What do YOU want out of a MB Salesperson.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

James Rothwell

Active Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2009
Messages
905
Location
Dubai - UAE
Car
S500L (W220) PREV- S600L (W140),3x E320, E280, E240, S500, 450SLC, E300D Wagon
Hello everyone,

As some of you may know I work in motor trade for a dual franchise dealer at the moment, and I've been with one of the brands since 2003.

I've been with my current employer for 2 years this month and there has been a few changes in the last few months that I'm not overally happy with plus a few other things have made me think about changing my position.

I'm not ready yet to start up on my own full-time, as most salespeople do I do a little trading in my own limited free time but I don't want to start my own business just yet as I need to either save or borrow a bit of money. Maybe in 3-4 years time I'll start up, hopefully sooner as I know exactly what I want to do, where I want to be, what I want to stock, even the name!

Anyway... For the moment, I think I'd like to try either a niche or prestige brand for a few years. I don't like sports cars especially nor would I even fit in a Lotus. I've basically ended up with either Audi, BMW or Mercedes (obviously my first choice). But before I start looking around for positions available I thought it would be helpful to me if you chaps, the people who buy these cars could explain your expectations from someone selling the Mercedes brand. Any info/advice is welcome be it 3 words or 3 pages!

Thanks.
 
If the forum MB main dealer feedback is an accurate gauge of public opinion then MB are not recruiting or training the sales people adequately.

So the problem begins, that just because you pass a MB interview doesn't necessarily make you a good salesman and therefore if you are a good salesman you wont necessarily pass the MB interview.

So if you want a job at MB, don't listen to 'us' ;)

On a more helpful note, characteristics I look for in a good salesperson are; good communication, honestly and transparency, detailed MB car knowledge, broad general car knowledge.
 
When I walk into a showroom, the most I'd want is to be greeted and maybe asked if I'm in for any reason in particular, then they'll bugger off to their desk when I say no, if I need help I'll go and look for it.

But then I'm a pretty big car bore, I normally know more than the salesperson so I'd rather just get on with it.
 
I don't really like sales people. Without wishing to offend or generalise, they typically come across as very arrogant and sleazy. This puts me off.

The "I know it all attitude" grates - when in fact, they really don't and furnishing me with lots of drivel that is quite often wrong usually makes me walk away.

For me, an ideal sales person, would be courteous, ask me if I needed anything and then walk away. Just make me feel welcome and feel free to look around. (If they handed me their card with contact details on it, that would be fine too.)

In my opinion, if a car is any good then it will sell itself.

Just my 2p.
 
PS. The sales people in my local MB dealer are awful. I would purposefully not buy a car from them.
 
Don't defend the indefensible,
The people at the MB dealership I go to most often are sick to their back teeth of being expected to do just that on MB's behalf and are constantly looking for something else to do.
 
If the forum MB main dealer feedback is an accurate gauge of public opinion then MB are not recruiting or training the sales people adequately.

So the problem begins, that just because you pass a MB interview doesn't necessarily make you a good salesman and therefore if you are a good salesman you wont necessarily pass the MB interview.

So if you want a job at MB, don't listen to 'us' ;)

On a more helpful note, characteristics I look for in a good salesperson are; good communication, honestly and transparency, detailed MB car knowledge, broad general car knowledge.

The poor reviews is one of the reasons why I made this thread.

A friend of mine recently went for an interview with MB London but after the interview and being told by the sales manager that they'd like him to come and work for them he had to do an online 'test' which he failed.

The way I work at the moment when someone comes in is just to let them wander around a bit and wait until they settle with one particular car and just ask if they'd like any help. 9/10 they usually have a question the other 1 person will just want to be left alone which is fine.

I agree with knowledge of the brand and the car market in question is hugely important.

My main gripe with the brand I work for at the moment is that people seem to want everything for nothing. They'll argue the car down to rock bottom which is fair enough and I can see their reason, but then they will consistantly push for more stuff after the order. The other thing is people seem to come in and see myself use me for the test drives and my advice/knowledge and then I'll phone them a week later to find out they have bought one off the internet via a broker for £500 less, does customer service and help have no value attached to it nowadays? Some people even come in once they've collected their new car from the other dealer to show me it because I was interested in the model they bought.

The main thing I'd like to have, is another brand I like and enjoy myself, and less discounting, so the price is the price. I really don't enjoy haggling for hours on end and I think with MB it's much more like this way. This isn't because I'm being greedy with profit or anything I just prefer working this way. Another worry is that I don't like big garages or the way they run, and I think nearly all MB garages are manufacture owned now?
 
PS. The sales people in my local MB dealer are awful. I would purposefully not buy a car from them.

What is it specifically that you don't like about them and what could they do differently to make you want to buy a car off them?
 
What do YOU want out of a MB Salesperson

A huge discount? :D
 
Being sensible.

The guy I bought my R129 from (main dealer, Approved Used car) didn't even know it had a soft top.
 
What is it specifically that you don't like about them and what could they do differently to make you want to buy a car off them?
It's very difficult to put a finger on one specific thing.

One of their senior guys, struts around, has the biggest "comb over" I have ever seen and wears way to much after shave... I just think he looks like an idiot and I can't even talk to the man.

There is a younger guy there, who is nice enough, but seems to think that they are the only MB dealer in the UK, and you can't buy them anywhere else.

If I said they were a bit like "estate agents" or "recruitment agents" would you know what I mean?

They are just not my sort of people. They wind me up.

My brother recently bought a car through BroadSpeed, that was eventually handled through Inchape in Oxford. He said the buying experience that they provided was superb. (His local dealer couldn't give a toss.)
 
Being sensible.

The guy I bought my R129 from (main dealer, Approved Used car) didn't even know it had a soft top.

I don't understand how anyone can easily sell something they don't know much about. I know I don't know payment protection very well so I don't really try to sell it too much, I'll offer it but won't advise either way.
 
Don't do what the Jaguar salesperson did to me yesterday!! I was talking about an XK8 and the known problems with engine liners etc on pre-2000 models (he was trying to edge me into a '97). Half way through my chat, he stops me and says "Forums are garbage! You won't learn anything useful, it's all b*ll*cks!" He then proceeded to explain that he only buys good cars with no faults. Looking at his '97 XK8 in detail made me wonder if he was wearing his glasses when he bought it!

When I was a car salesman, I believed in honesty and making the customer feel he/she could rely on me and what I told them. Some of my colleagues thought I was mad. Who do you think sold more cars? :D
 
For me, an ideal sales person, would be courteous, ask me if I needed anything and then walk away. Just make me feel welcome and feel free to look around. (If they handed me their card with contact details on it, that would be fine too.)

Snap. What I don't like is when people ask me for my contact details, if they approached me and I was just browsing. Fine if I approached them as I wanted to make an enqiury though.

My main gripe with the brand I work for at the moment is that people seem to want everything for nothing. They'll argue the car down to rock bottom which is fair enough and I can see their reason, but then they will consistantly push for more stuff after the order. The other thing is people seem to come in and see myself use me for the test drives and my advice/knowledge and then I'll phone them a week later to find out they have bought one off the internet via a broker for £500 less, does customer service and help have no value attached to it nowadays? Some people even come in once they've collected their new car from the other dealer to show me it because I was interested in the model they bought.

Not sure MB will be any different.

I like good value - and good service is worth a premium which I'm prepared to pay - but it must still be good value.

So I will expect discounts and things thrown in, and I may still walk away and buy elsewhere if I don't think I'm getting good value.

I don't understand how anyone can easily sell something they don't know much about. I know I don't know payment protection very well so I don't really try to sell it too much, I'll offer it but won't advise either way.

Shocking how many try though. They must get by on people going in to "buy" so they don't have to "sell"!!

Don't you have to be accredited to advise on insurance products anyway?
 
By the way, on a positive note - I've always been treated very well at MB Milton Keynes. The sales people I've dealt with have been courteous and helpful and always willing to offer test drives, even when I've been vague and just wanted to compare cars. Thumbs up then to at least one MB dealer! :)
 
I find it hugely insulting when I feel like I am not been taken seriously. I don't wear (or own) a suit. I normally wear jeans or cords, t-shirt and a zip-up top. Haven't had a shave with a razor in 10 years.

But that doesn't mean I haven't got 50 or 60 grand to spend on a car!

I too hate sales people that think they know everything, until you start to point out things they have no idea about. If I can take my own spare time to know as much about the product as I do, why does a sales person think it is acceptable to not know at least as much when it is their job! And they do it 6 days a week! I just don't get it. And more importantly I find it reprihensible.

I am also the type of person who likes regular updates on progress of an order. I often take the time to try and find some information about the manufacture/delivery process so I can ask exactly where my car is up to and what happens next, and how long each stage can take. If I ask for an update on an order I would at least like to be offered some detailed information on the systems used.
 
Let me go about it this way. If I were running a showroom selling Mercedes (new or used) then I'd want...

Someone who actually is genuinely passionate about the brand and is a bit of a Mercedes enthusiast.

Should know more about Mercedes and their cars (past and present) than what is just printed in the current edition of the salesman's handbook.
 
Has anyone actually looked at what the Merc salespeople are paid as a basic salary?

And then their bonus is geared toward selling the car on PCP and making a "turn" on Starshield (or whatever the current name for it is).

Two things I have learned when employing sales people:

a) you pay peanuts, you get monkeys
b) the compensation plan drives behaviour (good or bad)


What I see is poor at Merc today:

Arrogant, condescending attitude, flocks of coffee drinkers

Long-winded form-filling before you can find out ANYTHING you want to know

Locked cars in the showroom - they are DEMO stock, DEMO them!

Poor training - specs/options/telematics (especially)

The need to see a different (even more arrogant) person re finance who wants yet more forms filled in and STILL tries to quote flat rates and pretend APRs are misleading. Incredible that it needs a "specialist" just to enter a few numbers into a spreadsheet.

The inability to secure a deal when cars are on a lead-time (the terms might be different by then sir).

The styling of the S212's "rump" (yuk!) :D
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom