Working at a Lamborghini dealership.

Just wondering what you guys think it takes to be Lamborghini salesman? It has been something that I have wanted to do for awhile. I've never sold cars before, but I've been in sales for around 16 years, and I don't own a Lambo, but I feel I have learned a lot form everyone on here. What do oyu think? Worth exploring?

Thanks for your time,

-J

Not to be trivial about your question, but so many of them have gone out of business, it is more tempting to ask the question, "Should I work at a Lambo dealership?" or "Can I find a Lambo dealership to work...?"

It would be hard starting up and building a clientele, but that's like anything new. Another thing is that dealing with and seeing these cars everyday they will pretty much just become "cars" to you rather than something special.

Another thing is that dealing with and seeing these cars everyday they will pretty much just become "cars" to you rather than something special.

 

True that, I never thought of it like that. That would suck for them to lose their aura

 

Both valid points, but GB, you own one and drive it possibly daily, is it just a "car" to you?

-J

Both valid points, but GB, you own one and drive it possibly daily, is it just a "car" to you?

-J

 

Nope, it'll always be something special. But being around a mass of them and seeing different ones going here there service parts etc I think that's what will kill it for you.

Be the guy who buys it, you'll be happier!

I could argue that. I've been working with exotics for years and still love looking at them, making them better, playing with them, exchanging stories with the different owners and hilighting the technologies and craftsmanship put into the design and build of it. My work is almost as enjoyable as my racing. Both have stressful times but overall, great.

Start at an entry level dealership. Learn the business. Move up through bridge dealerships, buildyour clientelle base. Sales (any sales) is not easy. Knowing the product is so little to what is really important in sales. The way that sales is done today is totally different than the way it was done 20 and 10 years ago.

 

Most dealerships in exotics wont hire someone new to the car sales business. They want to see years of experience. If you can survive years of experience in this business, you can survive anything.

 

Good luck

A friend of mine used to work at Ferrari of Orlando. I asked him not too long ago about what it would take to get started.

 

Here's what he said.

 

FG:

 

Selling "regular" cars is an art - and it is really about reading customers and upselling them into upmarket vehicles.

 

Selling exotic cars - particularly at the dealership level - is a different bird entirely. Mostly based on relationship building.

 

Most dealers will - when they are hiring - send you to an in-house sales school. As I understand it the upscale Japanese brands (Lexus / Infinity) are the best. Immediately, afterward they drop you on the floor and it is, instantly, sell or perish. You spend much of your time playing lot lizard waiting to jump on the next up that pulls in. Most of the dealerships drop the bottom few sales people (in ups, deals, and upsales) on a monthly basis. As a result, this would be a pretty tough market to get started in, since there are few buyers out there and all the established leads will go to salespeople with established relationships, proven skills, and experience.

 

If you wanted to try your hand at exotics, it is different. Most of the sales come from your contact base and require more finesse. As you can imagine, you aren't upselling a 430 buyer into a 599 and you are unlikely to pull a buyer into switching from the red/tan they have dreamed of for years into the silver/black you happen to have sitting on the floor. More often, you spend your time tracking down the right car - that the buyer wants. That is a matter of contacts and lots and lots of phone calls.

 

Of course, every aspect of the automobile industry sucks right now.

 

If you wanted to get started in normal cars - simply walk into the dealership and tell them you are interested. They tend to take in a fairly regular stream of newbies - but cast them aside pretty quickly if they don't perform immediately. Not sure how the economy is effecting that process at the moment - could be good and bad, as I expect that many salespeople have hit the bricks since car sales hit the skids in December.