Ask a car salesman anything...anything at all.

Ask a car salesman anything...anything at all.

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Dan W.

1,196 posts

78 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
POORCARDEALER said:
I like Hands up deals said:
I’ll be taking things on a slightly different path, and also giving some insight into an earlier posters question with regards to commission on products.

I’m a salesman at a BMW (Inchcape) franchise and I’m hating the path they’ve gone down. A commission change which isn’t unusual in itself, and as always they try and paint it as a positive thing (but it’s really not). They’ve also gone to split teams I.e New and used.

Basic has gone up to 21k from 15k but we’re no longer paid on GAP, Tyre & Alloy, Smart. The only item we’re paid on is GardX (£25 each no sliding scale).

The most we can earn on a car is £100 (if you hit your target) and we’re not paid on profit, no overage, pack car incentives. Literally makes no difference whether I sell an M4 CS, 760 Li or a stock 1 series in flat white.

Needless to say earnings have cut drastically, add to that the extremely long hours, working every weekend (well every other Sunday) and I’m actually contemplating changing industry.

Has anyone else done it, is the grass greener as a recruitment consultant or estate agent lol?

P.S Do any other sales execs on here have to do an arbitrary number of citnows per day?! Used properly they can be a powerful tool, but when you have a sales manager on your back “done your citnows” and you end up just doing random ones it becomes pointless and annoying.

Edited by I like Hands up deals on Sunday 25th March 21:28
Thats sending out a message out they dont want "sales" people, or if they do they dont want to pay for it....be very interesting to see how that pans out......they may as well bin the commission and pay £30K a year, some people would be happy with that.

Good sales people back in the early 90s were earning 35-40K off a 6K basic selling BMW's!



went through a similar thing at my last place ending up leaving, I think the industry now is aiming more for the overall customer care style rather than bashing out huge volume and hoping you get a decent CSI score.

honestly you are best out of that environment, work for somewhere who values you and where you aren't just a number.

good luck

buyer&seller

770 posts

178 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
bob2146 said:
Yes, what kind of third world operation can’t take cards ? Jesus Christ ! You’ll all be out of business soon anyway if you can’t even offer the basics - what other reasons do people have for buying from a ‘dealer’...?
Errr, because they have what the buyer wants.

Mastiff

2,515 posts

241 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
POORCARDEALER said:
I like Hands up deals said:
I’ll be taking things on a slightly different path, and also giving some insight into an earlier posters question with regards to commission on products.

I’m a salesman at a BMW (Inchcape) franchise and I’m hating the path they’ve gone down. A commission change which isn’t unusual in itself, and as always they try and paint it as a positive thing (but it’s really not). They’ve also gone to split teams I.e New and used.

Basic has gone up to 21k from 15k but we’re no longer paid on GAP, Tyre & Alloy, Smart. The only item we’re paid on is GardX (£25 each no sliding scale).

The most we can earn on a car is £100 (if you hit your target) and we’re not paid on profit, no overage, pack car incentives. Literally makes no difference whether I sell an M4 CS, 760 Li or a stock 1 series in flat white.

Needless to say earnings have cut drastically, add to that the extremely long hours, working every weekend (well every other Sunday) and I’m actually contemplating changing industry.

Has anyone else done it, is the grass greener as a recruitment consultant or estate agent lol?

P.S Do any other sales execs on here have to do an arbitrary number of citnows per day?! Used properly they can be a powerful tool, but when you have a sales manager on your back “done your citnows” and you end up just doing random ones it becomes pointless and annoying.

Edited by I like Hands up deals on Sunday 25th March 21:28
Thats sending out a message out they dont want "sales" people, or if they do they dont want to pay for it....be very interesting to see how that pans out......they may as well bin the commission and pay £30K a year, some people would be happy with that.

Good sales people back in the early 90s were earning 35-40K off a 6K basic selling BMW's!
Exactly this. They don't want "Sales People" anymore.

The ideal for the motor trade now is the Apple Store.

They want numerous, young, pretty "Product Geniuses" on the floor - happy to work 10 hours a day, six days weeks for up to £35K a year, pinpointing the USP for that client and more importantly, gathering personal data.

They then need a couple of Business Managers to sell the finance packages and associated "Added Value Products".

Finally, a couple of Handover Specialists to complete the process.

That's all the accountants tell them that they now need.

It's a "one suit fits all" approach.

HTP99

22,553 posts

140 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
Mastiff said:
POORCARDEALER said:
I like Hands up deals said:
I’ll be taking things on a slightly different path, and also giving some insight into an earlier posters question with regards to commission on products.

I’m a salesman at a BMW (Inchcape) franchise and I’m hating the path they’ve gone down. A commission change which isn’t unusual in itself, and as always they try and paint it as a positive thing (but it’s really not). They’ve also gone to split teams I.e New and used.

Basic has gone up to 21k from 15k but we’re no longer paid on GAP, Tyre & Alloy, Smart. The only item we’re paid on is GardX (£25 each no sliding scale).

The most we can earn on a car is £100 (if you hit your target) and we’re not paid on profit, no overage, pack car incentives. Literally makes no difference whether I sell an M4 CS, 760 Li or a stock 1 series in flat white.

Needless to say earnings have cut drastically, add to that the extremely long hours, working every weekend (well every other Sunday) and I’m actually contemplating changing industry.

Has anyone else done it, is the grass greener as a recruitment consultant or estate agent lol?

P.S Do any other sales execs on here have to do an arbitrary number of citnows per day?! Used properly they can be a powerful tool, but when you have a sales manager on your back “done your citnows” and you end up just doing random ones it becomes pointless and annoying.

Edited by I like Hands up deals on Sunday 25th March 21:28
Thats sending out a message out they dont want "sales" people, or if they do they dont want to pay for it....be very interesting to see how that pans out......they may as well bin the commission and pay £30K a year, some people would be happy with that.

Good sales people back in the early 90s were earning 35-40K off a 6K basic selling BMW's!
Exactly this. They don't want "Sales People" anymore.

The ideal for the motor trade now is the Apple Store.

They want numerous, young, pretty "Product Geniuses" on the floor - happy to work 10 hours a day, six days weeks for up to £35K a year, pinpointing the USP for that client and more importantly, gathering personal data.

They then need a couple of Business Managers to sell the finance packages and associated "Added Value Products".

Finally, a couple of Handover Specialists to complete the process.

That's all the accountants tell them that they now need.

It's a "one suit fits all" approach.
When I worked at a VW dealer in the MkIV Golf days, VW were looking into that kind of thing, they mooted the idea of a specialist who dealt with everything from sales all the way through to servicing; one person who "owned" that customer and looked after them throughout their whole VW experience.

Obviously it never materialised.

Rick101

6,970 posts

150 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
Butter Face said:
-hand phone to customer-
‘No. I can’t remember what my last direct debit was’
‘How much is my phone bill? I don’t know’
-hands phone back to dealer whilst muttering ‘I’m not racist, but....’ -

Handelsbanken smile

People question why I would pay money for a bank account. Exactly this!
Have actually been on the phone to them this morning. First time I've needed to in probably 18 months. Ring my Bank Manager on his mobile and he knows me, remembers what I do and what I like to do.
Fantastic service and happy to pay for it.

Mastiff said:
Exactly this. They don't want "Sales People" anymore.
The ideal for the motor trade now is the Apple Store.
They want numerous, young, pretty "Product Geniuses" on the floor - happy to work 10 hours a day, six days weeks for up to £35K a year, pinpointing the USP for that client and more importantly, gathering personal data.
They then need a couple of Business Managers to sell the finance packages and associated "Added Value Products".
Finally, a couple of Handover Specialists to complete the process.
That's all the accountants tell them that they now need.
It's a "one suit fits all" approach.
For me, this would be perfect. I don't like being sold to and I less like dealing with people on commission. I think there is a MINI dealer Sheffield way which is trying out this 'genius' strategy. Shame I don't like MINI really laugh

Butter Face said:
no cards for full payment, £500 max unless explicitly agreed by a director.
With regard to not accepting cards. Do you accept cash? If it is BACS only, is there not a change on a business account per transaction anyway? I think you said you accept cheques but I'm fairly sure they are chargeable too.

JimmyConwayNW

3,065 posts

125 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
Our card machine bill went from being around £200/£300 per month to £1k plus a month.

I take card if you are buying the car there and then and driving away as it is just easiest for you and me.

If you are coming back in a few days there is no reason why you can't send a transfer. Simply no valid reason at all. Not one customer has raised an objection to this.

I would rather pay myself the card machine saving.

syl

693 posts

75 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
Do you take cheques and give the car away before they have cleared? Why expect your customers to do the equivalent? I don't know you so why trust you with one of the largest sums I ever spend? I'm happy to pay by BACS (faster payments) if you sign the car over to me first. I'm not going to give you the money, possibly for several hours, or overnight, before I get the car. If you go bust, my money disappears. With a debit card the transactions occur pretty much simultaneously.



Edited by syl on Monday 26th March 11:55

POORCARDEALER

8,524 posts

241 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
syl said:
Do you take cheques and give the car away before they have cleared? Why expect your customers to do the equivalent? I don't know you so why trust you with one of the largest sums I ever spend? I'm happy to pay by BACS (faster payments) if you sign the car over to me first. I'm not going to give you the money, possibly for several hours, or overnight, before I get the car. If you go bust, my money disappears. With a debit card the transactions occur pretty much simultaneously.



Edited by syl on Monday 26th March 11:55
I woldnt do business with a person or company I had such mistrust of.

syl

693 posts

75 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
I don't spend 5 figure sums very often. Other than housing, I've only spent a 6 figure sum once. Why would I trust someone I don't know with that amount of money? I don't expect them to trust me either, I wouldn't expect to give them a cheque and walk away with the keys.

If I took your attitude, I would never buy a car.



talksthetorque

10,815 posts

135 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
syl said:
I don't spend 5 figure sums very often. Other than housing, I've only spent a 6 figure sum once. Why would I trust someone I don't know with that amount of money? I don't expect them to trust me either, I wouldn't expect to give them a cheque and walk away with the keys.

If I took your attitude, I would never buy a car.
If everyone took your attitude, nobody would buy one without using finance.
What's to stop the Car dealer getting two bouncers to pick you up, throw you out and lock the gates after you've paid by debit card?


rattyuk2000

84 posts

169 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
talksthetorque said:
If everyone took your attitude, nobody would buy one without using finance.
What's to stop the Car dealer getting two bouncers to pick you up, throw you out and lock the gates after you've paid by debit card?
But this isn't about finance where you only have the deposit at risk - it's about paying five or six figures in full, in advance, to a business you have no previous trading experience with.

silentbrown

8,840 posts

116 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
syl said:
I'm not going to give you the money, possibly for several hours, or overnight, before I get the car.
Have you ever bought anything online?

talksthetorque

10,815 posts

135 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
rattyuk2000 said:
But this isn't about finance where you only have the deposit at risk - it's about paying five or six figures in full, in advance, to a business you have no previous trading experience with.
Syl's argument was he wouldn't pay until in posession of the car.
I pointed out that to pay for something after you got it, the only practical way is with finance. Any direct payment has to be done before.
I think we're agreeing biggrin

rattyuk2000

84 posts

169 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
talksthetorque said:
Syl's argument was he wouldn't pay until in posession of the car.
I pointed out that to pay for something after you got it, the only practical way is with finance. Any direct payment has to be done before.
I think we're agreeing biggrin

syl

693 posts

75 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
silentbrown said:
Have you ever bought anything online?
By credit card, with all the guarantees that offers, yes. By paying cash up front, or even with a debit card, no.

4941cc

25,867 posts

206 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
I like Hands up deals said:
I’ll be taking things on a slightly different path, and also giving some insight into an earlier posters question with regards to commission on products.

I’m a salesman at a BMW (Inchcape) franchise and I’m hating the path they’ve gone down. A commission change which isn’t unusual in itself, and as always they try and paint it as a positive thing (but it’s really not). They’ve also gone to split teams I.e New and used.

Basic has gone up to 21k from 15k but we’re no longer paid on GAP, Tyre & Alloy, Smart. The only item we’re paid on is GardX (£25 each no sliding scale).

The most we can earn on a car is £100 (if you hit your target) and we’re not paid on profit, no overage, pack car incentives. Literally makes no difference whether I sell an M4 CS, 760 Li or a stock 1 series in flat white.

Needless to say earnings have cut drastically, add to that the extremely long hours, working every weekend (well every other Sunday) and I’m actually contemplating changing industry.
This is exactly why I left a PLC run Mercedes dealership last year, an AMG GT R sold with no discount paid the same as a A160 SE busted out to Carwow, despite one deal costing us money to do and the other putting 8% of over £150k in the pot. Then 20% got added to the unit target to hit the same overall OTE and that was the final straw.

It's the way it's all going though, there's almost no point left being a skilled salesperson interested in retaining profitability, because it doesn't pay you to do that. Just be a process/compliance monkey and be glad for your £50-100/car commission.

mylesmcd

2,533 posts

219 months

Monday 26th March 2018
quotequote all
4941cc said:
I like Hands up deals said:
I’ll be taking things on a slightly different path, and also giving some insight into an earlier posters question with regards to commission on products.

I’m a salesman at a BMW (Inchcape) franchise and I’m hating the path they’ve gone down. A commission change which isn’t unusual in itself, and as always they try and paint it as a positive thing (but it’s really not). They’ve also gone to split teams I.e New and used.

Basic has gone up to 21k from 15k but we’re no longer paid on GAP, Tyre & Alloy, Smart. The only item we’re paid on is GardX (£25 each no sliding scale).

The most we can earn on a car is £100 (if you hit your target) and we’re not paid on profit, no overage, pack car incentives. Literally makes no difference whether I sell an M4 CS, 760 Li or a stock 1 series in flat white.

Needless to say earnings have cut drastically, add to that the extremely long hours, working every weekend (well every other Sunday) and I’m actually contemplating changing industry.
exactly - see my post from page 202.

This is exactly why I left a PLC run Mercedes dealership last year, an AMG GT R sold with no discount paid the same as a A160 SE busted out to Carwow, despite one deal costing us money to do and the other putting 8% of over £150k in the pot. Then 20% got added to the unit target to hit the same overall OTE and that was the final straw.

It's the way it's all going though, there's almost no point left being a skilled salesperson interested in retaining profitability, because it doesn't pay you to do that. Just be a process/compliance monkey and be glad for your £50-100/car commission.

Dan W.

1,196 posts

78 months

Thursday 29th March 2018
quotequote all
Sun is shining. Boots are open flags are out, ok we don't have balloons in the showroom but I feel its going to be a good day.

grant8064

101 posts

73 months

Thursday 29th March 2018
quotequote all
Dan W. said:
Sun is shining. Boots are open flags are out, ok we don't have balloons in the showroom but I feel its going to be a good day.
I don't. Easter destroys the month getting stock MOT'd, serviced and prepped. Always puts us a good couple of weeks behind schedule and you can guarantee everyone's cars booked in for collection tomorrow won't be ready by end of business tonight.

...the sun is shining, i'll give you that!

anonymous-user

54 months

Thursday 29th March 2018
quotequote all
Mastiff said:
Finally, a couple of Handover Specialists to complete the process.
I manage quite sublimely by myself, thank you.

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