I know there are some on here that are in car sales. How do y’all like it? I’ve been in HR for just over 20 years and I’m not gonna lie ... I’m done. Just flat out OVER IT. And it’s not getting better anytime soon. I have an opportunity to join a local Acura/Infiniti dealer in a sales role and am really considering it. What do I need to know? What should I be considering? Talk to me.
Expect long hours and working on just about every holiday. Almost went into car sales after 27 years in magazine publishing but a friend pointed me into the mortgage industry. With two small kids who play sports, it was the right decision for me.
Nobody likes car salesman. I knew two people who were decent people before , but something about that industry changes people . Your results might vary . Good luck with what ever Career you choose.
Far be it from me to disparage someone's career choices, but I personally would suck dicks for dimes before taking such a job.
I worked as a Sales Rep then Sales Manager for 17 years in an unrelated, yet similar sales field - others so far are bang on. It's soul sucking. I made quite good money so I had the Golden Handcuffs on for many years then 1.5 years ago I realized I'd set up the family well enough and couldn't justify the BS, working 7 days a week, the lies, the "game", and the duplicity any longer. Auto sales is worse, like realtors, you see clients on average every 3-5 years so building a rapport or loyalty is almost impossible and dealerships know this so they apply every half-assed training technique to get you to close deals based on their idea of how to close a person who they, and you, know nothing about. Then, there's the sitting around like cattle all day just waiting for your "up" (turn to walk out and ask "What brings you here today?") while you text, email, and otherwise bother previous clients into returning to make even worse financial decisions by going further upside down in a car they don't need. I make 1/2 what I used to now and have never been happier career wise.
I love cars and although working at an exotic car place sounds appealing, I agree with @njracer selling mortgages would probably be more lucrative. I remember hearing in the early 2000s mortgage brokers out here were able to hit upper 6 figures and some were cracking a mil a year? I actually should have looked into that versus buying a business, if that is true? I don’t think they work anymore hours than I do, but that sure is a lot more money.
Run . Far. And fast. HR sees all the stupid people.....now take those same people and give them shitty credit scores....boom. there's your customer
My daughter could talk all day about working at a high end dealership. Yeah, she got some good perks. They sent her to Porsche driving school in Atlanta, she ran their track days at Putnam and she could drive home any car they had. But being a mid 20's young women, they messed with her pay every chance. When she'd reach a sales goal, they'd move the bar. And the older guys there got the best clients. After 4 years she had enough, but she never complained about the opportunity. They still ask her to be their spokesperson at the Putnam track days because all the Porsche owners love her.
I've done service writing at two different dealers and that's bad enough but at least you get steady clientele. It's a soul sucking job and the hours are long. Sales are that much worse. You get a weekly draw. Sometimes you hit it out the park, some weeks you owe them money. For sales guys it's not unusual to be in the hole for weeks at a time. You can definitely make 6 figure income if you're that guy. The dealer politics and drama are on another level. It might be a little different if you're passionate about the brand but keep in mind the people that you'll be selling to are not the enthusiast you think of but more likely pretentious douche bags.
This happened to me with a service writer gig. I blew their numbers out of the water within 3 months. Decimated the other guys. It didn't take long before the goal posts moved.
This is what made me leave dealership parts, and swear I would never work at the dealer level again. found my niche in the collision repair industry, parts, inventory control, data entry, shop foreman, estimator. parlayed that into an insurance adjuster for my last 15 years. I would NEVER, ever, EVER, work at a dealership again. Ski
Your threshold for bullshit has to be on superhuman level. From customers and coworkers alike. It's a cut throat environment.
I briefly thought about getting into it several years ago in SoCal. The negative: Your broker pays huge $$$ for the leads they give you. In return, they have TOTAL control over you and your ability to flip that lead into a sale. For someone that needs some flexibility, its not a good gig. But yes, some people do make very good money.
Meanwhile I'm starting to get fascinated by the HR crowd in large businesses. They must hold brainstorming sessions on how to best extract "heartfelt exchanges" between employee and supervisors in annual or semi-annual or now, quarter-annual reviews.... I'm imagining that they start their brainstorming with everyone quiet so they can first profoundly think and get that real 'nugget of an idea'. Then someone smirks.... "Oh no, it's too wild, they'll kill us. Nevermind!" - "No,no, do tell! They'll do anything we'll tell to do!"
