Should i quit my full-time and part-time job to become a car salesman?

Question

I currently have a full-time job where I work 35 hours a week making $10.50/hrly and a part-time where I work 20 hours a week making $9.50/hrly. Do you think i should quit both jobs to sale cars full time?

please only answer if you know ALOT about the business!
i don't know payment plan that i will be on yet bc training starts on wednesday. but i just wanted to get some opinions before i make a huge decision like this. I do know that i will be working on commisson only but i also for each car i sale, that's about $400/per car.

i currently work at a delarship part-time as the Secretary/Receptionist. So I've been watching the trade for about 4 months and I understand that it's alot of hard work but I'm also really good in sales.

Answer 1

I sold my first car on my first day on the floor, after one week of self training. there were 45 other salespeople. 30 of them were new just like me. That was in 1983. My life has never been the same ever since that first sale. You will know if it's right for you.
I am also a woman, and that does make a difference. It can make it easier for some reasons and much more difficult for other reasons. The hardest part of selling a vehicle is finding The One that fits the customer....so you have to find out what they need, want, how they plan on using it , how many passengers they need to accommodate& how often, when & where do they drive. remember that there are over 1000 different vehicles [ all makes & models] to choose from.
Ask yourself ....what makes your vehicle [ for sale ] The best choise for this particular customer?
It is NOT ONLY about the price!
If price were the ONLY reason we bought cars....we would all be driving YUGO's
Learn about your product!!!!! you cannot sell the benifits of your product without KNOWLEDGE .
Your job is with the customer [not the other salespeople]
NEVER promise anything you can't deliver &
Always deliver EVERYTHING you promise.
Remember you are trying to sell a car not get a date.
[if you do want to date a potential customer....that can be done after the sale but should NOT have anything to do WITH the sale]

If you decide to take the job...and it doesn't work out...don't feel bad ...it's not for everybody. You can go back to your old job
Good Luck !

Answer 2

The financial rewards can be good. The "price" can be steep. I talked to the manager of the Ford dealership near my home. He said that with proper training, a sales person who wasn't making at least 75k should think about getting out of the business. But the price is 60 hours a week or more, and working five and a half to six days a week, up to ten hours a day. After all, if you're not there when the customer is there, another sales person will sell the car. Don't get into the profession unless you can read fast, or have a good memory, or both. You are expected to know everything about an inventory of cars that could exceed 150, any time a customer asks you.

With this information, go to two good local dealerships and see what they want in a sales person, then make your decision.

Answer 3

I would discourage anyone from being a car salesman. My ex husband did it for a short time and it is a very cut throat business. First of all, you are working strictly on commission. You may spend 4-6 hours with a prospective buyer showing them different models, test driving and then going through the whole paperwork game as far as trying to make a deal, just to have them turn around and walk out because they aren't comfortable with the deal. You've spent all that time and made $0, and your shift is almost over then. The salesmen can be very ruthless and cut throat. If you go by a dealership, watch and see if you see salesmen standing in front in a little group together. What they are doing is calling cars. They basically watch the streets and call cars from as far as they can see that may possibly be coming to the dealership, or most of the time are just driving down the street. This is how they determine who gets each customer. However, if a customer has been there previously and talked with a different salesman, then you have to turn it over to them. If you really like that type of work then go for it, but it is definitely not a job for most. GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 4

Are you good at asking people straightforward questions? (folks will try to avoid telling you what they want to spend...which will make landing them on the right car very difficult to do)

How long have most of the salespeople been at the dealership where you are planning to go? (If there are not very many who have been there more than a few months, then do not do it...but if they have folks who have been there 1,2, and 3 years plus...then it is a place that is endurable)

If you can make it for 6 months in auto sales, you can do anything. Most people quit after 30-45 days.

It CAN be an honorable profession. It is up to you.

You can always find another $10/hour job. With some sales experience, you can probably go out and find something that pays more later. But if you have kids you have to feed, a high amount of debt you are trying to pay back, very little flexibility in your budget...then the risk is much higher.

Answer 5

depends where you work most places pay a mini which is a new car=$100 than you can get bonuses to make up xtra income. Im in sales and have had lots of co workers that have tried cars they all say its hard esp if the dealer you work for has *** managers which most of them do. the few career car salesmen are people to watch they can steal your deals If you have sold before and you think you got it go for it but if not dont risk your jobs at least your making a decent $. also the hours and days are very long longer than 55 hrs at times

Answer 6

You can do well selling cars if you put the time into it and pay attention to the training and those who are senior in the position. One caution however, as interest rates rise, car sales will decline.... so it could be a good market right now - but a soft one later. A novice could seriously struggle later. As with any commissioned based job, you should save your pennies during the "boom" time for those leaner months/years.

Answer 7

If you want to sell your soul go ahead. Car sales people are the worst human beings. My boyfriend sold cars for a while and the people he worked with were scum. Also, you never make as much money as they tell you you will make and they make you work extremely long hours. If you do not sell enough they treat you like crap. I would try to find something else.

Answer 8

The best thing to do is fake an accident, and call in injured and unable to work for a couple weeks.
Then go to work selling cars, and if it works out, quit the other jobs, but if it isn't for you, you can go back to the way things were.

Good Luck, and tell you jobs that the car you were in was a friends, thats why yours is not wrecked.

Answer 9

Car salesman's income varies widely from one dealer to another. The really important thing isn't how much you make per car, it's how much you make per week. You'd be better off selling 10 cars @ $200 a car than one car @ $1,000. Before signing on, see how the other salesmen are doing.

Answer 10

What ever you do now is way more admirable then a car salesperson.
Intrest will slow if not bring sales to a snales pace.
you will be treated like crap by other sales people because they will want sales too and you will soon be treading on their feet.