My local dealer (San Diego) always seems pretty busy.....never inquired to the guys there what earning capability is.
Anyone here work or worked at an HD dealer? I doubt I can earn what I do in IT industry currently (almost $90K) but maybe becoming a manager of the place...I don't know. Seems like a lot more fun than what I do.
If anyone has any experiences they'd like to share, that would be great.

 

I was in that San Diego HD shop. It is really nice and busy as hell. 90K huh? I'm in IT as well. Not making 90K but not too far off. Also I know salaries are somewhat inflated in South Cali, due to cost of living. Not to say that your not worth it, I'm sure you are worth every penny.

My father-in-law lives in San Deigo. If I had the loot, I would move there in a hearbeat.

And your right working in an HD shop must be awesome...

2004 FatBoy

 

Ok, then I'll say it......I'm NOT worth it! And yes, living here is awesome. There are a few HD dealers here. The one up north closest to me is a LARGE dealership and pretty busy.....and usually there's a whopping 2 sales guys only. The smaller dealer further south seems to have like 3-5 guys there and it looks more cut throat.

 

HD's are like Honda/Acura/Toyota/etc.... they basically sell themselves- so, as long as you get a spot in a busy dealership, the potential is there to make nice money

 

I would recommend that you ask, ask again and then ask again. A good manager can sense someone that has an eager to learn, and a desire to be good at what you do.

I think that it would be a fun job and the most important, that the majority of people would be easy to work with.

 

[sm=lol.gif][sm=funnypostabove.gif] .........LMAO Toy, do you have any idea what you "Harley Folks" are like to deal with[sm=laughingsmilie.gif]

To answer your question skater, Yes I did and I still do.

Good Points:Is it a very good living? Yes. Is it fun? Yes. Do I get to play on all the new bikes and get a very good deal on my own? Yep.

Bad Points: Is it a 90K job? Nope. When will you make all your money? The last half of the week and don't take a Saturday off, so that leaves very little time to ride. What time of year will you make the most money? Between March and August, so don't even think about taking vacation.

So in other words.............it's just like any other job

 

Thanks....Sam. I'm not worried about the vacation thing. How much can you one realistically earn in HD sales? Is there an average range considering the dealership is fairly busy? $50K isn't that easy to live on here in San Diego though.....

 

Hey skater, I'm in a busy dealership in New Brunswick, Canada (next door to Maine) so I can't say exactly where you would be as far as salary is concerned, since you're so far away. However, a good guess is that the low would be 40K and the high probably wouldn't go above 70K. Good Luck

 

Thanks, Sam. Is it all commission based?

 

I had a long series of conversations with the manager at the dealership where I bought my bike, because of a variety of sales related issues that I had experienced (long story, but in the end, the manager did what was right and turned me into a happy customer).

In any event, I used to run a sales training company and I was astounded at some of the poor sales behavior and lack of insight exhibited by the sales team. When I spoke with the manager about my frustrations, he commiserated, but let me know that they have difficulty getting the caliber of sales person that they would like - because the salary potential isn't that high.

I would expect that because HD has such brand momentum and customers walk in the door constantly, the dealers and HD aren't willing to pay top dollar to attract experienced and seasoned sales talent (not to cast aspersions on anyone who is a sales rep at an HD dealer - I'm sure there are excellent people out there - I'm just talking big picture trends).

So - I wouldn't go into it looking to be in the top earning brackets for the sales profession.