Automotive Sales Is Not How It Seems

       

      It’s common knowledge that automotive sales people are sleazy. They wear fancy suits paired perfectly with color-coordinated ties. They’re quite a spectacle to behold, especially when their dealerships are booming with sales – all coordinated and fancy. With such nice suits, one would assume that these sales people make a good living. But in reality, they barely make enough to survive. Here’s the lowdown on why I turned the industry down.

            Interestingly enough, there are a lot of dealerships that are hiring for the summer at the moment. I, being the automotive loving individual that I am, thought that selling cars would be a great way to launch my automotive career, so I applied to the ones that were hiring in the area and went for it. I applied to approximately seven dealerships in the area, but only heard back from three. Not a bad turnout I suppose, but I didn’t get what I expected when the dealerships responded to me. 

          2 of the three dealerships responded with the same exact email. The similarities were even down to the usage of poor grammar. Everything in the emails were exactly the same, except for the names of the companies. I found that very odd. Two companies, lets call them Ford and Kia (I didn’t really apply to either of these), would use the same emails to respond to a job position. There’s some good reasoning behind all of this, but it’s a little confusing. Major automotive dealerships hire third-party companies to search for interested individuals. So when I got emails from Kia, it wasn’t from them, but from an outside company. I didn’t know that an outside company would be conducting the interviews, so I made a mental note of the similar emails and set up an interview.

            I’m not quite sure why this is the case, but dealerships are usually off the beaten path. I’ve always wondered why they’re surrounded by other car dealerships and crummy businesses. Either way, I’ve always thought of a job as a job and arrived at the dealerships early. Dealerships have always made me feel a little uncomfortable. Whenever I go into one, I feel like bugs are crawling on my skin. Maybe that’s just me, but I don’t like dealerships. Regardless of how I felt, I arrived early with my resume and proper documents in hand.

            Even when you’re not there to purchase a car, salesman never know how to turn their inner animal off. They still play their dreaded mind games. Having arrived early I was immediately bombarded by salesman upon entering the Ford dealership. At least they let me walk inside the dealership before harassing me, which wasn’t the case with Toyota (the third fake dealership) who pretty much opened my car door and asked me what I wanted. Either way, I waited in both dealerships until their respective managers wobbled their way towards me. Of course one of the salesman’s tricks is making you wait 15 minutes before a manager arrives, which is exactly what I went through and I wasn’t even buying a car. 

     

     The manager at Toyota eventually showed up and took me inside a little cubicle where they close the deal on new car purchases. I listened to the spiel of why his dealership was the best and how other automakers couldn’t hold a candle to Toyota. I politely nodded my head and answered all of the questions he had in regards to my selling experience, which I have very little of. To my surprise, the manager offered me a position as a new car salesman. Honestly I was very surprised by the offer. The ability to wear colorful suits with awkward ties and make a lot of money seemed to good to be true. Unfortunately, shortly after my thoughts of grandeur, we started to discuss my pay.

            Shortly after the explanation of how salesmen get paid I officially decided not to take the job. I also gained a tiny bit of respect for salesmen and what they put up with on a daily basis, but they’re still all sleazy. Used car sales and new car sales follow different payment plants, but the notion behind them is similar. The pay is all commission. I cannot stress the absurdity behind this. The hours I would’ve been working were 12 PM to 9 PM from Monday to Saturday and that’s only because of my morning class. Every other salesmen at the dealership works from 9 AM to 9 PM and those are only at the dealership. After talking to some, they stated that they easily work over 50 hours a week. That was a hard pill to swallow for me - the ability to work 50 hours a week and see no money for it.

 

           Straight from the Toyota payment plan, payment is as such. Selling zero to seven units amounts to 20% commission, eight to 12 units fetches 25%, 13 to 19 units brings 30% and more than 20 units nets 35%. While this sounds like a great way to make some money, commission is only calculated on the amount above retail value. For instance, selling a car worth $50,000 for $51,000 will merit a commission of $200 for the one vehicle. With the veracity of the Internet, it is a rare occasion to sell a car well above retail value.

            Ahhh but the news gets better for the poor salesmen. By selling 12 cars the company will add $750 to your monthly commission. If you sell 15 cars you get $1000, sell 18 cars you’ll get $1500, and if you sell 20 cars you get $2000. This number continues to go up for selling up to 27 cars, but who sells that many I’m not quite sure.

            Dealerships also push warranties and other helpful tidbits on you at the last second. Interestingly, salesmen make a profit off the purchased items. $25 dollars for finance deals, warranty and insurance products. So the next time you’re in the hot seat and buying a new car, don’t forget that the salesmen will make more money on your split last decisions. 

          So far you might say that it doesn’t sound so bad. If you’re good at selling things you can make a good life out of it. But here’s the real kicker. Every salesman has to meet a regional quota. Quotas are different for each dealership and are location specific. Selling more than the regional quota can fetch up to $500, but being below the regional quote can result in the salesman owing the company up to $500.  That’s right, you can work up to 50 hours a week and actually lose money.

       

     I love cars and I truly thought that by selling them I would be able to add a notch to my experience belt. But in reality it’s a huge money pit. I always wondered why car salesmen are so cutthroat. It’s because they have to be, or else they don’t make any money. Everyone thinks it’s okay to spend hours at a dealership test-driving cars all day. But think about it. They don’t make money on the people that come in to just test drive cars. They have to sell cars and a lot of them.

           

            Anyone interested in selling cars? There are a lot of open positions out there. But be warned. It’s not what you expect. There’s a large chance that you will not make any money and simultaneously work the hardest you ever have. It’s also not a job for individuals who love cars. We car lovers tend to be warmhearted, caring and truthful. To be a salesman you have to be ruthless and, like the manager at Toyota said, be able to show people something that is broken and portray it like it’s brand new. While I may not have my undergraduate degree yet, that sounds like lying to me.