Confessions of a Car salesman

Edmunds.com is cool. I just read an article there where Edmunds had placed one of its writers in an undercover position to go work for two car lots to sell cars, learn the tricks of the trade and so on.



Here are the main “tricks” I learned from reading the article:

1. Car Salesmen and women like to stand tall, proud, and with legs spread apart, or arms folded, and most always donning some type of jewelry, be it gold watches or rings. For some reason they also like silk ties. You’ll almost always see car salesmen wearing white shirts, and silk ties, or a polo shirt with the company’s logo on it.

2. Car salesmen like to keep you waiting. This is because they want to feel like they are in control. If they are in control, you are more willing to “do as they say” and perhaps buy a car.

3. Sometimes they may be bugged. If they get you “in the cube” they may turn on the phone intercom so as to let their managers hear you.
4. They like to know what you’re willing to pay (monthly) and they’ll surely ask “up to?” (300, up to…350?). If you tell them this, more variables are thrown into the pot and its easier for them to take money from you somewhere in the equation.
5. They like to start you out high. They set the selling price, and if they start high and work down, it’ll make you feel better. It gives the buyer a sense that the salesperson is TRYING to bargain with you.
6. The sense of urgency is key. The salesperson might call his manager and ask if car “X” is still available? They might also say “this deal is good for only today.” Like this is supposed to make a customer feel better?
7. They like to kidnap you. They don’t ask you if you want to demo a car. They have a saying: “The feel of the wheel will seal the deal”. They ask you to see how good the seats feel, then they slam the door on you, hop in, and make you drive it. Their reasoning behind this is that if you drive it, you will most surely want to buy it.
8. For whatever reason, car salesmen like to shake hands a lot–especially with each other. Its like they’re training for the day when they’ll have to shake someoen’s hand for real, without realizing they’re actually doing it already.
9. They like the “bump up” method. They may take customers to the cheapest cars first and let THEM bump themselves up to more expensive cars.

Here is a glossary of terms that may be helpful to you

Car salespeople have their own vocabulary. It describes
their customers, the deals they make and the
day-to-day life on the lot. Here is a sampling
of how they talk when the customer’s not around.

Be-backs - A customer who leaves the
car lot promising to return later, saying, “I’ll
be back,” or some variation of that statement.
“The guy was a be-back. But I think he meant
it. I’ll see him again.”

Boss - The typical way that salespeople
address the managers or the GM. “Hey boss!
Got a deal for you!”

Bumping - Raising the customer’s offer
for a car. “If Mr. Customer says he only
wants to pay $250 a month, just say, ‘Up to
— ?’ He’ll probably bump himself up to $300
without you doing anything.”

Closer - An experienced salesman who
is brought in to “close” the customer by making
them agree to a deal. “If I worked with a
better closer I’d have more units on the board.”

Desk - This is the sales manager, not
the place he sits. “Ask the desk if these
rebates are still in effect.”

Demo - This is the test drive. “This
guy comes in, demos the car and I think he’s
ready to buy, right? Then he tells me the car’s
for his wife and he can’t make a decision without
her.”

F&I - This stands for the Finance and
Insurance office where the documents are signed.
The F&I salesperson usually will push products
such as extended warranties, fabric protection
and alarms. “The wait for F&I is two hours.
Better stick with your customer so they don’t
leave.”

Full pop lease - This is when a vehicle
is leased at 110 percent of the sticker price
- the highest amount allowed by most banks.
“I got them into a full pop lease. I’ll get
a nice voucher for that.”

GM - The General Manager. The GM is the
head honcho at the dealership. He runs the business
from day to day. “The guys were standing
out on the curb drinking coffee so the GM called
them into the tower and read them the riot act.”

Green pea - A new salesperson. “The
funny thing is, green peas can outsell the veterans.
That’s because they don’t know how hard this
job is.”

Grinder - A customer who negotiates for
hours over a small amount of money. “We were
only $500 apart but the guy wouldn’t sign. Man,
what a grinder.”

Lay down - A customer who takes whatever
deal the salesperson offers. “I quoted him
monthly payments of $575 and he took it! I wish
all the customers were lay downs like that.”

Mini - The commission on a deal where
the car was sold at close to invoice price.
“Sure, the deal was only a mini. But I qualified
for a weekend bonus and made a grand.”

Mooch - A customer who wants to buy a
car at invoice. “People are spending too
much time on the Internet. It’s turning them
into a bunch of mooches.”

Packing payments - Adding extra profit
to the cost of a car. “This place I used
to work got busted for packing payments. Next
job I get is going to be in a no-haggle store.”

The Point - The place on the car lot
where the “up” man stands looking for customers.
“The GM saw me standing on the point with
my hands in my pockets. He went ballistic and
sent me home for the day.”

Pounder - A deal with $1,000 profit in
it. “Doctor comes in and buys the top of
the line model, fully loaded - and he pays sticker!
That’ll be a two pounder for me.”

Rip their heads off - This describes
taking a customer to the cleaners. “I stole
their trade in, I sold them the car at a grand
over sticker - I mean, I just ripped their heads
off.”

Roach - A customer with bad credit. Not
to be confused with the “roach coach” (see entry
below). “The guy looked good. But we ran
his credit and he turned out to be a roach.
We’re talkin’ a 400 credit score here.”

Roach coach - The food truck that comes
around to the dealership every day. “I should’ve
known better than to eat that chili from the
roach coach. My stomach’s killin’ me.”

Spiff - A tip, kickback or payment of
any kind, usually cash which is handed between
salespeople. “I spiffed the F&I guy $20 bucks
and he took my customers first.”

Strong - This has a special meaning on
the car lot. It means holding firm on your price
and being a tough negotiator. “When they
ask for your price you have to be strong. Hit
‘em with high payments, then scrape them off
the ceiling and start negotiating.” (See also
“weak.”)

Tower - The office where the sales managers
work. This is usually a raised platform allowing
the managers to see over the roofs of the cars
so they can watch customers and their salespeople.
“Attention: All new car salesmen report to
the new car tower!”

Turn over - Also known as “turning,”
this is the practice of passing a customer from
one salesman to another. It is thought that
this will prevent customers from leaving the
car lot. The theory is that the customer might
just have bad chemistry with the first salesman
and he might like the next salesman. “I turned
this guy to my partner and he wound up buying.
I’ll get half of the commission on the deal.”

Up - A customer that walks on the car
lot. The term probably comes from the order
in which customers are taken, as in: “I’m up
next.” Many dealerships also have an up system.
“We’ve got ups all over the lot, and you’re
in the back drinking coffee?!”

Voucher - Car salespeople receive a voucher
to let them know what their commission was for
selling a car. They don’t know until the deal
is finalized exactly how much they will receive.
“Check out this voucher. I thought I had
a pounder. Instead it’s a mini.”

Weak - This describes being a weak negotiator
or coming down too quickly on price. “The
guy was weak so he only lasted a few months.
How are you going to make money in this business
if you give away cars?”

To see the article in full, go here: http://netscape.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html