and serious: after having sold new cars for 30 years, he decides to hang up because his job dies slowly.We offer these columns to express his deep disarray.
Enough is enough !Yann, an automotive seller who wishes to remain anonymous, took his courage in both hands and sent an email to the writing of the Argus, tinged with bitterness, with the conclusion "the seller is dead".Arrested by his words (and his ailments), we contacted him a few days after this sending to try to understand this cry of the heart: he does not bother, and may never bother, the job has a lotoverly changed.There is no more trade, no more customer relations at all, there is only bad pressure, statistics.This is irremediable and that is why he will leave his post before the end of 2021.And this, after having sold new cars for almost thirty years.All this evolution is no longer for him, nor for all the other salespeople of his age, we must give way to young people who will return to the mold, unfortunately.Today, exit the seller, hello the director in hand.Here is his testimony.
« Je me souviens de mon métier»»
"I remember my job, I loved it, I worked every day, I only thought of selling cars, even more, always more.Every morning we had the right to a sales report and we were put under pressure.The exchanges were often stormy, but it was management that wanted this at the time.Once finished, they were quickly forgotten.Manufacturers' trade policies, margins, bonuses, etc., left distributors a certain freedom in the animation of their points of sale.Everyone found their account.I would also say that as a seller, we had the hand on negotiations and the relationship with customers, as well as on profitability.We had a lot of fun, while working hard.We guarantee relationships, we knew how to retain the customer because it was our priority.Throughout the life of the car, we were privileged interlocutors and many of our customers became our friends, trusted us for their next purchase.Stability in the position was essential ”.
The automaker, king of trade?
According to Yann, the first changes occurred in the 2000s when the car manufacturers wanted to regain control over the business.“They have dropped the margins on cars to build items, supposedly remunerative.Among them, the famous customer satisfaction and the rating system that goes with.At this precise moment, sellers and distributors had to change their way of selling.After the obligation to increase the turnover in financing, in engraving, additional sales of accessories,...To recover the lost margin, the premiums linked to the quality have appeared and the margins have further reduced ”.The fiftieth anniversary goes so far as to say that it is the note that prevails on the sale of the vehicle itself in itself.The seller is conditioned."In satisfaction surveys, you must now have a 10 or 9, but certainly not an 8.And if you go down to 6 or 7, the distributor does not affect its rear margins in any case.Meanwhile, the manufacturer sold his car...We are therefore now subject to subjective pressure.The seller should only think of his quality objectives.It is better today to make offers, have good grades, rather than finalizing a sale ".
Web danger
In addition, customers no longer go directly to a concession when they plan to buy a vehicle.We then speak of 80% of potential buyers who take the time to do internet research before going to a dealership or to a automotive agent.Increasingly demanding, the customer already knows everything, the characteristics of the model, the promotions of the moment.He can even configure his vehicle online and pre -order it, until paying it and having home.Suffice to say that the work of the commercial advisor in concession is damn chewed, and some do not hesitate to say that he could even be part of the story in the future that is not so distant.
A LIRE.Auto trade: sellers to the test of physical contact.
Le Web, plus qu’un outil d’information, tend à devenir un canal de vente.Yann is aware of digital advances, but they should not be done at the expense of other values."We no longer have the hand on negotiations, discounts are already announced, customers are often more aware than we.We even find ourselves telling them to order their car on the internet so that they benefit even more promotional advantages, which we do not have in concession.We have become demonstrators, directors in hand, we no longer do our job.Manufacturers have been looking for a long time and by all means to replace this commercial force by selling on other channels, more profitable for them.The distributor will soon also be in turmoil ”.
"A seller who makes his goal in volume with an average note will be poorly perceived while another who will sell half less with a good customer satisfaction note will be world champion.»»
Not the desire
In parallel, Yann also thinks that the administrative, more and more complex, is far too present and that the essential is forgotten.He claims that he spends almost two hours to deliver a single car and that after the sale, tons of pages are to be completed.He wants to end this way of doing things, which prevents him from selling."We are doing too much for customers and manufacturers, we can no longer answer for anything, react, or defend ourselves.Customer satisfaction is killing our professions when before it was our strength.We knew how to do.I repeat, a seller is there to sell and do only that, and not get lost in the files and the procedures: he does his order form and must move on then.The manufacturer, and by the strength of things the distributors, have forgotten what a seller is.The latter must be free from all administrative constraints, think only of its customers and not worry about the rest.And this is where he will be efficient.The note is useless: a customer can put a 10 for sale and change brand two years later!This is not the satisfaction, it is not that loyalty.This whole way of doing things, makes the customer even more volatile. Nous sommes dans un monde de statistiques ridicules»».
A LIRE.Less efficient concession sellers on electric.
Yann se considère donc comme un metteur en main, une gentille petite personne, dit-il, qui accueille les clients, sourit, présente le véhicule et le livre.Nothing more.Confidence is lost. Alors, est-ce bien la fin du métier de vendeur ?
Justine Pérou avec Yann
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