[quote=buyer&seller]
About 90 per annum when I was doing the job, a retail customer being a smaller operator. I think the distinction you're making is this was B to B rather than B to C sales? If so the basics are exactly the same- good truck sales people make good car sales people. Doesn't happen the other way round so much as they rely on the leads walking in the door, haven't been schooled in the value of relationship building with the barrier to entry being much lower. Not all of this is the fault of the individual though.truck71 said:
Yes, was in direct retail sales for heavy commercials for two years.
How many retail customers buy a heavy commercial? truck71 said:
About 90 per annum when I was doing the job, a retail customer being a smaller operator. I think the distinction you're making is this was B to B rather than B to C sales? If so the basics are exactly the same- good truck sales people make good car sales people. Doesn't happen the other way round so much as they rely on the leads walking in the door, haven't been schooled in the value of relationship building with the barrier to entry being much lower. Not all of this is the fault of the individual though.
In your own parlance they may be be retail customers but they aren't and I suspect the initial enquiry from the majority of these customers can from them contacting you, not the other way around. I once worked with a truck salesman who came to sell cars and he was useless, maybe a one off but you can't tar everyone with the same brush. truck71 said:
Who are suppplied by? A dealer somewhere.
You don't win every deal but if you sweat every opportunity you'll do more business than if you don't.
I'm afraid you're taking the big ticket/low volume way of thinking and trying to apply it to low ticket sales. You don't win every deal but if you sweat every opportunity you'll do more business than if you don't.
When your staff are selling small ticket goods to the general public then the most essential skill they require is efficient filtering out of prospects so as to allocate their limited time most efficiently. What that means is that a few genuine buyers may fall into the wrong bucket but you aren't paying a basic to someone for them to just spend their day pissing into the wind.
These threads always seem to have the customer undertone of 'Do you not know who I am!?' and the answer is typically the same 'You are a walk in who has got yourself catagorised as a tyre kicker.'
The categorisation may not have been correct on that specific occasion but it's an essential process that low end, retail facing salesman must carry out so as to have any chance of paying to sit in their chair.
The best salesmen will be those who can filter out the tyre kickers most efficiently but even they will get it wrong on occasion.
FN2TypeR said:
hutchst said:
Try the traditional PH way.
Get onto match.com. Get a girlie that drives that model. First date get her wined and dined, then drive back to yours and see if its a nice tight fit, or if there's bags of room all round.
Get onto match.com. Get a girlie that drives that model. First date get her wined and dined, then drive back to yours and see if its a nice tight fit, or if there's bags of room all round.
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