It has been about a month since I posted a blog. My last few have not been all that positive. I sell cars and it is very important to come to work with a positive attitude. Times seem to be tough right now. Stores are low on inventory and customers are few and far between. It is time to turn these negatives into positives. I will try to keep it short because I can go on all day about this subject.

Customers and their methods of shopping seem to be evolving so much faster then the local dealership. The product is out there the marketing is in place yet people are not flying into the dealership. When they do come in are we ready to make the best of it? I read the blogs. I hear the pitches. I even made my own page on facebook.  I looked at my friends list the other day and noticed that most of them are other people in the business like me.

I am on the sales floor everyday. I see the customers and talk to them.  Many of them are looking for one thing. That one thing is a salesperso...

I am looking for advice. There are many pros here on Driving Sales so I am hoping to get some input. As most of you know I sell cars for a large dealership. My question is when do you endorse the back end? Do you bring up the products during the sales process?
Many places suggest you take the customer through service to meet an adviser. Do we get into warranty wheel and tire etc? Do we sell the car first? I have my own answer but I would like to withhold it to see what people on this sight think. Thank you in advance for your input!
I am hoping to hear from people around the US with suggestions.
My back end average is down over the last three months. I sold a lot of cars during that time. Cash for clunkers was in the mix. Do you think the clunker people hurt the averages? It seems like there was many bargain hunters out there who had old cars. People with 10 to 15 year old cars keep them because they had few problems are they the exception? So my question is, When do we start talkin...

If you sell cars you and have any talent you probably have one of the most secure jobs in the dealership.  So you want to sell cars?

The salesman works a couple of twelve hour shifts a week and every Saturday and if he does not sell enough cars he owes the dealership money.

The Salesman takes on all jobs in the dealership that have come available since they cut back and fired everyone who drew a salary all for free.

The Salesman gets blamed for not setting up the back end when the business manager does not sell anything.

The Salesman travels to the customers house or place of business to get the signature someone forgot.

The Salesman drives to a dealer 50 miles away for a dealer trade.

The Salesman does not get paid until everyone else does.

The Salesman learns most of the policies of a dealership after the fact.
The Salesman is the face of the dealership and the manufacturer. A manufacturer spends millions of dollars on ad campaigns. The dealership spends thousa...

 
This is a follow up to my first blog post. This is a snapshot of the business from the sales floor.

I have been in the business for 6 years now. I think I have learned a lot about the business and people.
When I started selling it was an eye opener to me how people act at a car dealer. I was such a lay down compared to the people who came in to buy from me. I never had the guts to talk to anyone the way people talk to me. You would think sales is a profession yet people do not treat a car salesman like a professional. In fact the management at many dealerships do not treat the salesman as a pro.
In the short time I have been selling I have seen my share of changes in the industry. The internet part of car sales was and is still in its infancy. Many dealers did not have a website in 2003. The big three's problems have well documented. Many stores have gone to desking. What amazes me is the everyday banter between the management and sales team. There are not many jobs where your...

This is my first blog for driving sales. I would like to share perspective from the sales floor. My first post is about how I started in this business. I look forward to sharing my experiences and ideas from the sales floor.

 I was working in the Aircraft industry for years. The industry pays well as aircraft parts produce large profits. Then came 9/11/2001 the industry as a whole took a major hit. I made it until 2003 before my number came up.I was laid off. I could not make the money I did outside of the aircraft industry with the skills I had.
My wife and kids were out of town when I was laid off. I decided I wanted to get into sales because I thought If I hustled I could make the type of money I needed to survive. I read in my local paper that a local Chevy Dealer was hiring.
I put on a tie (one of three I had at the time) and went down to see what I could do. The GSM met with me and told me about all the money I could make. He asked me a few questions then bought in the bu...

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