LOL, or assless chaps....

 

Seen that also, knew one that had a 1800 Honda... forward, 3 yrs later he now owns a HD..

Dont forget,, As the dealer he works at also used to sell---- Hondas... but does not now.

 

Most of the salesmen at the dealership I frequent do something else (like 3rd shift factory work) as their primary job and sell Harleys as their 2nd job. They just love hanging around the dealership and BSing bikes all day.

 

Having sold Harleys for awhile, I was always talking about riding and love of Harleys with customers that would visit the store. That came from love of the product and, heck, thats where the relationship started and it was from my experience of riding and owning Harleys that I was able to break the ice. Made some friends along the way too!
If a Harley salesman has never owned and ridden a Harley, I am not interested in talking to them.

 

I agree with you. If a person has ridden a Harley and also developed the passion for doing so, I believe that it willl help in showing others what we have already found out and possibly make it easier to make a sale. I am not a salesman but a friend of mine saw the passion that I had and we talked and he finally bought a Harley.

 

I use to sell GMC trucks...but didn't drive one. Still, I knew a lot about them because I felt, as a salesperson, I NEEDED to know what the hell I was selling...

...that and we also sold Buick and Pontiac and I DID drive a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP that I had done a little work to. But we mainly moved GMC back in 2003 when SUVs and Trucks were still selling like crazy.

Funny thing is I had a customer once that HATED salespeople. When I came up to him and his wife before I could even get my welcome spiel out of my mouth (we had to..."Welcome to *insert dealership name here*, my name is Robotech, how can I help you."), he tells me "I hate you people. If I could buy a car without you I would." Needless to say he was a tough sell.

He didn't know what specific car he wanted, he just knew they needed something that could seat more than three people as they had a child an another on the way. He looked at the Azteck and asked my honest opinion of it. I told him, "Pontiac took a bunch of great ideas that would make for a really great SUV then put them all in the ugliest package it could find." He looked at Yukons and Envoys but nothing really struck him.

As they were leaving he had warmed up to me some. He passed by a used Mustang GT convertable we had on our lot and his eyes lit up. "Hey Honey? How about THIS one!?" he asked his wife. She rolled her eyes and shook her head but I could tell this was a car that moved him.

So I asked him "Are you a performance guy?"
"Oh yea!" He replied.
"Well, what if I told you I had a car on my lot that was just as fast as this one but was a four door, seated five adults, and got 27 mpg highway?" Naturally he greeted that thought with much reservation. But, with the thought of possibly having it all, followed me down the line to a Grand Prix GTP sedan...a white one...almost identical to the one I drove.

I told him that, like him, I was a performance guy and wanted a car with some go but needed something more family oriented so I had purchased the same car as I was showing him. He didn't belive me and thought I was just "being a salesman".

"If you drive one of these where is it?" He asked with more than just a little sarcasim in his voice. Without hesitation I pointed to the white GTP sitting not 100 feet away from us. "Right there."

He walked down to the car, walked to the rear, and then asked "If this is your car, what does the sticker on the back window say?"

Without the slightest pause I asked, "Which one, the one on the left that says 'No Fear Racing', the one in the middle that is in the colors of the American flag and says 'These Colors Don't Run' or the one on the right that says 'My kid lapped your honor student'?" He looked at me and said "Hell, it IS your car!"

He bought the car later that day.

So yes, it can help but I sold a lot more cars than that one (though, come to think of it, I may have been the only guy I knew there to sell more than one Grand Prix...hmmmmmmmmm) and those sales came down to knowing not just MY vehicles, but their competition as well. Sadely most salespeople DON'T know their OWN stuff much less their competition's. If this guy doesn't ride a Harley but KNOWS Harleys then he's got a leg up on most of the salespeople out there...