Making a good living as an Automotive Sales Professional can be very lucrative…. or it can be very challenging. According to Indeed.com, there are some great positives to this career, such as good benefits, a flexible schedule, and the potential for a high income without a college degree. But there are some drawbacks, too.
One of the major drawbacks cited is the dependence on making sales to earn a living. If you don’t make a good number of sales, you won’t likely make much money. So what happens if enough customers don’t come into your store each day? How do you make enough money without enough walk-in customers?
The College of Automotive Management (CAM) has answered this question, and offers current and prospective automotive sales professionals some remarkable alternatives to waiting around for customers to show up.
“One of the challenges new salespeople face is that they’re not given much direction when it comes to industry-specific sales skills and strategies to build their own business within the dealership,” said Kathy Keenum, Director of Corporate Relations for the College of Automotive Management. “We’ve built content to address these challenges head-on so that salespeople can catapult their success rates after completing an eight-hour online course with us. It’s a game-changer for those entering the business.”
What do Automotive Sales Professionals Need to Do to Increase Their Incomes?
Most people don’t enter automotive sales with a plan. Many try to learn sales and closing techniques to help them sell more vehicles when customers come to their dealerships, but they don’t develop a solid business plan to cultivate sales outside of that. This is unfortunate, since a well-prepared business plan will serve at least two critical functions for salespeople looking to achieve higher levels of success:
First, it will help them get their business started off right, serving as the foundation for all that they do, helping ensure they stay on track. For those already in business, this will help them determine where they are at this point in time, where they want to go, and how they’re planning on getting there. Putting together this business plan forces salespeople to think strategically about their business, as compared to running their business from a “whatever happens, happens” mentality.
Second, it will become a blueprint for keeping their business on the right track by detailing their objectives and how they intend to accomplish them. It clearly delineates, in writing, where they should focus their time and efforts, and provides a convenient way to monitor success by comparing their actual results to their plan.
But most salespeople feel totally overwhelmed by this task, not knowing where to begin or how to develop a strategic business plan that will be successful. This is the primary reason why so few salespeople actually create a business plan, and why so few salespeople actually attain the type of success they desire.
How to Build a Framework for Success
To make it easier for salespeople to get started with a well-planned strategy, the College of Automotive Management has developed a simple way for automotive sales professionals to put one together.
It starts by taking the person out of the “salesperson” role and placing them instead into the role of CEO over their own corporation under which different income-producing areas within the sales department are designated as separate companies. Then, clear goals and objectives need to be set along with strategies for accomplishing those objectives.
Well-written goals will also enable salespeople to check their progress to see if they’re on the right track, and to determine whether or not they need to make adjustments to their original plan. After all, a salesperson’s initial visions may exceed their abilities or capabilities, so it’s important to re-evaluate goals to ensure they are realistic!
Professional Automotive Salespeople who are serious about their careers and want to earn a higher income can take advantage of the Professional Selling course from the College of Automotive Management. This course will provide salespeople with the following:
- The Power of Ethics
- How and why focusing on Serving and Loving Customers (vs. Commissions) ALWAYS Increases Income
- Strategies for flawless handling of Phone and Form Leads
- Moving customers through the sales process positively without discounting price when they say things like: “We are just looking,” “You don’t have exactly what we are looking for,” or “What’s the best price I can get on this vehicle before I agree to a test drive?”
- Managing Common Objections like, “We need to do more shopping,” “We need to think about it,” etc.
- A framework for developing a highly effective 365-Day Business Plan
- …and much more!
Professionals who want to take this a step further can save money and earn a full certification in Professional Sales and Management with the Sales Management Certification program offered by the College of Automotive Management. In it, students will learn:
- Desking and Deal Structuring Strategies Used by the Industry’s Most Profitable Dealers
- Highly Effective Presentations of Purchase Terms
- Honest, Friendly and Smart Negotiation Techniques
- Honest and Friendly Negotiation Scripts and Strategies
- How to Ensure More Repeat Business Through Future Lease Returns and Resells
- How to Structure, Present and Disclose Leases
- Non-Confrontational first Offer Presentations Anyone Can Deliver
- Powerful and Transparent second Offer Presentations Designed to Close Deals Fast
- Reasonable Trade-in Value Presentations Customers Agree With
- Reduce/Eliminate Employee and Employer Liability
- Dozens of Federal Laws and Regulations Pertaining Specifically to Automotive
- FTC Safeguards Compliance Rules
- Leadership skills that are universal to any environment
- …and so much more!
It’s easy to get started with any course or program by visiting the College of Automotive Management website. New students can enroll in the course(s) of their choice at any time, online, and receive instant access. All of the training is self-contained, self-paced, and delivered on demand so students can move through the content at the right pace for them. Here are just a few comments from graduates:
“This Phone Training section is Excellent! It covers great topics that each individual salesperson encounters on a daily basis no matter whether the dealership sells new, used, both, or is a small buy here pay here lot, or a large auto mall. Phone skills are a necessary and crucial part of the sales process as it can usually be the first form of contact with a potential client. I paid for the course for myself but I can truly attest that it provides great methods and terminology/word tracks that should be implemented at most, if not all, dealerships. The explanations given really break it down so you know the WHY behind the HOW.”
– Javier I.
“I was very impressed the this course. It has opened my eyes to a completely different way of approaching the sales business. I was in sales years ago and until this course I had no idea of what it truly meant to be a great salesman. I would have told you how much money you can generate each month was a good gauge. I have realized from this course that becoming a friend to someone and making a lasting relationship is so much more valuable than a commission check. I also realized that a business plan will make all the difference in the world in achieving my goals I tried it the other way and it didn’t work out in the end. I want to thank you for what I have learned from this training and I look forward to using it as I move forward in my sales and management career.”
– Michael K.
“I believe the Professional Sales course was excellent! It gave me insight into many things I had not even considered in terms of branding and allowing us to set ourselves up for success. I would have loved to have received training like this from my employer. I believe that it will allow me to be more successful and in turn allow the dealership to be more successful – both in terms of building long lasting relationships with clients as well as in terms of units sold and gross profit.”
– Stephen R.
