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Are No Haggle/Tesla direct to customers sales model healthy for Sales Staff?
https://jalopnik.com/why-teslas-sale...d-i-1826206999
Why Tesla's Sales Staff Say They're Being Shortchanged In The Electric Car RevolutionThere’s an official mission statement Tesla employees learn when they first start their job: “Accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” It’s an ambitious proposal that hinges on selling attractive, electric cars under a business model that’s unique to the auto industry—a “direct sales” approach where vehicles are sold directly to consumers by Tesla, not through a third-party dealer, as is customary and often legally mandated at the state level.But as Tesla tries to spur an electric car revolution, the salespeople who are key to actualizing the automaker’s project say they’re being overworked, underpaid, and outright mistreated, according to court records, interviews, and documents obtained by Jalopnik.“It was the worst income I had made in 10 years,” the ex-worker said of her compensation at the automaker. As Tesla tries to move into the mass market by delivering the estimated 450,000 Model 3s it has on order, and beyond, it’s almost certain the company’s sales staff will play an integral role in the effort to grow the automaker from a boutique outfit into a mainstream behemoth, all the while staving off financial uncertainty. Once the Model 3 backlog’s cleared, the launch of Tesla’s Model Y crossover—another revolution in waiting, according to Musk—is around the corner. For anyone who might be interested in pursuing that opportunity, they wouldn’t find an endorsement from one the former owner advisors who spoke to Jalopnik: “Anybody who asks,” they said, “tell them don’t work for Tesla.” |
Obviously not - eliminating unnecessary sales jobs is one of the points of going no-haggle and one of the reasons there will be cost savings.
Replacing salespeople with customer service-oriented sales support staff who are actually knowledgeable about the cars they are selling and are interested in providing the best experience possible to the customer rather than making quick commissions is also beneficial to the customer. Every salesperson we can put out of work is fine by me. There will always be better, more meaningful jobs that actually provide value to the end consumer. |
Originally Posted by gengar
(Post 10227049)
Every salesperson we can put out of work is fine by me.
There will always be better, more meaningful jobs that actually provide value to the end consumer. |
Originally Posted by mmarshall
(Post 10227053)
No offense, but I don't think you would feel that way if you yourself were selling vehicles, had a family to feed, and a lot of bills that had to be paid every month. You may not always like their tactics (or the company or dealership that they work for), but they are humans, too, and need to earn a living.
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Originally Posted by gengar
(Post 10227054)
I lost my first three jobs due to downsizing. I'm not selfish enough to believe that I shouldn't have been downsized and was owed a paycheck just because I had bills I had to pay and wanted to earn a living. The simple reality is that my job didn't justify the costs to the company.
My comment was not necessarily directed at you personally, but simply as a matter of principle. I won't judge whether or not your services were worth what the company was paying you (that's up to the managers and accountants). But, from your regular posts here in CL, you sound to me like someone that basically knows his stuff, and worked for his paycheck rather than goof off. ;) |
looks like tesla sales strategy might not be perfect but from the complaints of former tesla sales employees it doesn't seem like it's that big of a deal and is a much better way than traditional car dealerships.
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Originally Posted by gengar
(Post 10227049)
Replacing salespeople with customer service-oriented sales support staff who are actually knowledgeable about the cars they are selling and are interested in providing the best experience possible to the customer rather than making quick commissions is also beneficial to the customer.
Every salesperson we can put out of work is fine by me. There will always be better, more meaningful jobs that actually provide value to the end consumer. Car sales is devoid of good or great salespeople for the most part anymore because of brutal hours, terrible customers to deal with and low income potential. |
Originally Posted by mmarshall
(Post 10227053)
Most are reasonably honest, though I know for a fact that a few have tried some shady tactics.
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I think you have to separate "car salespeople" from "salespeople" in general. I do agree that the auto industry in general has an issue when it comes to honesty and fair dealing, a lot of it has to do with the fact that the consumers relationship with a car salesperson is so adversarial and so transactional. There is very little loyalty left and very little repeat or referral business to be had. You "make as much as you can" off of a customer and move on.
When it comes to things like what I do and what my Dad did if your customers felt as shaken down as auto consumers do when they were done with you, you'd be out of business. I routinely take from my own pocket and use that to make things work for my customers, I'm up in the middle of the night dealing with issues and so was he, and that is rewarded when it comes to routine business and referral business. My customers are my life, and they come before basically everything else in my life including my family. In car sales unfortunately that behavior wouldn't be rewarded in that way and its not worthwhile for the salesperson to do it, and they're not sharp enough or well trained enough to do it in the first place. |
Originally Posted by SW17LS
(Post 10227106)
Issue is, you have to pay to recruit and retain talent. I've not met anybody associated with Tesla in a store or in a customer service setting that I felt was a talent, and thats because Tesla doesn't pay. I'd love to go work for Tesla, I'd be an awesome addition to their organization...but they'd never pay me the several hundreds of thousands of dollars they'd have to pay me to get me, and with no commissions to work for theres no incentive for me to go work there other than fun. Fun doesn't feed my kids.
Sorry you've dealt with bad salespeople, but as a second generation salesperson I am proud of what I do. Good and great salespeople provide a ton of value to the end consumer in innumerable ways. I have many, many very satisfied customers to prove it, as my father did before me. In fact, the two people who gave the eulogies at his funeral were longtime customers of his. Car sales is devoid of good or great salespeople for the most part anymore because of brutal hours, terrible customers to deal with and low income potential. |
Originally Posted by LexsCTJill
(Post 10227139)
Well said. I have no issue with salesperson. Not all are great and not all are bad. A good salesperson will indeed provide value for the client. For every poor salesperson there is a poor customer.
there are some clients i simply don't want. :p |
Originally Posted by bitkahuna
(Post 10227153)
nice post. :thumbup:
there are some clients i simply don't want. :p |
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