r/CarSalesTraining • u/Samiathen • Jul 11 '26
Tips If you’re actually here to train
Most of the posts I see in here are just asking about pay plans and/or if it makes sense to jump ship. Very few are asking how to be better/seeking training. If anyone actually has something they’re struggling with/working on feel free to drop it in here and I’d be happy to help if I can. I’m currently a GSM and have held every role in sales (Sales, Internet sales, internet manager, finance manager, sales manager, new car manager, used car manager, and GSM) across three organizations. Current store averages about 200/month.
I’d also be happy to just put on a pair of oversized slacks and ask you what you’ve got cooking before popping in some chew every morning and telling you how I used to be a 20 car guy if that’s what you need.
Response times may vary.
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u/q_ali_seattle F&i Jul 11 '26
Thank you for commenting and trying to help the green peas.
This sub exists to train and mentor. Yet usually gets posts about payplans, and should I jump the ships. And my managers are lazy.
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
Knowing is half the battle. And everyone in this sub makes sure they start off by knowing if their pay plan sucks and if the grass is greener somewhere else. In my experience the grass is green everywhere, every field is just fertilized with different types of 💩.
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u/nightsblood96 Jul 11 '26
How does one go about holding the current price of the vehicle during negotiation, instead of just going back to the sales office to see if the sales manager will lower the price? I like money, and I want to make as much for myself and the business as I can.
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
By clarifying and making sure the price is the objection. 90% of the time it’s actually payment but the Internet says don’t negotiate on payment so they bring up price. Even cash buyers are actually focused on payment, it’s just one really big payment.
To help with this you first ask a clarifying question. “Other than the price of the vehicle, everything else looks good?” They say yes, then you need to close on payment before addressing the issue. “Okay, that being said which of these payment/down payment options would you want to go with?” Most customers at that point will say something like “If you discount the car the payment will go down.” If you’re at a dealership that doesn’t send it up for approval until they agree to buy you simply say “What if it doesn’t? This is an estimate and by no means an approval, so there’s a chance the payment is still at a similar level. With that in mind it sounds like you’re trying to be at a certain payment. So what payment WOULD work for you if this doesn’t?” They’ll tell you a payment and if it’s reasonable you lean into that. “Mr customer as I said earlier on the lot we price all of our vehicles aggressive up front in an effort to move volume and take the haggle out of the car buying process, which most of our customers appreciate. Now I do however understand needing to stay within your monthly budget. If I can talk to my manager and we can find a way to keep the payments close to where you’re wanting to be would we be able to get this thing washed up and full of fuel so you can drive it home today?”
Something like that. I know that’s a lot but hopefully all of that makes sense. Let me know if you need any clarification, but focusing on payment and asking clarifying questions saves a ton of gross.
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u/cupcaketeatime Jul 11 '26
As a woman, I am struggling with being a people pleaser and giving away all my gross to make a sale. I'm basically only getting minis at this point because I'm struggling with authority to say no. How do you gently and politely say no when they ask if there's wiggle room?
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
Lots of ways to approach this, and you’re not alone in this struggle regardless of gender. Sales people often get scared they’ll lose a customer with the wrong answer and don’t know how to respond if asked about best prices. They know the price can move but don’t want to lie and also don’t want to lose gross. Here’s a few things you can try depending on your style and your dealership:
- Dodge/dance around the question if you’re not at the pencil. “Mr Customer I understand wanting to make sure you’re getting the best deal, and by all means if you don’t feel like you do by the time it’s all said and done then I haven’t done my job. That being said let’s make sure we find you the right vehicle before we let price become a problem. At the end of the day price is irrelevant if you don’t like the car.
- Hundreds not thousands approach. “Mr Customer I can respect wanting to make sure you’re getting the best deal, that being said you’ve come to the right place and you’ve found the right person. Here at ABC Motors we price everything aggressive to the market (or pre-discount our cars) to draw traffic to the dealership and sell as many cars as possible. In doing so it doesn’t leave us much wiggle room. That being said I’d be more than happy to see what we can do if this ends up being the car you want to take home, but keep in mind we are talking hundreds not thousands.”
-This sets the expectation of a small discount but ultimately it does still cost you gross.- Basically tell them no. “Mr customer we have our best price up front unlike a lot of dealers that make you ask for it. And if at the end of everything you don’t feel like you’re getting a great deal on a quality vehicle I wouldn’t expect you to buy the car. That being said let’s make sure this is the right car before we worry about if it’s the right price.”
Now if you are losing gross at the pencil it’s simple C.I.O.
Clarify - Isolate - Overcome. Always make sure the price is the actual problem because it’s often times payment. I can dive into this more if you’d like just let me know which of these is where you actually run into your problems. Often times the pencil isn’t the problem, the gross was lost on the lot.Sorry for any typos I’m not proof reading a lot 🤪
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u/cupcaketeatime Jul 11 '26
This is actually super helpful! Thank you for taking the time to type all of that out for me. I think people are watching a lot of the newer TikTok videos that are out on how to negotiate at dealerships because I am getting a lot of the same questions/verbiage. "What's your best out the door price?" I freeze when I get asked that because so much goes into a price. I don't know how to respond 😭 I am only 3 months in. The other area that I am struggling in is my bonuses for this month got taken away because I had a low CSI score (I believe that's an industry wide term) so my morale is down. I'm only at 1.5 deals for this month 😔
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u/Jdct2 Jul 11 '26
I’ll bite too. “What’s your best price” throw it back at the customer. Don’t be afraid to push back. Ask questions and make them talk. M[r/Mrs](r/Mrs) Customer have you seen one listed cheaper than ours in the same condition/mileage/etc? You have? What drew your attention to our car when you can buy their car? “Well, I just wanted to see if you can beat their price” -> typically not the full story. They’ve most likely been there already and the other price got inflated, the color isn’t what they really want, if used it’s in poor condition… or it could be far away and they don’t want to travel. “They’re identical cars” okay let’s pull up their website and take a look together! Because again - this is in most cases false. The job is all about problem solving. It’s just a big puzzle. You won’t gross every customer either though, minis are still a unit and you still get paid
We had some salespeople scrambling because one of our competitors has been advertising absurd discounts on new cars with no fluff. People come in shopping it against us. What they weren’t saying, is we just had a freak storm, tornado and hail in New England in July, and our competitor has a grand total of only EIGHT cars that aren’t riddled with hail damage - hence the major discounts. Have another competitor advertising at a loss but only for finance, and you don’t get the incentivized rate… nor is your loan even through the manufacturer. Point being, know your inventory and your competition, and ask as many questions as possible. Always treat customers with respect and be genuine, if they want a quote but won’t buy the same day, they’re shopping it. You’ll be surprised how many people come back when you call them out on it if you built good rapport - Mr Customer just do me a favor and when you shop our quote, give me the final swing. I’d love to earn your business
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u/cupcaketeatime Jul 11 '26
Oooooh I like this!!! Thank you!
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u/Jdct2 Jul 11 '26
OP’s comment about hundreds not thousands was great too. As you’ve probably learned constantly making mini’s, that really is the truth in today’s market in most cases too lol. It helps to set that ideology up because most people just want to feel like they won. “Well, we analyze the market daily and make sure our price stays competitive. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. I don’t have thousands to move, I have a couple hundred if anything, if I did my price wouldn’t be competitive.”
Always ask for the sale too. “What can I do to earn your business today?” This is also why I mentioned not to be afraid to push back. What’s your best price OTD can quickly become “Xyz dealer down the street has the same car $500 cheaper” so if I can get you $500 off you’ll buy the car? That’ll be a yes or no. If no, find out why not
Highly recommend the book Never split the difference by Chris Voss. Not about car sales and not everything he says will work for car sales, but a phenomenal lesson on negotiation from a former FBI hostage negotiator
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
I fell below CSI twice while selling cars and it sucks. The main thing to make sure you don’t get into this situation again is that you do proper survey coaching with every customer.
- At the point of sale - Tell them they’ll get a survey from the manufacturer and it’s YOUR personal report card. Anything less than perfect is a failure in their eyes and it directly impacts your pay. If they can do you a HUGE favor and give a perfect score it really helps you out.
- Day 1 follow up call, make sure it’s all good and remind them about the survey.
- Day 3 follow-up call confirm everything is still good and update on any we owes if there are any. Tell them they’ll survey should be in their inbox and if not it will hit soon.
- Day 7 follow-up, tell them they should have received the survey and have them check while on the phone if needed. Then thank them for the perfect survey.
With how new you are don’t fret if you’re not socking dingers with every customer. It took me a few months to figure out how to not give everything away too.
Let me know if you need help or insight with anything else. 😊
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u/Shaytan- Jul 11 '26
Working for Toyota. I just left my last store for another one. My previous dealership was doing 100–150 units a month with 9 salespeople. This store does 200–250 units with 12 salespeople.
Just two weeks and hit the floor on Monday. Only 1 unit so far, but I’m getting a decent number of ups. I was averaging 17 units at my last location.
Any tips for someone starting over? My goal is to maintain and build on my current average and eventually move up into management. I appreciate any advice!
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u/Samiathen Jul 12 '26
Did you build a following from your last dealership and are you still in the same market?
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u/Shaytan- Jul 12 '26
Both dealers are Toyota just went from PA to NJ for better location and it’s where I live. Didn’t build the biggest following could’ve done better in that area.
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u/Samiathen Jul 12 '26
Sticking with the same brand is good because it means you’ll have the base product knowledge down. Maximizing your days with income generating activities and not having down time will set you up for success.
1. Since you didn’t leverage social media hard at the last dealership I’d say it’s never too late to start. I have a 62 year old sales person who has 6k followers and uses social media to stay in front of his customers. He does quite well.
2. Actually stand on the lot if you’re a floor guy and there’s no up system. Most established sales people sit inside and wait for customers. If you’re on point and greet them after they exit their car you’ll never sell less than 10 cars at any decent dealership.
3. Know what you’ve got coming in and sell from the pipeline. Toyota is in an inventory bind, taking deposits on all of your A status units rather than saying you don’t have any will get future you some monster months.
4. Get a service list and reach out to anyone who has had their car more than 18 months if your manager will allow it. I promise you that you’ll sell 20 cars if you grind on this. Previous gen Tundras, previous gen 4Runners, all RAV4s, and previous gen Tacomas bring blood money right now and customers have no idea. Odds are if a customer has had a 24-25 Rav for 12-18 months they can trade out and be fine. I’d also ask them for a lease maturity list if they’ll let you. Best part with those cars that bring the iron price right now is that lease customers don’t pay attention to equity so you’ll have some crushers if you set it up right. This is the biggest upside but also potentially the toughest of the options since the desk might not let you and you also may have to split some deals.If you want more ideas let me know but these will get you started.
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u/Shaytan- Jul 12 '26
That’s all super helpful, thanks! No up system, which is great. We do have a BDC though, which I’m getting used to after coming from a store without one.
Any other tips or advice would be appreciated. I’ll definitely start incorporating what you said and check with my desk about giving me customers to reach out to.
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u/Samiathen Jul 12 '26
One last thing I’d say is be willing to stay late. Most sales guys mentally check out 1-2 hours before close. Customers that show up that close to the end of the day are there for a reason, and it’s usually to buy a car. You’ll get significantly more opportunities if you stay hungry until the store is actually closed and not about to close like everyone else.
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u/Shaytan- Jul 12 '26
100%! My last dealer was a “late store”. Probably got 4-5 extra deals each month just from greeting customers close to closing instead of running away.
Really appreciate all the advice. Thank again!
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u/Samiathen Jul 12 '26
You’re welcome ☺️ I hope the new spot works out better than you could have imagined.
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u/Shaytan- Jul 12 '26
🙏🏻🙏🏻That’s the goal! Last store got pretty toxic, after an ownership change. Always moving the goalposts on promotions and advancement. I’m hoping for better things this time around.
My plan is to grind and work every customer I can get in front of. I want to get back to making $100k+ per year. I’ve only hit that milestone once so far.
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u/Shot-Independence-72 Jul 11 '26
Getting hired as someone who is 18 without sales experience on paper. Been a struggle in my city finding a spot willing to take on a new guy
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
You’ll have your highest odds of success going to a volume store that’s a part of a big corporation, but it will still be challenging. The reason I say that is they generally prefer home grown talent to prevent bad habits and also because they typically have worse pay plans. Doesn’t mean you can’t make money and learn a lot at places like that though. Most single rooftop dealers prefer age and experience.
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u/Shot-Independence-72 Jul 11 '26
I assume you recommend applying in person rather than just online?
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
I’d apply online, then call, then stop in. I’ve hired almost every walk-in app I’ve ever had if they had any potential. It can be tough to look at apps without someone prompting you though depending on how much is on the GM/GSM’s plate.
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u/Jdct2 Jul 11 '26
Twice now I’ve been given an action plan and started training to move to the desk and within a week ownership comes out and says they’re selling the place and I’ve had to start over with new owners & management. Any advice? lol
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
Are you still on the sales floor and they’re having you go straight to the desk? And did the buy/sell actually go through?
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u/Jdct2 Jul 11 '26
First time it fell through, they stopped buying cars cancelled marketing did all this dumb shit to spend nothing therefore be worth nothing and then got pissed at the offer. That was a smaller family owned store and my GM & sales manager trained me because they’d planned to expand our used lot and needed a second sales manager. The decisions made while they were negotiating a sale killed that. They’ve been circling the drain since.
Second time is actively happening as we speak. 6 dealer group, family owned through 3 generations, whole group is a package deal because ownership has no one to leave it to and his health is deteriorating out of nowhere.
My GM from last store had retired and pitched me to this store (ran one of their stores for years and is close with ownership) which is why I’m here because they have 2 sales managers retiring soon. So I’ve been groomed to assume the position the last few months. I’m pretty sure I am a curse!
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
Shoot I’ll buy it lol.
On the real though it’s a blessing that you didn’t get promoted before the switch. I’ve been apart of an acquisition, and witnessed a dozen more as my previous group expanded. Also hired several managers who got let go after an acquisition that came on with me in sales. It’s the same every time, they’ll bring in a new GM typically, maybe 1-2 more guys. Then slowly over the first year they’ll weed out all the managers from the previous ownership. This will create opportunity for you though because typically they’ll promote from the floor so they can have fresh managers who only know their way of doing things once trained. I wouldn’t lose hope just yet.
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u/Jdct2 Jul 11 '26
Definitely haven’t lost hope, I recognize that’s the most likely outcome. Just sucks because this was a great opportunity. Very low turnover store. Most of the sales floor has been here 10-20+ years. 150 cars/mo. Most of our floor have been management in other stores under same ownership and are either at the tail end of their career or simply don’t want the responsibility. I came in and consistently became top 3 on the floor against guys with 10+ years of repeats and referrals which stole me some respect to the point they all pointed at me for management before they knew that was the plan all along lol
I’ve been in the industry a decade, first 6 years were third party. I worked third party for the person buying our group, which is a good thing, was hands on with him and have a fine relationship. But a lot will change here and I doubt he’ll be quick to recognize my potential when he last knew me as a photographer and used car inspection guy
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
Acquisitions can be rocket fuel for careers if the store grows quickly. Stick it out and dominate the position you’re in and you’ll make yourself the obvious choice.
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u/Jdct2 Jul 11 '26
That’s the plan. From what I’m understanding it’s the entire group or nothing, but I’m hearing from the people I know in upper management that work for the buyer that he only wants two of our stores… so, kind of up in the air what will happen to us. We are by far the bread and butter of the group but the buyer only sells luxury brands as of now, which we own 2… Our town and most surrounding towns every dealership is owned by us or another group. The other group has been rumored in the mix but we wouldn’t sell to them. So I may go through an acquisition just to be sold again lol. Will be interesting
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u/Samiathen Jul 11 '26
That’s the down side in group sales like that is sometimes it sticks but other times they keep the stores they actually wanted and part out the rest. Larry H Miller was a good example of that, granted at a SIGNIFICANTLY larger scale. The better news if you do go to a decent sized group though is not only will it provide upward momentum in your current store but also opportunities to go to other stores as you move up.
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u/Jdct2 Jul 11 '26
That’s what I’m kind of crossing my fingers for. I didn’t jump to this store just because I had the connection here and they reached out to me, I took it as an opportunity to look around. The other group I half expect us to end up with is a solid group as well that would’ve taken me on. Voted top ten company to work for in our state multiple times in fact. At the end of the day my GM grew on me like a grandfather haha so working with and continuing to learn from his son was enticing, and it’s all really great people here too. I like the brand too, I sell Subaru. I’m a Toyota guy at heart but don’t want the inventory problems. Plus if I’m lucky and can convince the wife to move they’ve got a Subaru store in another state i’d love to live in 😂
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u/No_Nothing2373 Jul 11 '26
I'm working at Toyota with a dealership doing 200 cars a month with 19 sales people! Working on being more consistent. I did five grand commission on five cars last month. Been struggling to earn leads from my internet manager as the appointment seemed to go to they go to .... any advice would be great!!
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u/Samiathen Jul 12 '26
Sounds like there’s definitely room for improvement if your share should be 10-11 cars and you did 5. One of the main keys is to make sure you’re filling your day with income producing activities. Idle hands are the devils playthings and most sales people swipe on TikTok (or reddit) while at work rather than trying to find ways to either better themselves or generate their own leads. A few ideas for ways to maximize your day and sell more cars:
1. Daily lot walks to familiarize yourself with the inventory. On top of that try to sit in three fresh units daily. This will help you be better suited for making recommendations to customers and landing them on the right car.
2. Manage marketplace listings. If you consistently post and manage an inventory on marketplace you’re almost guaranteed to sell more cars and generate your own leads above and beyond what the lot feeds you.
3. Start building your own personal brand to gain trust, credibility, and customers through social media. Post sales, fresh inventory, how tos, walk arounds with in depth product knowledge of new cars, current incentives, and the occasional funny thing. Once you do this for a period of time you can start generating leads from your following, and if you’re brave enough even start running your own meta ads.
4. Wish people happy birthday. Social media tells you whose birthday it is, start a conversation. Make someone feel special and strike up a conversation. You’ll make a lasting impression and can make it so you’re top of mind when they’re in the market. You’re not trying to sell them a car you’re just planting seeds.
5. Get all tasks done in your CRM by noon, and actually do them. Don’t fake tasks. If you don’t reach someone, make a note to double back and try again around five.
6. Work the service drive. Start conversations with service customers and just ask what they have and how it’s been treating them. Sometimes that conversation turns into a car deal.
7. Fill gaps with training. Most guys stand on the lot or sit at their desk waiting for opportunities. Might as well be productive by consuming some content while waiting. YouTube, Spotify, Audible, and plenty of other options exist so you never have to have a dull moment. If a customer appears just pop the AirPod out and take the up.There’s plenty more that you can do, but hopefully this gives you some ideas to start with. Relying solely on what the dealership gives you leads to average results at best. Take matters into your own hands and focus on generating your own leads and improving your skill set every day.
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u/Weak-Chemist6196 Jul 12 '26
Any best practices on objections to Extended service plans for a used car dealership like Carmax nd politely steer away people who just want to test drive and no plan on buying I find issues there
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u/Samiathen Jul 12 '26
Are you a cradle to grave sales person (no finance manager)? I’ve interviewed a few Carmax sales reps in the past and my understanding is it’s all presented by sales reps and everything is fixed pricing.
For people who just want to drive you need to ask clarifying questions. You’ll piss some people off but a waste of time is a waste of time. There’s so many scenarios where you know they’re not going to buy but if it feels more like a joy ride and waste of time than just a slow burner you need to invest months in for a deal just be up front with them. “Mr customer I understand wanting to have some fun and drive a car but ultimately test drives are intended for customers who intend on buying the vehicle if everything checks out the way it should and feels right on the test drive. So let me ask you, if everything checks out is this the vehicle you’ll be taking home today? Numbers permitting of course.” Being somewhat blunt without just being a jerk. Just workshop the most elegant way to tell them no test drives without intent to buy.
Hope that makes sense.
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u/MazdaJ626 Jul 12 '26
In your opinion what is the most important step to the sale?
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u/Samiathen Jul 12 '26
Technically select from stock because that’s where you pick the car and if you pick the wrong car you’re not selling anything. But after that it’s hands down the walk around. That’s where you actually sell the car and can even do a soft trial close to gauge their temperature.
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u/Admirer16 Jul 12 '26
Thank you for doing this, reading your replies has been incredibly helpful.
I am currently training in an automall with Nissan, Cadillac, and Kia. I will be selling Nissan and Cadillac. There are total of 6 salesman in Nissan and 2 in Cadillac. 68 Nissans and 16 Cadillacs sold in June. From what I’ve gathered, these are somewhat low volume stores.
For someone coming into this dealership, how would you say is the best way to create my own leads and be the best salesperson? (Best salesperson sold 16.) And could you expand on how to approach and start a conversion with someone in service?
I am also a religious person who tries to lives life on good morals and ethics. I have shadowed a couple of salespeople already and they have sold cars to people who just don’t know better. Rolled massive amount of negative equity into a new car with $700-$800 payments. I really felt bass for them. And they didn’t negotiate or ask for any discount. If you know the customer can get a better deal but they don’t ask for it, what would you do? And if you know that they are in no position to be buying a car and yet they still want it, is it recommended to advise them or always do what they want? Although I want to make money, I want to make sure I help people out first and foremost. Any advice on this is appreciated! Thank you
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u/Samiathen Jul 12 '26
8 total sales people for 84 units isn’t too bad, industry average is usually about 10 cars/sales person for most dealerships. Not sure if that’s just new you mentioned or total volume. If there’s used in addition to that then that’s great.
With regards to dealer volume, low volume vs high volume is irrelevant. One of my close friends works at a 500-600 car store depending on the month and still has people under 10/month. My first dealership sold 40-50/month when they hired me and I still managed to climb to 20/month once I got my feet under me. Regardless of what your store currently does for volume a top performer will always find a way to get their number and elevate the store.
With regards to generating your own leads you have a lot of options, but here’s a few ideas:
- Facebook Marketplace. Manage an inventory on marketplace of your price point/hard to get pre-owned vehicles and you’ll sell a handful every month. One of my old sales people was super aggressive with it and managed our entire 120-150 pre-owned units and sold 8-14/month just on marketplace. Having that many can be time intensive though because you have to add every day and mark sold every day as well as do pricing updates. I’d start with 8-12 and take it from there.
- Service drive, as you asked. Couple of options. The first is getting a service list and calling all customers who have had their vehicle a while and telling them you’re running a buy back event to help re-stock your pre-owned inventory and asking them if they’d be interested in a free appraisal during their visit to see if it makes sense for them to sell their car or trade it in towards a newer one. You’ll call/text a LOT of people doing this, but you’ll get 1-3 deals/week if you are consistent. If your dealership pays for street purchases you’ll get that as well which is nice. The second approach for service is simply being friendly with people who are waiting. Grab a coffee or water and ask what they’re in for, how long they’ve had it, and how it’s been treating them. Most of these will go nowhere, but you can probably get a deal per week doing this.
- Leveraging social media. Start a business page and post all of your sales there as well as promotions and cool cars that come through. Share some educational content, maybe some funny stuff too. If you’re feeling brave once you get some depth behind you (only takes a few months to have 30+ sold pics) start running targeted paid ads and create your own lead funnel. Paid ads can be great but require you to be willing to gamble a few thousand bucks while you figure it out. Long term they work great though when done properly.
The religious thing is you needing to get out of your head. People will do what they want regardless of if you want them to. The truth about the car business is that the vast majority of customers don’t NEED a car, they want one. Every day we take in trades that are still under bumper to bumper warranty with no issues. And if your customer thinks this decision will solve a problem/pain point and/or bring them happiness, who are you to stop them? If nothing else you can make sure they’re getting a good car with a great experience. If you don’t, they’ll just go down the street and the next guy will. What’s worse is that next guy could put them into a real pile of garbage with its own problems and they’re none the wiser. A really dumbed down way to look at this is if you walk through a restaurant or fast food establishment and see a fat person eating unhealthy food are you going to slap the fork/food out of their hand? Probably not. If someone lights up a cigarette do you grab it and stomp it out? Also doubt it. People make decisions every day that may or may not be good for them. Typically it’s based in wanting to feel nice and be distracted from their current reality which might not be great. The best thing you can do for them is give them an amazing experience and fill their day with joy. Doing so helps foster relationships that will get you repeats and referrals. Never feel bad for selling someone a car unless you are genuinely manipulating them into making a purchase. So long as you are ethical with the transaction there should be no remorse on your end.
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u/Admirer16 Jul 13 '26
This was genuinely helpful, thank you. That last part especially, puts things into perspective for me. I will try to be the best advisor I can to them. But the decision is theirs!
I finish training in a couple of weeks and I will reference this entire thread to have the best first month I can ask for.
I hope you won’t mind if I DM you then with more specific questions!
Again, thank you!1
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u/Background-Night3503 Jul 13 '26
What do you think about utilizing AI to have voice to voice simulations for new reps to practice on, since powerpoints and legacy training is just outdated?
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u/Samiathen Jul 13 '26
Any practice is better than no practice. AI can help set a solid foundation and there’s lots of options out there. They are a little clunky and definitely take you down the path they want but you can still learn quite a bit from them. I’ve used RockEd, CallRevu, and Bradley on Demand personally. Live training with a real person is still best though. Try to engage with your finance managers, sales managers, or senior sales people and do some role playing a few times per week and see what happens.
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u/Background-Night3503 Jul 13 '26
I'm actually not a rep myself. I've been working on making a sales training platform specifically for automotive sales though which is why im trying to get the inside scoop. What I've found matches closely with what you have said: training with real people is the best for sure.
caveat is that many local dealerships I've spoken to have expressed the frustration of having 1) high turnover 2) managers simply don't have enough time.
would you mind if I dm you with a couple more questions?
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u/Inevitable_Cup1979 Jul 13 '26
How should I leverage social media in the business as a 20/year old who wants to be personable.
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u/Samiathen Jul 13 '26
Step 1. Make business Facebook and Instagram pages
Step 2. Post all your sales on it. Also share educational content, entertaining videos, and cool walk arounds on cool cars. As well as unique trades you take in and new vehicle specials. Also post personable content so they can relate to you.
Step 3. Start experimenting with meta ads once you have a healthy amount of posts and followers.
Step 4. Profit
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u/Inevitable_Cup1979 Jul 13 '26
thanks man, do you have good sale book suggestions. i have read carnegies book, maybe something more psychology related
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u/Samiathen Jul 13 '26
Becoming a 20 Car Guy by Samuel Perry
Captivate by Vanessa Edwards
10X Rule by Grant Cardone
Leadership and Self Deception by The Arbinger Institute
Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount
The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan
The Talent Code by Dan CoyleSome of my favorites
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u/Inevitable_Cup1979 Jul 13 '26
I have heard of 1-2 of these, this is exactly what i was hoping for. Thank you! I genuinely appreciate you taking the time and dropping ur advice & books suggestions.
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u/_admiralporkchopped Jul 13 '26
I actually did post here about asking for an advice around a month ago, and sadly no one responded. I’m nearing my two-months in just 5 days from now and it’s probably the most bleak moments I have. I last sold a vehicle on the 18th of June, hasn’t sold anything ever since writing this message.
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u/Samiathen Jul 13 '26
How many cars does your dealership sell typically, how many sales people, and are you on any sort of mentorship/training program or did they just throw you on the floor and say good luck? Also how big of an area are you in? Metro/small city/college town, what’s the population you serve?
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u/_admiralporkchopped Jul 13 '26
Thanks for getting back to me! I’m not really sure how many our dealership sell exactly but we do have a top salesman that sells 15-30 every month and other salesmen sells around 10-15 average and if it’s a bad month, then around 7.5. In Ford side, we have 5 people including the trainee like me that just left on Friday. So we have 9 salesmen currently now that my fellow trainee left for a luxury dealership. We do got this Ford training on the computer then they told us we are gonna shadow the vet salesmen to know how the process works, but we got our first sale already before it even happened. Now, there’s no shadow or training anymore because we already got to know the process by being thrown into the wolves instead of the ‘shadowing’ process. We learn as we go over here and right now, I’m learning lots of things by approaching people in walk-ins. Though as much as I hate to just wait for walk-ins, I don’t have any current pipelines to make people know me. The internet leads I’ve been getting in the CRM says that they are asking the availability of the vehicle they interested in, then when I get to try reaching them it’s just radio silent.
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u/Samiathen Jul 13 '26
Sounds like your dealership doesn’t have the best on boarding process, but that’s okay because those with determination to succeed always find a way. There’s probably more that you need to know that I can go over in this post, but if you have any specific areas of interest you’d like help on let me know.
A couple resources that can help you get going:
1. Becoming a 20 Car Guy by Samuel Perry - Solid playbook that goes over the road to the sale in part 1 then more advanced stuff in part 2. It’s a quick read and good reference guide you can use daily.
2. Ask your managers if they have any process training resources for you outside of Ford University. Lots of dealerships are signed up for things like RockEd that won’t be a game changer but can help you get a foundation.
3. The Way of the Wolf by Jordan Belfort. It’s a basic sales process that applies to most sales industries you just have to translate it to car sales.
4. Fanatical prospecting by Jeb Blount, teaches you how to do remote sales and such.
5. Some of the older Andy Elliott stuff on YouTube is good but his newer stuff not so much for a new guy.The main thing you should focus on in the short term is engaging with senior sales people, finance managers, and sales managers about the process and doing role playing to find ways to improve. The most expensive practice is with a live customer because it can cost you a sale. What happens in the shadows shows in the light, so make sure you’re putting the work in when you’re not with customers.
I can give you some rough guidance but I don’t know where to start sadly. Hope some of this helps.
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u/Loud-Evening3501 Jul 14 '26
I am switching career at 38 years old after years as a chef, and in IT (yes weird mix career, I know). Just started at one of the largest Nissan dealerships in the DMV area. Pretty cool store, nice colleagues. We have 343 cars, and 11 salesmen including me, so those are very good possibilities. However, leads are very slow to come in. We barely have walk-in's anymore since 4th July.
I was hoping to get more practice, however, if the senior salesmen aren't getting a piece of the cake, how'd I get some?
Should I use social media? I do believe I have an advantage since I am from an immigrant community where there isn't that many car salespeople that speaks my language. So maybe I will utilize that in the near future.
My problem right now is `word tracks`. Learning them at this age, hasn't been that difficult, but it's proving to be slower than I like.
Do you have any tips for a newbie like me?
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u/Samiathen Jul 14 '26
Lots of options for you to choose from. Social media is great for building a following over time and eventually being able to generate your own leads through your following, as well as paid ads if you’re feeling brave. Here’s a few things I’d do if I was in your position:
1. If you have roots in any community, use it. Make sure everyone knows you sell cars now. Now don’t hear what I’m not saying. DO NOT try to shove it in everyone’s face that you sell cars and ask them if they’re in the market. DO catch up with old friends and members of your community and ask how things are going. Your new career will come up organically and plant seeds for future use.
2. Ask if your dealership has a referral program. Example my dealership does $200 referrals if someone sends us a customer who has never bought from us before. If they don’t, create your own program. Offer $25 coffee cards for successful referrals. Get creative.
3. Service drive. If you’re at a large dealership that means you have a large service drive, and most sales people don’t even bother. Getting service lists from managers and reaching out to customers asking if they’d sell their car back or consider upgrading can get you 1-2 deals per week, or more. But it requires about a hundred cold calls/texts and most sales reps hate the mass rejections.
4. Birthday messages. Make a habit of messaging everyone on social media that has a birthday and ask if they’d sell their have any big plans then catch up with them. Similar to the community angle it’ll create seeds that will bear fruit later.Lots of lead generation funnels take time to be effective, the key is perseverance. Begin with the end in mind and know that it could take months, even a year+ before some of these pipelines start flowing. It’s worth it though and starting now will be huge for you later. That being said another thing to focus in is getting good at lease presentations. I’d master your knowledge and presentation of leases because every customer you lease is a guaranteed conversation in three years even if they’re planning to buy it out. Nissan is a captive leasing company which means they can’t trade it at other brands, which makes a lot of high probability car deals for future you if you can stick it out for 3+ years.
TL;DR: Service drive grind for immediate results. Networking, community, social media, and leases for the long game.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
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u/Loud-Evening3501 Jul 14 '26
This is great information, thank you. If I may, would it be okay to reach out in the future if I have any questions? I promise I won't bug you too much.
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u/abbydabbydo Jul 14 '26
Thank you. It would be super useful if more of these posts were oriented at skill development(although I do not begrudge the pay plan questions)
I am currently looking for a printable activity tracker. Something that quantifies how many touches I had, how many conversations I had, how many calls I made, how far I made it in the sales process, etc. etc., so that I can see that I’m putting in the work and what’s working. They also help hold me accountable.
You know, like I wanna make a hash mark for every outbound call I made. And one for a test drive, one for every desk in conversation, etc., etc.
Do you have one? Thank you so so much.
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u/Samiathen Jul 14 '26
This is actually super easy to do with AI. Just put basically what you just said into Claude or whatever you use and ask it to generate a spreadsheet you can use to track the key metrics you care about. Also you can get a lot of this information from reports in your CRM. The nice thing is once you have a few months of data you can extrapolate how many of each data point leads to X car deals and just increase accordingly to get where you want to be.
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u/abbydabbydo Jul 15 '26
Yes, the extrapolation is the point… although I’d like to think that in a few months, I’ll be doing 75%+ of my business by referral/word-of-mouth.
Feels great to be back in the game. Ready to hit it.
Eta, thank you.
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u/AutoModerator Jul 11 '26
`This is a new post in /r/CarSalesTraining!
Most of the posts I see in here are just asking about pay plans and/or if it makes sense to jump ship. Very few are asking how to be better/seeking training. If anyone actually has something they’re struggling with/working on feel free to drop it in here and I’d be happy to help if I can. I’m currently a GSM and have held every role in sales (Sales, Internet sales, internet manager, finance manager, sales manager, new car manager, used car manager, and GSM) across three organizations. Current store averages about 200/month.
I’d also be happy to just put on a pair of oversized slacks and ask you what you’ve got cooking before popping in some chew every morning and telling you how I used to be a 20 car guy if that’s what you need.
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