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being a car salesman

A: It all depends upon the dealership and the culture that they create. Many car dealerships foster a very cut-throat environment because they are trying to motivate people with little or no sales skills and trying to get everything they can out of them. Also, many dealerships have little or no loyalty to their employees because they just crank people through hoping to get one or two “producers” out of the bunch.

It also really depends upon your personality. Are you willing to work on a very low draw against mostly commission? Are you willing to be evaluated every month based solely on what you’ve delivered that month? Are you willing to cold call, be persistent, and fight a mostly negative impression (at least initially) from all your clients?

I’ve had friends who have been very successful as car salesmen, and though they did have some “salesy” traits, they were for the most part hard-working, honest, and good listeners.

The type of dealership also can play a factor in terms of the clientele.

I don’t think a car salesman is really that bad of a job, but there are a lot of things to factor. First and foremost, I think the general feeling you get from the management and co-workers is the greatest factor in how enjoyable your work experience will be there.

As with any sales job, your ability to establish and maintain relationships, and referrals and word-of-mouth will be huge factors in your success as well.

Good luck!

Q: How hard is it being a car salesman/saleswoman?
I have quit my job and went into selling cars at a dealership. I’m a pretty confident woman and just would like some advice or tips when selling vehicles. The problems I seem to be having the most is getting my customer to committing to what numbers they initially agreed with before writing up a deal. It seems that once I get the numbers that the customer agreed with then they seem to back out. (HELP)

A: You need to lie, cheat, beg and generally be a huge pain in the @ss in order to be a real car salesperson. (that’s what everyone else does!)

Q: How much do you earn being a car salesman?
And do you enjoy it if you are one?

A: I’m not one but i know a bit about it. It’s hugely target driven, don’t sell enough each month and you’re out of a job. You earn mainly via commission, they won’t pay you much over minimum wage because then there’d be no reason for you to bother selling anything! If you’re good at it and can work your way into a top dealer like some in London you can make very good money, 30k+ easy but it’s a dog eat dog industry.

Q: How much tax need to be withheld from income being a car salesman?

A: I’d ask your attorney dude..

Q: Information on being a car salesman?
I’m not a college guy, I’ve tried a bunch of times and I just cant stick with it. So I was thinking since I’m pretty good at talking with people, I’d get some information on possibly becoming a car salesman. I’d like to get some information as far as the hours per day, and is doing this job enough to make a living? I’m not planning on getting married or having kids, so I just need a job that will support me.

A: UK car salesmen/women work long hours, typically 9am – 7pm for 6 days a week with a day off in the week. They generally have a low basic (if at all) and work towards commission. I’m told it’s a great job if you are good at it, but if you are not a sales person at heart, you’ll hate it.

Q: Does anyone else feel the Obama administration is like being trapped on a used car lot with a salesman?
Who can’t take NO!!! for an answer? No matter how many times we tell him we don’t want what he’s selling, he just keeps coming back with that used car salesman grin on his face and you know he’s lying because his lips are moving.
I see at least one of you American Marxists couldn’t resist the urge to bring Bush into it in an effort to defend Obama. That’s not only lame, it’s pathetic.

A: It comes down to constituency and agenda.

They are hendyadic — which means they are “together arising” , or mutually causative.

The agenda creates the constituency, the constituency creates the agenda.

His people want more free money and more free services.

They want more jobs in the public sector, especially at the state level.

They want more union jobs, especially for teachers — the more incompetent the better — just stick them in there for 30 years — what harm could that do?

They want wealth, and privilege, and recognition, and respect, and they want to be at the top of the heap and not at the bottom.

Obama is an efficient machine to deliver the agenda items to the constituency members.

The GOP and Cons are mad at him, not because he is a failure at getting what he came for, but because of his remarkable success.

So far he has emptied out one of our national trust funds for the benefit of his people. With $400 Billion gone, Medicare is no more – whatever you can’t get from Obamacare you just can’t get. Your doctor won’t take you as a Medicare patient, the rates are too low to let him stay in business.

But there’s one trust fund left, the biggest and the best — Social Security — that could be a emptied out and poured down the yearning throats of his constituents in the next two years. How — easy — just keep expanding the ways that people can collect from Social Security.

Crazy money? Well there’s lot’s of ways of being crazy, and they don’t all just happen to kids. So why not have 40 million crazy people and give them all an entitlement to Social Security starting when they are born. It could be crazy on account of historical oppression and conditions of disadvantage. It’s Post History Traumatic Stress — PHTS disorder, make it a medical syndrome, put it in the book, then they can collect both social security and Obamacare checks.

See, it’s his success that is the problem — that’s why we are foaming at the mouth, eyeballs sticking out with rage, veins in our necks pumping and protruding.

But, that is fixable.

Another 60 days, and it will be fixed.

The Congress can say “no” to everything Obama wants, and Obama can veto every single bill passed by the Congress. Then we bring in the embalming team and the entire city of Washington DC gets mummified, and wrapped in white bandages, and buried in a giant alabaster pyramid with an eye on it. And we inscribe Secundum Novus Ordo Seclorem (The Second New Secular Order).

The states can start printing gold certificates of deposit again. The ones that are credible will be admired and sought after. The ones that are not, will not be. It will be 50 experimental laboratories. But they might start having passports to live there, and visas if you want to drive through. They might require a biometric ID card so they know who is in their state.

Time wounds all heels, and washes away all agendas, like a mighty stream come down from the mountain. In the end, new balances are found, new accomodations, new conviviality — all in the course of moving toward a more perfect union. Earthy Quakeys feel so Shakey, Nation Bendo, but do not Breaky.

Q: I was thinking about being a car salesman???
Is it a good job.
What could I expect from being a car salesman.
Is it good money involved.
What happens if you cant sell a car for a long time.

A: It is a hard way to make a living. Cars are big ticket items, and if you sell one a week, you’re lucky. These people get minimum wages, plus a “draw” , which is something to tide them over if they don’t make any commission that payday. If you don’t sell so many cars per month, you are just spinning your wheels.

Q: Is being a car salesman difficult? Is it worth the money?
Are certain dealers better to work for than others? Is the pressure from sales goals too much to bear?

A: Is being a car salesman difficult? Yes, especially when you’re first starting out, because they base your salary on commission and give you the crappiest, hardest stuff to sell.

Is it worth the money? Again, it’s based on commission, and you have to work 12+ hour days, usually 7 days a week.

I’d go with a strong NO here.

Q: what are the pros and cons of being a car salesman?
i am 18 and have an interview with honda in a couple of days if i get the job i will get a salary for the first 3 months then its commission and im kind of nervous about that but its also a great opportunity to make GOOD money for my age what are the pros and cons

A: Jin is right on the money. All BS aside, Jin said it very well.
In todays economy, a car salesman is a job to be laughed at. Im 20. My friend is doing this, and hes 19. Its a job though, just don texpect many benefits. I used to work for Chevrolet (and i did really well, when i was 18) BUt i decided to give up a good pay (for an 18-19 year old) to pursue a career on wall street, knowing ill only be making a third of what i was making at the dealership. Learn a little bit of accounting (general ledger, balancing the books etc.. basic stuff) and you might be able to negottiate youre own deals.

Don tplan on working at a dealership for more than a year. Get in and get out. Its a terrible job for sales (unless youre the manager of sales.. different story)

EDIT:

If you want to go into sales, and want your parents to die proud of you, go into management (which requires wearing a suit), in essence: have you considered a stockbroker? the big money is there, if youre willing to work, and your whole family tree wont look down on you as a CAR SALESMAN. Make yourself, your kids, and family proud!

Q: How do car salesman get paid?
I really want to pick up being a car salesman cause I enjoy talking to customers about there needs and wants, but I was just wondering do they get paid by salary or hourly or comission? If either of the 3 is it good enough money to take care of a family and maybe even keep car selling as a life term thing? Also how much do they make a year? All the information about yall can give me about selling cars would be great.

A: Its strictly commision. Its common to get paid minimum wage your first few weeks while learning the ropes. After the frist thirty days your commison will exceed your hourly wage and that will be your pay. If it dont then you wont work there very long.
It may not be a very good time to enter a job selling new cars at this time , but its possible used cars may be doing better in the economy we are dealing with now.
Its not easy selling cars, escpecially for those that get into it because they enjoy talking to custermers about there needs and wants.Of course that is something you would need to do in order to make all the money you can possibly make on each and every deal. That should be what your main goal is in order to do well selling anything. Its not just car sales people that try to make all the money they can, it is all of us. Who wouldnt triple there pay if they could ? Who wouldnt own the place they work for including the town its in? But you never know, you might be one of those in twenty that makes it in sales and love it. About one out of ten make 100k a year, some more, most just make a living at most. What is the worse thing that would happen if you tried it and it didnt work for you ? Some people love it.

Q: What would be beneficial classes for me to take in college if I want to be a car salesman?
My mom asked me why I even want to be one because apparently they don’t make a lot? I disagree with her because she probably just heard it from people who can’t sell.

I’d like to know information about being a car salesman. Psychology? Sociology?

I’m currently a business administration major.

A: I would think you’re on the right track with business. One day you are going to want to move off the sales floor and into the management track.

As far as extra coursework, sociology is not the way to go. I would think communications – business communication, public speaking, interpersonal/small group, persuasive speaking would be the way to go. Understanding financial math is extremely important, too. How about a marketing course or two?

I doubt that they have this in college, so it may need to become a hobby is cars. Knowing how to shoot the breeze with car junkies will prove invaluable for building relationships.

Q: Why do most car salesmen have a reputation for being total dirtbags?
Sometimes I feel bad for judging car salesmen, but I often feel like the stereotypes about them being sleazy liars out to make a buck at any cost are somewhat true. Recently, my family has been searching for a new car, and every time we drive into a dealership, there’s a car salesman nipping at our asses the minute we step out of our car. Not only do they not leave us alone to just look for a few seconds, everytime we glance at a car, they make up some lie about how amazing that car is…even if it’s a total piece of junk. All my friends have told me about car salesmen trying to get them to finance their cars in the most idiotic way possible and, luckily, they’re smart enough to spot a scam a mile away. However, I know a lot of car shoppers aren’t so car savvy…and I can see a lot of car salesmen cheating poor families out of a lot of money by selling them terrible cars with terrible financing “deals.” Do most car salesmen deserve their terrible reputation?
Sounds like some car salesmen are in the house! Lol, you can tell bc there are a lot of offended jerk-offs lying about the honesty of their profession. Get real, guys. We all know you’re crooks, schemers, and just plain dirrrrty.

A: Scott made alot of good points.

Both buyers and dealers can be to blame and there are plenty of times a customer goes into a dealership with some hot headed attitude and guess what, they get that treatment right back at them. Some of these so called advice websites tell customers to basically go into dealerships trying to demand things that they aren’t entitled to.

They aren’t non profit organizations and things like holdback and dealer cash is to help them keep the lights on in their place of business. I think before anyone starts bashing car sales, try doing it. Go into a job where people instantly stereotype you, treat you like a crook and then go home and raise your family with a smile.

There are plenty of those dealerships that sell cars at the ‘lowest price’ going out of business everyday, so don’t worry. Soon enough, all the good sales associates will leave the business and you will be buying cars from high school and college kids who don’t know a thing about the car they are selling.

There are alot of good sales associates out there and there are crooks. Its the same in every business that runs off commission based pay. But if you go into a dealership to try negotiating and go for the so called best deal, more than half the time, you end with a car you didn’t even want. Then you become a statistic 9 months later when you try to trade out of the car and realize that maybe you should have bought the car you wanted in the first place, rather than buy from the dealership that took off the most money from the sales price.

Q: Requirements For Being A Car Salesman?
I live in California and i wish to be a car salesman.

I was wondering what age should i be

A: You have to be 18 and pass an easy test at the DMV. I sold cars for a year and made some good money. However, I would stay far away.

This is my personal experience, unless you are one the very few who make it past $100,000K. It is a dead end job. It is nothing like you think it is. It’s more than knowing about cars and showing it to customers. A true salesman only needs minimal product knowledge to sell anything. You will also get corrupt and get really good at lying. A big part of the job is keeping the customer in the dark about everything that you truthfully know. Also get ready for a minimum of 50 hours a week, which you are not paid hourly, strictly commission. No time for the wife, friends, sports, entertainment, or meet other people. All you get is one Sunday a week off, which will pass in an instant. Also, a majority of the guys who work there will hate you because you are competition to them. Everyone looks at one another as trying to take as much food from each others family as possible. Also common is to have an appointment to come in who asks for you, but someone else lies that you’re not there and sells them behind your back. How would you like that everyday.
Here’s what I did before I couldn’t get out. Go back to college (I just turned 20) so you will at least have a degree to fall back on. Selling cars did however teach me one of the best lessons that I will ever learn. I don’t want to be working 65 hours a week until I’m 61 years old with no education and no retirement funds. I hope to have my Masters in Business Management in a few years, and if I still want to sell cars(which I won’t) THEN I’ll be able to go back with something to fall back on. I assume that you are still very young so remember this, you can always come back to selling cars. They gladly hire convicted felons, sex offenders, or anyone else who can get a car off the lot.

STAY AWAY! GO TO SCHOOL! Good Luck!

Q: Am I too young to be a car salesman?
I’m 17 years old and will be turning 18 in March of 2008. After graduating high school in June in 2008, I would like to have a job as a car salesman. I’ve been told that I’m a personable individual and would most likely be successful at a job working with people. Being a car salesman at a dealership would be my ideal temporary job, not career. If hired, I’m only going to be working until I receive my degree. Am I too young to be a car salesman? What are the chances of a dealership hiring me? Do you have any advices or tips for me to have a better chance of getting hired? Thanks.

A: My best advice is to go to a dealership and talk to them about it. They always say in the paper that they hire with no experience, so give it a shot. All they can do is say come back when you’re older, or say no. It’s worth checking into if that’s what you want.

Q: What can I buy my car salesman?
I purchased a new car yesterday, and my experience was wonderful. I want to get my salesman something for being so nice but I have no clue on what to get him. He is an older gentleman probably around 50. Please help!

A: 1 hand write a letter to the manager or owner and tell him how happy you are with the salesman. That’s always a nice thing. If you want ot get him a gift gift cards are good. I would not say to starbucks some people don’t drink coffee but to a nice restaurant or store.

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