Confessions of an RV Salesman

There are exceptions. My local small town dealer is one. They will have, at most, a couple of dozen various RVs on the lot at any given time.

We were on a RV lot a county or 2 over and struck up a conversation with a nice couple who were also shopping. We shared experiences and then she said "whatever you do, don't buy until you visit the small town dealer in XXXXX. They will treat you right."

Contrast that with the local Camping World who tried to cook numbers and then tried to physical intimidate us when we laughed at that feeble attempt. I tell the story at every opportunity where I camp.

Word gets around a lot of the time.

Reminds me of an old website where a writer went undercover as a car salesman. I cannot find the original website, but I did find where someone captured it in PDF format. A fun read.

-Eric

Kansas Climber wrote:
These articles are just "click bait" to promote the people/businesses running ads on their site. I know many RV salespeople, many are my friends and I would trust them more than someone who publishes an anonymously written slam piece. You can replace RV Salesperson with anything, Car Salesperson, Pharmacist, Doctor, roofer, mechanic, anything. You make up your own mind who you want to deal with and if you feel good about it you win. Nice try Mac or whatever your name really is.

You should have stated, "You can replace an RV salesperson with anyone" - period!

Example: Pomona (CA) RV show - it's a biggie!
Walking past a display of RVs, I asked a salesman if I could have a brochure. He stated he didn't know where to find one.

Having seen the stcak of them in a compt of the RV we were standing next to, I pointed that out. (He thanked me for the help).
Nice guy, so foolishly, I asked a question about the RV. No clue. He said it was his first day on the job!!

Same show. A friend was in the market for a high-end MH. He made an *appointment* for a test drive. The RV business *owner* (had his card) asked him to wait a few minutes. While killing time he was in the back of one of the MoHos and overheard two salesmen up front.

One asked the other who is "the guy in back"? Ans: "Just some lookie loo". He left - purchased a used Foretravel from a pp.

Often a buyer -even with minimal knowledge- will be better informed than the salespeople.

The occupations you named *ALL* require some "background" - either experience, education - or both.

(IMO) RV salespersons have only two requirements: Alive and be able to speak..:R

~

None of this is news and very common to all sales people that have skill.

beemerphile1 wrote:
Seems legit, I've bought many cars, trucks, and RVs over the past fifty years and have seen all of those tricks.

That sales person may be manipulating customers but I didn't notice any lies to the customer. All successful sales people learn how to manipulate customers.

Agreed. One of the best books anyone could buy is "The Art of Selling" by Tom Hopkins. Knowing all the tricks, recognizing the manipulation, can save you a bunch of money through the years, because this is not something that only RV dealers use....LOL!

Rule #1 is: walk away, even if you have to be rude to do that. If you feel pressured, just walk away. If things are feeling "fuzzy", just walk away. A good salesperson knows that a big purchase needs careful thought, and if they did a good job, you WILL be back.

Hammerboy wrote:
I've often thought about being an RV salesman for real, because I like rv's and talking to people about rv's. The problem I would be to honest and therefore either have small paychecks or fired.;)

Dan

I see you're a fellow Michigander, so I disagree. Hubby and I own a small used-car lot, and have been rather successful by being honest, giving our customers printouts of the vehicle details/CarFax, etc and we give an out-the-door price. Zero pressure. We fully expect the potential customer to leave, go home and check around, maybe check with their spouse or family member.... and hopefully they will be back. I think most people respond favorably to a knowledgeable, no-pressure approach (especially here in the Midwest).

When shopping for my current truck the salesman handed me a piece of paper that was titled Kelly Blue Book Appraisal. It listed only some of the options I had, and then one line item jumped out:

V8 Engine - $5800.00

I asked him why this didn't come up when I used the KBB site. He said I don't know, lets ask the numbers guy. Numbers guy comes out and says oh - that comes from a dealer only version of KBB. I looked at the salesman and said do people actually fall for this? See ya later - walked out the door.