Advice on Sales job working for dealership?
Discussion
Through an agency I've been offered an interview for a Sales job working for a well known premium German car manufacture, calling customers and trying to get them to have their car serviced. It's a big dealer group.
I wondered if anyone had an experience of this? And if anyone who works in a dealership could give me an idea of what the job would be like.
Before anyone rips me to bits, I've done sales before - and whilst I aspire to be more than someone sitting on a phone calling people about overprices oil changes, I do have to feed myself. And would rather do this than stay on the dole. I can find what I love when it's on my time and money.
My background it uni dropout, then military, then labouring, then sales. And I'm mid 20's. If that helps.
Thanks
I wondered if anyone had an experience of this? And if anyone who works in a dealership could give me an idea of what the job would be like.
Before anyone rips me to bits, I've done sales before - and whilst I aspire to be more than someone sitting on a phone calling people about overprices oil changes, I do have to feed myself. And would rather do this than stay on the dole. I can find what I love when it's on my time and money.
My background it uni dropout, then military, then labouring, then sales. And I'm mid 20's. If that helps.
Thanks
lookingforajob said:
Through an agency I've been offered an interview for a Sales job working for a well known premium German car manufacture, calling customers and trying to get them to have their car serviced. It's a big dealer group.
Surely you would get your car serviced because it was due, not because someone cold called you?berlintaxi said:
Surely you would get your car serviced because it was due, not because someone cold called you?
The garage that sold the car would know when its birthday is 
Toyota called me on the "11th month" for the last few years to see if I wanted to book the car in for a service, as did Peugeot as they MOT'd it
AndyLB said:
berlintaxi said:
Surely you would get your car serviced because it was due, not because someone cold called you?
If someone phoned you when it was due it might prompt you though?I did something similar a few years back for a nationwide garage who no longer exist. It was call-centre based, calling customers off a database to remind them of their MOT or service being due. Commission based with higher payments for full service than for interim services. I'd get 50p for every MOT booking, but they were easy to get generally.
The job itself? Dull as mud. Lots of customers are abusive by default on cold-calls with no thought to what you're actually saying. You'll be sworn at, hung-up on and shouted out on an hourly basis.
For the customers who have a recollection of ever visiting the garage before (or even remembering they have a car, which many had trouble with) you'll get a quick idea of whether they were happy with the service or not.
Eventually on a bad day I was fired. Apparently you can't swear back at the customers even if they threaten to "stick the f
king phone up your arse" and call you an "annoying ".
Thick skin is a must.
The job itself? Dull as mud. Lots of customers are abusive by default on cold-calls with no thought to what you're actually saying. You'll be sworn at, hung-up on and shouted out on an hourly basis.
For the customers who have a recollection of ever visiting the garage before (or even remembering they have a car, which many had trouble with) you'll get a quick idea of whether they were happy with the service or not.
Eventually on a bad day I was fired. Apparently you can't swear back at the customers even if they threaten to "stick the f
king phone up your arse" and call you an "annoying ".Thick skin is a must.
It will also be calling people about advisories picked up at services (eg. brakes) and I got a call yesterday from BMW exactly 1 month since my car was serviced.
I suspect that in the near future all cars with variable servicing schedules will be uploading their usage data to the dealers who will then be able to estimate when you'll next be due to come in.
I suspect that in the near future all cars with variable servicing schedules will be uploading their usage data to the dealers who will then be able to estimate when you'll next be due to come in.
romeogolf said:
I did something similar a few years back for a nationwide garage who no longer exist. It was call-centre based, calling customers off a database to remind them of their MOT or service being due. Commission based with higher payments for full service than for interim services. I'd get 50p for every MOT booking, but they were easy to get generally.
The job itself? Dull as mud. Lots of customers are abusive by default on cold-calls with no thought to what you're actually saying. You'll be sworn at, hung-up on and shouted out on an hourly basis.
For the customers who have a recollection of ever visiting the garage before (or even remembering they have a car, which many had trouble with) you'll get a quick idea of whether they were happy with the service or not.
Eventually on a bad day I was fired. Apparently you can't swear back at the customers even if they threaten to "stick the fking phone up your arse" and call you an "annoying ".
Thick skin is a must.
Thanks. The job itself? Dull as mud. Lots of customers are abusive by default on cold-calls with no thought to what you're actually saying. You'll be sworn at, hung-up on and shouted out on an hourly basis.
For the customers who have a recollection of ever visiting the garage before (or even remembering they have a car, which many had trouble with) you'll get a quick idea of whether they were happy with the service or not.
Eventually on a bad day I was fired. Apparently you can't swear back at the customers even if they threaten to "stick the f
king phone up your arse" and call you an "annoying ".Thick skin is a must.
I've got no problem with thick skin - well actually I'd rather not work for close to minimum wage having abuse thrown at my but then I'm not in a position to be picky.
Very interesting to hear your overall experience of.
I'm told here it's a group commision. Basically I'm told you put into a group pot - and take out what you earn. That doesn't seem to make sense to me, as surely if you are taking out what you put in, you are just getting your own commission.
The agency person want to call me to "prepare me for the interview" whatever that means. Basically, I think she is going to give me the answers to pointless "competency based" questions, which I hate!
Would you say they were very selective about who they had at your place? What sort of dress code should I aim for the interview?
berlintaxi said:
I have to whisper it on here, but all my vehicles are on service plans, so I don't think twice about booking them in, but I can see it may work for others. Could be an entry into car sales if that is what the OP wants to do, got to be better than the dole that's for sure.
I've no interest in staying in sales long term. I'm currently studying so that I can gain meaningful employment which is not minimum wage plus commission. Obviously I will not say this at interview though. Overall I just want a job. Living on £70 a week is not easy - however I have found that as a serial job jumper and someone without a lot of experience in anything that is easier said than done
I work for Carphone Warehouse in a call centre doing sales (A40 you've probably seen the building). Not related but I do have experience working over the phones. As above, thick skin is ideal, customer will call you every name under the sun, even when THEY'RE calling in, it's a lot worse for the outbound team.
Go for it, I'd rather do that than be on the dole, and remember it will open up your doors to other opportunities.
Go for it, I'd rather do that than be on the dole, and remember it will open up your doors to other opportunities.
IntriguedUser said:
I work for Carphone Warehouse in a call centre doing sales (A40 you've probably seen the building). Not related but I do have experience working over the phones. As above, thick skin is ideal, customer will call you every name under the sun, even when THEY'RE calling in, it's a lot worse for the outbound team.
Go for it, I'd rather do that than be on the dole, and remember it will open up your doors to other opportunities.
Thanks - one of my Sales Jobs was with Carphone. Do you guys still have to use Pie? Are you able to get the same staff deals as retail? My biggest regret was not getting the 40% of EE! Go for it, I'd rather do that than be on the dole, and remember it will open up your doors to other opportunities.
lookingforajob said:
Thanks.
I've got no problem with thick skin - well actually I'd rather not work for close to minimum wage having abuse thrown at my but then I'm not in a position to be picky.
Very interesting to hear your overall experience of.
I'm told here it's a group commision. Basically I'm told you put into a group pot - and take out what you earn. That doesn't seem to make sense to me, as surely if you are taking out what you put in, you are just getting your own commission.
The agency person want to call me to "prepare me for the interview" whatever that means. Basically, I think she is going to give me the answers to pointless "competency based" questions, which I hate!
Would you say they were very selective about who they had at your place? What sort of dress code should I aim for the interview?
I was in a call centre, not a dealership, but we were expected to wear trousers and a button-up shirt. No ties. It was a small, independent centre, so the interview technique was the aI've got no problem with thick skin - well actually I'd rather not work for close to minimum wage having abuse thrown at my but then I'm not in a position to be picky.
Very interesting to hear your overall experience of.
I'm told here it's a group commision. Basically I'm told you put into a group pot - and take out what you earn. That doesn't seem to make sense to me, as surely if you are taking out what you put in, you are just getting your own commission.
The agency person want to call me to "prepare me for the interview" whatever that means. Basically, I think she is going to give me the answers to pointless "competency based" questions, which I hate!
Would you say they were very selective about who they had at your place? What sort of dress code should I aim for the interview?
hole owner asking irrelevant questions like "Which country is the river Nile in?" and "How many pennies in a pound?" which he said was to "make sure we weren't thick". After that it was just reading the "script" for the calls and then we were on the phones.No one used the script because if you did you'd be hung up on before you'd got to the second line.
Interesting thread this. I did cold-calling for a bit during my gap-year, selling health insurance to people. Proper domestic cold-calling from a list stuff.
In all honesty the job itself was pretty soul-destroying - working 'til 9 at night, 200 calls a day etc. The abuse from the general public wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, but to give you an idea of conversion rates, on a good day I'd make perhaps half a dozen sales out of 200 calls and I was one of the top performers. It was a big open plan office and there was a good sense of camaraderie between us all, but I won't pretend it was an enjoyable job. I think I did about 4 months before the company folded and I went to do something else.
I thought nothing of it through uni until I needed a job at the end, and ended up doing a B2B sales/account management job for an IT company. 5 years later I'm still here after three successful years in sales and I'm now a fully trained up licensing consultant. My degree has basically no relevance to my job apart from the fact that I have one (a 2:2 in Philosophy, no less!), it was my previous sales experience which got me where I am now.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, good on you for preferring a potentially crappy job to being on the dole. It may not be a huge amount of fun but the experience can be invaluable and I imagine the job itself won't actually be too bad.
If you're in the Bucks/Bristol/Manchester/London areas my company is recruiting for B2B sales staff, drop me a personal message if you'd like to know more. I know it's not necessarily what you want long-term, but dealing with businesses and returning customers is far better than cold-calling the general public. Either way, best of luck
In all honesty the job itself was pretty soul-destroying - working 'til 9 at night, 200 calls a day etc. The abuse from the general public wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, but to give you an idea of conversion rates, on a good day I'd make perhaps half a dozen sales out of 200 calls and I was one of the top performers. It was a big open plan office and there was a good sense of camaraderie between us all, but I won't pretend it was an enjoyable job. I think I did about 4 months before the company folded and I went to do something else.
I thought nothing of it through uni until I needed a job at the end, and ended up doing a B2B sales/account management job for an IT company. 5 years later I'm still here after three successful years in sales and I'm now a fully trained up licensing consultant. My degree has basically no relevance to my job apart from the fact that I have one (a 2:2 in Philosophy, no less!), it was my previous sales experience which got me where I am now.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, good on you for preferring a potentially crappy job to being on the dole. It may not be a huge amount of fun but the experience can be invaluable and I imagine the job itself won't actually be too bad.
If you're in the Bucks/Bristol/Manchester/London areas my company is recruiting for B2B sales staff, drop me a personal message if you'd like to know more. I know it's not necessarily what you want long-term, but dealing with businesses and returning customers is far better than cold-calling the general public. Either way, best of luck
Honestly.
Go for it. Wear a tie (good) suit (better)
And keep your ears open around the group to see if they are looking for something else. Double check to see if the group concerned are already looking for sales people (outside the agency route) Depending on how well you sell yourself, they may decide to trial you on the sales front first.
Good Luck
Go for it. Wear a tie (good) suit (better)
And keep your ears open around the group to see if they are looking for something else. Double check to see if the group concerned are already looking for sales people (outside the agency route) Depending on how well you sell yourself, they may decide to trial you on the sales front first.
Good Luck
Thanks guys - really good to hear your stories. I suppose I need to look at these things as an opportunity to learn about different industries, and see if I can open up some doors for myself in future. So I'm seeing it as a very positive thing.
I have my interview this week. I won't say when, on the off chance that someone who works for the company are on here and see me asking silly questions about the role and the industry. But I will come back and say how I got on whether positive or negative. Going into a showroom like that will be different - but I'm quite confident so am not particularly nervous. I'm actually looking forward to it.
Will be slightly different to my previous interviews - will include a mock call, a formal interview and then all the competency based questions. The first two I'm okay with - however the "explain how you have saved money and improved efficiency in a company?" questions are always hard for me - especially when I'm interviewing for a role which is very junior. I guess it shows how good you are at speaking and giving a decent answer to a random question.
I have my interview this week. I won't say when, on the off chance that someone who works for the company are on here and see me asking silly questions about the role and the industry. But I will come back and say how I got on whether positive or negative. Going into a showroom like that will be different - but I'm quite confident so am not particularly nervous. I'm actually looking forward to it.
Will be slightly different to my previous interviews - will include a mock call, a formal interview and then all the competency based questions. The first two I'm okay with - however the "explain how you have saved money and improved efficiency in a company?" questions are always hard for me - especially when I'm interviewing for a role which is very junior. I guess it shows how good you are at speaking and giving a decent answer to a random question.
benedwards64 said:
Interesting thread this. I did cold-calling for a bit during my gap-year, selling health insurance to people. Proper domestic cold-calling from a list stuff.
In all honesty the job itself was pretty soul-destroying - working 'til 9 at night, 200 calls a day etc. The abuse from the general public wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, but to give you an idea of conversion rates, on a good day I'd make perhaps half a dozen sales out of 200 calls and I was one of the top performers. It was a big open plan office and there was a good sense of camaraderie between us all, but I won't pretend it was an enjoyable job. I think I did about 4 months before the company folded and I went to do something else.
I thought nothing of it through uni until I needed a job at the end, and ended up doing a B2B sales/account management job for an IT company. 5 years later I'm still here after three successful years in sales and I'm now a fully trained up licensing consultant. My degree has basically no relevance to my job apart from the fact that I have one (a 2:2 in Philosophy, no less!), it was my previous sales experience which got me where I am now.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, good on you for preferring a potentially crappy job to being on the dole. It may not be a huge amount of fun but the experience can be invaluable and I imagine the job itself won't actually be too bad.
If you're in the Bucks/Bristol/Manchester/London areas my company is recruiting for B2B sales staff, drop me a personal message if you'd like to know more. I know it's not necessarily what you want long-term, but dealing with businesses and returning customers is far better than cold-calling the general public. Either way, best of luck
Thanks - very kind of you to offer. If things don't work out at this interview I may take you up on that. Having a look at my CV and some more feedback cannot hurt. In all honesty the job itself was pretty soul-destroying - working 'til 9 at night, 200 calls a day etc. The abuse from the general public wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, but to give you an idea of conversion rates, on a good day I'd make perhaps half a dozen sales out of 200 calls and I was one of the top performers. It was a big open plan office and there was a good sense of camaraderie between us all, but I won't pretend it was an enjoyable job. I think I did about 4 months before the company folded and I went to do something else.
I thought nothing of it through uni until I needed a job at the end, and ended up doing a B2B sales/account management job for an IT company. 5 years later I'm still here after three successful years in sales and I'm now a fully trained up licensing consultant. My degree has basically no relevance to my job apart from the fact that I have one (a 2:2 in Philosophy, no less!), it was my previous sales experience which got me where I am now.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, good on you for preferring a potentially crappy job to being on the dole. It may not be a huge amount of fun but the experience can be invaluable and I imagine the job itself won't actually be too bad.
If you're in the Bucks/Bristol/Manchester/London areas my company is recruiting for B2B sales staff, drop me a personal message if you'd like to know more. I know it's not necessarily what you want long-term, but dealing with businesses and returning customers is far better than cold-calling the general public. Either way, best of luck
The role I'm interviewing for is within walking distance from my front door - so I am hoping to get it. I've done the long commuting thing before, and whilst I could do it I'd prefer to not be stuck on the motorway for two hours a day! (I know this is a driving forum - but thats not my idea of a fun drive).
Had interview and definitely don't think I've got it. Shame but I'll move on.
The guy interviewing me turned up nearly half an hour late. In the email it said the interview would consist of three things - questions, mock call, and pitch to a couple of people. In the end I was only in the room for 5/10 minutes, they said they were too busy. I'm assuming they either didn't like me straight away, or they already had someone else.
I don't really know why they asked me to come in for an interview - they didn't really ask anything about me. Just generic "whats your biggest weakness?/"give me an example of a time when you have overcome a problem?" questions. In the end it was the waste of an hour.
Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day looking for a job. Thanks to all those who gave me some advice. The recruitment consultant said she will try and get me some feedback - I don't think I want to hear it.
The guy interviewing me turned up nearly half an hour late. In the email it said the interview would consist of three things - questions, mock call, and pitch to a couple of people. In the end I was only in the room for 5/10 minutes, they said they were too busy. I'm assuming they either didn't like me straight away, or they already had someone else.
I don't really know why they asked me to come in for an interview - they didn't really ask anything about me. Just generic "whats your biggest weakness?/"give me an example of a time when you have overcome a problem?" questions. In the end it was the waste of an hour.
Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day looking for a job. Thanks to all those who gave me some advice. The recruitment consultant said she will try and get me some feedback - I don't think I want to hear it
. lookingforajob said:
The guy interviewing me turned up nearly half an hour late. In the email it said the interview would consist of three things - questions, mock call, and pitch to a couple of people. In the end I was only in the room for 5/10 minutes, they said they were too busy. I'm assuming they either didn't like me straight away, or they already had someone else.
Typical main steeler, they ignore you then lie to you. PAULJ5555 said:
lookingforajob said:
The guy interviewing me turned up nearly half an hour late. In the email it said the interview would consist of three things - questions, mock call, and pitch to a couple of people. In the end I was only in the room for 5/10 minutes, they said they were too busy. I'm assuming they either didn't like me straight away, or they already had someone else.
Typical main steeler, they ignore you then lie to you. If they treat prospective employees with such disrespect no doubt you're better off elsewhere.
Having never really had a job interview myself, does this sort of thing happen often?
I often have people write to me asking for a job (pen and paper- how quaint!) and I'll always make a point of phoning them back.
Can't abide rudeness...
Anyway, good luck OP.
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