kenratboy Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 What do you think? Screw ethics (as in, I WOULD need to play salesman), can you make over $10 an hour if you are not a retard like most of them? Any opinions? I went in for an interview, but they spent half an hour with me, then they realized I was 17, and they don't hire until you are 18, but in February, that will change? Any opinions? ------------------ Receiver: Sony STR-DE675 CD player: Sony CDP-CX300 Turntable: Technics SL-J3 with Audio-Technica TR485U Speakers: JBL HLS-610 Subwoofer: JBL 4648A-8 Sub amp: Parts Express 180 watt Center/surrounds: Teac 3-way bookshelfs Yes, it sucks, but better to come. KLIPSCH soon! My computer is better than my stereo! For JBL related subjects and more fun, click: http://www.audioheritage.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 I was once offered a job at the same place, but they realized I was 2 years younger, I'm 14 and you need to be 16 here in minnesota. They said I'm welcome to come back though. you should take it cause they also give away speakrs and stuff to people who sell the most stuff. ------------------ New music system: 2.1 using SF-2's (soon to be RF-7's), and an RSW-15. for amplification Mcintosh MC02105, B&K PT-3 preamp, Sony SACD player. pioneer turntable. Computer uses Promedia 2.1's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 Of course. It's honest work if you do it honestly. There are good salesman, and I personally seek them out. I'll gladly fork over the money if they earn it. I will now share with you my favorite 'close', and if you use it -- you will do fine. "So, Mr. XYZ. When's the best time for delivery?" -- or any derivitive thereof. "Would you like me to help you load it up." It's just a matter of timing. When their squirming, but look like they want it -- deliver the close. Nothing to it. The secret to sales is remembering that people love to spend money -- even if they act like they don't want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 ken, sure. even if you are already overqualified. commission is the most efficient pay system where it can be applied. just remember you're always smarter than the customer, & the customer is always right. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 I really would love a job at a hi-end audio/video store. I am thinking Tweeter. I know the managers and love the field. I am 18 so that would not be a problem. The problem is I am trying to get a job at a law firm. I really want to be a lawyer one day, so you have reason to hate me hehe, and I figured that would be a good start. In so manyof those HT stores they have to brainwash you with BOSE (il)logistics (made up word, yay) and then, after that, they should you the Klipsch or B&W or whathave you. Just what they have to do to stay in business I suppose. BTW. If anyone was wondering, Tweeter has just unvieled its new online store. Got the 411 on this from my friend Steve at Tweeter It looks really nice, finally, I can get a list of what they have without going to the store... wait, that is a bad thing Another note about these HT stores. One near me, Audio Demensions, normally has these incredible deals on home audio. Like the $225 HD-600's and whatnot. They had today, 100 Feet of 14 guage XMPS Monster Cable for $16.99. Normal price is probably like $40 or higher. They also have the new KEF line. It is really nice, I must say. The sound is not outstanding, but they look amazing. The tweeters are gold colored and man oh man, it looks nice. Go check them out! ------------------ -justin SoundWise promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5s> Email Me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted September 22, 2002 Author Share Posted September 22, 2002 I want to know, how much does a DECENT (middle of the road) salesman make at a place like Good Guys? In Nevada, you CANNOT get paid below min. wage, so $5.25 MINIMUM, but on one in town pays below $6. So, a min wage job + commision. On AVERAGE, would a salesman (Good Guys) make $5, $10 extra an hour (like if you did the math anually for houry salary?) Guys, how much is commision usually? I would love to setup my budget for making my base wage my "working money" and all the commision is "sugar", like a bonus. If I do well, I have lots of extra money, if I do OK, I will still have a sound financial plan. I am lving at home (for the next 5 years, he he he...) so I would only need to pay for car and some basics like that. Anyway, Good Guys sells Klipsch. I would see if I could get Klipsch to send me a box of chocolate at Christman, if you know what I mean (if you don'r, I would plug Klipsch like crazy.) Also, the salesmen at Good Guys seem to be pretty lame, as in they don't try to "SELL" you anything. You can usually control them like a sick puppy. ------------------ Receiver: Sony STR-DE675 CD player: Sony CDP-CX300 Turntable: Technics SL-J3 with Audio-Technica TR485U Speakers: JBL HLS-610 Subwoofer: JBL 4648A-8 Sub amp: Parts Express 180 watt Center/surrounds: Teac 3-way bookshelfs Yes, it sucks, but better to come. KLIPSCH soon! My computer is better than my stereo! For JBL related subjects and more fun, click: http://www.audioheritage.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 KRB et al. Why do you assume that every sales critter is out to screw you? I have worked as a salesperson at various times. It was always impressed on me that my job was to demonstrate to the customer that my product was the best answer in their quest for the vehicle etc. that best met their needs. If a customer pointed out that another maker's offering met a particular need better than what I had to offer I should point out that while my product did not meet that need quite as well as the competitor's product what we offered addressed that need almost as well and in addition what we were offering met some other need better than what our competitors offered. That Mi Amigo is what competition in the marketplace is all about. Yes it is fair to say that I would do my utmost to persuade my customer that what I was selling was his/her best choice but I never resorted to lying. FWIW Most salespeople make something over minimum wage and some are able to generate a very large income but only a few make anything near what a good carpenter or plumber can make. ------------------ It is meet to recall that the Great Green Heron rarely flies upside down in the moonlight - (Foo Ling ca.1900) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 I have two thoughts to share: #1. Invest in getting experience in your chosen career pursuit. If you want to be in sales then the job would be good experience and potentially good pay. Sales is also good life experience (idenitfying needs, negotiating, etc.) If you want to pursue a technical career then I would try to get a job where you can pursue training, certifications, and get experience that can be leveraged into a job after college. If you want to be in real estate or home finance (booming now and they could use help) then be an assistant for a real estate agent or loan officer. They can pay you a bonus, too. #2. Successful sales professionals are able to quickly identify why a person took the effort to enter the store and provide a solution that meets their needs/desires at a price/terms within their budget. I like the following process: 1. Attention - put the customer at ease and establish rapport. 2. Interest - generate desire for more info, build credibility. 3. Needs & Qualificaiton - buying criteria, decision authority, etc. 4. Bulding the sale - get the information and prepare for presentation of a solution 5. Presentation - gain agreement, communication of costs, etc. 6. Close - This is where the assumptive close ("when do you want it delivered") could be used. Poor work on steps 1-5 make the odds pretty steep that closing techniques will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted September 23, 2002 Author Share Posted September 23, 2002 lynnm, I talked with the manager of our Good Guys. He is about 6'8 (203 cm, huge (not fat, but massive), about 30 and he looks like the sort of person that would be working a super competitive car lot. He is nice, but I got the impression money was his only concern. Personally, I would love to have the job bacause I feel I could put my knowledge to good use and hopefilly make some money. Obviously, this is NOT a career path, but a part time job until I can get a REAL job. What did you mean by this: quote: FWIW Most salespeople make something over minimum wage and some are able to generate a very large income but only a few make anything near what a good carpenter or plumber can make. Does the career job end with skilled trade? Anyway, I am a very moral person, and I feel I could do a LOT better than many of the salesmen at our Good Guys. Hey, I don't have anything to loose! ------------------ Receiver: Sony STR-DE675 CD player: Sony CDP-CX300 Turntable: Technics SL-J3 with Audio-Technica TR485U Speakers: JBL HLS-610 Subwoofer: JBL 4648A-8 Sub amp: Parts Express 180 watt Center/surrounds: Teac 3-way bookshelfs Yes, it sucks, but better to come. KLIPSCH soon! My computer is better than my stereo! For JBL related subjects and more fun, click: http://www.audioheritage.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 I'm not sure what you are asking. ------------------ It is meet to recall that the Great Green Heron rarely flies upside down in the moonlight - (Foo Ling ca.1900) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 I think he is saying/asking, that a trade job, plumber, carpenter etc, pays less than a sales job at a high end audio store. my answer would be yes. our plumber drives a lexus suv.... that is where the money is at. the guys who cut our yard about 10 years ago now have in home workers pruning their yards... those who you see below you know, just you wait, some day you may be below them working on their lawn, toilet, or leaky room. Who knows what the future holds! ------------------ -justin SoundWise promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5s> Email Me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 kenratboy, I have never worked in an audio sales position, but I spent four years at ComputerLand in the early days (pre-1985) when the PC business was in about the same growth phase the home entertainment business seems to be now. Advantages - you get to mess around with the coolest, most state of the art stuff (uh, high end retail mass market state of the art, anyway). You get to meet at least some people who are into this as much as you are. You are more in control of the money you make than you are in other jobs. Disadvantages - where to begin... (a) while some customers are willing to consider that you ought to get paid for the amount of time you spend educating them, the *VAST* majority (uh, in my experience, anyway) will suck you dry of everything you know, then price shop, and *ONLY* buy from you if you are at least as cheap as the lowest priced grey market unregulated out of the back of the shop gypsy retailer / e-tailer they can find. ( If they *DO* buy from someone else, they will still come back to *YOU* and expect you to answer their questions, solve their problems, and hold their hands because, after all, you are an authorized dealer for this stuff and the manufacturer expects you to support their customers, right? © While you will meet some really nice people and maybe make some good friends, you will also (and far more frequently) meet a series of people who will each in their own way convince you that you are talking to the stupidest person on the face of the earth, and you will be completely powerless to escape their single minded dogged pursuit of you as you try to help other customers. (d) You will have periods of time during which, for no apparent reason and due to causes completely outside of your control, you will make *NO MONEY* because there are *NO CUSTOMERS* to sell to. (e) Most people seem to be completely unaware of the fact that a store like Good Guys actually *BUYS* their inventory. They seem to think it somehow materializes at the store at zero cost, and if you are selling them a $299 receiver, you are making $299 profit on the deal. Seriously. They get angry and offended when you try to explain that you can't possibly take 25% off every price, and will give you a blank stare when you use words like "our cost". (f) As the market becomes more mature, and prices continue to erode, it becomes more and more difficult to sell enough product at a high enough profit level to make enough of a commission to answer the question "Why the HELL am I doing this?" I can think of no more difficult career path to follow. Ever wonder why so many of the salespeople at the mass market chains seem to be, uh, somewhat intellectually challenged? Perhaps because they're the ones who continue to work there... Ray, no, not jaded, not at all... ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Ray's Music System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted September 24, 2002 Share Posted September 24, 2002 I used to work at a retail store for thirteen years and if your gonna work in a commission department you may want to consider working a lot of night shifts. That's when most of my people would come in, after their work-day is over. I used to work a bit of teh morning shift only to talk to (mostly) the wives of the buyers. The wives go home, tell the hubbies and bring them in after work to buy the item. by that time my shift is over and I went home only to have the sale go to some unscrupulous co-worker that doesn't give me the credit! Gggrrrrrr!! We used to work on a Draw System. You were paid your regular wages, say $5.50/ hr. BUT!! All the items have their own percentage of commission (i.e.- VCR's were 2%, Audio gear was 4.5%, computers were 3%). Now you had to sell an amount of merchandise that totals the amount of your commission percentages. For instance if your hourly salary was $40 a day your had to accumulate $X,XXX of commissioned percentages for that day to break even. Anything over that was your commisson check. Not always a good thing. But at Christmas it's awsome! That's why I requested a transfer to a non-commission dept. I ran the Firearms Dept. for ten years and Ray is most certainly right about becoming the "Free Guru" to somebody else' customer. My gunsmith (RIP) used to tell people that called on him "Go ask the people that sold it to you!!" I really admired him. He would tell people where to go (to hell) in a heartbeat and still have a loyal clientel that kept him making money hand over fist. Whish I could have done that. Ol' Joe (the gunsmith) really liked me though, see I was one of the few that actually DID what I sold (competition hand shooting in IPSC Class C), unlike a lot of these "just passing through" employee types. Did I expect that job to be the only job I'll ever have? Of course not. But I gave it my all when I had it. ------------------ Tom's Money Pit This message has been edited by tblasing on 09-24-2002 at 12:37 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 24, 2002 Share Posted September 24, 2002 Good posts all. Ray, you depressed me -- I forgot about that stuff Ken, do it for the experience. If you don't like it, or it doesn't work out -- you can find something else. At any rate, at least you will be doing something you have a genuine interest in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted September 24, 2002 Share Posted September 24, 2002 Ray, is right (again, damnit!), you should do it if you like sales, shouldnt you? But not cuase you like Klipsch and think you will be selling it to people who dont know about it. Nobody buys from a zealot. People would ask me how I could do PC sales and I would say it is simple, I only deal with people who are buying PCs. They say something like I wanna buy a PC when they come into the store. And I say which one do you want to buy? then, I wrap it up and sell it to them! Dont waste time with people who are not buying. Sales, if you work hard at mastering your craft, can be the highest-paid hard work around. It can also be, if you do not learn every thing there is know about every single product that you sell and every sales technique there is, the lowest-paid easy work ------------------ Colin's Music System Ak-2 Khorns & Klipsch subs; lights out, tubes glowing & smile beaming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted September 24, 2002 Share Posted September 24, 2002 I remember our store making us see a series of video tapes called "Joel Weldon's Science of Selling". Boy was this guy full of crap. The "Qualifying the Customer" angle only works if the people are willing to buy from YOU. Unlike the clientele that came into my store they didn't care about where they got the product from, they just wanted it cheaper. All day long I would hear things like "When's that goin' on sale??" Not "Is it..." or "How much is it when it's..." but "When". Nothing drove me up a tree more. Most of what we sold was not at MSRP but God forbid if one of these customers bought something and was not smart enough to get a discount somehow. ------------------ Tom's Money Pit This message has been edited by tblasing on 09-24-2002 at 12:39 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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