Another silly salesman story

[soulreapersteve]

A month before I bought the car, I went to take another one out for a test drive. Afterward, salesman kept trying to pressure me into a lease of the car. Told him I'm not interested in a lease due to various reasons.

I walked over to the RS1.0 that was sitting in the middle of the showroom. He was trying to get me to buy that by saying the paint was made by Lamborghini and it was very similar to "Lamborghini Yellow"

[why?]

Seriously people, sales is not about knowing the product, it is about selling the cars. You can read any specifics off of the spec charts. The majority of car buyers don't go anywhere near the actual specs besides the extreme basics. Knowing which cars are on the lot and how to sell to people is 90% of the job. Anyone that does any research will know just as much if not more than any sales people. That is ok.

[Packofcrows]

Mine said my car was worth 30k+ because it was special edition from Japan...

1) It had TRD exhaust and intake....not special
2) Whiteout... 2014 stock FRS w/o body kit and such...

I told her its not special edition at all. She got angry. She also said it was really fast and a racing car. I said... no.... if something its a sporty grandma grocery car thats 4cyl. She then started talking about how many people wanted this one and how many have called in. I said, "not for that price (originally like $27k+). On and on it went until I told her I have been following development of this vehicle for over 6ish years. She then brought her boss down who basically really wanted her to make a sale and we cut a good deal.

It was funny lol

[themadscientist]

Listen to the customer, deliver what they are after. it's not rocket science. Good salesmen scare me because if they do those simple things the money practically falls out of my pocket.

[jarnojvv]

Originally Posted by why?

Seriously people, sales is not about knowing the product, it is about selling the cars. You can read any specifics off of the spec charts. The majority of car buyers don't go anywhere near the actual specs besides the extreme basics. Knowing which cars are on the lot and how to sell to people is 90% of the job. Anyone that does any research will know just as much if not more than any sales people. That is ok.

Could not disagree more. This mentality is why sales people get away with being so complacent. The salesman is facilitating a major financial decision. Just do your damn job!

[why?]

Originally Posted by jarnojvv

Could not disagree more. This mentality is why sales people get away with being so complacent. The salesman is facilitating a major financial decision. Just do your damn job!

There is not enough time in the day for salespeople to know everything about every car they might sell, it is impossible. They should refrain from saying idiotic things they know is a lie, but knowing everything about the cars won't sell more cars. I tried that approach, it doesn't work. Selling is more important to a salesperson than product knowledge. And even then, most sales people will fail, because they don't know how to work hard enough. There is a reason car dealers are always looking for more sales people, because the job is hard as heck and only the hardest workers can make a living doing it.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by why?

Seriously people, sales is not about knowing the product, it is about selling the cars. You can read any specifics off of the spec charts. The majority of car buyers don't go anywhere near the actual specs besides the extreme basics. Knowing which cars are on the lot and how to sell to people is 90% of the job. Anyone that does any research will know just as much if not more than any sales people. That is ok.

Selling cars is not like selling vacuum cleaners. The salesman only needs to know the basics and should not have to build excitement by showing the special crevice tool or how well the car will pick up little Styrofoam balls.
There are really two basic types of car buyers:
The utility driver - Wants a vehicle to meet their basic needs and has zero emotion involved. They state a need and the salesman should have enough knowledge to point them in the right direction to fill it. No more or less is required from them. Pushing a vehicle that does not meet that need is a waste of everybody's time and effort.




The special buyer - This is when emotion comes into play. Whether it be that fully loaded mini van or the stripped down sports car the buyer usually knows more about the car than the salesman. A good salesman will now just shut up and listen. The buyer will pretty much sell themselves as excitement builds. If the salesman catches clues that there is a better suited vehicle then they should of course mention it but need to be prepared to back away if the customer is not receptive. If the customer asks a specific question about the car that the salesman does not know they need to ensure they find the correct answer or risk ruining the sale.


Salesmen that fail to recognize these two separate types are destined to fail.

Originally Posted by why?

There is not enough time in the day for salespeople to know everything about every car they might sell, it is impossible. They should refrain from saying idiotic things they know is a lie, but knowing everything about the cars won't sell more cars. I tried that approach, it doesn't work. Selling is more important to a salesperson than product knowledge. And even then, most sales people will fail, because they don't know how to work hard enough. There is a reason car dealers are always looking for more sales people, because the job is hard as heck and only the hardest workers can make a living doing it.

My son's bother in law sells cars. He started at Mazda, moved to Ford, then to Porsche, now at Mercedes and is being actively wooed by Land Rover/Jaguar. Needless to say he is very, very good at his job (Currently makes about $200K a year and gets to drive some sweet cars) and his skill is in demand. His sales motto is "shut up and listen"!

[wbradley]

From my experience some of the most successful sales people know the least about their product but the most about how to pressure/ manipulate people.

I have been in sales for most of my working life, and I have had some good times, but I don't fall into that super sales guy category. Those are the people where other people in the same industry/organization wonder how they could provide so much misinformation but make so much money all the time. Shockingly ignorant people with lots of income.

Unfortunately sales peoples behaviour will often rub off on others in an organization so if someone succeeds doing something unethical, it now becomes acceptable for others to do the same. Those that don't fall behind sort of thing.

Sales is a transfer of emotion.

[johl]

I bought my 86 over the phone from Afghanistan. I am getting them to hold it for 5 months until I get home as I bought a limited edition model only produced in 2015.

I didn't give the salesman a chance to try any thing. I said I was happy with the price and will leave a 25% deposit to hold it for 5 months as I know it is a long time. they obviously tried to get me to pay in full but I knew he was just after his sales commission. I'm happier with the money sitting in my bank for 5 months than theirs.

just before I finished the phone call I said don't even bother putting the after sales guy on the phone. I'm not buying window tint or paint protection from the dealership because its 300% more than what I can get it done for myself.

this is the 3rd new car I have bought and every time I have walked in and told the salesman what I want. how much I'm paying (a realistic price) and when I will pick the vehicle up. every time the salesman has done exactly what I have asked for and it makes for an easy sale for them and me

[themadscientist]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

His sales motto is "shut up and listen"!

That's what I always told my staff. If you listen the customer will tell you exactly what they want.

[NemesisPrime909]

Originally Posted by why?

Seriously people, sales is not about knowing the product, it is about selling the cars. You can read any specifics off of the spec charts. The majority of car buyers don't go anywhere near the actual specs besides the extreme basics. Knowing which cars are on the lot and how to sell to people is 90% of the job. Anyone that does any research will know just as much if not more than any sales people. That is ok.

While this is true in the life of a salesperson.

There is a line between being misinformed and outright lying.

This salesman crossed said line.

A month before I bought the car, I went to take another one out for a test drive. Afterward, salesman kept trying to pressure me into a lease of the car. Told him I'm not interested in a lease due to various reasons.

I walked over to the RS1.0 that was sitting in the middle of the showroom. He was trying to get me to buy that by saying the paint was made by Lamborghini and it was very similar to "Lamborghini Yellow"

Lamborghini? how desperate can you be?

[wbradley]

Originally Posted by NemesisPrime909

While this is true in the life of a salesperson.

There is a line between being misinformed and outright lying.

This salesman crossed said line.



Lamborghini? how desperate can you be?

Yuzu Yellow...doesnt sound the slightest bit Italian.
Polenta, thats a good Italian name for yellow. LOL
I'd politely not deal with that bullshitter.

[Token11b]

When I was 18 and 19 I sold cars in an affluent area. It wasn't uncommon to have people pull up in a Ferrari or other high end car. I sold Hondas. I tried the learn everything about your product approach. I could recite everything about all the vehicles Hondas produced in 2006/2007. It doesn't work. A good salesman sells himself. Car sales is a nasty dirty business. It's all about the bottom line. I made good money when I made the customers like me. Then they bought from me. I would even attempt to get the customer the best deal I could but when I would bring the lowest prices they still had the mentality I was out to fuck them because I was a young kid in a suit.

When I bought my FRS I went to a couple dealers with no set car in mind. I knew what I wanted but wasn't set on a particular car hell I wasn't even ready to pull the trigger. When I pulled into one particular dealership the salesman approached me. I informed him I was just looking, not gonna waste his time or mine. He was a younger guy. Early 20s and polite. He was just looking to hangout for a bit bee cause I was the only customer. Told him that I'm very specific and if you have the parameters I'm looking for well be good and not to try to sell me on anything I don't want because I will walk away. I told him I wanted to look at their frs. He had limited knowledge of the car which was fine. He grabbed the keys and took me out for a quick romp. I enjoyed he drove. As we were pulling in he mentioned that they had a mazdaspeed 3 that I might be interested in. Took it out didn't like it.

At this time I knew I had average credit but I have an excellent job. My wife has good credit but shitty pay. I didn't think I'd qualify and I told the guy this. We ran my credit and my wife's together and magically we were approved. Then came the fun part. I told dude I had a shitty car for trade, no money down, and wanted my payments at xxx amount a month.

Long story short I got what I wanted. 0 money down, didn't pay any tax title or doc fees and walked out with payments that made me happy. Dude got a sale I got my frs. All because I liked the guy and he didn't bullshit me or sell me on some stupid shit.

[rookie]

Originally Posted by drewbot

Not to hijack this thread, but I also find it silly when people who don't own this car tell me about my car.

3. The FR-S is FWD, and the BRZ is AWD

Duh, everyone knows that.