Boars have little to lose in the industry”

Boars have little to lose in the industry”

Automotive industry: Where is the best place to look for good car sellers today?
Andreas Kostelecky: That has actually become very difficult. I started out as a car salesman myself, and back then it wasn't all that difficult to find young people, because the car job was
seller meant something. Today the car has generally lost its status, especially among young people. I always notice this when I talk to the younger salespeople in our group (note: the Denzel group). Finding offspring is not that difficult in itself. But only for the premium brands: BMW, Mercedes, and to some extent Jaguar Land Rover, to name just a few. 

Why is that? 
I think it's because we don't have a clear job profile because the automotive trade has de facto not changed over the last few years. We still tend to buy a piece of land, build a nice house on it, and then wait for someone to come along. That has 
It used to work very well, but today it only works to a very limited extent. Therefore, we need a new type of salesperson. 

Does gender play too big a role?
I was lucky enough to work with different women at several points in my professional career and made the following observation: either they are absolutely top-notch or they are not suitable. You can hardly find the middle ground. I can well imagine that a woman feels better advised when buying a car if she is dealing with a woman. 

However, surveys also show that female customers prefer a male salesperson because they feel they receive more competent advice. Shouldn't you just listen to the customer? 
Of course you have to listen to the customer. A healthy middle ground must be found. There are brands where female salespeople are more accepted. Let's take Mitsubishi: selling a pickup truck to a lady is certainly difficult because the customer questions the off-road competence.
I generally trust any woman to sell a plug-in hybrid, because it involves more sensitive advice. 

Maybe it's because of the payment? Sellers usually have a fairly low fixed salary.
The average salary of a car salesman in Austria is perhaps 800 to 1,200 euros gross. Of course, this is difficult for someone in their mid-twenties, because assuming you have a cooperative apartment or have just moved in with your partner, how do you calculate? We will have to rethink and focus more on the service concept.  

Won't you then lose the goal-oriented, money-hungry boars who have a questionable reputation but at the end of the day bring in the necessary numbers and sell cars?
I believe that the classic boar has lost very little in our industry. The market is much broader today. Back in the day, about 40 years ago, sellers were mostly boars. Today, advice counts. But of course you still need sellers to close the deal. Because when the idea of ​​advice takes over, we have the problems of today: If the customer wants a green car with yellow seats and orange tires, only a few salespeople come up with the idea of ​​interjecting: Wait a minute, we have a blue one with black seats in the back. 

And can attending a technical college like you did really solve this problem? 
The training binds young employees more closely to the industry. The speakers are industry-oriented or have practical experience. But of course the FH graduate also needs a supervisor who lets him implement what he has learned. What we really need are enthusiastic salespeople who understand the topic 
Automobile life. I often miss this enthusiasm. 

Would you recommend your MBA training to every young salesperson? 
I've been in the automotive business for 26 years now and I've still learned a lot. On the other hand, there are certain wave movements in the market: sometimes consistent work is more important, sometimes training is more important. What the FH teaches you is above all a structured work process. And then it depends on what I personally want to achieve.