Dealer Inventory
#51
Was buying, or trying to buy a Jeep a few years ago pre Trumpdemic. Sales guy was sticking with a rediculous price, my OTD number was fair, not even a steal. We got hungry so while he was in the high pressure sales cube with us I ordered a pizza. Told him he has 35 minutes to present a realistic number or we are going out to diner. He and the imaginary manager didn't, so we left.
Wife tells me he was hollering "don't leave we have a deal" as we left but I could not hear him. Pizza was peperoni, xtra garlic and xtra jalpenos. and was yummy. No time for losing battles and idiots.
Wife tells me he was hollering "don't leave we have a deal" as we left but I could not hear him. Pizza was peperoni, xtra garlic and xtra jalpenos. and was yummy. No time for losing battles and idiots.
#52
Dragging out the process so that you're tired and willing to give in to their terms is a well-known sales tactic. Such is the game. Though I will say that I don't agree with this:
That's a malicious waste of peoples' time and that couple should have been asked to not return.
If I enter an establishment with no intent to purchase, I communicate that very clearly. I do enjoy browsing from time to time. If I'm entering with the intent on making a purchase, I communicate accordingly. I've had dealers that refuse to budge on trivial things and so they lost the sale as a result, but I've also been told "wait!" as I've laid my hand on the door, about to exit. That latter one is the best feeling.
I sold consumer electronics in the 90's. we had our share of people wasting your time and thats okay but we had this one middle age couple ( the wife was one of my High School teachers ) that would drop in the store most every Friday night, right after dinner, toothpick in hand.... He would grab a salesman and say I got a few questions about this big TV or whatnot and like clockwork would take 1.5 hours and sometime keep the store open after closing ( we did that back then when on commission and ready for a sale ), That man would plan his evening with the salesperson to the second, giving all indication he was buying only to walk out 10 min after store closing then return the next Friday and do the same thing only this time with a different item and a new salesperson.
This went on for months and was clear this was part of his entertainment for the weekend ( dinner and a show ) and my sales staff was the entertainment.
However with time he became know to the entire staff and when he and she would would walk in the sales staff would scatter like cockroaches. After a few months of my staff staying late and bending over backwards for this guy every employee would literally run away from this couple.
This couple was the exception but you have a few people like this that are looking for free entertainment and a hungry salesperson is a easy target.
However, people like this get marked and when actually need help, well good luck...
This went on for months and was clear this was part of his entertainment for the weekend ( dinner and a show ) and my sales staff was the entertainment.
However with time he became know to the entire staff and when he and she would would walk in the sales staff would scatter like cockroaches. After a few months of my staff staying late and bending over backwards for this guy every employee would literally run away from this couple.
This couple was the exception but you have a few people like this that are looking for free entertainment and a hungry salesperson is a easy target.
However, people like this get marked and when actually need help, well good luck...
If I enter an establishment with no intent to purchase, I communicate that very clearly. I do enjoy browsing from time to time. If I'm entering with the intent on making a purchase, I communicate accordingly. I've had dealers that refuse to budge on trivial things and so they lost the sale as a result, but I've also been told "wait!" as I've laid my hand on the door, about to exit. That latter one is the best feeling.
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Soundman5000 (08-26-2024)
#53
Dragging out the process so that you're tired and willing to give in to their terms is a well-known sales tactic. Such is the game. Though I will say that I don't agree with this:
That's a malicious waste of peoples' time and that couple should have been asked to not return.
If I enter an establishment with no intent to purchase, I communicate that very clearly. I do enjoy browsing from time to time. If I'm entering with the intent on making a purchase, I communicate accordingly. I've had dealers that refuse to budge on trivial things and so they lost the sale as a result, but I've also been told "wait!" as I've laid my hand on the door, about to exit. That latter one is the best feeling.
That's a malicious waste of peoples' time and that couple should have been asked to not return.
If I enter an establishment with no intent to purchase, I communicate that very clearly. I do enjoy browsing from time to time. If I'm entering with the intent on making a purchase, I communicate accordingly. I've had dealers that refuse to budge on trivial things and so they lost the sale as a result, but I've also been told "wait!" as I've laid my hand on the door, about to exit. That latter one is the best feeling.
Back then a person could take up a sales persons time and actually learn something as most of us AV sales folks looked at electronics as a hobby and we loved the stuff, most of us owned total high end AV systems at home and had to take that job to pay for our hobby so many of us had lots of knowledge and didn't mind sharing but with the hope it may end in a closed sale.
I did learn the art of "listening" To be able to earn a living as a sales pro. I had to simply ask the right questions and then shut up and listen ( now lost art ) and then offer a solution and give the customer no reason he / she needed to buy any place else as we were the first to guarantee the lowest price for 30 days and offer a 30 day no questions return.
After years of being a good sales pro myself I then have this Harley sales person experience this past week.
I was dealing with a supposably long time Senior position sales person, He bragged he was always the top #1 salesman in the company.
Truly blew my mind as he did NOT LISTEN to anything I said. I'm taking he asked little to no questions and what I told him I wanted went in one ear and right out the other if he even stopped bragging about himself and he being #1 long enough to listen to me trying to tell him exactly what I wanted and exactly what he could have done to have a sale that day.
He never even asked my budget, never asked me what I had been looking at but I told him I had been looking new, and I WANTED NEW! He walked me right past the new bikes and showed me only used and for some reason was trying to limit my budget to used under $12K? I'm a CVO possible customer if anyone is and he could not even see that.
I told him I would consider ANY color but red or blue and he kept pushing a used blue and red bike!
What a joke... If I have noticed one constant from all the sales folks at this dealer, few listen and all brag, I had one salesperson bring out his phone and show me pictures of his bike that had zero to do with what I was looking at and me buying a bike. I don't mind talking shop and looking at a bike but a pic on his cell phone, i'm like you did't drive it to work so I can see it in person?
Its clear some ( not all ) Harley dealers hire the bottom of the barrel.
I did have the thought last week after $12K used bikes were pushed in my direction that with the huge amount of inventory this dealer is sitting on, some manager must have a huge "spiff" or bonus on those used red and blue " very old " bikes to get them out of the way for all the new bikes Harley is sending the dealers that the dealers don't want and have no room for...
Interesting time to be looking for a new bike!
Last edited by Soundman5000; 08-26-2024 at 03:04 AM.
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aharleyrider (08-26-2024)
#54
I stopped by the RideNow dealership in Concord, NC. I've never seen so many bikes on the floor and outside. Few H-Ds though. Surprisingly good markdowns on used bikes. I don't need a bike and had a hard time walking away from the pricing on a used R18, S1000XR, and a Hypermotard.
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tngarren (08-26-2024)
#55
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