Al Macht of Sales and Leasing at Mann-Northway (Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac) has been working at the same dealership in Prince Albert, Sask., for nearly 55 years.
He is now nearly 80 years old, but in a previous life, Macht was a radio/TV announcer for the news and sports. He left the business to work for a Chevrolet dealership, telling them he wanted to sell cars but would need a little help for his first sale. Since then, he has sold 12,000 vehicles.
He also sold his fair share of vehicles in 2020, at a time when he said many young sales representatives struggled to do so amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with Canadian auto dealer, Macht said he was able to sell vehicles due to the number of repeat customers he had.
“The other gentleman that’s been here for 20 some years and myself, we were the only ones here in the showroom and we sold lots of vehicles,” said Macht. “It is a learning experience. It’s not the easiest job in the world to get accustomed to, but you have to work hard at it.”
Macht said that when he first started, he worked six days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. When the dealership added more hours, he would drop by from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to meet people and sell vehicles.
“You’re making more money, you’ve got happy customers, and you feel good about it. And that’s why I’ve been here all these years,” said Macht. “I’ve got some customers I’ve sold (vehicles to) since 1969 coming to see me. It’s very rewarding, and that’s probably the nicest thing about it. I don’t want to stay away because I’ve always got somebody coming in here to buy vehicles from me.”
As he was being interviewed, Macht was awaiting a friend for a vehicle delivery — someone he met in the mid-1980s. They were driving down a hill and there was a lot of black ice, said Macht, who collided with the other vehicle. They met by chance, but have been good friends since — and his friend remains a good customer. Macht said younger people in the business may need to spend more time with customers to sell more vehicles.
“We would take some for a drive and we’d explain the car to them and gain a good understanding of what the customer wants, and (then) look after them after the sale,” said Macht. “And they’d come back and buy vehicles from you. Repeat customers. The younger generation doesn’t seem to operate that way.”
He said for some people, selling a vehicle is all about the sale — like selling a television set in a store. For others, there may be a level of discomfort with how they connect to people, or there may be unconscious bias towards a potential customer. Macht advises taking the time to learn about the product, take the training courses offered to them by the OEM, and to not be afraid to work evenings or weekends.
As for his view of the future — of COVID-19 having an impact on digitalization and what the future may hold in this respect, Macht said we may not see as many sales representatives in-dealership as the focus will shift to people delivering the vehicles. He also said other retail businesses like Costco and Walmart may start to sell vehicles.
“I just see it coming in the future,” said Macht. “That’s my opinion.”
