For at least 6 months before my wife and I bought our RV we had been researching travel trailers, fifth wheels and toy haulers. We had gone to multiple dealers, checking out a number of brands, following some awesome YouTube channels and … following a quite a few of Facebook groups! And, we learned a ton from each source!
One of the most fascinating facets of this process for us was the sales experience. It ran from abysmal to outstanding based on the dealer with the majority of the interactions being well below par. To make sure I am clear we did not run into anyone that wasn’t a nice person … just not very well trained in the art and science of professional selling. It was amazing to me considering the price point of the product and my personal and professional background!
Right along with those dealer experiences has been what we have seen during our research here on Facebook from the consumer side of the equation! It has been typical in many threads to hear dealers called “stealerships” and to read stereotypical jokes like “How do you know when a salesperson is lying? When their mouth is moving!”
In general, there seems to be a strong and consistent disdain for the RV industry sales profession, along with the dealers and the manufacturers as well. To be fair, there have been a number of folks that shared with us the names of some of the best sales professionals we have met. We eventually made our final decision based on some of those recommendations.
I said all of that to say this … I am a sales guy! Always have been and always will be. When done properly I believe it is among the most honorable professions on the planet. Helping individuals and organizations buy products and services that enhance lives and/or grows the bottom line is about as cool as it gets in my book. So, I spent the first 17 years of my career selling for a couple of Fortune 100 sales organizations and the last 30 years as a speaker, trainer and consultant to sales organizations like IBM, XEROX, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Halliburton, Akzo Nobel, Mercedes Benz, Cadillac and many more.
With that background I have been sadly disappointed at the lack of training evident in 90% of the 30+ salespeople we came into contact with during the 6 months we were looking for a RV! Even the simplest of strategies, tactics, skills, processes, systems and mindset necessary for a consistent sales experience were missing. I will also say that I don’t think we have run into more that 1 or maybe 2 salespeople that we thought were outwardly dishonest or untrustworthy … and I can smell “commission breath” from a mile away!
Here is what I think is important … this lack of training should be used to our advantage and a leverage point as a consumer! With the amount of information about manufacturers, dealers, floor plans, pricing, financing and even salespeople available if we get taken advantage of (yes … I do believe it does happen) then I believe that may very well be on us as buyers.
What did we do and what do I recommend any consumer wanting to purchase a high ticket item in the RV industry do? Here is a start …
1. Do your homework! Don’t ever go out and buy something this expensive on impulse. While emotion is an important part of the buying process it will only cause you to make mistakes early on. Logic, and the control that comes with it, will serve you better in the beginning. You can get emotional after you order your new unit or, buy one the dealer has in inventory.
2. What is your price point range? What fits your budget not just for buying but for maintaining and using your unit? When consumers buy something only to find out later that they can’t afford the day to day, month to month and year to year operating costs too many of us then start blaming the manufacturer, dealer and/or the sales rep for our poor decision!
3. Manufacturer – know the relative strengths and weaknesses of each manufacturer that has product that falls in your price range. Check out the YouTube channels, Facebook pages and other resources available by simply using “the Google” (that’s what my mother in law calls it!) to do the research. Understand every manufacturer will have both pluses and minuses. Look for the ones that have fewer or that their challenges seem to be minor.
Keep in mind these manufacturers all buy the same components, for the most part, from the same manufacturers. So, if a Dometic, or Lippert or any one of the brand name components breaks on one manufacturers product it probably breaks on other manufacturers products as well. What I am looking for is did the manufacturer of the RV make sure it got repaired in a timely fashion? I am also looking for how well did they do their job on the part of the building process they did have control over!
4. Dealerships – the very same goes for the dealership that applies to the manufacturer! Do the homework … check out their Google reviews, Yelp reviews and crowd source what people think about a specific dealership by asking about them in one of the many Facebook groups available.
Once we had narrowed our decision down to manufacturer/floor plan and 3 dealerships we asked on the Texas RV’ing Facebook group what people thought about those 3 dealerships. Result? All 3 had people that loved them and all three had detractors! That said, 2 of them had far more negative comments than the third and the one with fewer had the smaller type of complaints. We chose that third dealer to place the order for our new unit!
5. Relationships – while we are on the subject of “ships”! One of the things that stood out to me was how many people said … “they were great while we were buying but after the sale everything on the service side was terrible”!
Having read that we took the time to connect with and talk to the Service Director at all 3 dealerships that made our final group. I met the one we are buying from face to face and asked him to take me on a tour of their service department. We discussed how they would support us while on the road along with the manufacturer, local dealers and local certified RV repair professionals and my own (in)abilities to do minor repairs. We had those same conversations with the sales rep at each of the dealers.
We also had that same conversations with the regional sales rep for the manufacturer we chose and even took the time to make a trip to the manufacturer during the time when our unit was being built to establish relationships at that level. Do I think that means we will have zero problems? I doubt it. But it does mean we have taken the time to research, get to know and create a support network at a number of levels, and I am confident we will be taken care of!
6. Salespeople – on of the key relationships in this process is the one we develop with the dealer sales rep! Believe it or not there is a ton of information via “the Google”, Yelp and other resources out there as well. Like I said, every sales rep has been cordial. I have not felt like a single sales rep has been dishonest. But, with only one or two exceptions, they have all been poorly trained!
As an example … if I had told you, the sales rep, that we were looking at mid bunks and toy haulers because we wanted to convert them into office space so we could work while traveling what should have been the first question to come out of their mouth? Simple! “Really, what kind of business are you in?” Believe it or not, that only happened twice! Blows me away to this day! Then digging in to find out more about how we planned to use the rig, so they could better assist us, would be Sales 101! I could go on and on, but I imagine you get the picture.
So, finding a good salesperson is rare but important! How would I do that?
- I would go to the Google reviews and look for names of people that regularly appear with glowing reviews.
- I would crowd source them on pages like this … “who do you recommend as a salesperson at XYZ dealership?”
- Heck, call the dealership and ask the receptionist who they think are the top 2 or 3 salespeople there? They know!
And, if at any point you are not happy or don’t feel connected to your salesperson, ask for another one! Don’t be embarrassed or settle for someone that isn’t a good fit! We aren’t buying a $100 bicycle at WalMart here. We are investing in a product with a significant price point so make certain you like your rep.
7. As a consumer – we have a lot of important responsibilities that play a part as well! Besides what is listed above here is what I feel makes for being a great buyer. Did you know what they say about us in the halls when no one is around? “Buyers are liars”! Why would they say that? Because it is true too often! Consumers lie about their credit scores, their down payment, the condition of their trade in, when they are going to buy, what the other dealer offered and on and on. It’s like lying to a police officer … they can smell it a mile away and they know better! And if they don’t, they will find out sooner or later that your credit score isn’t stellar, or your trade in is in bad shape or fill in the blank isn’t exactly what was stated.
So, I recommend you be transparent! Before ordering our new unit we told all three sales reps that we would be sending the bid sheet to three dealers and we told them which ones. I figured they would figure it out eventually when/if all 3 called their regional rep! We told them we would be basing our decision on price, brand reputation/support, dealer service reputation/support, our trade in and on financing options and percentage rates.
These are the criteria that mattered most to us. And, I knew exactly what we were looking for, from a pricing standpoint, as a % off of MSRP. I also knew what would be a reasonable trade in $$$ for our used TT as well. Did we negotiate, push for more, add on things and do everything we could to get a great deal? Absolutely!
I learned a long time ago that “a good deal is a state of mind”! I felt like we got a great deal and I want the dealer to feel like they got a great customer. Believe it or not, I want them to make money. I want them to be around a long time so they can take care of me and I don’t want them hiding from me when I show up because they feel like I am going to beat them up over something.
When they mess up you will hear about it. When they do something well and out of the ordinary you will hear about it as well! I think one of the problems is we, as consumers, are quick to complain loudly when something isn’t right but don’t take the time to say thanks when it is done well.
Bottom line?
- Don’t get in a hurry and make an emotional decision. That is the kiss of death to getting a good deal!
- Do your homework on the brand, the dealer, the floor plan, financing, sales professional and anything else that might impact the quality of your decision.
- Take control! You are the buyer, they want your money and in exchange you should get the product/services you want.
- Don’t be afraid to walk away from a bad deal! Hint: If more than 1 dealer lets you walk away from the same deal you are asking for too much for too little!
If you got this far … thanks for reading! If I can help you in any way be a more effective consumer, buyer, customer and/or negotiator let me know! It would be a privilege to assist!
Jim & Christie Jacobus
Joyhauling With Team Jacobus 