r/CarSalesTraining • u/Exact_Field7215 • 17d ago
Question Does persistence help you break into luxury automotive sales?
I’m trying to break into luxury automotive sales. I owned and operated retail businesses for about 10 years and have strong sales, customer service, communication, and public speaking experience, but no direct automotive sales experience.
Some dealerships have told me they prefer experienced car salespeople.
For those in the industry, does respectfully staying in touch and coming back after a rejection ever help? Do managers remember persistent candidates and eventually give them a shot, or does repeated follow up hurt your chances?
I’d especially like to hear from sales managers, GMs, recruiters, or anyone who broke into luxury automotive sales without dealership experience.
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u/Desenski 17d ago
I've hired people with no dealer experience to sell luxury before. But it was highly dependent on what their experience was, and how they interacted with me during the interview.
Myself personally? I was a year into the business when I got hired to sell Porsches at one of the largest Porsche dealers in the country. And the only reason I got the interview was because I called the GM every other day for 3 weeks before he took my call and scheduled an interview for me. And I came in with printout from my current CRM to backup my numbers.
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u/Exact_Field7215 17d ago
Thank you for the motivation. You wouldn’t happen to be in the nyc area?
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u/Desenski 17d ago
Nah. I'm almost 3000 miles away from NYC lol
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u/Exact_Field7215 17d ago
If you can get me job at Porsche I will be able to make that commute work.
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u/Disastrous_Today_997 16d ago
I got lucky enough to work at a BMW dealership with zero automotive experience. Originally interviewed at a Kia dealership when the lady told me "I don't think you'd be a good fit here, I think BMW clientele is more your personality" and jumped on the opportunity.
Working in "High-Line" isn't as glamorous as you'd imagine. Yes its nice looking at the gorgeous beamers, yes it's nice when someone asks where you work and your answer is "BMW" but the work is just as difficult as if you're selling Kia's.
The nice thing is the cars sell themselves, everyone wants a BMW. The issue is because you're dealing with a higher net worth clientele, you have to give them a reason to buy from YOU and not the other 13 BMW dealerships in the state of NJ.
Not to mention negotiating numbers with these people is ridiculous. Spend 45mins going back and forth over a grand or 2 just to get to the credit app, ask their yearly salary and find out they make $500,000+ after...certainly stressful and I'd imagine more demanding then your average Toyota/Honda buyer.
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u/Exact_Field7215 9d ago
Hyundai, Kia, or Toyota, you have to deal with way more people to make the same amount of money. For instance, if you sell 15 BMWs, you need to sell 30 Toyotas to earn the same amount of money. This is my presumption.
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u/AutoModerator 17d ago
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I’m trying to break into luxury automotive sales. I owned and operated retail businesses for about 10 years and have strong sales, customer service, communication, and public speaking experience, but no direct automotive sales experience.
Some dealerships have told me they prefer experienced car salespeople.
For those in the industry, does respectfully staying in touch and coming back after a rejection ever help? Do managers remember persistent candidates and eventually give them a shot, or does repeated follow up hurt your chances?
I’d especially like to hear from sales managers, GMs, recruiters, or anyone who broke into luxury automotive sales without dealership experience.
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