Stories from the Sales Frontlines

british_rover

it is like a host convention in here and we did not even do anything wrong.

Either that or a bad stand up night at the improv.

pat

Clearly the latter!

Note please that the actual HOSTS of this discussion haven't participated (see the top of the page)... kyfdx and I are just participants here. :shades:

british_rover

Yeah yeah you know what i mean.

raybear

Sounds like another word for "salvaged".

snakeweasel

Are you sure its not misspelled? Or maybe the person placing the ad doesn't know the difference between the two words. Or it may have just been an honest mistake seeing that they sound so much a like (I know I have caught myself switching them around :sick: ).

Anyway reprocessed means to prepare something for reuse and is usually used in the nuclear power industry.

FWIW I would stay away from those buy here/pay here we finance everybody places. Many (not all but simply many) are in the business of reselling the same car over and over. They sell a car to some poor soul who cant really afford it, the guy makes a few months of payments then defaults, they repo the car and sell it to the next poor soul who really can't afford it and the cycle continues.

bigdveedubgirl

hey british....

Have you checked out your new competition the Q7? It rocks! It totally blows the M-class and the X5 out of the water.

snakeweasel

I saw the Q7 and I am not impressed, but then the M-class and the X5 don't impress me either. What impresses me about SUV's is the ability to take rather severe punishment, and that means rough off road and even airborne. As for an SUV give me something like a Jeep any day.

That being said Land Rover doesn't impress me either but at least they have a legacy.

bigdveedubgirl

It can take some punishment, more than most, but less then a few that can do what you want it to do.

It tows 6600 lbs which is pretty impressive. (For an SUV of this size)

british_rover

I asked you for your opinion about it a long time ago but you never got back to me...

I haven't seen one in person yet but I am sure I will take one in trade within the next 2-3 months. Whenever some new "luxury" suv comes out there are always a few Range Rover owners who buy it to see if they will like it. I would say a good 75-80% of them drive the car for 3-6 months then dump it for another Range Rover.

I saw it with the Cayennes, FXs, X5s, R-Class, New M-Class and I am sure I will see it with the Q7 and the GL-class in the future.

We took our first R500 in trade for a Range Rover a couple of months ago. Guy traded his 2004 Range Rover for it and drove it just 1000 miles before he was fed up with it and traded it for a 2006 Range Rover.

Edit:

All Land Rovers two 7,700 lbs and do so without much problem.

Just for example lets see a Q7 tow this.

mark156

I am not a boat person at all (motion sickness)... how much would a boat like that retail for?

Nice looking Sport you got there by the way!

Mark

snakeweasel

Lets put it this way, I would not trust a Q7 (or a M class or an X5 or a Cayennes or a R500) on the trip I am planning for next year (or maybe the year after that) but I would trust a Jeep to do it.

michaellno

I heard a radio ad for one of the local Porsche/Audi dealers this morning on my way to work.

2006 Cayennes for $22,966.

Now, I gotta believe this is the V6 model, and I have to admit I wasn't paying close enough attention to note if these were brand new or a "program" vehicle of some sort.

But still, less than $23 grand for a Porsche? Someone is desparate at the home office.

british_rover

I have no idea but you can ask the guy who owns it at the other Range Rover forum I post on. If you don't know the url just email me and I will send it to you if I put it up here it will just get deleted.

jmurman42

I have had a HUGE amount of bad credit people, and cannot get this month happening.... :mad: :mad: :mad:

british_rover

Your month cannot be as bad as mine just not possible.

The good thing about rovers is we are normaly pretty much economy proof. These vehicles are bought no matter what the economy is doing or what gas prices are.

Gas prices go up or go down and we just are not effected. Well I think this month gas prices finally hit a point that even our customers are starting to care.

Jan-March were all good months. April was slow but that is normal for april for us everyone is trying to figure how to pay as little in tax as possible they don't have time to shop for cars. I had enough bonus carry through from March plus made enough sales to hit a bonus target so april was actually very good for me. Enough bonus carried over into May that it was painful but surviable. June however has been horrible. No bonus carry over from May cause there was none to carry over and no traffic hardly at all. We can sell Range Rover Sports cause there is still a fair amount of traffic for that but one model cannot carry this store.

bigdveedubgirl

I agree the Range Rover is a class in itself. Their owners are cultlike like Audi Owners. But the Q7 is AMAZING. In the case of the FX that is cheap goods, The R-class is a freaking mini van, The New M is better, but for a Range Rover the M is a Joke. The Porsche, is nice but shares too many components of the VW.

Audi did a great Job, It has great off road capabilities, The luxury appointments and fit and finish are flawless, And it has safety features that no other SUV has right now.But take a look at it I think you will like it.

qbrozen

2006 Cayennes for $22,966.

sounds like a creative way to advertise a lease, to me.

p.s. I'm using the term creative VERY loosely.

corvette

Sounds like a bait and switch, or "only two at this price, and they're already sold."

mark156

Snakeweasel, I'm not sure what you are going to do during your Jeep trip next year but Jeeps are all not all that exceptional. I should know, I owned two... a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 6 cylinder, 2x4... kept 3 years, got towed to the dealership three times. I had a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, V-8, 4x4 Quadra-drive... got towed once in 3 years of ownership and the air conditioning capability was below average (bought during the winter, couldn't really check it).

I sold the '99 Jeep myself and bought a new 2002 Mercedes-Benz ML500 and kept it 4 years and 48,700 miles... never had a break-down, never was towed. So, I would trust the Mercedes that I had WAY before the JEEP. Also, I took the Mercedes off road more than I did either Jeep. :surprise:

Just my experience. Mark

snakeweasel

We are planning a trip to Alaska. The wife wants to take two weeks, one week on a cruise and another touring the interior. I want to take three weeks and drive up their on the Alaska Highway (an easy drive for most vehicles) but on the way back take the route that a buddy of mine and I took when we got out of the service which is not for the faint of heart. As well as a couple of side trips that will be rough on a vehicle.

I have friends that have Jeeps and swear by them. The buddy I came back from Alaska with took the same trip last year in a M class and told me it was a mistake, especially after spending a few thousand on a tow. :sick:

ateixeira

Probably a lease, yes, and annoying at best.

-juice

british_rover

I have run up against extremely agressive Cayenne leases. I think Porsche has realized they have a glut of 2006 Cayennes out there and they have just about saturated the market with them.

They got to start moving them out now as 2007s are coming sooner rather then later. Also the Cayenne design is getting long in the tooth and a refresh is probably coming next year.

isellhondas

The month is young and you will pull out.

I guess I can't complain. I've been very busy and I almost feel guilty taking today off.

I don't get that many bad credit people. I have been seeing a LOT of people 8000.00 upside down in their gas guzzlers. They want to "downsize".

They want to get out of their present ride, into an Accord or a Civic, no money out of their pockets and keep their payments the same.

Sound familiar?

mazda6iguy

I heard a radio commercial for a dealership here that says "If I can't finance you, I'll give you a car". Does he mean from the clunker 'budget lot' out back? I bet he never had to 'give' a car to anyone yet...

snakeweasel

Well to be truthful anyone can get financing if you're willing to pay for it. I have known people who have paid 20%+ on a car :sick:

bigdveedubgirl

Oh Gawd! I have 2 out on this pay period, but I need about 5 more.

I have not sold alot but I have made a lot of gross. I just wish it would pick up. Since the MAVs lost I think we will see some more evening traffic.

Alot of people who can not afford a A4 want to drive the Q7.

tsgeisel

BT, DT. It was not pretty, but I'm all right now, and I've learned my lesson well.

div2

Lets put it this way, I would not trust a Q7 (or a M class or an X5 or a Cayennes or a R500) on the trip I am planning for next year (or maybe the year after that) but I would trust a Jeep to do it.

Well, I drove/navigated an X5 in the 2000 Alcan Winter Rally with no problems(other than those caused by my being a newbie navigator). In 2004 an X3 3.0 won the event outright, while another finished second...

socala4

I want to take three weeks and drive up their on the Alaska Highway

You might like this article. I'd love to do this drive myself...but not in my car...

Car & Driver

british_rover

This morning a woman calls up with questions about the free sirius account with her Range Rover.

It seems that when she bought the car she thought she was told there were 12 months of free service.

I explain that in reality there is no official free service from sirius but I have on a couple of occasions negotiated with the sirius people during delivery of the new car and gotten between three and six months free. Six months is by far the most I have ever gotten for free however and I only got that once.

She says, "Ok I guess I was mistaken then that makes sense thanks very much."

She hangs up I never even get her name and I don't recognize the voice so I know it is not one of my clients.

About an hour later I get another call and instantly know it is the same woman but very very upset this time.

This is Mrs. XXXX calling.

Now I recognize the voice and the name it was the same woman who our other sales guide sold a car to about six months ago. I already had one story about here Right Here.

HER: "Our sales guy said we would get 12 months free and I know this is true because my husband Dr. XXXX said so and he is very inteligent he doesn't forget anything.

My Internal Dialogue: (Never mind that intelligence and memory have very little to do with each other but anyway. And I also know that our other sales guy would never say such a thing because it is just not possible. You have to fight with sirius to get anything free and they would not give you 12 months free for sure.)

ME: Well the most I have ever been able to get is six months...

HER Interupting me screaming: My Husband, who is very inteligent, and my daughter both know what our sales guy said that we get 12 months free and I want it fixed right now. I don't care what you say is normal sales guides name said this and so that is what I want. YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

ME: Well he is not here right now. He is at lunch but should be back in about 20 minutes if you want to call...

HER still screaming interupting me again: NO I WANT IT FIXED RIGHT NOW SO TAKE THIS INFORMATION DOWN AND FIX IT

ME still calmly talking by some grace of god: Hold on I don't have a pen or a pad of paper in front of me give me a second.

Internal Dialogue:(I set the phone down and walk out of my office to avoid screaming at her. I give myself about five minutes to calm down then pick the phone up again.)

ME: Ok Ma'am what do you want me to write down.

HER: Gives me a fax number her account number and a phone number she can be reached at. Tell him to fax over the information to that number with my account number and then call me. I want this fixed today so they will turn my radio back on.

ME: OK I will leave this note for him and tell him to call you.

Hangs up phone.

bigdveedubgirl

Hi-line customers can be a little demanding.

I had something like that happen to me because some nimrod that used to work here told her she had 6 mos but it is only 3 mos. So What I did was got her acount number and I called sirius and I paid 3 months in advance to her account. And I didnt have to listen to that screetchy woman again..... :P

snakeweasel

Not worried about going up on the Alaskan Highway. It paved all the way and in good shape with enough along the way to make a nice safe drive even in winter. My concern is that I want to take the route me and my buddy took into Seattle after we were kicked out of discharged from the service. IIRC on that trip we spend a whole half hour on the Alaska Highway. I know that even now many parts of that trek are still unpaved.

kdhspyder

To bridge the peak from May, best month ever, to July August ( normally the two best months of the year ) we are having a special Used Car mailing. 300,000+ mailers out to a 75 mile radius. The expectation is 200 additional used cars over 6 days. June is normally the slowest of the spring/summer months in new cars.

Tues is normally a 6-10 day, this week 45 units
Wed is normally a 10+ day, this week 39

The mailing and the huge turnout will make this month.

snakeweasel

we are having a special Used Car mailing. 300,000+ mailers out to a 75 mile radius.

Are you the ones responsible for the "your pre approved for a used car loan" that me, my wife and my dog (yes my dog got one once) get almost every week?

isellhondas

I couldn't sell Land Rovers and have to put up with the people who are attracted by them.

I'm glad we no longer sell used ones for that very reason.

jipster

You handled it quite well british rover.

I'm sure a few "low end" salespeople may have responded with something like, " Well, if your husband is so intellegent...why didn't he get this in writing?" :sick:

audia8q

I heard a radio commercial for a dealership here that says "If I can't finance you, I'll give you a car". Does he mean from the clunker 'budget lot' out back? I bet he never had to 'give' a car to anyone yet...

not always...in many cases it's easier to get somebody approved on a reasonable new car than a used car. The hook is the down payment. Unless the buyer is an axe murder most deals I send to the bank with bad credit come back with a counter offer. The counter usually involves a substantial down payment (50-80% of amount financed)and proof of everything, income, residence, etc.

Here is the part that is a mystery to me...Since deadbeats almost never pay anyone, you would assume they have lots of cash to get approved...but no, they usually have nothing or they might be able to dig up $200.

I had a professor in school who always said...if you gave everyone in the country a million dollars, by the end of the year half of the country would be broke and the other half doubled their money.

isellhondas

Because you have no idea of the backgrounds some of us have.

jipster

I know all of your backgrounds...yours in particular since you post it so frequently. But, I wasn't referring to any of the established regular salespeople that post here. Why jepordise a 4-12 year career over an irrate and irrational customer. You and many others have posted of higher turnover in "low end" sales. Would only make sense that "some" of these salesmen would have a lower tolerance level for this type of verbal abuse, since they are probably on the way out, and retaliate in some manner.

I did give british rover props for handling the situation so well...so cut me some slack, jack.

prosa

Heh. Let's see, 12 months of satellite radio service is what, maybe $150? That's probably about one-fifth of this buyer's monthly payment on the Range Rover. Hardly worth her time to argue about it.

biancar

What do you sell? Are you in Kill Devil Hills or do you work up in Va. Beach? I think you mentioned once but I don't recall.

(I'm not a potential customer, just curious. There aren't too many dealerships in the KH - KDH - NH areas.)

kdhspyder

Toyota's, biancar.

I live in KDH but work in Chesapeake. 150 mi RT commute.

raybear

So....no one ever gave a customer a year of prepaid service in return for a sale?

british_rover

With they way our pay plan is set up that would eat up most of the money we make from a sale.

isellhondas

I think any professional salesperson would have handled her in a similar fashion.

british_rover

Keyword there is professional. There are a lot of unprofessional people out there.

Kirstie_H

Reason #27 why I couldn't be in sales... the temptation to respond with a smartmouth comment would have overwhelmed my common sense. So, I do applaud the skill with which you handled the situation.

snakeweasel

Seems you handled that rather professionally. My last job I had a lot of customer contact and had an enormous amount of angry calls (a utility billing department for a suburban city government that had decades of mismanagement). I got in the habit of hanging up on abusive people, of course only after giving fair warning that I would if they didn't stop being abusive. It worked most people got the hint real quickly.

bobst

After we changed to Verizon DSL, we wanted to discontinue our AOL service. I had heard AOL tries to resist.

I called AOL and asked nicely to have our service discontinued. He tried to sell us a new service of some kind.

I kept repeating, "We want our service cut off", or something like that. As he tried to talk, I just kept repeating that phrase.

He called me rude and obnoxious, but I kept repeating the same phrase. After a few minutes, he agreed to stop our AOL service.

Sometimes the sales person asks for it, and we customers are only too happy to give it to them.

qbrozen

You have to fight with sirius to get anything free and they would not give you 12 months free for sure.

I just wanted to point out that we got 12 months free with our new Chrysler, and we didn't even ask for it. It came with the car by default.

Maybe Rover should step up to Chrysler's level.

hahahhaaha... j/k

(well, i'm not kidding about the year free in our Pacifica, though. that part is true.)