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Stories from the Sales Frontlines
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Ranges just piss people off and although I really prefer to have someone come in and drive one of our cars before we get serious about price it is not absolutely necessary.
For higher volume makes I don't think it is necessary at all on the new car side to have the person do a test drive.
On our cars though there are so few of particular models that if someone really wants to drive a Supercharged Range Rover for example they might have to wait a couple of months for one to come in unsold.
I would feel the same way myself.
From what I can gather, in the car industry, sales are tabulated more on a monthly basis. I look at the numbers on a quarterly and annual basis because our sales cycles are longer.
I remember one year I thought it would be a good idea to have one of those outside "sales training" companies do their thing with the sales staff. I solicited several training companies and picked the one I thought best suited our industry. I flew the entire staff to a nice locale for a few days for this seminar, at great expense. The training itself wasn't cheap, either. Add to that, it was held in a resort, which again, wasn't cheap.
Bottom line, the professinal trainers, in an ideal world, may have had an impact. But, nothing is ideal in the business world....ever. The usefullness of the training was next to zilch as far as adding revenue or profitability.
Lesson learned on my part. In the end, those that are good at any job are those who work hard, are creative, and who love what they do. The rest, as I've found out over time, seem to be just biding their time. Year in, year out, the same people overachieve, the same people do just as much as expected....and those that underachieve continue to underachieve. The consistent underachievers are the ones who aren't around long.
Putting an expresso machine in each sales location would probably be just as effective, as well as a good bonus structure, as you point out.
I do remember the advent (and subsequent failures) of all the dot com bizz. Ford, in particular, began buying up dealerships....in the hopes that they could sell direct to the consumer. Throught process was they could take orders and just use the stores for test drives and vehicle delivery. I'm sure there was more to it, but I do remember several headlines stating that dealership groups threatened lawsuits against Ford for trying to circumvent franchise laws.
Most everyone is in the 15-25 range as with any normal statistical distribution.
Typically the two stores will do 30-40 used in 5-6 days... there were 220 confirmed sales in the 6 days from 300,000+ 'invitations'. But it was a KoC type environment during that entire time. We were warned beforehand this will be a battle zone so come prepared for six days of 10 hrs each and 50+ salespeople each seeing 8-15 'prospects' everyday.
If you go to their dealership armed with the proper info, you will get the best price in town on a Toyota.
If you don't mind my asking, what brand?
Also, peoples mathematical abilities seem to go out the window too. I can't recall how many times I heard $300 a month in relation to a $30000+ car (of course at zero down too).
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
That presumes people have math abilities to begin with but you should count your blessings! How many dealerships would have to fold if people could do the math?
tidester, host
If you don't mind my asking, what brand?
Shoot me an e-mail through my profile and I'll let you know. I'd rather not say on-line as it might be against the rules.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
They just seem to meet the (unfair) stereotype of the pushy guy in the cheap polyester suit.
-juice
Reinforces rather than hurts IMHO.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If a person thinks that expensive faucet is a decent value to them then it isn't "overpricd".
True of anything that is for sale.
That's right. If you find value in whatever you buy, then it isn't overpriced. So folks think that $5 for a cup of coffee is just right. Me - you've got to be kidding!!
For one it means "not reflecting objective market value, therefore generating sales below expected for that product class/type/quality", for another it may mean "not reflecting subjective and objective product's quality or value". All depends...
2018 430i Gran Coupe
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2018 430i Gran Coupe
And then I go to Costco and a case of soda is $5. When I see it for $6 I pass up on it because I know it's less at Costco.
Pretty funny how that works.
Same thing in movie theatres. You're sort of stuck having to pay more in that context.
Back to cars, I guess you could say the same for people who pay a markup to have the current "it" car.
-juice
The market always prevails.
That is the more economically rational position.
If someone pays $500 for a bottle of Budweiser at my local supermarket, he got a bad deal, no matter how pleased or thrilled he may be about paying the $500. Conversely, if the buyer gets the same beer for one cent, it is a very good deal (assuming that you actually like Budweiser, which is debatable...), even if the buyer feels cheated, ripped off, or bitter about it.
It's economics, not attitude. You can quantify whether or not something is overpriced, just so long as you know the prices.
I don't disagree that $500 for Bud is a bad deal..but remember something, the "best deal" is a state of mind, nothing else. One mans best deal may be a rip off to somebody else.
If we are going to deal in economic terms, the "best deal" entails: (a) paying the lowest price possible, (b) avoiding unnecessary add-ons, (c) selling the trade-in for the highest price possible and (d) obtaining the best financing terms possible, given the above and the creditworthiness of the buyer, all while getting customary delivery terms. The "best deal" is not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of how the deal compares with the marketplace and the possible range of terms available.
If I feel all touchy-feely and misty-eyed while getting raked over the coals, I still got a bad deal. Ignorance may be bliss, but it often includes bad pricing and terms.
tidester, host
Mark156
Let's see whether anything comes from it!
tidester, host
tidester, host