Confessions of a Car Salesman

Especialmente ahora que estoy "en el mercado" buscando un auto nuevo... Este trabajo de reportaje bajo cubierta resulto muy ilustrativo. Ahora cada que hablo con un vendedor de autos, puedo ver los pequeños engranes que se discuten en el articulo. Ah y tambien es bueno para cualquiera que no desee un trabajo en ventas, para seguir asi.

y todo comienza por el llenado de formas ridiculas:

The application they gave me at the car dealership included a "personality test," a list of about 80 questions to which I had to answer yes or no. There were no right answers, the instructions told me. The questions gave me insight to the kind of people who typically applied for jobs at car dealerships.

The first few questions were innocent enough, something like: "I enjoy relaxing and listening to music: yes or no?" But soon I noticed a trend developing. Question 7 was, "I enjoy going to bars: yes or no?" A few more innocent questions followed, then, "After going to a bar I feel good about myself: yes or no?" Questions about bars continued throughout.

Then, at about number 73, was this loaded question: "I like guns: yes or no?" I wondered how they would react if I crossed out the word "like" and put in "love." Better yet, I considered inserting the word "automatic" in front of "guns."

Y las palabras magicas para entrar al mundo de la venta de autos:

"You've never sold cars before. Is that right?"

"Right."

"Why do you want to work here?"

My first inclination was to say, hey, I'm a car freak. Always have been. I could explain cars, how they work, get people excited about the performance and the different features. But then I remembered my editor's advice.

I smiled at Dave, trying to convey the feeling that the answer was obvious.

"I want to make a lot of money," I said.

The effect on Dave was amazing. He smiled and relaxed, as if I had said the password to enter an exclusive club. If this had been a cartoon, dollar signs would have appeared in his eyes accompanied by a loud "Cha-ching!"

muy buen articulo y recomendado tanto como reportaje o como buena ficcion.

Confessions of a Car Salesman