I don't think I could be an RV sales person

[wrvond]

Reflecting on a few ongoing threads concerning honest sale people and the like, I started thinking I might like to try selling RV's.
I don't need the income but extra walking-around money is always welcome. So I'd have to make it clear from the start that a quota requirement just would not work for me.
Then I started thinking about the dealerships nearby and their inventory. The nearest dealer only sells Forest River products, which I don't believe in enough to sell to anybody. The next is a Jayco dealer, which I probably could sell, but they are a low volume family business and probably wouldn't want to put up with me.
Ultimately I don't think I'm really interested in selling RV's at all. It appears that what I actually want to do is hang out at the dealership and talk to people that are shopping for an RV.
I wonder how long I could get away with that before being escorted off the premises!

[dutchmensport]

I dreamed about being an RV salesman also for years. I taunted my first-line supervisor at work, and her boss too, that when I retired I wanted to be an RV salesman. I think I taunted them for over 10 years.

Then came the day I actually retired. And somehow, it just didn't sound appealing any more. Why get up out of bed so early in the morning, drive to a work location, stand on your feet all day, work on week-ends, weird hours and then have to spend your entire day lying to people about something you really don't have faith in any more, anyway?

Yep, yep, yep, I totally agree with you.

I'm now volunteering my time, effort, and energy making the camping experience better and nice for everyone. Volunteering at State Parks is much more rewarding!

[flybouy]

When I think of people or occupations that exude trust, acting in my best interest, benevolence, etc. the term "sales person" isn't on my list. Not intended to insult anyone but that's my opinion, YMMV.

[bsmith0404]

I absolutely loved selling RVs. If it wasn’t for a particular sales manager that was hired and believed is screwing over anyone he could, I’d still be doing it. I think he’d rip his own mother off if she came in to buy.

It was very rewarding to help people find the right rv. Notice no didn’t say perfect, I don’t believe that exists. It was a great honor to have people bring their friends and family back to me. Probably just as rewarding after I retired to have people tell me I was the only reason they bought from that dealership and now they need to travel further to buy their next one.

I’ll admit, the money was nice, and it was an adjustment retiring. I was the number one salesman for 3 of the 4 years I was there. A knee injury/surgery slowed me down a bit on the 4th year. I sold 75-80 RVs per year so about 1.5 per week, didn’t have to do anything other than listen to people, show them the correct rv and then work numbers. Listening was the key, many salesman don’t listen, they just take people to what they like. Most don’t actually own/use them, so what they like many times is what they can make the most money on or the brand/line they’re most comfortable with. I made between $90-100k per year, did I mention the money was an adjustment after I retired? I was lucky, the local dealership sells Keystone and Grand Design. Don’t know if I could sell other brands, I do think there’s something to be said about believing in the product.

Btw, I never had.a sales quota. The dealership I worked at didn’t do that. Don’t know if others do. I’ve seen guys get let go for not selling enough, but it wasn’t based on a quota, just on sucking at the job. They probably would have quit anyway, hard to make a living selling 1-2 per month during the hood part of the year, they would have starved during the winter months.

[wrvond]

Originally Posted by flybouy

When I think of people or occupations that exude trust, acting in my best interest, benevolence, etc. the term "sales person" isn't on my list. Not intended to insult anyone but that's my opinion, YMMV.

Been a scuba diver since 1970. When I lived in Hawaii I had a part time job selling dive gear. I'm certainly no salesman, but I really did enjoy helping people decide what gear they wanted. I usually ended up saving them a bit of money in the process.

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

I absolutely loved selling RVs. If it wasn’t for a particular sales manager that was hired and believed is screwing over anyone he could, I’d still be doing it. I think he’d rip his own mother off if she came in to buy.

It was very rewarding to help people find the right rv. Notice no didn’t say perfect, I don’t believe that exists. It was a great honor to have people bring their friends and family back to me. Probably just as rewarding after I retired to have people tell me I was the only reason they bought from that dealership and now they need to travel further to buy their next one.

I’ll admit, the money was nice, and it was an adjustment retiring. I was the number one salesman for 3 of the 4 years I was there. A knee injury/surgery slowed me down a bit on the 4th year. I sold 75-80 RVs per year so about 1.5 per week, didn’t have to do anything other than listen to people, show them the correct rv and then work numbers. Listening was the key, many salesman don’t listen, they just take people to what they like. Most don’t actually own/use them, so what they like many times is what they can make the most money on or the brand/line they’re most comfortable with. I made between $90-100k per year, did I mention the money was an adjustment after I retired? I was lucky, the local dealership sells Keystone and Grand Design. Don’t know if I could sell other brands, I do think there’s something to be said about believing in the product.

Btw, I never had.a sales quota. The dealership I worked at didn’t do that. Don’t know if others do. I’ve seen guys get let go for not selling enough, but it wasn’t based on a quota, just on sucking at the job. They probably would have quit anyway, hard to make a living selling 1-2 per month during the hood part of the year, they would have starved during the winter months.

Very enlightening insight!
I might have to ponder on this some more.
I know from delivering RVs that dealerships have their own personalities. At most I delivered to the staff were very friendly. I kind of developed a regular route that my dispatcher kept me busy on and became quite familiar with sales people around the country. Some dealerships I put on a "do not deliver" list but most were really nice folks.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by wrvond

Been a scuba diver since 1970. When I lived in Hawaii I had a part time job selling dive gear. I'm certainly no salesman, but I really did enjoy helping people decide what gear they wanted. I usually ended up saving them a bit of money in the process.



Very enlightening insight!
I might have to ponder on this some more.
I know from delivering RVs that dealerships have their own personalities. At most I delivered to the staff were very friendly. I kind of developed a regular route that my dispatcher kept me busy on and became quite familiar with sales people around the country. Some dealerships I put on a "do not deliver" list but most were really nice folks.

Same here (Richardsons RV in Pamona was at the top of my do not deliver to list). It was a very laid back job, sometimes a little boring, other times a bit too hectic. Only thing I can say was bad was the heat inside them in NM when it was 100+ outside. I used to laugh at people when I’d try to sit them down to discuss their wants/needs and they say, can’t we just go look at all of them. My response was simple, after 2 or 3, you won’t be able to remember one from the other, they’ll all blend together and you’ll start building your own out of bits and pieces of each one. Also, with this heat, you won’t want to look at more than 3-4. If they really wanted to just look at all of them, I’d turn them loose, one or both would typically come back to me within 30 mins and say I was right and ask if I could help steer them to one that matched their needs.

Of course, all of that requires you to know your inventory. I walked the lot every morning to see if there was something new. I’d also picture the layout in my mind. If I couldn’t remember the floor plan, I’d go inside and refresh my memory. Nothing worse than having the right rv on the lot for a customer and never taking them into it.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by wrvond

Reflecting on a few ongoing threads concerning honest sale people and the like, I started thinking I might like to try selling RV's.
I don't need the income but extra walking-around money is always welcome. So I'd have to make it clear from the start that a quota requirement just would not work for me.
Then I started thinking about the dealerships nearby and their inventory. The nearest dealer only sells Forest River products, which I don't believe in enough to sell to anybody. The next is a Jayco dealer, which I probably could sell, but they are a low volume family business and probably wouldn't want to put up with me.
Ultimately I don't think I'm really interested in selling RV's at all. It appears that what I actually want to do is hang out at the dealership and talk to people that are shopping for an RV.
I wonder how long I could get away with that before being escorted off the premises!

why not become a rv consultant or rv presale inspector? you get to be totally honest…hang out with people shopping for new rvs and help them pick the right tow vehicle / trailer combo

[wrvond]

Originally Posted by jasin1

why not become a rv consultant or rv presale inspector? you get to be totally honest…hang out with people shopping for new rvs and help them pick the right tow vehicle / trailer combo

We really need "Like" buttons on here!

[jasin1]

20 some years ago i worked for a mid sized hvac company doing service work…great manager and good reputation.

to increase profits they brought in a new manager that immediately cut our hours from 40/week to 30…..BUT he said he would give us a percentage of every service call fee…he said there is no reason in the world why every service call shouldn’t be at least $400 minimum….you have to upsell and push to replace parts that “may” fail in the future…he said we would easily surpass our old salary.

i’m not the kind of person that could sell people things they don’t need …i went home and told my wife that i wouldn’t be happy working there and couldn’t possibly rip people off so i put my two weeks notice in….they were not happy and thought i was the one that was unreasonable…went into business for myself shortly after.

quite a few hvac company’s use this business model unfortunately

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by jasin1

20 some years ago i worked for a mid sized hvac company doing service work…great manager and good reputation.

to increase profits they brought in a new manager that immediately cut our hours from 40/week to 30…..BUT he said he would give us a percentage of every service call fee…he said there is no reason in the world why every service call shouldn’t be at least $400 minimum….you have to upsell and push to replace parts that “may” fail in the future…he said we would easily surpass our old salary.

i’m not the kind of person that could sell people things they don’t need …i went home and told my wife that i wouldn’t be happy working there and couldn’t possibly rip people off so i put my two weeks notice in….they were not happy and thought i was the one that was unreasonable…went into business for myself shortly after.

quite a few hvac company’s use this business model unfortunately

Years ago I instructed a couple of electrical courses for an HVACR program at a local college. Mainly adult continuing education, often employer paid. I heard the exact same stories over and again. Many were told to "throw parts at it until it runs". I would tell them to go learn carpentry if that was going to be their methodology. When you're new to the market you can make a bunch of money if you're a good BS artist but it won't be long until your reputation catches up and you find yourself out of buisness. The HVACR business is a repeat business and reputation is most important.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Years ago I instructed a couple of electrical courses for an HVACR program at a local college. Mainly adult continuing education, often employer paid. I heard the exact same stories over and again. Many were told to "throw parts at it until it runs". I would tell them to go learn carpentry if that was going to be their methodology. When you're new to the market you can make a bunch of money if you're a good BS artist but it won't be long until your reputation catches up and you find yourself out of buisness. The HVACR business is a repeat business and reputation is most important.

yep i’m dealing with a roofer right now that was recommended to me a few years ago from a neighbor ..younger guy new in business..he did my garage roof two years ago…i had a problem after a windstorm and texted him and he was gonna come by early last week..he was a no show and then didn’t respond back to calls or texts for a few days….i finally sent a text and basically said that low pricing is not what makes a company last for years and years …it’s your reputation after the sale that counts…do you answer your phone and can you be counted on if there is a problem.
he apologized and said he got busy …he is supposed to be here the end of this week
no matter how much i don’t want to sometimes…i always answer the phone and most everything i do is word of mouth

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by jasin1

why not become a rv consultant or rv presale inspector? you get to be totally honest…hang out with people shopping for new rvs and help them pick the right tow vehicle / trailer combo

I’ve considered doing that. Looked into the program and it’s about $6-7k to become certified. Although the money isn’t an issue, I just don’t know that I would take the business serious enough and be available when people need me. What’s the point in spending the money and time (about 4 weeks of training for the complete program) if you’re not going to run it like a true business? I just took a 30 day vacation and plan more of those types of trips in the future.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Selling something you know and love can be very satisfying for you. Knowing you are retired and not depending on it for a living can let you relax and enjoy.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

Selling something you know and love can be very satisfying for you. Knowing you are retired and not depending on it for a living can let you relax and enjoy.

And actually helps with selling. When you’re not trying to feed your family and pay the bills, you don’t really care if the customer buys or not. That low pressure helps the customer feel relaxed and, imo, leads to more sales.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

And actually helps with selling. When you’re not trying to feed your family and pay the bills, you don’t really care if the customer buys or not. That low pressure helps the customer feel relaxed and, imo, leads to more sales.

I agree, people can since your sincerity, or lack thereof.

[bsmith0404]

The other thing I did, which would have pissed the dealership off if they could have proved it, I would help the customer negotiate a better price. I knew how much of a discount people could get and had some that were naive and ready to pay full MSRP. I had no desire to make $4-5k commission on the sale of one rv. I made 25% of gross profit, so a $5k commission meant a $20k profit for the dealership. Maybe that would be acceptable on a $300k motorhome, but not on a $50k travel trailer. The way I saw it, I could sleep at night if the deal was fair for both sides.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by wrvond

Ultimately I don't think I'm really interested in selling RV's at all. It appears that what I actually want to do is hang out at the dealership and talk to people that are shopping for an RV.
I wonder how long I could get away with that before being escorted off the premises!

Who says there isn't a niche?

Everybody understands sales is a racket. Trust is right out. When you buy a home (even a new one), you hire a home inspector. When you buy a used car, you have your mechanic look it over. When you invest with a broker, you hire an independent financial advisor.

I'm sure there's a niche for "The RV Presales Advisor is IN (5¢)."

How cheap can you hang out a shingle? Run a posting here and at IRV (if allowed). Hand out business cards to starry-eyed (and argumentative) couples in the aisles at RV shows. On weekends, set up a sunshade and a sign on a vacant corner lot by the dealership (make friends with the food / jerky / political flags truck that already has it staked out). Run a couple classifieds in the local paper, Craigslist, Facebook, whatever you can manage. Who knows, you may heterodyne your way to into becoming the RV Shrink to the Stars.

[German Shepherd Guy]

[QUOTE=LHaven;512754]Who says there isn't a niche?

Everybody understands sales is a racket. Trust is right out. When you buy a home (even a new one), you hire a home inspector. When you buy a used car, you have your mechanic look it over. When you invest with a broker, you hire an independent financial advisor.



There is the rift. How many take the new car they are buying to the mechanic first? No one of course because it is new. You rely on the reputation of the company and the dealership selling. In RVs, as we all know, there is no comparison in quality to a car manufacture. We have all read right here the folks who buy new Rvs without even doing their own PDI.


I can not think of any industry other than real estate that could use consumer consultants more than the RV industry. But I think it would have to be retired folks as I do not think you could make a "living" at it.
JMO

[flybouy]

[QUOTE=German Shepherd Guy;512778]

Originally Posted by LHaven

Who says there isn't a niche?

Everybody understands sales is a racket. Trust is right out. When you buy a home (even a new one), you hire a home inspector. When you buy a used car, you have your mechanic look it over. When you invest with a broker, you hire an independent financial advisor.



There is the rift. How many take the new car they are buying to the mechanic first? No one of course because it is new. You rely on the reputation of the company and the dealership selling. In RVs, as we all know, there is no comparison in quality to a car manufacture. We have all read right here the folks who buy new Rvs without even doing their own PDI.


I can not think of any industry other than real estate that could use consumer consultants more than the RV industry. But I think it would have to be retired folks as I do not think you could make a "living" at it.
JMO

I agree on the need but here's the problem, if the majority of new RV owners equate buying an RV to buying a car (I guess because they both have wheels?) then they won't see the need to hire a professional.

[bsmith0404]

The thing I considered was becoming a certified rv inspector and also a certified rv towing/driving instructor. They have both, but are hard to find in many areas. I think a person could make a living with both services offered, especially in larger markets. As I mentioned earlier, as a retiree I would have trouble devoting the time and effort to be a legitimate business. As we all know, reputation is big for a successful business, be hard to keep a good reputation if you were on vacation every time a customer wanted you.