Becoming a car salesman

[mozzandherb]

I know there have probably been a post or two about this, but I might have the chance at being a car salesman at a Hyundai dealership. My friend is the manager there and he told me that they are hiring. I have just graduated University and I am looking for a job. I do have a part-time job at the same place for the last 3 years, but I'm looking for something else.
As I see it, in maybe becoming a salesman I have nothing to loose. I need a job and if it doesn't work out then that is quite okay with me and I'll look for another job. I guess I just see this as an opportunity to maybe do alright financially. I have no experience in car sales and I told my friend that and he said that is what they are looking for because they provide all the necessary training. Just wondering if anyone here has had experience or knows someone who has done this? Thanks

[deevergote]

My stepfather used to own a Chrysler dealership.

Basically, a car salesman just needs to know how to sell... he doesn't need to know much about the cars. In fact, a salesman that's too technically minded might confuse or scare away potential buyers! If you go for it... set aside all you know. Accept the fact that people will make their decisions based more on the cupholders than the engine's variable valve timing.

You can do fairly well as a car salesman. Hyundai is diversifying, offering cheapie efficient cars, some decent performance cars, and some decent near-luxury cars. If they continue to grow as they have been, it could be a very good company to get in with.

One thing to be wary of is payment on draw. If they pay on draw, basically, they're paying you in advance for sales you haven't made yet. This is to ensure you don't get a paycheck for next to nothing for a slow week. It's good that you'll be able to rely on a steady check... but if sales remain slow, you're going to run into problems. You'll end up owing the dealership for payment made on sales that were never completed.
Be sure you FULLY understand their payment system before going into anything.


What is your degree in? So few people get jobs in their field anymore... I've never worked in my field!

[mozzandherb]

Thanks for the advice Mike! Hyundai has been doing very well over the last couple of years this is one of the reasons I am considering working there. I have also heard that most salesman are not very car savvy, keep it simple I guess. And I graduated in Criminology, which is good, but most of the jobs I would want to get into are few and far between, although I am in a competition pool for a job in the Federal government, which is why Ottawa is a good town to live in.

[deevergote]

Cool. Yeah, government jobs in the US are hard to come by... I applied for a few, and I was told that I may hear back about them up to 5 years later! If it's anything like that in Canada, then you're definitely better off going for something else, at least until you find what you want to do!

Being car savvy is a good thing at times, though. I actually passed on a CL-S because the salesman knew nothing about the car (and it was an Acura dealership). He actually said "you know more about this thing than I do!". Then he proceeded to talk about football. I don't know much about football, nor do I care... I don't really talk sports unless I happen to be watching a game. The dude was a tool, and lost a sale because of it (and also because the car had 4 curbed wheels... made me wonder how it was abused otherwise!)



But yeah, Hyundai is a strong company right now. Strong and ambitious.

[mozzandherb]

It's different here, government jobs are all we have..lol. But getting in is not the easiest. The pool I'm in has 400 applicants for 12 positions and I know that out of those 400 at least 20 of them are already doing the exact position they are applying for except they are working as an "acting" position, whereas this pool is for a "substantive" position. Is that fair? Hell no! But, there are a lof of government jobs here and maybe one day I will want to work there, but for the moment I'm content with seeing what else is out there. And for the cars, well there's no doubt I'm car savvy, and I'll learn a little more about different companies besides Honda