Ask a car salesman anything...anything at all.
Discussion
cootuk said:
Have you ever point blank refused to sell a car to a customer even as they are thrusting their grimy wad of notes towards you?
Yes, does happen more often than you would think.Some customers are just not gonna be worth the business,
Its a sort of 6th sense and any sales peeps on here will probably say the same.
People who pick all kinds of stupid faults on a £2500 car, pointing out every little ding and cosmetic mark, insist on the cambelt being replaced even though it had one 12 months ago, and inspect the service history and V5 and MOT history in microscopic detail,.
These people normally have a Parker's guide under there arm, an A4 notepad making notes about the car, and every other one they have been to see that month.
The car you have, is always the wrong colour or spec, despite them having seen 12 photos of it online and they always wear glasses, shorts, even in the depths of winter and flip flops.
You will spend 3 hours of your day with them, and once they have consulted the wife, the dog, the kids and next doors pet squirrel, they 'may' consider putting there very special not to repeated 'offer' to you.
They normally turn up to view in a completely battered Citroen C3, on a 52 plate or a knackered, rusty, minging dirty Vauxhall Zafira.
These types, you just know are never going to be happy or easy to deal with.
At the first sign of a bulb blowing on there new purchase, they will be shouting CRA and SOGA at you and demanding there 'warranntree' is unlimited and forever.
I'm sure any other sales Guys on here will agree.
valiant said:
Do you drive past a Ferrari/Bentley/<insertsuperprestigebrandhere> and go 'one day son, I'll be shifting these. One day son...'
Or are they seen as a bunch of posers/poofs/<insertlocalinsultingtermhere>.
I personally wouldn't want to sell that kind of car/stockOr are they seen as a bunch of posers/poofs/<insertlocalinsultingtermhere>.
I couldn't deal with all the time wasters, window lickers, and dreamers in afraid.
No disrespect to anyone, but not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.
Difficult one, you would probably try and hit it a few hundred quid on something like an A3, but bearing in mind you still want to do the business and not piss the customer off.
On something like a sporty Fiesta or similar, a gharish colour can actually be a good thing.
You need to take each car on its individual merits, thats why its a fine balancing act between doing the deal or not.
Some cars, a funny colour is a bad thing, on other stuff a good thing.
It just takes years of experience to guage what you thing will sell a car, and what will stop it selling, that's when you can throw the 'book' out of the window and put your money where your mouth is.
Of course, we still get it wrong very occasionally, but that's the way it is.
On something like a sporty Fiesta or similar, a gharish colour can actually be a good thing.
You need to take each car on its individual merits, thats why its a fine balancing act between doing the deal or not.
Some cars, a funny colour is a bad thing, on other stuff a good thing.
It just takes years of experience to guage what you thing will sell a car, and what will stop it selling, that's when you can throw the 'book' out of the window and put your money where your mouth is.
Of course, we still get it wrong very occasionally, but that's the way it is.
gottans said:
Appreciate the opportunity to ask a question or two.
There have been threads on here about people who enter the showroom and are 'effectively' ignored by the sales staff.
How do you judge the intention of 'walk-in' customers? Do you meet and greet and see what they are interested in or sit back and wait for them to initiate a conversation.
Lastly can you elaborate on why the 'ignore walk-in customer' attitude seems quite prevalent in the industry.
Good one...There have been threads on here about people who enter the showroom and are 'effectively' ignored by the sales staff.
How do you judge the intention of 'walk-in' customers? Do you meet and greet and see what they are interested in or sit back and wait for them to initiate a conversation.
Lastly can you elaborate on why the 'ignore walk-in customer' attitude seems quite prevalent in the industry.
Its difficult, some people do not want to approached and will turn there backs on you and run!!
Some will grunt at you , and some will be open and straightforward.
I'm not one for 'jumping' on people, I will notice them walk on and just keep a discreet eye on them for 5 mins.
Then, if they are still on the pitch, approach them, its a no win situation for a sales person.
Approach to early and your harassing them, ignore them for 5 mins and they moan.
Its a balancing act, I prefer to watch and see if they settle on a particular car first before approaching.
If they just wonder up and down the line with a fag in there mouth and a dog lead then i leave them.
Invariably, though, I will approach and ask if I can help.
andy43 said:
Have you ever genuinely said to a customer "'old out yer 'and"?
Yes I have genuinely, in a sort of take the piss moment with a customer.You have to have built a certain rapport up though before attempting this manouver!
Not a wise thing to do in front of your sales manager or with your average punter though.
Pistom said:
How did you get into car sales? What motivated you to do that job?
I was an insurance broker for many years , and back in 1997, I had a friend who was a motor dealer and he was earning good money, a lot more than me.He told me about a position he knew of in a Citroen dealer and put me forward for it.
I went to the interview, openly stated I knew nothing but wanted to learn
Got on well with the sales manager and begged him to give me a go.
Rest is history.
oceanview said:
Do you have your own car or just use what ever free on the lot?
What is your own taste in cars- performance, comfort instead??
Which cars you get to sale do you like/dislike in terms of how they drive?
Which brands/models tend to give the most problems with faults/breakdowns?
No company car, use my own..What is your own taste in cars- performance, comfort instead??
Which cars you get to sale do you like/dislike in terms of how they drive?
Which brands/models tend to give the most problems with faults/breakdowns?
I prefer big lazy autos, probably my age now...
I'm not much of a fan of modern stuff tbh.
I much prefer classic cars, that's where my interests lie, particularly, old Fords, Escort Mk1/2 , I've owned, restored and rallied a few in a previous life.
Believe it or not, VW /Audi/BMW stuff seems to cause the most problems when selling used, perhaps that's why people decide to get rid of them when they start to go wrong?
andy43 said:
How many times out of ten when you say "another buyer is already on the train/plane/way" is it actually true? 
Last Friday, i had a call at 9am on a C4 Picasso, made an appointment to view at 4pm.At ten to four a couple walked in and asked to drive same car.
Back at my desk, I am signing these people up, quarter past 4, with the buyers still at my desk, the appointed people turn up.
'Sorry , just sold it to these people,'
Cue, mouthfuls of profanities, disgusting behaviour and much stamping of feet.
Threw these people out of the office and carried on with the paying customer.
Next day, 9am. Saturday, the buyers phone up and tell me they no longer wish to proceed, its not the right car for them cos its auto...blah.blah, oh and by the way, can we have our deposit back?
You couldn't make it up....
DHE said:
Whats the purpose of leaving the car boots open all day?
Open boots sell cars, well that's what my manager says.Bulls
t really..I've no idea, personally, walking around the pitch with 40 sets of keys in the morning before ive woken up is not my idea of fun.
Then, having hung them all up in alphabetical order in the key cupboard, only to have to do the same thing at 5.30pm when its now pissing down with rain is not great.
nct001 said:
What percentage of your customers are brain dead internet drones who are on a crusade to ruin your life and not buy a car?
I had to get out of sales when I started writing on adverts you are coming to view not drain 2 hours of life from me.
We call it nutcase management do you have a word or a code for certain customers?
I'm talking cave light strapped to head to view a car in day light, etc
Ha ha..!!I had to get out of sales when I started writing on adverts you are coming to view not drain 2 hours of life from me.
We call it nutcase management do you have a word or a code for certain customers?
I'm talking cave light strapped to head to view a car in day light, etc
Edited by nct001 on Thursday 28th September 20:16
We call em dribblers.
Probably a good 20% tbh.
Like the other day when a guy just wondered into the office unnanounced and offered me 3k for a 3 year old car up for £5995.
This is without him even having the keys, looking at it, driving it, looking at history.... Nothing.
My reply...
How much profit do you seriously thing I have in a six grand, 3 year old car?
His reply.... Not my problem
My reply..... Not my problem you can't afford it, i suggest you get down to Manheim auctions and bag yourself an unwarranted bargain.
Edited by Mexman on Thursday 28th September 20:28
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