It used to be that car sales was a quick, surefire way to achieve the American dream. Go back 20 or 30 years and youll find that selling cars was a lot different. Kids who dropped out of high school, as long as they had some people skills, could get a start in car sales and be making over $100,000 a year in no time. A popular joke on the subject went like this: A parrot enters a bar and lands on the shoulder of a rich-looking man.
The parrot asks, aWhatas your IQ?a The wealthy man says, a170.a The parrot asks, aHow many trials have you won this month?a He flies off and finds someone who is dressed even better. She is loaded with diamonds all around and a Gucci purse. Again, the parrot asks, aWhatas your IQ?a She says, a180.a
The parrot whistles and says, You must be one heck of a surgeon. How many operations have you performed? The parrot flies off and spots a man dressed in a tailored Italian suit getting out of a limo with a glamorous woman at his side and asks him, What is your IQ? Smiling, the man answers, 80. The parrot nods knowingly and asks, So how many cars have you sold? But today its not quite that way anymore. Auto salespeople generally make less than $50,000 a year.
Honest dealers are hurting the unprincipled used car salesman by letting consumers do all their research and car shopping over the Internet and the phone, without ever coming to a used car lot. This makes it higher for top salespeople to earn a living. This might be the Information Age, but a car salesperson has to know how to turn that into a good thing for him. Consumers have access to more information now than before the Internet showed up, but no the problem is TOO much information! A salesperson that really wants to make the sale will know how to get around even the smartest Internet shopper.
Here are some tips when dealing with an Internet shopper: 1) If theyve got a trade-in, visit trade evaluation sites to find out what their car is worth. Print out the lowest quote to show them. 2) If they think the new car costs too much, look at the evaluation sites again and bring out the highest estimate for the car youre selling. 3) Communicate via email. Calling to let them know when youve sent an email is particularly effective.
4) If they search the cars history and dig up negative information, be ready with articles detailing the inaccuracies of vehicle history reports. 5) If the vehicle history report comes up clean but the customer doesnt believe it, assure him that Carfax guarantees accuracy. 6) If they complain that the cars Internet price is lower than the price you quoted them, blame it on hackers on the system. If they persist then its best to avoid the topic or steer them toward another car. 7) Ask someone to make a website with negative rumors about the competition, and refer customers to that site if they are thinking of visiting or already have visited the competing dealer.
Post on forums and blogs that aCompetitor Aa does something really bad. People will believe anything they read on the internet, so if you post (using a fake name) that Competitor A is a known drug dealer and that Competitor B helps to fund terrorism, people will stop going to them. 9) Find a free auto classified site and make up an account. Post a fictional car similar to one of yours but priced much higher. Print it out and show it to your customers. 10) If there is anything not covered here that is Internet related, tell the customers that there is a virus going around.
So dishonest and shady salespeople, lift your chin up. If we work together we can overcome the power of the Internet and continue wringing profits out of misinformed consumers like we did in the old days. If youre an honest salesperson or a consumer, forget you ever read this entire article. Its only written for fun.