New job

[Steelharp]

Well, out of necessity, I'm starting a new gig. I'll be at Rivergate KIA as a salesman. I know nothing about cars, but the sales manager says he's excited to have me on board. He calls me their "token honkey." He seems to think I'll do very well. We'll see.

Come buy a car. Buy lots. Prove him right, and help me earn my "token honkey" title. 

[KahrMan]

Good luck with the new gig. 

[TripleGGG]

Congratulations. Good luck. I was 22 years in auto business.

[mikegideon]

Congrats, Mikey. Can't be as hard as playing pedal steel  

[Taylor]

My workplace cannot find enough people for the work we have.  Anybody need a job???.....www.magna.com

[DWARREN123]

Good luck on the new job.

[GlockSpock]

Try to take everything you've ever thought as a car buyer and incorporate that into becoming a quality salesman. I don't mean seeing how many possible cars you can possibly sell, but rather becoming a quality, trustworthy person.

My personal pet peeves:

• A salesman answering a question when he doesn't know the answer. Just tell me you don't know dude and then try and find the answer
• A salesman whose opinions/comments seem slick and change dependent upon what you are thinking (As in, conflicting statements across an hour or two period as if the buyer doesn't have a memory at all). Just be honest and say what you know to be factual.
• Please, by all means, don't try to sell a person more vehicle than they can afford. Don't try to sell an 18 year old with a $150/week job a brand new vehicle simply because you can finance it for 84 months at $349/month.

Personally, I couldn't do it. I feel my values/ethics would conflict with the motives of the dealership. Unless I worked with a group that was legitimately full of good, honest people, I'd find myself clashing too much with management.

 

None of this is directed directly at you, @Steelharp. You seem like an upstanding character! If I were nearer you, I'd love to come give you a chance next time I make a purchase. I just, really, ultimately, very, very much disdain car salesman

Edited April 2, 2018 by CZ9MM

[bersaguy]

Congrads on the new job Mikie. Hate you have to get another one but you do have a great personality and can communicate well with folks so you should do well...............

[TripleGGG]

Try to take everything you've ever thought as a car buyer and incorporate that into becoming a quality salesman. I don't mean seeing how many possible cars you can possibly sell, but rather becoming a quality, trustworthy person.
My personal pet peeves:

• A salesman answering a question when he doesn't know the answer. Just tell me you don't know dude and then try and find the answer
• A salesman whose opinions/comments seem slick and change dependent upon what you are thinking (As in, conflicting statements across an hour or two period as if the buyer doesn't have a memory at all). Just be honest and say what you know to be factual.
• Please, by all means, don't try to sell a person more vehicle than they can afford. Don't try to sell an 18 year old with a $150/week job a brand new vehicle simply because you can finance it for 84 months at $349/month.

Personally, I couldn't do it. I feel my values/ethics would conflict with the motives of the dealership. Unless I worked with a group that was legitimately full of good, honest people, I'd find myself clashing too much with management.
 
None of this is directed directly at you, [mention=2196]Steelharp[/mention]. You seem like an upstanding character! If I were nearer you, I'd love to come give you a chance next time I make a purchase. I just, really, ultimately, very, very much disdain car salesman

This is great advice. I treated all of my customers as I would treat my mother. Never oversold or lied to them. Followed up with handwritten birthday, anniversary, annual events cards. I missed a few sales along in being honest with people but oh how it served me well. Your reputation will spread like wildfire, good or bad. I had some clients for 25 years and they still call me now when ready to trade just asking advice since I'm no longer in the business. Treat people well, make an honest living and you will do fantastic.

[Grand Torino]

Congrats on the new gig!!

[Rightwinger]

15 hours ago, Taylor said:

My workplace cannot find enough people for the work we have.  Anybody need a job???.....www.magna.com

The whole Bowling Green area is employed it seems.  The only ones not working are the professional "non workers"

We have even seen the professional "trainees".  They go from temp service to temp service, go through the day of training and get paid but never show for the first real day of work.  A few have even bragged to others on site that they have another training to get to the next day....

[Rightwinger]

Mikey

I bought a used Kia Optima from them end of January, wish you had told me you were going down there.

Say hello to Ulysses, I think it was, some greek god named fellow who treated me pretty well.

Good luck on the new job!

[SWCUMBERLAND]

17 hours ago, Taylor said:

My workplace cannot find enough people for the work we have.  Anybody need a job???.....www.magna.com

Yes, however I am in Franklin County, TN. Particulars would be helpful.

SWC

[bersaguy]

17 hours ago, Taylor said:

My workplace cannot find enough people for the work we have.  Anybody need a job???.....www.magna.com

My SIL's company has the same problem you have. They are hiring everyday but their issue is not getting applicants. They could hire 10 people a day if they could find 10 that could pass a drug test. They send 25 men/boys for drug tests and they might get 1 that can pass that they can hire. I was talking with Tommy (SIL) the other day and he said in 2017 they sent 377 people in for drug test and were able to hire 11 of them but then lost 7 of those in random drug tests. They can employ anyone that is on prescription medications that have a script from a doctor. That employee is insurable and they will keep them. They start out paying $16.00 an hour for basic labor and as they get more experienced their pay scale goes up.

[gary_boom]

Drug test , you have to pass a drug test? I've heard people say that.

I had a Kia Soul for 5 years good cars, fun to drive and easy to get in and out of. 

Good luck.

[felinesNfreedom]

1 hour ago, gary_boom said:

Drug test , you have to pass a drug test? I've heard people say that.

I had a Kia Soul for 5 years good cars, fun to drive and easy to get in and out of. 

Good luck.

It's Amazing how many people fail the drug test, We have been looking for a tech for months now. Between failed drug test and vehicle records it's hard to hire someone. 

[Ugly]

Speaking of drug tests, the last time I went to look at trucks the salesman came back to me with a number of $1200 a month payment! I laughed so hard and told him he needed to share whatever he was on. 

I'm sure you will do well and actually enjoy the new gig!

[Jeb48]

You have an advantage not being a car salesman already, no bad habits. In 50+ year of buying cars I only liked a salesman well enough to go back and buy a second car once. I guess I can say that about dealers also. Would have bought more from that salesman if I knew where he went when the dealer went out of business. He remembered my name and would see me waiting for service and stop and chat for a minute. Didn't pull the I need to check with my manager to access and was willing to make the deal work for both of us.

[Murgatroy]

Why couldn't you go Subaru, then I would buy a car from you. Kia has nothing my family is interested in/needs.

 

[Taylor]

6 hours ago, SWCUMBERLAND said:

Yes, however I am in Franklin County, TN. Particulars would be helpful.

SWC

Just across the state line in Bowling Green Ky.

Bowling Green Metal Forming is the actual name of the plant. We build automotive structures which are frames , engine cradles , class 3 hitches , inner body panels , sub frames front and rear for several OEM makes.

 

Same here on the drug tests , not enough qualified people would be more accurate than my previous statement.

[Steelharp]

I was never a car guy. This ain't easy. Can't believe all the product tests.

[bersaguy]

8 minutes ago, Steelharp said:

I was never a car guy. This ain't easy. Can't believe all the product tests.

It's hard to sell anything you don't have faith in so I know kind of what you mean.  No cars made today are like the good ole days of good old American Muscle!!!! back then you bump a guys bumper in front of you cause you know him and he is a friend. Today you do that and it could end up costing you several thousand dollars because you damaged the back up warning sensors or the read camera. My insurance lady told me that it was those things driving my premiums up every year. I told her I don't have any of that junk on my 1997 Jeep and she said I know, it's for the bumper you might hit on another car  belonging to somome one else. A guy has one of these fancy camera sensor drive your self pieces of junk and his warranty is out on the car and his camera quits working. Late that night the guy takes his car to an area with a few unattended dumpsters and he backs his car really hard into a dumpster and the next day he is at his insurance company telling his agent it got hit last night in the Walmart Parking lot in hit&Run. My rates go up to fix this clowns camera bumper............. 

[E4 No More]

25 minutes ago, Steelharp said:

I was never a car guy. This ain't easy. Can't believe all the product tests.

I've been a salesman for more than 14 years, and a few months of that was as a car salesman. Car sales is very tough, but my advice to you is to not judge a book by its cover. I had a guy come into the dealership in a beat-up old pickup truck and dressed in dirty clothes. He walked right past two "experienced" salesmen who had looked at him and ignored him. I greeted him at the door as I would anybody. Long story short, he was buying a turbocharged Monte Carlo SS for his wife. It was the most profitable individual sale that dealership had seen in more years that the sales manager could remember. I learned this from my wife who had a similar situation when she worked at Zales many years ago.

[Whisper]

On 4/2/2018 at 9:51 PM, Murgatroy said:

Why couldn't you go Subaru, then I would buy a car from you. Kia has nothing my family is interested in/needs.

You might want to read some reviews of the Stinger.  Oh, my.  I don't need one, but I sure do want it.

[Ronald_55]

I did sales for a bunch of years. Some retail in a western wear store and I even sold Kirby vacuum cleaners door to door for a while. It can be tough, but as @SWJewellTN said keep an open mind.

Several times in the western store I had people come in all covered in dirt or worse. The other sales people ignored them. I figured I had to be there any way and helped them out.

One time a guy came in asking to try on about 10 pairs of lower cost boots. We were slow, so I got him sizes of all the ones he wanted. When we got done, I figured I had a mess to clean up. He then says, "I will take these 6 pair" and paid in cash. So none cost a ton each, but together that was a good sale. He was a trucker and would buy a bunch at once and wear them until he only had one pair left, then go buy more. 

Another time a family came in with 5 kids. Dad looked like he just rolled around in a coal pile. I helped them get all 5 kids boots and other stuff. Turned out the dad was a miner. He paid cash and handed me a good tip on top of a good size sale. He said the other store in town would not help him. I swear his wallet must have has $2k in it when he took it out to pay. 

Never sold cars, I know they are a special category. Just treat people how you want to be and you will live through the idiots and rack up some sales.