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Lessons From Sleazy Sales Tactics

Ace Luciano • Nov 08, 2022

Learning what "Not To Do" in your business can also be important.

Buying a new vehicle is usually similar to visiting the dentist. You can learn something from it to help your business, though.

After 10 years, I, again, had to engage in one of my least favorite activities.


No, I did not go to the dentist.


I did not visit my doctor to have a prostate exam, nor did I have a colonoscopy.


This was much worse than that.


I decided to buy another vehicle and wound up having to visit several car dealerships. 


After two recent long trips that involved traversing mountains and pulling trailers, it became apparent that my 10 year old ram with a V6 engine just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I decided to reach out to several dealerships as, miraculously, skyrocketing interest rates, high fuel prices, and screaming inflation have actually been a good thing for the truck market. Prices for both new and used trucks have dropped by thousands. 

I settled on several different vehicles, and, because of a hard lesson I learned long ago, used my designated “car shopping email” to reach out to each of the dealerships. Smelling blood in the water, it wasn’t long before they went on the attack- and even took bites out of each other!


The reason I tell this story is to learn valuable lessons in sales, sales techniques, and in creating opportunities for your business.


Car salesman fall on the spectrum well below dentists and lawyers on the respectability scale.

They have a Reputation and the stereotype of taking advantage of their customers and, typically, tend to churn through dealerships and even positions.


It is the car salesman that is almost solely responsible for the stereotyping and bad perception of sales people. Learning what not to do by looking at their example is a great way to help your business.

Because of this, in all the years that I have been purchasing vehicles, I have only had a repeat purchase from ONE. That dealership is Reed Chrysler in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. The Google Review I gave them and the photos I posted have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and have definitely contributed to their business success.

Conversely, another review I posted for the original installer of my truck cap was viewed over 70,000 times, but was one of numerous NEGATIVE reviews. They are no longer in business.


Lesson 1. Treat your potential customers with respect and they will give you the same. 


The first dealership that I walked into had a nice truck, a GMC Sierra 1500, with low miles and what seemed to be the right price. We went and talked numbers and I wasn’t sure, but I did like the vehicle so I gave them a small deposit to hold it for me until Sunday. That turned out to be an excellent decision.


I went around the corner to another dealership and was more impressed with the way they handled things- especially the way they dealt with my trade-in. The first dealership was almost rude about it, offering me an insulting amount that was well below the vehicle's value. It was so low that I told them I would not trade it in but was still interested in the vehicle.

I had actually chosen a new vehicle at the second dealership and was in the process of purchasing it, but they were playing the “slow” game. I'll explain more about this in a moment. While waiting, I was contacted by yet another dealer on a tremendous opportunity on a vehicle that was less than one year old and only had 3000 miles on it. It was very close to what I was looking at and was significantly less expensive. 


Lesson 2. Your Customer’s Time is Valuable 

Respect their time and they will respect you. 

 

Car sales people always try and keep you in the dealership for hours at a time. This technique “wears down“ your resolve and allows them to further take advantage of you in order to get on with your day and your life. A similar tactic is used by timeshare sales people, who tend to be regarded as equally "sleazy."


While I was waiting, I decided to reach out to some of the other dealerships I had previously talked to. Pretty soon I was in a three-way negotiation on three different vehicles from three different dealerships with everybody in a race to the bottom- and several thousand dollars coming off of the asking price, all while waiting at the current dealership to purchase a vehicle. 

As it turns out, the dealership I was at was having some customer flow issues and a technical problem, so, after over two hours there, they actually sent me home.

Huge mistake. 

The next day, I decided to visit the dealer with the low mileage vehicle before I went back to the other dealer with the new vehicle. I liked it enough that I told him I wanted to pull the trigger on it. I did tell him that I did not want to be there all day, but wanted to give him time to negotiate the best deal he could. Another few thousand dollars off of the asking price, and we signed paperwork.


It was then that the next sleazy trick came out of the bag.


I chose a diesel engine for my new truck, as they tend to last longer and tow better.


Lesson 3- Never Use a Sleazy Sales Technique to Take Advantage of Your Customer. 


I do not know how things operate in other states, and previous states I lived in did not have these issues, but, in Arizona, used cars are often advertised at a low price and then, at the last minute, (usually as you are signing the sales agreement) the sales person and dealership tack on something called “dealer add-ons.“

This is another sleazy sales tactic that is often referred to as a “bait and switch.“ The car you want to buy isn’t actually that price, but several thousand dollars more due to very low-value things that the dealer had "added" to them. Because I know this, I always ask very pointed and very detailed questions. I let the sales person know that if there’s anything like a “dealer add-on“ or other sleazy sales tactic that I am gone and they will never see me again.


They need to give me the actual best price they can give and then carry that price all the way through to the paperwork. 

They always agree, and almost never, ever hold to it.


My sales person ran the numbers and as he was going through them I looked and noticed that the out the door price was almost $3000 more than we had agreed.
I immediately stopped him and backed up. “What are these charges?” I asked.

“Oh. I was just getting to that,” he said without missing a beat. “This charge for $699 is for window tinting and a lifetime warranty on the tint and any damage that might happen to it. We also have Nitrogen in all of the tires for $299, and a theft security system for $1199. This next part is the enhanced bumper to bumper warranty that we do that will cover anything that the manufacturers warranty does not, and includes your first 2 oil changes and tire rotations.”


Anyone that has ever shopped for those things knows that you can get window tinting for $200 anywhere with a warranty, the air we breathe is almost 80% nitrogen, but you can also get it free at most Costcos, and you can buy a GPS tracking system for your vehicle on Amazon for around $50.

Finally, 2 oil changes with a tire rotation costs about $50. These things all cost the dealership a lot less than that. 


I stood up and told him, “I’m sorry for taking your time, but, more importantly, I am very disappointed I let you waste mine.“ 


He actually chased me to the door and said that he had to offer me those options, but they were just that – “options.“

We went back and looked at the rest of the deal, including the “average financing they were seeing now,” and what my monthly payment would be.


Lesson 4. Always do what is best for the customer.


The following is another sleazy tactic that unscrupulous salespeople will use in order to get paid extra commissions on the amount above the rate that you are charged and qualify for. Fortunately, I always check with all of the banks and credit unions I do business with to see who has the best loan and I’m pre-approved for a good rate long before I walk through the dealership door. In this case, that number was 1.5% below the rate that the dealer was offering me and resulted in my estimated payment dropping over $45 per month. 

That’s almost $3000 over the course of the loan. 


Eventually, we signed the deal and I had my new truck.

I finally walked out of the dealership worn, tired, and feeling a little bit dirty from just being there.


The overall lesson to learn from my experience is to treat your customers like you would want to be treated as a customer, and you will always do better.


As always, To your success!
-Ace


Who is Ace Luciano? 

That depends on whom you ask. 

Ask anyone in the outdoor world, and they'll tell you that Ace is a big game hunter and adventurer that has a great deal of sales knowledge that seems to be everywhere and knows everyone. 

Ask someone in the “corporate world” and they might tell you that Ace is the guy that smashes and sets sales records that may have stood for decades-regardless of the industry…but there is so much more. 

Hunter. Fisherman. Outdoorsman. Youth Mentor. Writer. Best-selling author. Entrepreneur. Sales Executive. Marketing Expert. Seminar speaker. Fundraising Professional. These phrases and more have all been used to describe this dynamic outdoor personality and all around "good-guy." A self-described outdoor "generalist" who is a jack of many trades, and a Master of several, Ace is often described as "that guy..."

As in, "You know... THAT GUY...." 

Ace's passion for youth mentoring has led directly to the introduction of THOUSANDS of new hunters and shooters to the sport.

When it comes to business, Ace is all business. He is a recipient of numerous sales and performance awards, has advised and improved on sales processes for numerous Fortune 50 multimillion to multibillion dollar corporations, writes and speaks with an authoritative yet upbeat and entertaining style, and still is able to make time to be a dedicated husband and proud father of four fantastic kids. To learn more about or to reach Ace, visit: www.AceLuciano.com


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