Careers in car sales are sought after by car enthusiasts and sales professionals alike. While this career path offers the opportunity to make substantial amounts with a relatively low barrier to entry, not everyone is cut out for a career in car sales. Let’s take a look at what a career in car sales involves, and what makes an ideal candidate for a role in car sales.
What does a career in car sales involve?
Car salespeople are effectively in charge of selling both new and used cars, vans, and motorbikes in car dealerships. This involves understanding and explaining the technical details of vehicles, negotiating a price with customers, securing sales, and maintaining and looking after the car showroom. Car salespeople will regularly be required to:
– Chat with customers, explaining technical aspects of cars and other vehicles
– Offer advice to customers about which car is a good fit
– Arrange customer test drives
– Negotiate prices for vehicles, including those being bought and sold by the dealership
– Complete paperwork
– Arrange loans and other after-sales services
Working in car sales requires excellent interpersonal skills and a confident, self-motivated attitude to work. An ability to negotiate great prices with customers – prices that make a healthy profit for the dealership while still leaving customers feeling like they’ve got a good deal – is the number one skill that car sales professionals must have.
Can you make a good living in car sales?
Without a doubt, yes. Working in car sales affords opportunities to make significant amounts in a single sale, though this will be based upon commission so it depends upon your skill and success as a salesperson. For this reason, sales roles in dealerships where higher-end, luxury vehicles are sold will be harder to secure than roles in budget dealerships, in part because the commission will be so much higher.
On average, car sales executives across the UK make around £30,000, with a commission for sales paid on top of this. With experience, car sales salaries can rise to £50-60,000 plus commission.
Do you have what it takes for a career in car sales?
To work in car sales, it probably goes without saying that enthusiasm for all things automotive is a big plus.
Aside from this, the best candidates for careers in car sales have the qualities that are commonly needed in the sales profession: the confidence and strong verbal skills needed for negotiation, as well as a strong drive to work hard, motivated by a desire for success as well as commission.
There are no formal qualifications needed for a career in car sales, though it’s usually expected that candidates will have GCSEs in Maths and English. Proving that your technical knowledge of cars is strong, either by discussing this during your interview or by taking vocational courses in mechanics, can also help to boost your profile as a strong candidate for a career in car sales. You will also often be required to hold a valid UK driver’s license so that you can help with moving cars around the forecourt as well as when accompanying customers during test drives.
If this sounds like you, it might be worth applying for jobs in car sales. Car sales can be an incredibly rewarding career for the right candidates, offering high returns in exchange for hard work and dedication.