I used to sell used cars in my 20s & had to explain to customers haggling on the price that I only worked the fries. Finance handles the register. However; managers used to call me a "customer advocate" because my customers always figured out ways to get the best deals. They hated my shit because they was rarely any meat on the bones for them to administer the r*ape. My secret was in quantity. I might only make $500/car, but I was selling 10+ cars a month.
However; my advice to those with trade ins is to do as suggested and try your damnedest to get an out the door price; then hit them with the trade in and down payment. They hated when customers did that shit.
Only have people with you that know how to read a room. Take social cues. If you have a Chatty Cathy or a mouth breathing Know it All in your circle; leave them at home. One older lady that I was trying to help wouldn't shut up about her "trade-in" when my manager was working out her out the door deal. The more I tried to quiet her down; the more she was determine to say the words "trade" at a high volume. He heard her talking about blue book values and crumbled up his quote as he said "Kelly Blue Book doesn't buy cars. We do". Then proceeded to write her a new quote $3000+ higher because of the damn "trade". It blew up the deal of course and I told her in the future let the person working for her, work for her and stop trying to chef up her own secret recipes. I ended up sending her to my boy at another dealership for the bird dog, and told her to shut the fuck up around Finance and Sale Managers. My boy said shorty probably said 5 words total in that bitch.
Don't look for the sales rep around the sales manager's desk. Avoid the sale manager buddies. The only reason the sales manager likes them is because, they're taking customers for every damn cent. Instead; look for the sales rep that needs the sale. He's the one that will work his ass off to get you the best deal because he needs it. Also, the end of the month is the best time to shop. Ninjas is trying to make their numbers and checks; so they will be more willing to make a "bad deal" if it means they can reach their bonuses.
Also, if you're doing the auto-mall shit. Stay consistent with your story. Don't tell one dealership you have X amount; then go to another dealership and say a lower amount. We had to fill out paperwork on each customer. So who you talked to, your credit score, down payment, trade-in, and all that is already in the system of every dealership in that auto-mall. You being creative with stories after the fact just amps the next dealership to get yall with no Vaseline. Especially dealerships in the same family like an AutoNation. Just know what you said at the last Autonation dealership will be waiting on you at the next Autonation dealership. Don't think that just because the last one was Chevy & now you're at Honda that we don't know all what yall spoke about.
Last piece of advice; know the inventory & don't say shit like I only have $10K to spend, or I'm looking to stay around $300/month payment. Reason being is I've seen plenty of $5K cars turn into $10K cars simply because that's the amount that the customer had to spend. Same with $200/month payments ballooned up to $295 because the customer wanted to be around $300/month. Sad part is the lady that-that happened to thanked the sales rep after for keeping her payment below $300.
Again; be mindful of who you are talking to and the information that youre sharing
I jad to add this article to the thread. Based on the headline.
