Steven Briggs – Car salesman 

Hi, my name is Steven Briggs and I’m 43. I left Ireland 20 years ago to emigrate to New Zealand.
I have been working in the car industry for some time now.

Cars are something everybody needs and it's an emotional product compared to what I've previously sold - sports equipment and photocopiers - which is why I decided to try car sales. 

There are some negative connotations associated with car salespeople, but if you're an honest person with a high level of integrity, you can do quite well. 

Car sales is about repeat business, so I try to provide the customer with exactly what they require, the right vehicle at the right price, giving them a package that suits them. 

To do that I need to explore the use, the number of people they're carrying, and the distance they're travelling, and then I provide them with the necessary information and the product that best meets their needs. 

People are very different, so you've got to learn to ask the right questions to get the right answers. Seeing customers drive away happy with their new car and knowing that it's the right car for them, is a very rewarding thing. 

With sales, ‘the sky is the limit’: your money earning capacity is only limited by yourself. 

But in this job you're not just selling, you may be grooming and washing cars, so it pays to have a practical approach to things, and be prepared to roll up your sleeves. 
 
In the future I'd like to get into car sales management and involved with finance, because finance is also a very large part of the industry. The career opportunities are good for a lot of people. 

If you sell well and you're prepared to work hard, you can get into management and do increasingly well. It's a good job, but it's also a hard job, and you have to take the good with the bad.