endlesslyrocking
'ch ch ch ch changes.....'
posted 17 October 2006, Tuesday
Okay, so this is one of my days off. I've found a new place of tea and reading and writing. My beloved old place has become quite run down of late, and the tea is expensive and you have to pay for refills and the wireless rarely works and the seats are uncomfortable for an old man... Anyway, after seven years, I've been forced by reality to find a better place. Not, heaven forbid, St-St-Starbucks, no no no! But a comfy place with a fireplace, cushioned seats, better soup, cheaper tea and free refills. And, the wireless rarely goes down. Still, from time to time I'll visit the old place. I'm a sap after all. Still, it's just not the same. Even the kids who've worked there for so long have graduated college and are moving on - it's likely that I've helped pay for not a few quarter hours. So, I'm happy in the new place, and sad in contemplating the necessity and fixity of change.
I mentioned that this is a day off. In fact, I'm now off Mondays and Tuesdays, and every other Sunday. Yes, that's right, I unfortunately work every other Sunday from noon until, well, sometime around five or six. It could be worse in this whacked out world, and I do think it's cool that the sales managers want to hire a couple more guys so they can reduce that to maybe one Sunday out of four or five. In any case, I like to think of it as a three day weekend every other week. As for the rest of the schedule, it comes down to around eleven or twelve hours on Wednesday and Thursday, and nine on Friday and Saturday.
It's certainly not dull for the new guy, let me tell you. I've learned a good bit about leasing's occult mysteries - did you know that under certain circumstances I can get you a lower payment per month for a more expensive, tricked out car? Not always, mind you, but it does happen more often than you'd think. So, never ever go to the lot fixated on that one car, right there, and no other. The dealer might be able to give you more money to put toward another, comparable or even better model. Of course, if you're going to buy, then we have another initiation with its own bath in bull's blood... Oh, one more paradox - the more money I can save a customer, the more money the dealership makes and, hence, the more money I make. Usually - there are exceptions. Odd, eh?
Now, who knows how commissions are calculated? Think they're based on the sticker price of the car? Not in this universe - the commission is a percentage of the gross profit after dealer costs, and that profit is not always huge. In fact, I'm amazed at how slim some of these margins are - $1000 isn't unusual. Then again, there are a few models that bring in grosses around $3500 - $4500. Still, it's the number of units sold that matters more, as there are bonuses keyed to how many cars I move in each thirty day period, beginning at a certain number of units sold. This is common, though the number that triggers the bonuses varies from place to place. After you reach that number, the bonus grows with each additional car sold. The commission percentage also goes up after so many units sold. Once I reach a certain, quite high number, my commission goes up to 35%, and retros back to the first unit sold. This means, obviously, that I can potentially make money near the end of the month on sales closed at the beginning. Needless to say, this number of sales is difficult to attain, and, and, everything resets to zero at the beginning of each month.
What else? Oh yes, I'm learning the art of prospecting for clients. When I hit my stride, only around 25% or so of my business will be walk-ins. Most will be folks I've talked to over the phone. Then, too, even most walk-ins don't buy a car on the first visit, so anyone I've talked with goes on my list for follow-up calls and suchlikethatthere. This is an art, because it requires tact and timing and can't really be mastered except through experience. Oi vey - I haven't even started doing this yet, just watching and listening to those who are really really good at it. You see, I need a license, to which I turn.
Yes, that's right, you need a license to sell cars. Next time you're at the local corner car stop-n-go, ask if the Dr Feelgood selling you that well-seasoned cherry cream puff has a current certificate. If not, flee to the hills. Now, any salesman in the business for longer than a couple of years will most likely have at least one complaint on file. Someone will get mad at himself for buying the Hummer Comanchero Model 15x with stowable turret and 15mm canon with Powerglide Recoil (R), and run to the BMV to complain. Still, a consistent history of complaints is a problem. Then there's me - it's as though I fell from the sky and landed across from you, proposal in hand, urging you to 'sign on the line that is dotted'.
Of course, that hasn't happened yet. There's still much to learn, and until I receive my certificate and it's on file at the dealer office, I can't legally close a sale. I can greet customers, answer all manner of questions, but at no time can I negotiate any kind of deal with 'em. In a couple of weeks, that will change, and I'll get a chance to earn a commission. Until then, it's reading, testing, endless hours walking the lot and, horror of horrors, driving all manner of cars. [I don't want to get more specific than that on my own private site.] Anyway, I've been fingerprinted and applied for my license; I've got a desk and should get my very own filing cabinets sometime this week; and I can sell these particular cars with integrity because I've driven 'em for years. I like 'em. I would buy a phalanx of new ones. I would gladly put my nieces and nephews in the smaller, cheaper models. I would sell even the brother I like any of the snazier, expensive limited versions. In short, I got the job I wanted, though we must remember that this is only a means to some quite specific ends. It's nothing pretentious as a 'career'; I'm just fed up with the kinds of jobs I've been doing the past few years. All the same, whatever my motives, it's difficult, demanding work, and I don't like to do anything half-assed. Let's see if I can actually do it.
I mentioned that this is a day off. In fact, I'm now off Mondays and Tuesdays, and every other Sunday. Yes, that's right, I unfortunately work every other Sunday from noon until, well, sometime around five or six. It could be worse in this whacked out world, and I do think it's cool that the sales managers want to hire a couple more guys so they can reduce that to maybe one Sunday out of four or five. In any case, I like to think of it as a three day weekend every other week. As for the rest of the schedule, it comes down to around eleven or twelve hours on Wednesday and Thursday, and nine on Friday and Saturday.
It's certainly not dull for the new guy, let me tell you. I've learned a good bit about leasing's occult mysteries - did you know that under certain circumstances I can get you a lower payment per month for a more expensive, tricked out car? Not always, mind you, but it does happen more often than you'd think. So, never ever go to the lot fixated on that one car, right there, and no other. The dealer might be able to give you more money to put toward another, comparable or even better model. Of course, if you're going to buy, then we have another initiation with its own bath in bull's blood... Oh, one more paradox - the more money I can save a customer, the more money the dealership makes and, hence, the more money I make. Usually - there are exceptions. Odd, eh?
Now, who knows how commissions are calculated? Think they're based on the sticker price of the car? Not in this universe - the commission is a percentage of the gross profit after dealer costs, and that profit is not always huge. In fact, I'm amazed at how slim some of these margins are - $1000 isn't unusual. Then again, there are a few models that bring in grosses around $3500 - $4500. Still, it's the number of units sold that matters more, as there are bonuses keyed to how many cars I move in each thirty day period, beginning at a certain number of units sold. This is common, though the number that triggers the bonuses varies from place to place. After you reach that number, the bonus grows with each additional car sold. The commission percentage also goes up after so many units sold. Once I reach a certain, quite high number, my commission goes up to 35%, and retros back to the first unit sold. This means, obviously, that I can potentially make money near the end of the month on sales closed at the beginning. Needless to say, this number of sales is difficult to attain, and, and, everything resets to zero at the beginning of each month.
What else? Oh yes, I'm learning the art of prospecting for clients. When I hit my stride, only around 25% or so of my business will be walk-ins. Most will be folks I've talked to over the phone. Then, too, even most walk-ins don't buy a car on the first visit, so anyone I've talked with goes on my list for follow-up calls and suchlikethatthere. This is an art, because it requires tact and timing and can't really be mastered except through experience. Oi vey - I haven't even started doing this yet, just watching and listening to those who are really really good at it. You see, I need a license, to which I turn.
Yes, that's right, you need a license to sell cars. Next time you're at the local corner car stop-n-go, ask if the Dr Feelgood selling you that well-seasoned cherry cream puff has a current certificate. If not, flee to the hills. Now, any salesman in the business for longer than a couple of years will most likely have at least one complaint on file. Someone will get mad at himself for buying the Hummer Comanchero Model 15x with stowable turret and 15mm canon with Powerglide Recoil (R), and run to the BMV to complain. Still, a consistent history of complaints is a problem. Then there's me - it's as though I fell from the sky and landed across from you, proposal in hand, urging you to 'sign on the line that is dotted'.
Of course, that hasn't happened yet. There's still much to learn, and until I receive my certificate and it's on file at the dealer office, I can't legally close a sale. I can greet customers, answer all manner of questions, but at no time can I negotiate any kind of deal with 'em. In a couple of weeks, that will change, and I'll get a chance to earn a commission. Until then, it's reading, testing, endless hours walking the lot and, horror of horrors, driving all manner of cars. [I don't want to get more specific than that on my own private site.] Anyway, I've been fingerprinted and applied for my license; I've got a desk and should get my very own filing cabinets sometime this week; and I can sell these particular cars with integrity because I've driven 'em for years. I like 'em. I would buy a phalanx of new ones. I would gladly put my nieces and nephews in the smaller, cheaper models. I would sell even the brother I like any of the snazier, expensive limited versions. In short, I got the job I wanted, though we must remember that this is only a means to some quite specific ends. It's nothing pretentious as a 'career'; I'm just fed up with the kinds of jobs I've been doing the past few years. All the same, whatever my motives, it's difficult, demanding work, and I don't like to do anything half-assed. Let's see if I can actually do it.