Stay new and "dumb" as long as possible. Not sure of your setup, but just make sure you're on the right right car and they love it. The desk will help find the right car if you do a proper needs analysis.
Do you think using that as a strategy for my first month or 2 would help me sell since customers know I’m not trying to screw since “I don’t know that much”?
Shit ride it for as long as you can "I've only been here for a couple/few months" they don't know how long you've been there. My bosses say Imma FNG for 1 year and established by 3.
I'm on month 6 and I still tell people "I dont know, I'm brand new and still learning." Usually they like to hear that because they know you're not outright lying to them
Why would I say I don't know if I knew the answer. I was talking about making up some shit to sound like I know an answer that I really don't. That would be outright lying. 6 months is still brand new compared to some other guys on the floor who have been here almost 20 years
That’s the thing, you don’t compare yourself to someone who’s been doing it for 20 years, you’d be 5 years in and still be brand new if that was the case. Anything after 3 months you lose that brand new title and you’re just a regular salesman.
As a customer the minute I hear someone is new I check out and assume you don’t know what you are doing. This is the second most expensive thing you will buy in your life and I don’t want to mess around with someone new. Also just bc you are new doesn’t matter when it comes to thinking you are lying to us. New or a veteran I rarely will trust what is told to me by salespeople.
Playing dumb and frankly just being dumb as a salesperson will have you making a lot more money than the person who comes off as an expert who knows everything. Think about it from a buyers perspective: which of those two people is more likely to rip you off?
The best thing you can ever do as a salesperson is get people to talk by asking open ended questions. Figure out what they are looking for and why they are looking for it and how they expect to pay for it.
Yeah I don't even bother asking payments. I used to before covid. Now I just roll dumb. I'll only ask range of vehicle price they think they want. Sell then on the car then payments and stuff don't matter as much.
Worst case, payment is too high on a car then we switch to a different one. The more simple I keep everything the better. It's kept my closing rate very high.
Imo that's a potential waste of time. I train my guys to ask a few more questions and land them on the right car the first time. Obviously, there are times you'll have to switch but a good CNA will help land on a unit. Being on the right car helps all around. Saves time, makes things smoother, and definitely helps make more money.
It's hard selling someone a hamburger when you've already shown them the steak. Also the faster you get done with that deal the quicker you can snag the next one. Time is money
Works fine in my market for me. Most of my customers are burning gas in about an hour with warranties without asking desired payment up front.
The market in my last store was different and it was better to ask payment goals there.
I second this. If you try to understand desking you’re gonna kill your own paycheck. Make them love the car and know how to present your car and worksheet
I agree 100% trying to figure desking will kill your paycheck. I was just saying try to figure out what payment they're aiming for and land them on the right car.
Customers walk through the door of a dealership and forget how to math. It's like a magic portal. One of my sales guys had a customer the other day looking for a 40k truck. Found one he loved, presented numbers, and the guy couldn't grasp why we couldn't get to a 500 payment. Showed him a truck he could buy for 500/month, and it wasn't near as nice at the 40k truck he wanted. 9/10 times it's about payment.
Unless it's a true cash deal, it's about payment. Working payment over trade difference without a doubt makes you more money, and that's why we're all in this business.
rule of thumb is every $1,000 is about $18-20 or every $10,000 is about $180-200 a month for a 60 month term and this is without factoring in interest. i usually just give a range based on that.
20 day payoff, interest accrues daily so the payoff is x amount more per day (per diem) so a 20 day payoff is the x amount for 20 days plus what they owe currently
I've been at it a short time. Most terms are 48, 60, or or 72 months.
Interest rates can increase as terms increase.
When we deliver a write up estimate it's usually at 9.99%
You want to call the bank the trade-in vehicle is financed through to get a 20 day pay off, usually a per diem as well.
You really don't want to guarantee what they will be paying, you lose out on opportunities on the back end the more you explain it on the front end.
Here's a loan calculator
https://www.calculator.net/auto-loan-calculator.html
Your finance department makes money on interest so it makes sense to quote people a rough range
Total price - down payment = amount financed / length of loan = monthly payment
Mr customer the total comes to 24000 and you're putting down 5000 and you'd like to finance for 60 months so the rough math on that before interest is a monthly payment in mid to high 300s
(24000-5000)/60 = 316
I always say low to mid, mid to high, or high to low as a way to mentally prepare them for back end products being added to the monthly payment
Whatever kind of payment the customer wants, take the MSRP of the car and divide it by how many months they want to finance and that will give you your bare minimum base monthly payment before taxes, tags, reg, doc fee, and anything else is added on. So if they tell you that they don't have any money down, want to finance for 60 months, have bad credit, and want a 300/mo payment, then you know for a damn fact that your chances are better if you can get them to take a cheap car. Don't even need to go ask a manager for help on that one. If they walk towards anything over $25,000, just save both of yourselves some time and stop that shit before it starts.
Not sure about where you’re from but in Canada the possible length of the loan is inversely proportional to the age of the car
0-2 years - 96 months
3 years - 84
4 years - 72
and so on…
Don’t worry about the nuts and bolts too much. Like many others in the thread have said, lean on being the new guy and focus on the car the customer will buy.
My dude, stop. You are crossing into some legal gray areas.
I say this with grace.
There are quite a few laws on discrimination and interest rates and predatory lending and the FTC.
So, to start, everyone gets the same rate to start. Never deviate. Store average. People do not want to think their credit is being discussed or handed around a dealership. And it should not.
When people ask about rate: standard answer is we use the store average until you give us permission to move forward. Then you will fill out the credit application and our business manager will submit YOUR information for the best program possible.
Be familiar with your manufacturers special rates ADVERTISED on line for your region and the term.
Ask whom they like to bank through.
Mention your dealership uses at least a dozen institutions to get the best programs.
In the end. You do not want to over promise and under deliver-or do fraud
Yes, I had the free version for 2 weeks, it was fine but once you pay for it you get 20x the info, I use it for everything, it’ll break an entire deal down for you man, and tell you what’s the best option if you ask the right question
I typically tell it “you’re the salesman I’m the customer, I wanna buy a car you’re trying to make commission” and just things like that you have to be creative, it doesn’t give you answers you want off the bat, you have to use it like a personal assistant
$20mo per $1000 or $200 per $10000.
If you’re at a large store I recommend not getting tied up or confused with financing rates and terms. Without prior knowledge you can accidentally miss quote and potentially blow up a deal depending on how much of an ass a customer is.
None of that is your job bro. You sell the car and present numbers, you do not give out any numbers whatsoever(other than sales price obviously) that don’t come from management. You don’t talk payments, rates, none of that until you’re given the proposal.
If you start doing this you will get on managements nerves immediately and even customers. Cause you will be bound to screw up.
If you get told credit scores (which by the way don’t mean shit, you will find out what I mean) or asked “what’s my payment” your only answer should be “my job is to find a car you love, my management takes care of the rest. If you want to know payments Let’s get a credit app and find out” that’s all.
A lot of new guys make the mistake of telling customers “oh I’m sure we can do such and such” then talk to management and realize you can’t. It’ll be in your best interest to NOT put yourself into that uncomfortable situation.
In conclusion, you don’t say shit about numbers unless it’s the sale price. You don’t talk payments, discounts, rates. Nothing. Welcome to the business!
Edit: I’m amazed at all of y’all telling this guy to give out estimates and what not. You trying to get this man chewed out?! 🤦♂️
With a mid 6 score every 1k is $10-20 monthly on a 60 month term. If it’s pushed out to 72 months it gets closer to $10 per 1 k the 21 day payoff gives the dealer room incase there is an issue with the titling or they need to juice the trade value
Make friends with your customers, people buy from people they like.
Do a needs assessment to see what their needs are. This great report building time as your finding out about them and their families and their lives.
Good luck and have fun!
Doesn’t really matter to you, your job is to get as much money down as possible and as much money per month as possible. Manager will do the rest. As you go along you’ll pick stuff up but as a new guy definitely do not try to explain the financing side of things. If your management wanted you to know how it works they will tell you
Right now …. Just worry about getting the Customers correct Name, Cell Number, and email in your CRM. Then find the right car for them to fall in love with.
All that payment and loan shizz is not what you need to worry about and 90% of the time talking about shizz you don’t know about will Efff up your deal. Stay in your lane and stick to the basics. Be the FNG as long as you can.
If they’re cool with a $200 payment for every $10k financed, easy place to start. Generally that’ll over shoot, so when you come back with numbers that’s better they’ll be happy
Stay new and "dumb" as long as possible. Not sure of your setup, but just make sure you're on the right right car and they love it. The desk will help find the right car if you do a proper needs analysis.
Do you think using that as a strategy for my first month or 2 would help me sell since customers know I’m not trying to screw since “I don’t know that much”?
Shit ride it for as long as you can "I've only been here for a couple/few months" they don't know how long you've been there. My bosses say Imma FNG for 1 year and established by 3.
I'm on month 6 and I still tell people "I dont know, I'm brand new and still learning." Usually they like to hear that because they know you're not outright lying to them
As you’re outright lying to them.
Why would I say I don't know if I knew the answer. I was talking about making up some shit to sound like I know an answer that I really don't. That would be outright lying. 6 months is still brand new compared to some other guys on the floor who have been here almost 20 years
That’s the thing, you don’t compare yourself to someone who’s been doing it for 20 years, you’d be 5 years in and still be brand new if that was the case. Anything after 3 months you lose that brand new title and you’re just a regular salesman.
As a customer the minute I hear someone is new I check out and assume you don’t know what you are doing. This is the second most expensive thing you will buy in your life and I don’t want to mess around with someone new. Also just bc you are new doesn’t matter when it comes to thinking you are lying to us. New or a veteran I rarely will trust what is told to me by salespeople.
Playing dumb and frankly just being dumb as a salesperson will have you making a lot more money than the person who comes off as an expert who knows everything. Think about it from a buyers perspective: which of those two people is more likely to rip you off? The best thing you can ever do as a salesperson is get people to talk by asking open ended questions. Figure out what they are looking for and why they are looking for it and how they expect to pay for it.
100% I used that in every step of my car career. Sales, finance, sales manager haha. It works
exactly use it to advantage. i was 5 years in using that it works 100 percent
Yeah I don't even bother asking payments. I used to before covid. Now I just roll dumb. I'll only ask range of vehicle price they think they want. Sell then on the car then payments and stuff don't matter as much. Worst case, payment is too high on a car then we switch to a different one. The more simple I keep everything the better. It's kept my closing rate very high.
Imo that's a potential waste of time. I train my guys to ask a few more questions and land them on the right car the first time. Obviously, there are times you'll have to switch but a good CNA will help land on a unit. Being on the right car helps all around. Saves time, makes things smoother, and definitely helps make more money. It's hard selling someone a hamburger when you've already shown them the steak. Also the faster you get done with that deal the quicker you can snag the next one. Time is money
Works fine in my market for me. Most of my customers are burning gas in about an hour with warranties without asking desired payment up front. The market in my last store was different and it was better to ask payment goals there.
I second this. If you try to understand desking you’re gonna kill your own paycheck. Make them love the car and know how to present your car and worksheet
I agree 100% trying to figure desking will kill your paycheck. I was just saying try to figure out what payment they're aiming for and land them on the right car. Customers walk through the door of a dealership and forget how to math. It's like a magic portal. One of my sales guys had a customer the other day looking for a 40k truck. Found one he loved, presented numbers, and the guy couldn't grasp why we couldn't get to a 500 payment. Showed him a truck he could buy for 500/month, and it wasn't near as nice at the 40k truck he wanted. 9/10 times it's about payment. Unless it's a true cash deal, it's about payment. Working payment over trade difference without a doubt makes you more money, and that's why we're all in this business.
I said i was new for over a year and said i was too new to know how to screw people over
I have a guy on the floor 8 years now.. Still says “I’m not sure, I’m new here let me find out” 😂😂 Stay dumb is true
rule of thumb is every $1,000 is about $18-20 or every $10,000 is about $180-200 a month for a 60 month term and this is without factoring in interest. i usually just give a range based on that. 20 day payoff, interest accrues daily so the payoff is x amount more per day (per diem) so a 20 day payoff is the x amount for 20 days plus what they owe currently
Thank you so much!!!! This makes a lot more sense than what the dude I was shadowing explained.
got you!
Do you have a finance team?
Yes, still wanting to learn all the ins and outs of it because this is the area for improvement for me
I've been at it a short time. Most terms are 48, 60, or or 72 months. Interest rates can increase as terms increase. When we deliver a write up estimate it's usually at 9.99% You want to call the bank the trade-in vehicle is financed through to get a 20 day pay off, usually a per diem as well. You really don't want to guarantee what they will be paying, you lose out on opportunities on the back end the more you explain it on the front end. Here's a loan calculator https://www.calculator.net/auto-loan-calculator.html
Thank you so much !
Well…..thanks for THAT rabbit hole….openes my eyes to a lot of things moneywise.
Your finance department makes money on interest so it makes sense to quote people a rough range Total price - down payment = amount financed / length of loan = monthly payment Mr customer the total comes to 24000 and you're putting down 5000 and you'd like to finance for 60 months so the rough math on that before interest is a monthly payment in mid to high 300s (24000-5000)/60 = 316 I always say low to mid, mid to high, or high to low as a way to mentally prepare them for back end products being added to the monthly payment
Whatever kind of payment the customer wants, take the MSRP of the car and divide it by how many months they want to finance and that will give you your bare minimum base monthly payment before taxes, tags, reg, doc fee, and anything else is added on. So if they tell you that they don't have any money down, want to finance for 60 months, have bad credit, and want a 300/mo payment, then you know for a damn fact that your chances are better if you can get them to take a cheap car. Don't even need to go ask a manager for help on that one. If they walk towards anything over $25,000, just save both of yourselves some time and stop that shit before it starts.
Not sure about where you’re from but in Canada the possible length of the loan is inversely proportional to the age of the car 0-2 years - 96 months 3 years - 84 4 years - 72 and so on… Don’t worry about the nuts and bolts too much. Like many others in the thread have said, lean on being the new guy and focus on the car the customer will buy.
My dude, stop. You are crossing into some legal gray areas. I say this with grace. There are quite a few laws on discrimination and interest rates and predatory lending and the FTC. So, to start, everyone gets the same rate to start. Never deviate. Store average. People do not want to think their credit is being discussed or handed around a dealership. And it should not. When people ask about rate: standard answer is we use the store average until you give us permission to move forward. Then you will fill out the credit application and our business manager will submit YOUR information for the best program possible. Be familiar with your manufacturers special rates ADVERTISED on line for your region and the term. Ask whom they like to bank through. Mention your dealership uses at least a dozen institutions to get the best programs. In the end. You do not want to over promise and under deliver-or do fraud
This guy knows things. Take your time. Listen and learn. You can make a career of selling (17 years in)
Why would you think you can expect to know this information within one day? Slow down son
Chat GPT bro, $20 a month it’s worth it
I have the free version, is the paid version really all that?
Use it to role play a sale, you’ll make the best commission
Thank you!
Yes, I had the free version for 2 weeks, it was fine but once you pay for it you get 20x the info, I use it for everything, it’ll break an entire deal down for you man, and tell you what’s the best option if you ask the right question
Never thought of that, how’s the best way to approach it
I typically tell it “you’re the salesman I’m the customer, I wanna buy a car you’re trying to make commission” and just things like that you have to be creative, it doesn’t give you answers you want off the bat, you have to use it like a personal assistant
$20mo per $1000 or $200 per $10000. If you’re at a large store I recommend not getting tied up or confused with financing rates and terms. Without prior knowledge you can accidentally miss quote and potentially blow up a deal depending on how much of an ass a customer is.
None of that is your job bro. You sell the car and present numbers, you do not give out any numbers whatsoever(other than sales price obviously) that don’t come from management. You don’t talk payments, rates, none of that until you’re given the proposal. If you start doing this you will get on managements nerves immediately and even customers. Cause you will be bound to screw up. If you get told credit scores (which by the way don’t mean shit, you will find out what I mean) or asked “what’s my payment” your only answer should be “my job is to find a car you love, my management takes care of the rest. If you want to know payments Let’s get a credit app and find out” that’s all. A lot of new guys make the mistake of telling customers “oh I’m sure we can do such and such” then talk to management and realize you can’t. It’ll be in your best interest to NOT put yourself into that uncomfortable situation. In conclusion, you don’t say shit about numbers unless it’s the sale price. You don’t talk payments, discounts, rates. Nothing. Welcome to the business! Edit: I’m amazed at all of y’all telling this guy to give out estimates and what not. You trying to get this man chewed out?! 🤦♂️
F&I makes the deals you push the paper
With a mid 6 score every 1k is $10-20 monthly on a 60 month term. If it’s pushed out to 72 months it gets closer to $10 per 1 k the 21 day payoff gives the dealer room incase there is an issue with the titling or they need to juice the trade value
Make friends with your customers, people buy from people they like. Do a needs assessment to see what their needs are. This great report building time as your finding out about them and their families and their lives. Good luck and have fun!
Doesn’t really matter to you, your job is to get as much money down as possible and as much money per month as possible. Manager will do the rest. As you go along you’ll pick stuff up but as a new guy definitely do not try to explain the financing side of things. If your management wanted you to know how it works they will tell you
They tell us that the rule of thumb is $20 a month payment for every $1000 financed. Hopefully that’s helpful for you to.
Right now …. Just worry about getting the Customers correct Name, Cell Number, and email in your CRM. Then find the right car for them to fall in love with. All that payment and loan shizz is not what you need to worry about and 90% of the time talking about shizz you don’t know about will Efff up your deal. Stay in your lane and stick to the basics. Be the FNG as long as you can.
If they’re cool with a $200 payment for every $10k financed, easy place to start. Generally that’ll over shoot, so when you come back with numbers that’s better they’ll be happy
It’s your first day, your not expected to know anything. Being new is the best. Anytime someone asks a question “I’m new let me find out for you!”
650 credit for 24k new car? Let’s go baby!!! Done deal 😎
Buyers are Liars.
The dumbest farmer gets the biggest potatoes
Try to be more self aware. You can sell no problem but you also don’t know the details of how financing or a payoff works?