Automobile Sales Manager Training

The sales manager in training is usually a successful sales consultant and should already be familiar with their dealership practices.

An automotive sales manager is usually promoted after becoming a successful and experienced sales consultant at the dealership she works for. The process of training is usually done over time, as the sales consultant is already familiar with his dealer's practices, procedures and expectations. Until the sales manager has been fully trained, he or she usually takes on the role of an assistant sales manager.

Pricing Trade-ins

Evaluating trade-ins are an important part of the training process. Trade-ins are very important to a dealership, as they usually hold the most profit. The manager-in-training will have to learn to use dealer guides to determine the amount to pay for a trade. This will involve some mechanical knowledge. After being a successful sales consultant, it should be an easy transition, and mechanical knowledge should be better than average. She will then learn to price her trade-ins for retail.

Financing

The sales-manager-in-training will have to sit in on finance transactions to learn how to complete all of the required paperwork for the finance department. The sales manager often takes the place of the finance manager when work is overflowing or the finance manager is absent for the day. During deal negotiations, the sales-manager-in-training will have to show customers what financing will look like based on the customer's credit. This means she will have to be knowledgeable about the banks she uses, know how to use electronic finance programs and will be fully responsible for filling out and signing a buyer's order with correct pricing, rebates, incentives, DMV (Department of Motor Vehicle) fees and taxes.

Handling Employees

The sales-manager-in-training will sit in on interviews and terminations. She will be doing this herself once she learns how the dealership handles these processes. In addition to hiring and firing employees, she will become responsible for employee motivation and holding sales meetings. She will set goals for each salesperson.

Bank Funding and Approvals

The sales manager often sends in deals electronically to financing institutions to obtain an approval. The training sales manager will learn to do this. She will learn how to do "book-outs," or figure a vehicle's worth based on banking guides, and what a bank will lend for a specific vehicle. She will also become responsible for all paperwork necessary for a deal, and obtaining it for funding if it is missing. Banks require a lot of paperwork, and she will be responsible for making sure that all paperwork is together so the dealership will obtain its funds for selling the car.

Negotiations

One of the main job functions of the sales manager in training is to guide sales consultants in the sales process and close deals for them when necessary. The manager will need to be a successful negotiator who can hold profit in her sales and know when she needs to step in to do so. In the beginning of the training process, she will most likely "watch the floor," or eavesdrop on sales person and customer conversations, and step in when necessary. She will also learn her limits on pricing, meaning how much she can take off to make a sale.

References

• Insidercarsecrets.com: What Goes on During a Car Deal