New Toyota Salesman....ME!

[Highly ImPriused]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Apr 4 2007, 03:13 PM) [snapback]417747[/snapback]</div>

Good for you, freke70.
Just so you know, we'll expect the real dirt now. How much do these cars really cost?
[/b]

Yeah like how they can sell them for "under dealer invoice". I assume the dealer is not taking a hit on these. Does Toyota funnel a share of their profits back to them in these cases? I'm dying to know how I got mine for $300 under the dealer invoice price that I was shown. Not that I'm complaining about getting a great deal mind you, but the whole under invoice thing has to be a scam of some sort.

Anyway, I agree with others. Don't become scum and you'll do fine. Customers will respect you more and you'll generate word-of-mouth business. Good luck!

[zqfmbg]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Highly ImPriused @ Apr 4 2007, 12:43 PM) [snapback]417765[/snapback]</div>

Yeah like how they can sell them for "under dealer invoice". I assume the dealer is not taking a hit on these. Does Toyota funnel a share of their profits back to them in these cases? I'm dying to know how I got mine for $300 under the dealer invoice price that I was shown. Not that I'm complaining about getting a great deal mind you, but the whole under invoice thing has to be a scam of some sort.
[/b]

I thought the answer to this was already pretty well known... holdbacks, advertising allowances, incentives, etc. Just because that's the price charged to the dealer doesn't mean it's what the dealer actually ends up paying.

[TonyPSchaefer]

Oh yeah. When someone asks what [b] is, you can tell them!

[dmckinstry]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(freke70 @ Apr 4 2007, 10:59 AM) [snapback]417706[/snapback]</div>

I'm pretty excited about it. I've wanted to sell cars for awhile now, and I finally get the opportunity to. This is really the only place where I figured it would make much sense to announce that...so, yeah. I sell cars now.
[/b]

Congratulations! Hope it works out for you. Since you're an owner, you should be able to provide more and better information than most of the sales staff.

Dave M.

[JimN]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(freke70 @ Apr 4 2007, 12:59 PM) [snapback]417706[/snapback]</div>

I'm pretty excited about it. I've wanted to sell cars for awhile now, and I finally get the opportunity to. This is really the only place where I figured it would make much sense to announce that...so, yeah. I sell cars now.
[/b]

Good luck with the new job. I hope you can keep your integrity so that you won't have to shower with Lysol when you get home. IMO a customer knows when a salesman is an a--hole which also reflects poorly on the dealership. Encountering one will most likely cause the car to be bought elsewhere. Treat everyone as you would want to be treated. Listen to them and get the car they want at a fair price and you should be able to build a loyal customer base which is invaluable. Remember that it costs less to keep a customer than it costs to get a new one.

[V8Cobrakid]

congrats. I have yet to achieve what you just have. I've tried.

we can expect discounts through you now? hehe

[iaowings]

When I was a kid my dad was getting his masters in engineering he was a salesman for Pontiac. He was top sales man in Cerritos (?spelling?) California (one of those big auto markets were all the dealers are located in like three blocks.) by just being honest with people. When he first started working there his co-workers made fun of saying you’ll never make money by not getting people into more expensive cars or not selling the extras etc etc. They stopped laughing when they could not keep up with him and get his name and picture off the wall. He held that rank for a almost a year or more. The company was always giving the top sales guy free stuff like microwaves, tv’s, and cool stuff like that. I don’t know if they offer stuff like that anymore but for us having my mom at home and dad in school and working those free things were awesome. Obviously after he finished school things were great as he was making a lot more money and had more time for us.

Just saying honesty works. I applied my dads philosophy when I was in high school and worked in computer sales I had regular clientele; I also had several small businesses that would only deal and buy from me all because I was honest. I would even let them know about other companies that had better stuff. Once my manager yelled at me for telling a guy that he could get a better printer at another place. The cartridges cost like $100 each this guy came back and set up an account with us to buy his cartridges from us and he was using at least one a week. I told my boss that we could have sold him a $800 printer he hates and he would never come back but now we make at least $400 a month off of him. He also brought us other business because he told all his friends about us. Honesty pays off big in the long run. I am sure you will be an awesome salesman. I just wanted to share.

Good luck hope you sale lots and lots of hybrids especially Pri.

[micheal]

Congratulations! There can never be enough knowledgeable salesman about hybrids at the dealership Being able to be straight up with people about the ups and downs of the Prius will help. (and being honest of course).


Hope you are able to see lots of hybrids and make lots of money!

[alexstarfire]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(micheal @ Apr 5 2007, 01:50 AM) [snapback]418064[/snapback]</div>

Congratulations! There can never be enough knowledgeable salesman about hybrids at the dealership Being able to be straight up with people about the ups and downs of the Prius will help. (and being honest of course).
Hope you are able to see lots of hybrids and make lots of money!
[/b]

Well I live in Georgia, so good news for me.

Yea, what kind of discounts can I get. I know I'll be looking into a 2009 Prius whenever they come out. If you're still working there when they hit the dealers then you got at least one customer.

[freke70]

wow...I have so many things to reply to now.

I officially start on Monday, so I don't have any secrets yet.

As far as honesty goes, I'm very familiar with being an honest salesman. My previous sales experience involves office equipment (computers, faxes, printers and accessories), so I know how to generate a loyal clientele.

For the guy wanting to know how to become a car salesman, here's exactly what I did:

I went to get my free tires at the dealership (they offer free tires for life on any new car you buy with them) and the 25,000 mile service on my 2005 Prius. I went into the sales building and joked with the salesmen that they needed a customer. I inquired about the 2007 Touring Prius and then randomly said that I'd like to sell cars, and how to go about doing it. The salesman went away for a minute and came back with an application. I filled it out, and about 30 minutes later was being informally interviewed. I must've made a positive impression. The next day, I did two more interviews, and yesterday I did all of my paperwork and did a drug test and background check and whatnot.

The place I'm going to work at has got to be the coolest car dealership I've encountered. All the sales staff are courteous, and they mean well. I feel like I've never been lied to by them. Their service department is amazing, too.

And, I guess being a Prius owner will help me sell Prii and the other hybrids they offer, but I really know quite a bit already about other Toyota products, too.

Anyways, I'll keep this topic updated with my story. Thanks for the support!