In this competitive auto retail space, salespeople have the potential to earn six to seven-figure income — a compelling reason why many individuals from diverse backgrounds enter into the industry. However, success selling cars does not depend on a salesperson’s gender, education level, background, upbringing, etc. It all boils down to one thing: can you sell cars? And if you have what it takes to sell cars then it’s GAME ON because the earning potential is highly competitive!
While it’s true that the average sales consultant only delivers 9.6 units per month (earning approximately $52k per year) and that dealerships average over 73% attrition, there are automotive sales professionals with success and long-standing careers in automotive challenging those averages. Many individuals sell well beyond the mediocre units per month average, and there are even multi-millionaires selling cars on the showroom sales floor all over the country!
Here are two examples of highly successful salespeople in the industry:
1: Ali Reda, a sales consultant for a Chevy Cadillac dealership in Dearborn Michigan in December of 2018, sold and delivered 202 units by himself (he has a secretary and a lot porter but that is all)! Ali did not even work the entire month of December; he only worked 20 days! He normally only works Monday through Friday, 9 am to 6 pm, yet he sold double what the average (entire) dealership sells in the U.S. with 10 sales consultants, two to three managers, etc. Now, for the salespeople reading this article, consider what those sales would mean for you. How much money would you make at your dealership if you delivered 100+ units per month on the showroom sales floor?
2: Frank Crinite of Piazza Honda of Springfield earns almost $700,000 per year selling cars on the showroom sales floor! That means that he earns almost $1.5 million dollars every two years in personal income selling Hondas in Pennsylvania.
Frank’s Secret Sauce:
A network of repeat business and referrals. ALL of Frank’s sales result from either repeat customers or referrals.
A business-owner mentality. Frank believes being in car sales is like owning your own business. He says that the Piazza’s supply the inventory, resources, facility, desks, supplies, etc., and he does the rest.
Recognizing that
car sales is a relationship business. Frank is entrenched in the community and extremely active in it. He doesn’t just cut a check to support the local community, he is fully invested. He is involved in community-wide efforts, volunteers his time, and is sincere about helping the community. He also believes that if you want the community to support you, you must support the community.
Leveraging social media as a sales tool. Frank sells approximately 30% of all of his business from Facebook. That means Frank sells approximately 30 units per month from his personal Facebook page. He is extremely active on social media, all day long. He estimates that he is on Facebook approximately three hours per day — communicating with people, liking their post, commenting, sharing, connecting with his clients, prospects, and referrals!
Going the extra mile. Frank goes above and beyond for his clients! He is their concierge, their ‘car guy,’ and their point of contact for anything and everything in the dealership… sales, service, parts, aftermarket, etc. He wants to ensure their complete and utter satisfaction and does not want to have another person or department fail to provide his clients with superb service!.