Are Most Car Salespeople Just Dumb Or Is It A Tactic So You Go EASIER On Them When Negotiating?

That’s so politically incorrect to call them dumb. Many dealers are becoming no haggling and the sales people are merely customer service representatives that gets paid minimum wage plus a small commission for making a sale. No different than the rep that sold you the cell phone...

Like which ones?

Who cares if calling someone dumb is PC.

You're right, asshole!

I thinks it's a combination of ignorance and in some cases bitterness and sometimes even both - look at the comments made by certain few....year after year the same bitterness spews out of their mouth because they are ignorant and or rejected by certain car makers that they feel threatened by and or were rejected by.

I cannot remember buying a car when the salesman knew more about the model than I did. I honestly believe most consider them widgets, simply a means to a commission. I get that they are making a living, get tired and frustrated by tire kickers and have to deal with all kinds of personalities but I don't think it is asking too much to have some respect for what they are selling by knowing it inside and out.

Its like any 'sales' field - 20 % of them are fantastic and worth the commission they earn 10 times over, 60% just 'get the job done' and the bottom 20% give the rest of them a bad name and are useless.

A good salesperson courts his/her customers, phones them when their leases are up, sends holiday cards, etc so s/he is sure to the get customers' repeat business. Sales is 90% about capturing the repeat business forever.

By the way, people want to do business with people they like.

Some dealers hire warm bodies. They do no training. The salesperson may legitimately not know special rate offers, but if that is the case, you've likely found a dealer that want to take the customer to the cleaners.

This will be the place where the deal in made in the finance office or with a visibly upset finance guy strong arming the customer in the salesperson's space.

Our salespeople are expected to be 100% knowledgeable about the products we sell and the competition. They are NOT to disparage the competition. Not only do we regularly meet and discuss what finance has to offer. If there is a trade, that number is discussed first and it does not change. When the person makes an offer on the price of the car and the salesperson puts it into the system, s/he already can see if it will be accepted because our salespeople ARE finance.

When salespeople are not finance, you annoy the customer with wait times.

As mre30 said, we expect our people to contact customers via holiday cards, at the ends of leases, and sometimes for recalls so we can be proactive.

Thank you, Matt.

Was looking forward to your POV.

There's some folks I deal with that are excellent at their job but when out in the field searching for new wheels for families and friends, it seems like finding that magic 20 percent of salespeople is getting more and more difficult.

Agree. It is the dealer management that hires, trains and sets expectations for their salespeople. I have had very good experiences with sales people that are as knowledgeable and enthused as I am. My worst was years ago at a Toyota dealer. The salesman (Indian with a heavy accent) told me the Avalon was the Toyota version of the Lexus LS. I pointed out that one is fron wheel drive and the other RWD. he argued with me and insisted it was the same car.

Ay 00R We make MORE MONEY by not jerking people around. People know we don't bullshit. So the come to us.

-Truthy....sounds familiar. Are you sure the salesman wasn't (American with a light accent)??

I guess I don't expect most new car salesmen to know much. Just have an idea of what's in the current inventory and the general pricing ranges. I talk to sales managers concerning the actual purchases (discounts, financing, negotiations, rates, etc). If I'm on the lot looking at vehicles, then yes, I'm interested.

As for used car salesmen, I never expect them to know a lot of vehicle specifics b/c their used car inventory changes so much. I do expect them to know vehicle condition however. If they aren't confident about the condition of the vehicle, then don't expect me to pay anywhere near asking price for that jalopy.

Real Professional Salespeople are often exceptionally smart, well trained(OFten by themselves). Every word they say is carefully chosen for maximum effect. They appear to agree with your statements before they offer alternative views. And they know the Advantages of their products over competition. They take the time to talk to their customers, find out what they are looking for, and even how quickly they need to make a decision before they offer a product. But the most important thing to them is actually getting the sale.

ANd while it may be nice that some know finance - I still believe it is better to have a person specifically trained in that field separately.

I have hired salesmen and I can tell a professional one from an amateur in literally seconds

While a car dealer may indeed offer training in how to sell THEIR Product - the art of selling is something that most dealers would not be good at training - most Sales managers get their jobs by meeting high quotas of sales. However - it is the "closer" in the group that is the best salesperson.

About a year ago we bought a dealer that had an abysmal reputation. We bought it and then I and several other people observed their operation officially.

We had idiot salesmen who were constantly on their cell phones and smoking cigarettes in full view of the buyers. Most of them were adjusting their manparts 24-7. One rather well endowed guy preferred to go commando and his baby maker was easily visible. Pit bull Matt destroyed them in no uncertain terms.

The finance guys would let a deal "simmer". An offer would be written up and thed's ignore it for 15-30 minutes minimum to build anticipation in the customer. I fired them on the spot one day when I noticed that all of our salesmen were unavailable because they were with customers and called in "the bitches" as the secretaries in finance were called. They did 100% of the work for the finance guys that I fired. So, I said, "You're now finance. Your job is to close deals quickly. Create the plan. You're implementing it with the next written offer that comes in. You'll have jobs Monday if I like the plan. They're still with us.

That dealer had the finance guys doing nothing and making big paychecks while "the bitches" and "the dickheads" (as the salesMEN were called) made a pittance. "Bitches can't sell cars" Mr. Long Dong Dimwit told me. I asked him about faggots (using that term to see how he would respond) and he said "we run those fuckers off." I have two gay brothers and a gay son. I parked my rage that day to funnel it for the kill.

We closed the building and brought in trailers for our offices so that we could give the place a completely new look. When we reopened, the men and women of finance also did sales. For a while we were rotating in sales people from our established dealers to set the tone properly.

We contacted the customers of the previous 6 months offering to hear their grievances. We gave away free oil changes and car details.

When we get a new dealer, I'm usually the hit man that goes in and causes the blood to fly from the buzz saw. After we convert one, I'm the surprise inspector.

Did I mention I bought a car from that dealer before we bought the place and was treated like shit? I now have two henchmen and two henchwomen that are constantly surprising our stores.

We've just finished approving a new-construction plan for a dealer where the building is up against the sidewalk with big windows where cars can be seen at elevation from the street. The place has a massive brick courtyard planned that is covered and has fountains where people can stroll and look at cars. We plan a complimentary barista service. The idea is to create a more welcoming atmosphere.

We use greeters at many dealerships "Good Afternoon. My name is Matthew. Welcome to Whereverville Toyoburu. Would you like to look on your own, or may I have a consultant find you?" The greeter can dispatch via a tablet they have. "May I get you water or coffee?" The greeter can send an order and o

and it got clipped. LOL

The next time I buy a car will be online. That's also at least another five to 10 years from now.

Will be glad when they are gone and I can just deal with a robot instead.

Will be glad when they are gone and I can just deal with a robot instead.

They are car salespeople not car enthusiasts. They are also told to provide an answer even if they don't know. Which leads to some of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Car dealers are completely clueless when it comes to product knowledge.

That's the strategy when they are too lame to train, but you're not interested in hiring good people at that point.

It really depends on what type of dealer you're calling.

If you're calling a non-luxury brand, most likely, you're speaking to someone that doesn't really have the authority to discuss rate or have the automomy to directly haggle with you.

When calling a luxury brand and asking that situation you have several types of sales people, but a large portion would just think you're a cheap tire kicker that will waste their time.

Realistically, price and rate should not be the #1, #2, or #3 reason you decide to purchase a specific car. If a consumer is interested, they should be willing to come into the dealer, test drive the vehicle, and get a full presentation before discussing price.

Yes, all sales people should be well versed in the different models and trim levels of the vehicles. Yes, they change quite often, but they receive ample study material to learn about it. There are a lot of car geeks that get pleasure in trying to stump sales people, but give them a little break if you're asking something very specific, or service related, or engineering related. This is coming from someone who spent almost 10 years in the business.