O/T. Careers. Would I be better off selling Mercedes or Hyundai?

[desibaba]

I have been working for CarMax for almost 5 years now but I see a lot of guys in other dealerships making way better money. I have been applying and right now I have a Mercedes dealer and a Hyundai dealer willing to hire me as a salesman. They both seem to have their pros and cons.

It looks like the commissions might be smaller with Hyundai but I can sell more cars and the customers wont be as fussy as they aren't spending huge amounts of money. With Mercedes I will likely be dealing with customers with generally good credit who will be easy to approve for loans and leases and the commissions per car would be higher. Any Advice?

 

[mike036]

If you are a good sales person than whatever you choose you will succeed .

 

[GetYucked]

You can sell more at the Hyundai, it seems the dealerships like Kia/Hyundai can find financing for anyone. The Mercedes dealership, I would assume people in a better financial situation.

Do you want volume or not? lol.

Do you like dealing with higher income individuals or not?

 

[Cerberus777]

Can you sell quality over quantity?

Is the MB Dealership in a higher incomer area with a lot of traffic?

 

[Ezjax]

My boy went from selling infinity to Porsche and because the ticket is bigger he makes more.

If you hustle you will make more at Mercedes.. you will barely sell less cars..

Now if you suck you suck.. you will bottom feed and do the minimum everywhere you go.

The right question is are you top producer on you lot?

If you aren't.. then you won't make six figures until you figure out why

 

[GreenEarth]

I feel like it would be more enjoyable to deal with customers at Mercedes. Most people walking in there are doing more than just window-shopping, you know?

 

[GS]

Sell the Mercedes for sure!
The cheap are very cheap when they can't hardly afford a box with wheels......

 

[LW123]

What about selling Yugo? I heard they're making a comeback!

 

[ubermensch]

I'm in industry where I deal with very wealthy and then the other extreme of individuals on government assistance. The people with least end to try and tip more than the couple who make sure you know they spent 50k on there dining table(actually went through and itemized every price in there home for no reason other than to tell me). Friend of mine sales cars off a tote the note type place and says you have to be heartless because you sale to people who you know can't afford what they buy. There is one sector that will always be there and that's the rich and raping them in sales I'd think would be less on my conscious than marking up a Hyundai to a single mom who just wants something new she can relie on to get her kids around. If economy takes dip rich people will still be buying Mercedes

 

[Queefer]

What about the Toyota dealership

 

[richiec]

I'm in industry where I deal with very wealthy and then the other extreme of individuals on government assistance. The people with least end to try and tip more than the couple who make sure you know they spent 50k on there dining table(actually went through and itemized every price in there home for no reason other than to tell me). Friend of mine sales cars off a tote the note type place and says you have to be heartless because you sale to people who you know can't afford what they buy. There is one sector that will always be there and that's the rich and raping them in sales I'd think would be less on my conscious than marking up a Hyundai to a single mom who just wants something new she can relie on to get her kids around. If economy takes dip rich people will still be buying Mercedes

Taking advantage of someone, rich or poor, is straight up scummy.
Justifying it because they have money doesn't make it ok.
Doing what's best for everyone, no matter their financial situation, will yield greater return in the long run

 

[PitbullTank]

I don't work for a dealership but one of my best friends owns an exotic dealership and i help get referrals... one thing about dealing w higher end clientele is that they are all usually financially very well off amd usually own theor own successful businesses as well.,, the more time and conversation you can have around affluent people the more you learn and can have good opportunity open up amd connections...

 

[cauthen96]

Lifetime car guy here... Been in the biz since the day I walked out of ole miss in 2003.. you can make a living doing both but I will try to lay out a few pros and cons..

With Benz you will more than like be suit/tie.. you will have to be up to date on product knowledge.. online classes all the time so you can tell a doctor whats the main diff between a C300 and a C350..

With a hyundai dealership it will prolly be khakis/polo and very few classes and such..

Even tho benz's cost alot more the buyers are alot more educated.. and will be shopping 5 states over for the best deal... with hyundai who shops five states over for a hyundai sonata? lol..

And lets be honest.. the money is in the used cars.. So i would look at how many used the MB/hyundai keep.. if the MB keeps 50 and hyundai 150 its a no brainer..

also look at pay plans.. i would try to get at least 25-30% on the front and 5% on the back..

also talk to some of the salesmen.. if the majority of them have been there 5+ years then its a HONEY HOLE and go there.. if they are all less than a year or so then not so much!

Also the main thing in the car biz IS TO GET SOMEWHERE AND STAY SOMEWHERE!!! most people trade every 3-5 years... so after 5 years if you do good followup and good deliveries you will not even have to work the lot.. you will just sell repeats/referrals and let the new guys hustle the lot while you make 100k..

so even if the first yr or two is hard just grind it out and mail/call your clients/customers every 6 months.. they might tell you about a prob but if you handle it you have a customer FOR LIFE!

I dont know the exact situ with the dealerships mentioned and where they are located but I would lean towards the hyundai dealership.. although at mb if you do your time 10+ years you will be 120k+ but those first few will be a bitch bc most mb customers this isnt their first and prolly already have a guy they deal with etc.. so you will have to concentrate on new mb clients etc..

I have sold ford toyota hyundai chevy dodge acura etc.. been at a ford store now for about 2 years and Im not going anywhere.. dealership hopping is never a good idea bc your clients usually dont follow.. i have heard car max has weird pay plans etc.. my worst year was when obama first won in 08 and the banks tightened up and I still made 40k... best year was last year.. i walked out of prison in jan started in april and still made over 60k.. and missed most of tax season which is good bc of down payment money.. would have made 90K if I worked the whole year..


so when you start plan on making a career out of it.. keep track of every sale you make and follow up every 3-6 months with EVERY CUSTOMER!! beat your name in their head and I promise you they will come back and send everyone they know to you as well..




if you have any other ?s shoot me a pm brother..

and like richie said.. if you make 7000 on someone on a used car and they look up the value a few months later they WILL NEVER BE BACK and tell everyone they know how you knocked their head off.. so i try to keep a decent profit and be fair.. i would rather make 2000 on them and every family member for the next 40 years than make 7000 one time and never see them again ,,,,

Taking advantage of someone, rich or poor, is straight up scummy.
Justifying it because they have money doesn't make it ok.
Doing what's best for everyone, no matter their financial situation, will yield greater return in the long run

 

[heroOFtheDAY]

I feel like it would be more enjoyable to deal with customers at Mercedes. Most people walking in there are doing more than just window-shopping, you know?

Sell the Mercedes for sure!

The cheap are very cheap when they can't hardly afford a box with wheels......

You guys couldn't be more wrong lol. I've sold chevy's and Mercedes and each clientele comes with their own set of problems. Selling chevy's was tough because people came in with big dreams and small credit scores and bank accounts. You had to hold their hand because they weren't well versed in these kinds of financial situations. On the other hand, most of those clients don't have much money and are in serious need of a new (or newer) car. They are usually driving a 10 year old car and looking to buy a 6-7 year old car.

On the other hand, the Mercedes clientele were very different. They have control over their finances and know exactly what they can and can't spend. I've lost deals over $20/month on a payment. The guy had a credit score in the 800's so he knew exactly what he was doing. A lot of these people come in with a car that's only a couple or few years old and doesn't need to be replaced. That's where the window shopping comes in. The come in, see the new model and maybe drive it. This is where you need to be a good salesman and tell them why they need the car. That's a challenge in itself because these are usually some sort of businessmen that have heard every angle you're about to play. They're not dreamers like the Chevy people. These folks make calculated decisions. Also, get ready to deal with many different nationalities each with different sets of manners. One time I had a polish gentleman who spoke zero English. His sister translated everything. I watched my Pakistani co-worker almost get into a fist fight with another middle eastern gentleman and still sold a car and they were all smiles afterwards. He told me that's how you have to negotiate with people from those countries because over there, everything is negotiable and they're damn good at it. Try that on a pompous jackass with his first six figure job buying a c class and watch what happens.

I could go on and on, but you get what I'm saying. No matter where you go, the cars do not fly off the lot. I was young and made the mistake of thinking that. I'm still in sales, but I no longer sell cars. But what I learned selling both brands is absolutely priceless.

 

[desibaba]

The thing I notice the most at CarMax is that it just seems to be easier to sell fairly inexpensive cars compared to higher end Benz and BMW models. It seems like the people who can afford them are also smarter with their money and shop around a lot for the best deal while average people are more likely to make an impulsive decision of buying a 15-20k car. I sold a used S550 to a guy last month and he was nitpicking about minor scratches and wear and tear on the leather on a 7 year old car :banghead: I have a feeling that the people who comes to Mercedes generally would want to be treated like royalty.

 

[gungalunga]

Look at it this way.....Hyundai sales=more volume. Mercedes sales=more commission on sales. If you are a really good salesman one of the perks of the job might be getting to drive a dealership car....In this case...Mercedes=ALOT more pussy. I think your decision is made my friend.....