I sold cars for a living one summer. Or, to be more accurate, I sold a car for a living one summer. One whole car. To say that I didn't excel at car sales is an understatement on the measure of "Sarah Palin isn't a policy wonk."
This is another job I got because of my gender, but it's probably not what you're thinking. I actually showed up in response to an ad for a receptionist, and somehow got talked into a position as salesperson.
Some explanation: this was in the heyday of a really terrific marketing campaign that introduced Saturn to the car market. Unless you're too young, you probably remember the ads. They were primarily aimed at women, and made a revolutionary offer to just tell people the price of the car, with no games, gimmicks, or negotiating. Lots of people were intrigued, and every other car dealer soon wanted a piece of that action.
The dealership that I applied to (Subaru) had had some success with one female saleswoman -- which they attributed solely to her gender. In fact, she was a bright, outgoing woman with a knack for sales, but the good ol' boys who managed the place never thought to credit her salesmanship.
So when I interviewed for the job, the manager astutely deduced that I am, in fact, female and decided solely on that basis that I should sell cars. He explained that the dealership was emulating the Saturn model: they were going to be honest with their customers, earn their trust, and not engage in high-pressure techniques that scared people away.
The problem is, the high pressure old school method of selling was in the manager's blood. He wanted the crowd but his heart was not in the whole truth-telling, fair-dealing honesty thing.
Many times, the manager explained to me how a lie was something that was, theoretically, almost true...if you looked at it just the right way. It could be true. Like the day I was sent out to the grocery store parking lot to look for beat-up cars. My mission was to leave hand-written notes on every beater with the message to the owner that I was looking for a car like that for a customer, and to call if they were looking to sell. When I asked if any of this was true -- or just a ploy to lure people to the dealership -- I was told that it was "possible" that we wanted beater cars to sell. He said "it could be true."
So the whole thing wasn't for me. Sure, I put the notes on the cars. But when people actually called me back, I quickly told them the truth. Which left them a little puzzled, and me with no customers.
The other problem is that the dealerships make all their profits on overpriced used cars. The model is simple: get the customer into a car -- whether it is new or used -- and steal his trade-in. Customers are so focused on how much they're paying for cars that they give little thought to how much they're getting for their old ones. Then dealers sell the trade-in at a ridiculously inflated price. The difference between the pittance you they for trade-ins and the obscene prices they charge customers (after a quick wash and shine) is what makes dealerships and unscrupulous salesman rich.
One of the reasons used cars are so much more profitable than new ones is the Internet: people can look up the sticker price on the 'net, while used cars have tons of variables that make their values more nebulous. Or at least, that's what the salesman want you to believe.
There is some money to be made in new cars, but it's not about how much customers pay for them. One of the more disgusting things salespeople do is to make a big deal out of negotiating for a car. Once it's done, you relax, because after all, you're home-free. Then you visit the nice credit manager, who robs you blind. The credit manager's ostensible job is to find a loan for you to pay for the car (which the dealership profits from), and help you work out the details. His real job is to sell you a bunch of options you don't need: hugely profitable extended warranties. Undercoating (this is the worst...you get it whether you pay the extra grand for it or not). A high interest loan. Car mats that come with the car, whether you pay extra for them or not. A million options you can't really afford, and which usually add up to paying thousands of extra dollars for a car.
So when I tell people that I sold cars one summer, they often don't believe me, and with good reason. But I swear that I did sell one car.
