I understand what you're trying to say but you're wrong in a few areas. First a salesperson can make a great living on these two products as these are the product you don't have to take a huge huge margin hit on. People come in, people like us, and WANT them. They aren't shopping for price comparing the Mustang to the Camaro etc., These are cult brands and they bring profit.

Second the Shelby's bring in customers. Ford didn't decide to sell these cars to sell what ever the run is. They decided to sell them to raise brand awareness. To bring people into the dealerships. To get people talking about Ford. People come in all the time to look at a GT but come away with something MUCH less. A good salesperson can upsell, cross-sell, and if needed down-sell, so make a sale. People don't come rushing in when they drive by and see a Fusion in the window or on TV, they do when they see a Mustang. It doesn't mater because the hardest step in the sales process is getting the customer on the lot! Mustangs, and Shelbys in particular, can help drive that.

For that reason a sales person needs to understand the programs, the cars, and how to take the 40 somethin guy that wants a GT and move him to something more practical (i.e. wife will let him buy) and make a sale.

If you can't talk a little "fantasy Shelby" talk for a few minutes and build a relationship then you might as well go sit at your desk for all the good it will do. Again, Sales 101! IMHO!

 

Well, after putting quite a few new Fords on the road, I can tell you that the Mustang is not what makes you money-at least that you can count on paying the light bill. I have 2 Shelby GT's available this year to try to sell(one's online now-just answered about 15 emails about it when I got home...). Out of the 200+ vehicles I will sell this year, I don't think it they add up to much, even if I do sell both Heck its only Feb 5th and I already have 23 out for the year(not including 4 more ebay ones with deposits awaiting pickup this week).

I didn't sell any of the 5 GT500's last year though, but sold 3 S281E's.... I am kinda sorta master certified in possible catagory Ford offers training for. I get your point, but I am the one that specs out the Shelby's, GT500s, Saleens, and custom upgraded Stangs(adding shakers and spoilers, glasback roofs, custom stripes, wheels, leather, and what-not)... I also end up doing most of the T.O.s to other salespeople's Mustang customers-and supervise and double check the personal orders, they just bring them to me. But I don't sit around waiting on Mustang customers, I've only sold 2 this year(at least to my own customers). The real money is in used cars, always has been.

I would still say that product knowledge is about 3% of selling, just because I remember virtually every Ford body code, package/option numbers and color codes, it doesn't really make me a better salesperson. Most of the best ones I have met over the years know very little about cars. You will absorb information naturally but you really don't need to study it. A good salesperson really doesn't need to know what a W14 507a package is.

 

Mike, I don't make my sole living on just Mustang sales. I can rattle off all the options for each car line (Focus, Fusion, 500) and what is standard and what is optional in each trim level. I also can do it for all the SUV's and pickups. For the chassis cabs, I'll need to use the books, since I don't order these at all.

Mike, its a salesperson's job to know the products they sell. Simple options they should memorize. Now, if the customer needs to know the cubic feet of the trunk, or passenger compartment cubic feet, or overall length of the vehicle, then its okay to look at the book, since these are numbers that people really don't ask for anymore. The most requested info is options, and what is standard and what is optional in the different trim levels of each product line. If you can't remember this stuff, then the salesperson should be looking at a different line of work. The customers expect you to know it, when your out on the lot looking at each vehicle.

 

And that sheet told the dealers to add 54U, and the drop-ship code to have it shipped to Shelby Autos for the conversion. That isn't confusing at all.

 

Hey Kevin, I don't know where you got that "3%" number, but in the area where we are at, product knowledge is KEY to selling cars. Its a heck of alot more than 3%, I can tell you that. Knowing this info makes us more efficient. If your out with a customer, and they asking questions on options and such, and your reply is a constant "I'll have to check on that", it doesn't lend you much credibility in regards to knowing what you sell. Customers EXPECT us to know the options, features, benefits, engine specs, wheelbase, ect. When you know this, then the customer realizes that he/she is dealing with someone competent, and usually they let their guard down, and the process becomes easier and more relaxed. BTW, W14 is an F150 Crew 4X4 Styleside and 507A is an XLT. (And no, I didn't need to look it up). Also, I too am the one that my co-workers come to if they have a Mustang question, albeit it an order, or options, what have you. We don't sell Saleens, or Roushs, but I can still answer questions about them, since I know about them.

Mike, I understand where your coming from. Those 5 salespeople aren't doing themselves much good not brushing up on info. My bosses let me roam on the internet on here, BMC, BON, and other sites. They know I am a car nut (not just a Mustang nut), and that I go on these sites looking for more info, not only on the cars I sell, but on the competition. For example, a customer came in saying she was looking at a Fusion and also a Nissan Altima (last gen Altima). I told her the Fusion is set to run on 87, while the Nissan requires premium fuel. She didn't know that, asked how I knew that. I told her it was on their site in the Altima section. I told her I research other brands to see what they are selling, and what points Ford has them covered in. Its info like this Kevin, that makes a good salesperson a great salesperson. That and taking care of customers (among many other things).

For me, I look at my job as a career, something that I want to do for as long as I have to work (by the time I'm ready to retire, SS will be history), but I also look at this as part hobby. I get to play with cars all day, and get paid for it. Plus meet alot of great people who are more than customers, their friends.

 

Not to throw another wrench in the mix, but I got a great email from a sales person telling me I'm an "@ss" and an "idiot", from their dealer email address no less, that there is no additional cost to the car beyond the 54U package amount. I had to send a copy of a Shelby sticker with the Shelby GT additional charges. There seems to be a lot of confusion around this. The dealer that offered me 10K ADM was quoting me a GT with just the $2400 54U charge and not the additional 8K or so additional Shelby charges. Even someone that has ordered the car, as he had, still had no idea. 54U is only Ford's charges to add the front fascia, the wheels, side scoops, and other costs. The rest of the "Shelby GT" parts and such are charged separately. Again, another point of confusion for dealers.

 

Hey Jeff, any chance you could forward that email to my email address? I'd really like to see what they said. Its amazing that these guys are so incompetent in the ability to not order the car correctly. It just boggles my mind. Like I said in the above post, product knowledge is WAY MORE than 3%, as posted by someone above.

 

Sent!

 

I found a dealer in NJ that has a few 54Us for sale.
(five! three black and two white with one each w/autos)
It appears that the current $1000 rebate does not apply to them when you pull them up via forddirect.

 

Jeff, thanks for sending the email. You really should post it on here. It will show just how bad that dealer is. Plus there would be a few on here that would probably email this guy back. That salesperson is unbelievable.

 

what is the zip code for the dealer?

 

Liccardi Ford, 07060

 

Yup.

See their selection here. http://apps.dealerconnection.com/dealers/liccardifordnj/newvehicles?inv-radio=on&VehicleType=Cars+and+Minivans〈=en&Year=20 07&modelId=9

 

when i put one of the vin's in the Shelby VIN check it reads Enroute to Shelby Automobiles

http://vin.shelbyautos.com/

 

...and yet they are on sale on their website.
What gives?

 

You can't buy them for that price. These are cars ordered by the dealership that are scheduled to go to the shelby facility.

Check this thread out for a discussion on this.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=57925
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showpo...33&postcount=8

 

This, I am finding, is all too common. First dealerships posting on ebay or on their own web site cars they do not have, in some cases haven't even ordered! They also use the Ford invoice as the car's price, when that is incorrect! They are forgetting the 8K in additional Shelby costs that are added after the Ford invoice. So you order a $31K GT you add about $8K and that gives you the approximate price of your SGT. Again this program seems to be too confusing for dealerships and you have wonder if there wasn't an easier way. Someone needed to think a little more "bolder" where the process was concerned. IMHO!

 

I have one on egay but its just sitting at SAI awaiting completion. You can check the VIN at shelbyautos.com for status, but its either done or its not.

As for knowledge, you have to keep it somewhat limited when selling a car. People will come in with one or maybe two questions during their research they will bang you on to see if you know your stuff, but babbling on about details can hurt more then help. I rarely, I mean RARELY happens that I do not know the answer to the question(salespeople make a big deal about it when I don't), but also rarely answer all of them on the lot. If you do that you end up swamping them with information and handing them a card and off they go. I answer questions clearly when asked, but you should still continue moving a client through the sales process you are trained to use. You need to keep the process under control. If I feel like I am getting quagmired with someone who asks question after question, I change the subject, get on to the next step(demo, to the desk, whatever). If they are the ones asking the questions, you are not in control to start with.

I will also often pick a question to not know and tell them 'thats a great question, when we go inside we can get the answer for you' and move on with SELLING THE CAR, not a piece of paper from the internet or a locked car on the lot. Sure I know every configuration of all F150 and superduty wheelbases off the top of my head, but buying a car is an emotional process regardless of how closed up a client seems at first. Take control of the situation! KISS(keep it simple stupid). Just sitting there answering question after question means you have no control of the client or the sale process. If you are not demoing and writing up clients and just talking and giving out cards, you're skipping steps. The people are plenty sophisticated here, it is the 2nd richest county in the United States (the 1st is 2 miles down the street).

As for the dealer letter. I was referring to vehicles that are ordered exactly as the sheet says, with no IUP, 130A deluxe package, and no options. Who the hell wants a cloth rubber steering wheel shelby? I meant they were numb enough to just key in the example pricing car like a robot.

 

If he said that in an email I would seriously send that to the general manager with a well-worded complaint. That is totally over the line and if it were here they would be out of here in 10sec flat! Typically a salesperson can surely end a transaction if a customer is rude, or you are approved to hang up on someone who is vulgar and management will refuse the business, but NEVER, EVER are you allowed to personally insult a client. And if it's in an email, the GM or CFO would surely like to see it. Mine would blow a gasket-I'm actually cringing at the thought.

 

I dropped an easy one with that. Here's another. In 2003 a U18 400A was easilly spotted from the job 2 400B and were unique compared to all other 03-06 EB expys. What was different?

Funny thing is, it takes a lot of studying to sell Fords effectively. Most people have no clue. I have sold Acura, Toyota, Subaru and ahem...Kia(hey the Ford dealer I worked at had them). It is SOOO complicated with more variations on the C&I grid weekly then Acura's entire product line. If you are selling a TL or TSX, there are only 4 ways the car come in Nav/no Nav, manual or auto, thats it. For the RL its technology package or not(active cruise control), no other options, and one lease/finance option on each vehicle. Anyone can learn the entire product line in 2 days(or a couple sessions on the 'throne' with some brochures)...Typically when you are spec'ing out a new home from a builder there are far less options then an F350 has. If were a home built by Ford there would be 30 different types of washer/dryer combinations that you could mix and match and 20 different kinds of staircases and where they go...