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Originally Posted by vinair Timing mate, its all about timing! Having booked my car (a Ciaz auto) from Nexa.... |
Congratulations on your new car.
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Originally Posted by smartcat I have a few questions:
1) During your 5 day training, were you given information on Ciaz's competitors like City or Verna? Like how to deal with a customer who compares Ciaz with its competitors?
2) Out of 100 customers, how many bring in gifts at the time of delivery? Did you receive any interesting gift from customer?
3) What is the approximate sales margin of a dealer on the ex-showroom price?
4) What salary can a fresher sales advisor expect? Do incentives kick in after the sales advisor closes X sales per month? Or are commissions given on every sale? |
1. Yes, City and Verna were bench marked. However, not all the comparisons were fair - e.g. Ciaz top model compared with second best competitor variant. But then again, there is a good price gap between Ciaz and competitors, so I guess that’s fair. Highlights of all cars are told along with counters to arguments put up but the customers. E.g. in case you point out that City offers the better, more powerful petrol engine, we were told to highlight the fact that most people drive the car in urban areas where the Ciaz is as fast as the City + Ciaz hybrid offered more advanced and fuel-efficient engine option in the diesel engine variant. We were also told to be frank - yes, the city engine is better, but does the car get other things like good leg space, MSIL service network, better resale
etc.
2. Most people used to give me some cash - initially I used to refuse, but was told by the seniors to take it as customers could get offended - and some offered a lot of cash. There was a customer who was so happy with us that he was handing out 500-rupee notes to everyone who interacted with him. Some special gifts I got were a nice large box of sweets - must have packed over 2kg. of assorted sweets inside, a pen set, a nice writing pad + pen combo, etc.
3. Would say that it would be around 3-4% on an average and lesser on the volume cars like Altos, WagonRs. I'm not exactly sure about the margins on S-Cross and Ignis, but they would be pretty high considering the discounts and incentives offered on them.
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Originally Posted by petrolhead_chn That is a great write-up man. Shows the memories and passion towards your work even when your daily commute to work was an Abarth
Thank you again for the write up!!! |
Thanks for the kind words.
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Originally Posted by aabhimanyu04 I was astonished with the way some of these sales people chased me to know the decision, all this to get a sale. I know this is what they work for and this is their bread and butter, but to what extent can one go to get a sale? crossing the line has become a regular practice today, for e.g. things like contacting users on WhatsApp to know how they are doing today etc.
Selling expensive insurances for commission cut, bullbars on airbag vehicles etc are a few more to name. |
There are bad ones in every field - unfortunately, with the pressure from family and dealership, these chaps resort to all sorts of ways to get a sale. I was lucky to not have the pressure from home to earn more, but in sales, incentives are the key.
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Originally Posted by dhruvritzed Important question:how much is their per car margin and how is the incentive calculated? |
Mentioned above. Incentives are varied - e.g. it may be Rs 500 on a WagonR and Rs 5,000 on Ciaz. It's also seasonal. The highest incentive was on S-Cross 1.6 - at times going as high as 30k. Incentive is slab wise. Ideally it should be per car sold, but in reality, dealers impose a condition e.g. 5 cars minimum to get incentive. And your exchange penetration should be 30%, insurance 75-80% and extended warranty 75-80%. If conditions are not met, incentives are deducted. However according to MSIL, base incentive is to be given on every sale + other parameters like insurance, EW, exchange etc. get additional incentive. Incentives are paid from the margin. But rarely do dealers give the recommended incentives. If they did, no one would be cribbing about it.
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Originally Posted by Sayeed Excellent write up, well thought and penned, gives an insight into the going ons, also reflects your passion. |
Thank you for the kind words.
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Originally Posted by knightrider_7 Excellent article. Many thanks for sharing this. I also have some (stupid) questions:
1. At the time of recruitment, do the management ask anything about cars or they just evaluate your communication skills?
2. During a test drive, if you happen to realize that the customer is not very good at driving (newbies), what will be your reaction? Also, how the fuel expenses for the test drive vehicle is compensated?
3. If someone gives you a token gift, would that person get any preferential treatment afterwards? |
1. Basic communication skills and some info about the car industry is asked. However, product knowledge is not important as trainings are given.
2. I will politely insist the customer that he is making me uncomfortable. Cars always have a tankful and if not, we get fuel coupons for the nearest pump. In Nexa, there was no restriction on the TD as we had all variants available for TD and it was more premium that regular. But in the regular showroom, we had to take prior permission if we had to go to the customer's home / office. I have two rules that I never strayed away from -
i. I have a habit of belting up always - wherever I sit in the car.
ii. I won’t accompany for a test drive unless the car is insured, or I have a letter signed from the VP / Manager absolving me for any blame - i.e. no TD on unregistered cars.
These two rules came in real handy when a customer crashed the demo Ciaz on the divider. The bumper, RHS headlamp and front right fender was gone. Airbags didn’t deploy but as I was wearing belt, it was ok. I was sitting in the front passenger seat. Customer was driving with his wife at the back - both unbelted. The lady put on the belt after coming to a standstill. Thankfully there was no other traffic or it could have been much worst. Except for a bit of adrenalin rush, all were good. I called the manager and told him. He asked me to narrate the incident and told me to go. The customer initially told that he would buy a new car, but later backed out. The TD car was repaired and I wasn’t blamed. On the other hand, another guy who crashed an unregistered car was penalized a bit from his salary.
3. No (from me personally) - it all boils down to the customer's attitude and his relationship with us. But preferential treatment may include me checking out his car when it's in for service if he calls me up and tells it nicely, or me dropping off his car home after service/delivery if there is no driver available. Rather than the gift, it depends on how he has treated me and interacted with me.
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Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez Great thread!
I always wanted to know if sales guys are annoyed at people who come in to TD cars with no intention to buy? I try to make it clear early on that I'm just looking but most SAs don't seem to believe that! I do feel a little guilty because their time could be spent on someone who'd get them that coveted commission. |
Well, if you ask nicely and are polite and frank about it, I personally don't mind. I would be more than happy to give you a TD and explain all the features about the car, compare with the competition etc. Another TIP - Go in the afternoon - after lunch but before 3.30 pm and you will get a good experience. In the dull afternoon period, someone asking for a TD is a welcome relief
After all, you could send your friend / colleague / family my way if you like the car.
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Originally Posted by ghodlur Your write up confirms that a good and knowledgeable salesman can make or break a customer for the brand. Pun intended for Fiat specially.
Do the dealerships have a punching bag or something where the Salesman can vent their frustration when customers keep coming to Maruti asking "Kitna Deti hai" or some unwanted demands on discounts. Also would like to know how the Sales people are rewarded not monetarily but spiritedly. Salesman are known to belittle other brands, have you in your experience done that too? |
Thanks Girish for the kind words. Long ago, I did ask the sole Fiat dealer in Mumbai to give me a job, but I guess they ignored it - its their loss. No wonder many customers are dissatisfied with them.
Haha, some salesmen do badmouth customers, but not me. I know that the for the customer its his first / once a 5/6 year car purchase, so I try to stay polite unless the customer behaves abusively. Once a month, the best sales people were rewarded with a token gift like shirt material, clothes iron, a kit of shoe polish, brush and a tie, etc. But after 3 months, you start getting multiple copies of the same. But even a few kind words by the managers uplifts us. I'd specially like to thank the Vice President, now COO of that dealership for teaching me a lot and supporting and encouraging me.
I never said bad things about competitor products, however, I used to always highlight the pros and cons of a car and check if those matched with the customer requirements. I at times have frankly told the customer that this product is not for him, and he should look at other brand as his requirements were not met.