- #66 of 148
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Re: I Am A Vehicle Salesperson With A Serious Employment Concern! [isellcars1]
by volvomax
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Feb 07, 2008 (7:11 am)
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Replying to: isellcars1 (Feb 06, 2008 10:08 pm)
Are you selling Caddys? Or Lincolns, Buicks?
As Joel said, a lot is going to depend on your abilities with your customer base.
Obviously, the Benz dealer thinks there is enough business to open a second store. Traditionally, true highline dealers have been recession proof.
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- #67 of 148
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Re: I Am A Vehicle Salesperson With A Serious Employment Concern! [volvomax]
by isellcars1
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Feb 07, 2008 (6:23 pm)
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Replying to: volvomax (Feb 07, 2008 7:11 am)
You said, "Traditionally, true highline dealers have been recession proof." That really settles my nerves a great deal, but would you please tell me how you happen to believe that to be true? I'm really trying to make an intelligent comparison and it sounds like you could really help me. Do you have any data that I can reference? Thanks again!
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- #68 of 148
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Re: I Am A Vehicle Salesperson With A Serious Employment Concern! [isellcars1]
by jipster
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Feb 07, 2008 (7:37 pm)
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Replying to: isellcars1 (Feb 07, 2008 6:23 pm)
Who do you have buying highline? The upper middle class to upper class. A recession isn't going to keep those with money from buying. Much more likely to affect the middle class to lower... that's my educated guess. 
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- #69 of 148
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Re: I Am A Vehicle Salesperson With A Serious Employment Concern! [isellcars1]
by volvomax
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Feb 08, 2008 (12:03 pm)
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Replying to: isellcars1 (Feb 07, 2008 6:23 pm)
Only data I have is 16 yrs in the car business.
As Jip pointed out, people with money tend to buy when they need to,regardless of what the economy is doing.
The Mercedes clientele tends to be wealthy,aside for the C Class buyers.
The challenge is going to a Benz store without a clientele of your own and without experience in highline import sales.
Benz buyers are different from domestic buyers
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- #70 of 148
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Re: I Am A Vehicle Salesperson With A Serious Employment Concern! [isellcars1]
by micosilver
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Feb 08, 2008 (3:21 pm)
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Replying to: isellcars1 (Feb 06, 2008 10:08 pm)
How good is your client base? If you have a lot of repeat and referrals - you will have to start fresh with Mercedes, and this is the only downside in it, as I see it.
Highline beats domestic and asian any day of the week - the people are nicer, comission is bigger, less grind.
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- #71 of 148
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How To Tell..
by oldfarmer50
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Feb 10, 2008 (3:39 pm)
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...if car sales is the profession for you? I recently asked a salesman how someone could tell for sure if they had what it takes to be a car salesperson. He said it was simple.
"All you have to do is open the hood of any vehicle and stick your face right into the fan. If you don't mind the pain then you have what it takes to put up with customers."
I thought that was very straight forward. 
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- #72 of 148
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Re: How To Tell.. [oldfarmer50]
by joel0622
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Feb 11, 2008 (5:38 am)
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Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Feb 10, 2008 3:39 pm)
"All you have to do is open the hood of any vehicle and stick your face right into the fan. If you don't mind the pain then you have what it takes to put up with customers."
Absolutely classic.
If we had signature boxes here that would be mine.
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- #73 of 148
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Re: I Am A Vehicle Salesperson With A Serious Employment Concern! [isellcars1]
by danf1
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Feb 11, 2008 (4:22 pm)
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Replying to: isellcars1 (Feb 06, 2008 10:08 pm)
I work in a Benz store. If you have some money saved that can carry you until you get up and running, then go for it. If not, you may want to reconsider. Low volume, high gross can be good, but a Benz customer is different. They will buy exactly what they want regardless of how long it takes to get it. After a while your pipeline is full, but getting it there can take some time.
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- #74 of 148
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Re: I Am A Vehicle Salesperson With A Serious Employment Concern! [danf1]
by isellcars1
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Feb 11, 2008 (6:59 pm)
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Replying to: danf1 (Feb 11, 2008 4:22 pm)
Thanks Dan. You seem to really know what you are talking about. What would you think if I was in a relatively strong market like Los Angeles or South Florida? Would the move make more sense then? I have a strong customer base but may not be able to convert many of them, as I currently sell domestics. I do better than average where I'm at, but I just don't want to pass on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How long do you you think it would take to become re-established and successful again, considering the current economic outlook and the starting over scenario? It's a really tough call for me and I just don't have enough information to make a good decision yet.
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- #75 of 148
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Re: I Am A Vehicle Salesperson With A Serious Employment Concern! [isellcars1]
by danf1
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Feb 12, 2008 (5:51 am)
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Replying to: isellcars1 (Feb 11, 2008 6:59 pm)
Don't worry much about the economy. Your typical Benz customer isn't hurt badly enough to keep them from buying a new car whenever they want. It will hurt the Hyundai more than Mercedes. It will take a few months to get up and running fully. How long is up to you. The cars are extremely complex and the customers are very discerning. It can take a couple hours to do a proper delivery on some of the cars. If you are good with maintaining your customer base then you should jump. There are few customers more loyal than a Benz customer if they are treated right. If not they will drop you like a bad habit and not think twice about it. As a whole, I find the customers to be very refreshing. We don't get many difficult customers and most are ready to buy as long as you treat them right.
My best advice to you would be to work the service customers. They will more than likely be buying another one. Once you've driven these cars and become used to the level of service that you get, it would be difficult to switch to any other brand.
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