How Can I Get Started in Exotic/Luxury Car Sales

Where do you live?

 

Know ahead of time that being in the biz can kill a passion...

 

Go to work for a high end auto dealer. Learn the business.

 

Screw sales, get in finance. A guy I know on another forum is a finanace manager at a nice normal dealership and just picked up a Gallardo. Dude is not doing bad at all.

 

1-What are your three favorite all time marques.

2-Compose a list of why a sales manager should give you a trial period and memorize the benefits you're going to pitch......

3-Dress professionally and then walk in cold and see all three of them in one afternoon.

4-Don't take no until you've heard it more than a few times, provided you are not visibly agitating the person obviously.

5-Close the sale....ask when you can start, but only when you think it is appropriate to put that question out....do this more than once also.

6-Learn to repeat the above in a slightly different format up to 10-20 times a day............60 hours a week............

7-In 90 days you'll either be loving it or looking for work.

Welcome to the car bidness.....

 

Take it from someone who has been there...Auto sales will chew you up and spit you out. Hot months are really good but if you string together too many cool ones you will be eating generic beans from a can.

As far as getting into the finance department (I have been there too) the dealers are looking for someone that has experience either in F&I or a autosalesperson with a proven track record...afterall this position is a glorified sales job with a nice office, you sell the customer to the banks and you sell warranty to the customer...I worked for a Lexus/Lamborghini dealership for a few years and one day the owner came in and said that he was letting the Lambo franchise go along with about half of the sales and management staff, I went into the family business shortly after that.

 

AMEN!

Just cause you like cars, doesnt mean the business is for you. Im in it, Ive been in all aspects of it. And I love it. I dont know any of my good friends outside the business that could do what I do. Its just not for them.

Liking cars has nothing to do with the retail end of the business. I love cars, especially exotics, but my job has nothing to do with the fact that i like cars. My job affords me the lifestyle to enjoy them on my own time. I like pu55y too, but im not a pimp! Does that make it more clear?

FYI, if you want to work in a high end or luxury car dealer, be prepared to have your customers talk down to you, act like snobby, pretencious jerk offs toward you and bark orders at you... and you have to smile like a peon and take their ****. Bet you didnt think of that part of it.

 

As has been said, get some experience in a dealer. Go into a dealer nicely dressed with resume in hand. Talk to the sales manager, rem. they are salesman and will be hard to convince otherwise (if they are good). Don't take No until they give you an absolute reason and not just some BS. Let them know you are interested and YOU can help them. Try to take as much experience from it, you may even be able to make an internship out of it.

Goodluck!!!

 

that is very good advice. I would also like to add on that if you do go in and try to get an internship, don't just say, "I wanna work here because I like cars." Plan out what you want to say, what would make you an asset to the business, and how you can be of service.

 

How do you make a small fortune in the exotic and luxury car sales?


Start with a large fortune.............

 

I was born in Rockford, cool.....

I was in the high-end business from 1981 until 2003 doing everything from sales, F&I, sales manager, general sales manager and finally general manager from everything from Datsun (before Nissan), Pontiac, Chrysler and the last 20 years , 17 with BMW and the last three with Ferrari of Dallas.

It is all about attitude. Many, many salespeople come into the car business expecting to reap huge returns almost instantly. This may happen in a hot market with a very hot product but in most cases not. The average salesperson will sell 8-10 cars per month in most markets. And you can usually count on several of those $100 'minis".

You will probably not be a Joe Girard or Carmen Kuzo but you can do very well. Ignore the "dope ring". This is the group of guys who stand outside waiting to pounce on the next victim and badmouth everything and everybody. This happens in every dealership..... Discipline yourself to a strictly followed regimen daily and do it. Some of the other guys will scoff you for it but it will pay off in the long run.

Getting in......Sell yourself. I would much rather take someone who has a strong desire, good self respect, carries themselves well and are well spoken than an "old pro". I can mold and train the new person and at the same time let them find their comfort zone in speaking with people about major purchases. God gave us two ears and one mouth so we should listen twice as much as we speak........It is, after all, all about their needs, desires and wants. Do not oversell yourself but definitely sell your desire to learn and grow under the direction of a good "manager".

A lot of the guys on here know me from my automobile dealership days and they know I was very low keyed but persistant. Listen, learn and apply the skills that work and throw the rest away. Make it your own. Do not try to mirror someone else. You will not be able to do it well and it will show.

I wish you the best in your venture into the automobile business if that is truly where you want to go. You will be able to make it what you want if you keep the desire.

And I met a lot of great people from my association in the high end business. Did I tell you the story of my friend with his McLaren F1???? That is for another time......Did I tell you I showed Rob Lay the 355 Challenge the first time he saw it upstairs at FoD? Oh, the stories I could tell........

 

Akain,

Have you decided what you are going to do yet??? Just curious......

 

There is a very strong market for good restorations. If you can get in with a good restorer and learn the business you can do well. You will need to really do something spectacular to get your name known among those who purchase these kinds of autos. My nephew just began doing restorations and really enjoys it a lot. He was an IT person before and really loves getting grease under his fingernails.

If you intend to go independent I would suggest being a mentee for a few years so you can learn the talk and get familiar with the business end. There is a fine line between a fair restoration and an excellent one.......