Car Sales Is Not For You

David Almaraz
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read
Credit: Google Images

First off, let me start off by sharing why you wouldn’t want to go into car sales:

-You will work ’til midnight

-You will work ’til midnight often

-You will work weekends and holidays

-You will work ’til midnight on weekends and holidays

-You will work bell-to-bell

-You will have minimal Paid Time Off (PTO)

-Forget about days off the last week of each month (end of the month)

-You may work 60/hrs a week or more

-You will have customers yell at you and insult you

-You will come into work on your days off

-You will come into work on your days off to meet a customer that doesn’t show up

-You will get called back to work the moment you leave for lunch

-You will have the veteran salesmen and/or managers pick on you/not talk to you/yell and insult you for at least the first 90 days

-You will have days where you work most of your day for just a $100 mini deal

-You will have days where you work most of your day on one deal, make money on it, then the next day find out that you have to split your commission with a co-worker

Still want to go into car sales? Ok, listen up then.

You can make a lot of money in the car biz. And with 0 college degrees. You can make $100K + as a car salesman, however, it’s not about how much you know about cars.

With the internet, a lot of customers will come in knowing more about the car than the salesman. You see, car sales (sales in general) is about people. It’s the people business. It’s about connecting with people. It’s about listening to what’s important to people. They will tell you how they want to be sold.

And never let anyone tell you that you’re too young to make $60K or $100K or whatever. Age is simply a cop-out. You can get out of sales whatever you put into it; no matter the age. You have to sharpen your ax every day. It’s practice. It’s role-playing. It’s the preparation and self-development. It’s a grind.

The ones that pay the “daily rent” will stand out and prosper. Then they move up to F&I. Then the sales desk. Then GSM, GM, and maybe even partner one day. Some of the wealthiest people I’ve met in life are car dealers. Many of them started from the bottom, and with blood, sweat, and tears, worked their way to the very top.

Also, there’s a lot of lateral movement in this business. People always say the grass is greener on the other side, however, 99% of them never bother to fertilize their own grass. Don’t fall into that trap of moving from dealer to dealer unless you fall into an unethical dealership. In that case, get out.

I would try to get into a high-volume store. Generally speaking, a Dodge, Chevy, or Ford store will sell more volume than, let’s say, a Subaru or Mazda store. Now maybe these high-volume stores will only hire experienced salesmen, I don’t know. You’ve got to start somewhere. Many have started by washing cars, and that’s ok.

I guess some key takeaways for you are to invest in yourself, practice, and apply what you learn. Get yourself a real mentor or a virtual mentor. Read up and follow guys like Grant Cardone. Read Grant’s books, listen to his podcasts, and watch his YouTube videos. This guy is a pro’s pro. There are others too.

Most importantly, sales is about initiative. It’s about doing whatever you can ethically do to get the job done. Read “A Message to Garcia” by Elbert Hubbard. It’s all about initiative.

Good luck on your journey.

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David Almaraz

Former Car Biz Conspirator. I like to share my stories.

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