Stories from the Sales Frontlines

oldfarmer50

"...I drove 30 minutes to jump her off..."

I hope that was as dirty as it sounds.

sterlingdog

Come on now---let them have their NFL chat. If I have learned one thing in the last month and a half, it is that car salesmen are human. They have talked about sports, their families, their days at work, their illnesses, etc. I feel much better about them as people now. There are some nice guys on this site. Even after my bad experience with a dealer, I now know that they aren't all that way. Just scroll past the NFL chats if they don't interest you. You'll still pick up tips.

sterlingdog

Moo,
Please tell us non-biz readers what it means to have "27 logged ups and 12 cars burning gas". Thanks!

british_rover

Change that name to dirtyoldfarmer... :surprise:

madmanmoo

Hey, GP.

I haven't sold any Rogues yet, but one guy here has sold 4! We've had a decent assortment of them as far as packages and they have all been going for sticker.

As far as the tent event, yup. We've got this giant tent with a Rogue underneath it and some hay. I have no idea what the heck it's supposed to do, but whatever.

Did you notice how Nissan has stepped up their advertising finally? All I saw was Nissan ads on Sunday football. Awesome!

Have a good month! Just delivered my 13th about an hour ago.

-Moo

madmanmoo

Nah, nothing dirty, but my lady cracks me up. She's a staunch believer in smoking grass. After I charged up her battery, she asked if I wanted to go smoke a bowl. No thanks, ma'am.

She's awesome though. I love that lady.

-Moo

madmanmoo

I have seen 27 people this month. 12 cars burning gas = delivered and off the lot. Sometimes deals are pending and they aren't burning gas, you really shouldn't count those.

-Moo

joel0622

27 logged ups and 12 cars burning gas

That is a kick [non-permissible content removed] job right there. He has doubled what the norm would be. Usually 27 ups would get you around 6 sales.

sterlingdog

Thanks to both you and Joel. I'm gradually learning.

jmonroe

I feel better. I think the last guy got to me.

Ahhh...c'mon, it can't be that bad. The Pats had another good sales day. Might never lose another sale...you getting greedy now?

jmonroe

greanpea68

Come on now---let them have their NFL chat. If I have learned one thing in the last month and a half, it is that car salesmen are human. They have talked about sports, their families, their days at work, their illnesses, etc. I feel much better about them as people now. There are some nice guys on this site. Even after my bad experience with a dealer, I now know that they aren't all that way. Just scroll past the NFL chats if they don't interest you. You'll still pick up tips.

I must admit that was a pretty nice thing you said there.

jmonroe

Think about how many SF your house is in relation to 7500 SF. If you are like Mr Monroe then it is about the same

Soooo, that was you riding around in that F-150 when the gates out front of this community went on the blink a while back.

Security is looking for you and the others that got in that day. For your sake, I hope that was a dealer plate you were riding on.

jmonroe

greanpea68

Moo,

Yeah Nissan has been doing this tent event for some time. I guess it makes the Marketers feel like they are doing their job.

All rogues and coupes are going for sticker. We have disc. like 2 coupes nothing more than $500 but they were friends of GM or the owner.

Being here in Boston when evr the Red Sox are in the play offs we are so slow.

I was wondering about you. I didn't know if you got that thing you were working on or not but I see your selling Altima tech pkgs so that answered my question.

GP

greanpea68

Sometimes deals are pending and they aren't burning gas, you really shouldn't count those.


Those are called "Mind Deals" here.

greanpea68

Usually 27 ups would get you around 6 sales.

If I take 27 ups I better get 12 deals.

27 ups though some guys don't even take that many all month long.

greanpea68

Ahhh...c'mon, it can't be that bad. The Pats had another good sales day. Might never lose another sale...you getting greedy now?

Thanks JM I am starting to feel the power now as I read further.

GP

jmonroe

Change that name to dirtyoldfarmer... :surprise:

All farmers are dirty...when's the last time you saw clean dirt? Don't tell us Rover owners have clean dirt. :shades:

jmonroe

joel0622

I was running the ole got to talk to four to get one sale numbers. But if you can run at 45% close then you are the man brother. I could do it once in awhile but never month in and month out. That is unless you are only counting quality ups meaning those that let you write them.

oldfarmer50

"...Change that name to dirtyoldfarmer..."

"...All farmers are dirty..."

We prefer to call it "honest dirt".

BTW, what constitutes an "up"? Is it any lookie-lu that walks through the showroom or does it require something more serious like a test drive?

Once I went into a showroom only to see if I could fit inside a particular sports coupe. I couldn't so I thanked the salesman for his 2 minutes of time and left. I hate to think I screwed up some guy's stats for the month. :sick:

mackabee

"So it's just a basic LE then. Sticker is about $21.7" I state. "yeah, it's an LE. I don't want a moonroof or all that other crap and it's got to be gray" he says. "You mean the magnetic gray and not the silver right? and it's an 07" I ask. "Yeah, not the silver. It is an 07" he replies. "Ok, let me check my inventory and I'll get back with you with a figure. I'll be about 20, 30 minutes at most."

I go back to the showroom and look at my inventory. We are almost out of 07's and no mag grey. I look at the 08's and we have two in stock but both have the VSC stability control option so they are more than one with mats only. I tell the manager I have a ready buyer and he's been quoted $20,500.00 otd on an 07 LE mag grey. He looks at our inventory and sees we only have the 08 with the vsc. "We have two but they have VSC. Tell him $20,300.00 otd but he's got to do it tonight. We need to put something on the board today!" he says.

I head back out to the lot and look for the car. I find it in our overflow lot, get the key and start it up. 2 miles on the odo :shades: Good. It's showtime!

I get on my cell phone as I'm standing by the car's Monroney sticker and wait for an answer. Mike's wife picks up the phone and I ask her if she's ready to pick up her new car. "Mike, it's Mackabee. He wants to talk to you." She yells across the room. Mike gets on the phone and we start talking turkey. "Ok Mike, you have a pen and paper ready? I want you to write this down so there is no mis-communication." I tell him. "Ok, let me get a pen." he says,"go ahead." "I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse." I tell him.


TO BE CONTINUED....... :shades:

snakeweasel

All rogues.....

The wife and I looking for a new car walked into a Nissan dealer a few weeks ago. Knowing nothing of the Rogue we were looking at it and the salesman came up to talk to us. Told us the name and the first thing that came out of my mouth was "what an awful name for a car".

snakeweasel

Don't tell us Rover owners have clean dirt.

They have all that money to buy Rovers maybe they have their dirt taken out to the dry cleaners.

mackabee

Thanks Richard. That's very nice of you. If I recall correctly the first thread that I started on this forums back in 97 or 98 was called: "Salespeople are people too" We might have to check with the hosts on that. My most famous thread was called "Inconsiderate Buyers" that was a dooosy!
Mackabee

laurasdada

Yeah, well if the Sox hitters don't stop making the Indians relievers look like Pedro in his prime... :sick:

And the Pats? The D gave up 20 points!!! The decline and fall... :shades:

We've owned Nissan's. Last one was a '92 Sentra SE-R. Fun, fun, fun...

mackabee

We've owned Nissan's. Last one was a '92 Sentra SE-R. Fun, fun, fun...

You've got to tell me all about it! We had a 94, black with all the goodies. What color was yours?
Mackabee :shades:

joel0622

We prefer to call it "honest dirt".

Reminds me of the first time I took my beautiful bride of 17 years home for the first time many moons ago.

I was born and raised on a Cattle Ranch in Northern ID. The first time I ever took my wife there was in the spring and my dad had just got done spreading cow manure on the hay fields. It was her first time to ever be on a working cattle ranch.

My wife, dad, and I were walking through the barn yard and my wife said "OMG what is that smell?" My dad replied "Thats the smell of money young lady"

greanpea68

. That is unless you are only counting quality ups meaning those that let you write them.

When you say that do you mean show them numbers?

If that is the case I show everyone numbers no matter what. I know if I don't someone else will.

But I don't count people that I meet on the lot and don't want to give me the time of day. If I get their name and number on a work sheet than I count them. I don't broom to many people on the lot. I think it is a pride thing because when I started I got so much flack if I did broom someone, burnt a up, I was known as a arsanist. After a montha and a half of that I wasn't going to burn any more up's. :shades:

laurasdada

Hello: It was a red (burgundy) 5-speed w/sunroof. Taught the evil wife to drive a stick in that car. My weekend fun runabout as I was piloting a dull salesman company car. 3-4 years of troublefree fun, but when child numero uno was imminent, upgraded to a more spacious and utilitarian Saab 900. I did not (and still do not) want an SUV. Which we now have because, and all husbands can say this in unison, "The wife wanted it!"

I remember negotiating for the SE-R. I believe I used a "Bosbst" method back then, basically noting here's the price I will pay. After the salesman said there was no way he could sell the car for that price, rather than letting me walk he got the SM. She reiterated that there was absolutely no way to sell the SE-R at that price, they'd be losing money. As we were just married and had bought our first house, every $100 counted, so I said I appreciated the fact we couldn't come to terms. But, as we started to leave, well, suddenly they could sell the car at that price! Fabulous! I'm sure there was some profit in the deal, this was the dark days of pre-internet. But even then I used Edmund's guides and NADA books from our library. I'm sure both sides got a good deal...

mb789

Could you please explain what a "mini" deal is? I've read about them several times on here, but didn't know what they where. Thanks.

joel0622

A deal that makes no gross for the sales person so the dealer pays them a flat amount for there time. A mini here pays $100. We call them GT's for "Good Try"

jescue

We call them atta boys. At least before an aged used car would count towards unit bonus. Now our bonus is on new cars only.

british_rover

Ah that sucks.

New and used should either have separate bonus programs or be combined into one program. Not offering any bonus on used cars seems kind of dumb.

madmanmoo

Still in the works for Porsche. It took my friend 6 months to get in from his initial interview. I'm patient. I'll definitely keep you posted though.

-Moo

jescue

Study all the Porsche info you can get your hands on. That way when you get it you will be ahead of the game.

greanpea68

It took my friend 6 months to get in from his initial interview

That is almost as long as it takes to get a porsche from time of order. Maybe they are ordering your demo.

mackabee

First time I drove one was in 1991 when they first came out. It was a white 5spd with moonroof. Had the wife and three kids for the test drive. Loved the car! Went back to dealer and it was closing time and they were all gone except for the manager. I asked him what I could but the car for and he wrote $10,070.00 plus ttl. I told him I'd get back to him. Wife nixed the deal because the car was too small for three growing boys. We ended up buying a 92 Camry but my oldest who was 11 at the time also fell in love with the SE-R. Fast forward to 1997 and we drove up to Fairfax Va to buy a 94 with 24k on the clock, clean as a whistle, black, moonroof, 5spd, power mirrors, power locks, roll up windows ? car had an upgraded sound system the first owner said we could keep for another $500.00 or he would take it out. We opted to have the factory stereo back in. My son later changed the wheels, put in his own amp and stereo and took it with him to Germany where he "schooled" it on the autobahn! Great car. Three months before he was due to get back to the states he was backing out of a center street parking space and someone hit him. I saw the pics of the car and it was something that could be fixed easily here in the US but the insurance company totalled the car. So he gets back and got the first Scion tC we recieved at our dealership. It's been a worthy successor to the SE-R! Wish I could find one today.

Mackabee

greanpea68

So he gets back and got the first Scion tC we recieved at our dealership. It's been a worthy successor to the SE-R! Wish I could find one today.

I would be happy to replace that old Scion with a new Sentra SPec-V any color he wanted. :P

jmonroe

They have all that money to buy Rovers maybe they have their dirt taken out to the dry cleaners.

Given they were taken to the cleaners on the Rover buy do you think they have anything left for another trip for the dirt?

Never mind, I just figured it out. Those guys are loaded; they can buy anything their little hearts desire. Some probably even own clearers. :surprise:

jmonroe

snakeweasel

Some probably even own clearers.

I know people that own cleaners, they all buy used domestics.

jmonroe

I know people that own cleaners, they all buy used domestics.

That reminds me, I had an uncle that had a couple cleaning shops. When I was a kid he bought Hudson's. Everybody remembers those, right? After they went out of business, he bought Buicks then Cadillacs.

jmonroe

carhag2000

I had been working all week to get a gentleman in to buy an 07 Element. Oldest new car on our lot, gf ( who was buying the car) was credit challenged, and to top it off they lived 80 miles away. I was all set up to become a hero IF they showed and bought. I convinced him that we were a reputable dealer, got her approved with a hefty down payment ( which she actually had) and talked them into coming to scenic southeastern Ohio to look at this car. Did I mention it was the oldest new car on the lot? They come in last saturday,love me, ( who wouldnt?) agree on the car, and agree on a price. I am about to become a dealership hero. They go into the box and I proceed to get the car cleaned for delivery. 30 minutes later they come out of the box with obscenities spewing from the gf. Apparently there was a misunderstanding in finance and it did not get explained to the customers liking nor in a manner which they particularly appreciated. I know the F&I guy and honestly dont belive that he is dishonest or abrasive. At least not to merit the verbal abuse he was taking from these folks.
I give them until Monday to cool off and call back asking them to re-consider. Boyfriend gives a 20 minute lecture on honesty and ethics. At the end of the convo he says that the gf is just too stressed about this situation to make a decision. He promises to call back tomorrow with an answer and I ring off. I call him on tuesday and get the bf and he tells me that the gf was very put out by the situation and would like another 1000 dollars to soothe her wounds. Hmmm.... very peculiar. I take this offer to my manager and he says that he will give 200 dollars more discount ( it wasnt that big of a deal with that much gross). I relay this to the customer yesterday ( tuesday) and he informed that he would have to speak to gf. I get a call late in the day yesterday saying that he couldnt commit.
I took this info to my sales manager and he instructed me to say " In the beginning of this situation we had compassion be cause it seemed like you were truly upset and we wouldnt want anyone going away mad. Now, it seems like you are using this as a negotiating tool or tactic and we refuse to play. The offer stands at the previous price buy it or not."
I havent delivered this news yet as we havent spoke today. However he is supposed to call and has been very good about calling when he says he will. I am actually looking forward to this convo and am anxious to see what happens. I will keep you guys updated.

obyone

I remember the Hudson Hornet.

Hudson Hornet

Recently made famous again by the movie Cars.

madmanmoo

This deal is so not worth doing, unless the survey gets "lost" somewhere. A mini deal with disgruntled customers = too much time and headache.

-mOO

joel0622

My GM would hang me from the highest tree if I ever queered a deal due to the chance of a bad survey. Then again we do not weigh them as heavily here as allot of you do. It has nothing to do with the pay plan and our VOC (voice of the customer) score always ranks in the top of our group.

qbrozen

well, what happened in F&I??

greanpea68

This deal is so not worth doing, unless the survey gets "lost" somewhere. A mini deal with disgruntled customers = too much time and headache.


It sounds like their is a spif on this car because it is the oldest new car on the lot.

Carhag,

Is there a spif on the car?

GP

moparbad

I took this info to my sales manager and he instructed me to say " In the beginning of this situation we had compassion be cause it seemed like you were truly upset and we wouldnt want anyone going away mad. Now, it seems like you are using this as a negotiating tool or tactic and we refuse to play. The offer stands at the previous price buy it or not."

Leave the deal the way it is. Rescinding the $200 discount after you already told the customer is "playing" the customer.
Perhaps finance changed the terms after already communicating a different set of terms?

Your better off if they walk anyway.

carhag2000

well, what happened in F&I??

The F&I manager was explaining the terms and the bf had figured the numbers wrong. I think the bf calculated the payments without fees or taxes. The F&I manager started to explain and bf's temperature rose. The gf jumped in with the obscenities. I would personally not have been so calm. I watched the tape from our F&I camera and didnt see anything to merit a cussing from the gf.

carhag2000

Is there a spif on the car?
Not really a spiff just an attaboy from management and a few bucks added to our bonus pool for everyone to share in.

carhag2000

Leave the deal the way it is. Rescinding the $200 discount after you already told the customer is "playing" the customer.

The deal was left WITH the 200 dollar discount from the previous price. It's not our intent to antagonize this customer merely to stop the bleeding.