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And what exactly is wrong with Passion?

Flybye

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Ive been warned and read several times already - dont go by passion.

So what happens when you have passion and a clear goal how to make things better for consumers?

My goal: Enjoy the buying experience when buying a car.
Why? Because too many salesmen look like they have zero enthusiasm with even less knowledge about cars.

I am a car guy. I like cars. I work on my own cars. Ive raced cars in sanctioned racing events. Ive traveled to Germany just to enjoy the autobahn over 150mph. I did all the car guy stuff while in Germany like visiting the BWM museum and the Porsche factory. Every car has a unique soul that makes each one interesting to drive.

Oh that won't help making money. It SURE HAS for ME! I sold cars for a small lot for several years. Id sell 3-5 cars a week or so. I had constant referrals. Customers were impressed when I knew more than their so called "mechanics" that they brought with them. Id tell them the truth. I remind them why x car would be fun and/or useful for their purpose. When people were interested in a car, within a few minutes Id have them driving it so that they can feel what it would be like driving it on a daily basis. I treated each car and customer with general enthusiasm. I was the kid in the candy shop. And every customer that came in I treated them like another kid. Hey, have some candy. You will like it. And they did. I didnt look at it as just selling a thing to someone. I treat it as giving birth to a new family member to everyone.

And guess what? Everyone loved my madness. Even years after I left, the owner of the lot told me customers still come in asking for me, and I was the best salesman he ever had. I practically ran the entire lot myself since the owner was usually out on the road. All I needed was the capital to start my own.

Two of the most important things I used were knowledge and enthusiasm. Are those not 2 of the most important things in sales? Anyone can ask for the sale, but what makes you think you will get that yes without convincing the buyer what you have is perfect for them and reliable?
 
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Lex DeVille

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Ive been warned and read several times already - dont go by passion.

So what happens when you have passion and a clear goal how to make things better for consumers?

My goal: Enjoy the buying experience when buying a car.
Why? Because too many salesmen look like they have zero enthusiasm with even less knowledge about cars.

I am a car guy. I like cars. I work on my own cars. Ive raced cars in sanctioned racing events. Ive traveled to Germany just to enjoy the autobahn over 150mph. I did all the car guy stuff while in Germany like visiting the BWM museum and the Porsche factory. Every car has a unique soul that makes each one interesting to drive.

Oh that won't help making money. It SURE HAS for ME! I sold cars for a small lot for several years. Id sell 3-5 cars a week or so. I had constant referrals. Customers were impressed when I knew more than their so called "mechanics" that they brought with them. Id tell them the truth. I remind them why x car would be fun and/or useful for their purpose. When people were interested in a car, within a few minutes Id have them driving it so that they can feel what it would be like driving it on a daily basis. I treated each car and customer with general enthusiasm. I was the kid in the candy shop. And every customer that came in I treated them like another kid. Hey, have some candy. You will like it. And they did. I didnt look at it as just selling a thing to someone. I treat it as giving birth to a new family member to everyone.

And guess what? Everyone loved my madness. Even years after I left, the owner of the lot told me customers still come in asking for me, and I was the best salesman he ever had. I practically ran the entire lot myself since the owner was usually out on the road. All I needed was the capital to start my own.

Two of the most important things I used were knowledge and enthusiasm. Are those not 2 of the most important things in sales? Anyone can ask for the sale, but what makes you think you will get that yes without convincing the buyer what you have is perfect for them and reliable?

Of the people you engaged with passion, how many handed you cash without wanting the car?
 

Flybye

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Of the people you engaged with passion, how many handed you cash without wanting the car?
I convinced a decent amount enough to give a holding down payment while they collected the rest. Or is your point that I should be able to sell anything to anyone even if a tangible product does not exist and sell purely on an idea?
 

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Passion to provide and communicate value, yes. You exhibit that.

Passion that fanatically ignore customer needs, no.
 
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MidwestLandlord

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Your passion sold them a commodity they needed, instead of them buying it from someone else...which is great.

But ultimately the car is what filled their need (in fact, you explain well how you sold them on how THE CAR would fill their needs)

Usually people that "follow their passion" do so while convincing themselves there is a need when in reality there is not.
 

Flybye

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Passion that fanatically ignore customer needs, no.
Ive never understood how salesman/owners do not understand this. How can you succeed without providing what the customer needs? The only thing that matters in the end is customers buying your product. I just dont see the wrong in letting a bit of passion plow this forward as long as you always understand what the customers want.
 

Lex DeVille

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Ive never understood how salesman/owners do not understand this. How can you succeed without providing what the customer needs? The only thing that matters in the end is customers buying your product. I just dont see the wrong in letting a bit of passion plow this forward as long as you always understand what the customers want.

There's a difference between building a business based on passion vs. approaching your business with passion. Nobody said you shouldn't be passionate. Just passion isn't the end product. Ford F-150 is.
 
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ZF Lee

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Ive never understood how salesman/owners do not understand this. How can you succeed without providing what the customer needs? The only thing that matters in the end is customers buying your product. I just dont see the wrong in letting a bit of passion plow this forward as long as you always understand what the customers want.
Yes, allow passion to help you communicate value well.

In fact, that was what helped me out in freelance.

I just ate at a noodle restaurant today. Horrible service.

The server wouldn't even entertain us for orders although there were only three full tables in a place with roughly 20.

My mum's noodles were SPIKED with Chinese wine. Made it taste bitter.

When she grilled the servers on it, there was crickets...

It is all about relative value. Sure, I might get the bowl of noodles I ordered. But if it is bad, I might not come back.
 

TonyStark

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Nothing is wrong with passion. Passion as a business is a bad idea. Passion is emotion and emotions are fleeting. Businesses built on passion will fail.

I prefer businesses built on autonomy.
 
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GMSI7D

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Ive been warned and read several times already - dont go by passion.

So what happens when you have passion and a clear goal how to make things better for consumers?


a lot of guys on youtube make a living from their passion

for example :

Joe Robinet

the guy has got 566,000 followers in his bushcraft youtube channel

since he has a lot of followers, a lot of brands are interested in his channel because he is trusted by 566,000 people

so he has got sponsors

so yes , we can earn money from our passion in this original way

the guy doesn't own a business.

i think he doesn't even own a tie

he is just using the power of the internet to make a living on youtube





.
 

biophase

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Im glad to have realized I am on the same page. :smile2: TY

What Lex means is that if you were working at an icemaker machine store in Alaska in December you wouldn't be able to sell them no matter how passionate you were about the icemaker.
 

Flybye

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What Lex means is that if you were working at an icemaker machine store in Alaska in December you wouldn't be able to sell them no matter how passionate you were about the icemaker.
Ah gotcha.

Well South Florida's mass transit system is pretty horrific. You can almost call it nonexistent. It is very difficult to get around without your own wheels here. In the beginning I will have to start with low budget commoner cars, and people gobble up the small crossovers/wagons like candy. So my starter inventory will need to look like RAV4s, Civics, Muranos, Altimas, Sentras, etc.
 
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Supercar

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Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion. - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hagel
 

MJ DeMarco

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Winning creates passion guaranteed.
Passion doesn't create guaranteed winning.
 
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Supercar

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Would you enjoy the customer experience of someone who wants to buy a car below market price from your profit margins?
You mean like Elon Musk selling Teslas and losing more and more money on them?
 

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Flybye

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Would you enjoy the customer experience of someone who wants to buy a car below market price from your profit margins?

Yes. Because at that point it becomes a fantastic head game just as I do now with my family's overstock store. People come in asking all the time for breaks on the price and even below our cost. I give them the sappy story of how much Id love to give them the item at an even better price than what we already have, but we also have mouths to feed, bills to pay, more great stock to buy, etc. I am an extremely patient person who never gets irritated at people trying to low ball you. I love the game of convincing them why we need things to be at x price, and you know what? Someone with the money WILL come.

Just today I saw a repeat customer with a friend that has been at our store 5+ times. Most of the time the guy tries to low ball, but you know what? He still buys things once in a while. And a sale is better than no sale. Id rather be nice to the guy while saying no so he can keep coming back than to be rude by saying no in a tasteless way and having him never come back.
 
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million$$$smile

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Passion won't put potatoes on the table, at least consistently.

Do you really think you would sell cars every day if you didn't receive a dime in commissions? Passion only goes to the 10 yard line. After that, you've got 90 yards of grunt work to make it to the end.

Effort and perseverance will grind passion in the ground.

Passion will not dig you out of prison, but effort and perseverance has optimal chances.

All I needed was the capital to start my own.

Yes, you need capital. You can have passion all you want, but capital creates capital.
 

Flybye

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Such great feedback. So here is how I have taken in all this:

Passion itself wont get the $s, but persistence and perseverance certainly does. Passion on an item not needed is passion wasted no matter how large the passion. But when you have passion for properly delivering a "profitable" product that IS needed that you have passion for, persistence and perseverance can also be fueled by said passion. But never let passion allow you to give away the product you have a passion for supplying to the public. The same passion one has for ensuring the public has the product you have a passion for also has to be the same passion that ensures you are in the green every month. Even though passion exists for supplying the public what they need you cant let the passion blind you from having a profitable business. A business is a living breathing beast designed both to supply a product customers need and provide for the owner of this beast and the owner's family a life to sustain itself. The more the passion thinks about the customer's needs the better the beast and its owner will be able to sustain themselves.
 

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Of the people you engaged with passion, how many handed you cash without wanting the car?

This first reply should have been /thread lol

As long as you're passionate about something that people need, you'll be fine.
 
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Galaxy16

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Ive been warned and read several times already - dont go by passion.

So what happens when you have passion and a clear goal how to make things better for consumers?

My goal: Enjoy the buying experience when buying a car.
Why? Because too many salesmen look like they have zero enthusiasm with even less knowledge about cars.

I am a car guy. I like cars. I work on my own cars. Ive raced cars in sanctioned racing events. Ive traveled to Germany just to enjoy the autobahn over 150mph. I did all the car guy stuff while in Germany like visiting the BWM museum and the Porsche factory. Every car has a unique soul that makes each one interesting to drive.

Oh that won't help making money. It SURE HAS for ME! I sold cars for a small lot for several years. Id sell 3-5 cars a week or so. I had constant referrals. Customers were impressed when I knew more than their so called "mechanics" that they brought with them. Id tell them the truth. I remind them why x car would be fun and/or useful for their purpose. When people were interested in a car, within a few minutes Id have them driving it so that they can feel what it would be like driving it on a daily basis. I treated each car and customer with general enthusiasm. I was the kid in the candy shop. And every customer that came in I treated them like another kid. Hey, have some candy. You will like it. And they did. I didnt look at it as just selling a thing to someone. I treat it as giving birth to a new family member to everyone.

And guess what? Everyone loved my madness. Even years after I left, the owner of the lot told me customers still come in asking for me, and I was the best salesman he ever had. I practically ran the entire lot myself since the owner was usually out on the road. All I needed was the capital to start my own.

Two of the most important things I used were knowledge and enthusiasm. Are those not 2 of the most important things in sales? Anyone can ask for the sale, but what makes you think you will get that yes without convincing the buyer what you have is perfect for them and reliable?
If your true dreams and passions are not necessarily productive for business, then you will have plenty of time as fastlaner for them.
This could be e.g. cliff jumping or amusement parks.

There will be a major strength of you you can utilize for business success.
 

WJK

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If your true dreams and passions are not necessarily productive for business, then you will have plenty of time as fastlaner for them.
This could be e.g. cliff jumping or amusement parks.

There will be a major strength of you you can utilize for business success.
You can build up the capital for inventory over time. Buy the inventory you can afford and then use your passion to sell, sell, sell those cars fast. Make an email list (maybe your old customers) and a web site to bring in people. I'd see if I could partner with someone who has a vacant well located, commercial lot. Offer a percentage of your sales in exchange for rent. This will work until you can purchase a site. Your email list will protect your future moves. A travel trailer or a temporary building (Atco building) is a good sales office for the moment. Or use a funky old van or truck for your office. I'd also sponsor some fund raising car washes from local groups -- pretty girls -- like cheerleader squads -- would work well to bring in traffic.
 

masterneme

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There are 2 passions, passion as emotional energy and passion as an activity or hobby that you love.

When people say "follow your passion" they mean do that activity that you like so much for money.

The assumption is that because that activity creates passion (as emotional energy) naturally you would do it great as you are intrinsically motivated to do it.

The problem is that once you start to do it for money you'll introduce an external motivation to perform well or you won't be paid.

Over time the extrinsic motivation can overshadow the intrinsic one, produce performance anxiety and kill your love towards the activity, becoming a job.

It's funny because many of the gurus preaching the "do what you love" BS have very weird rituals to "ignite their passion" before getting on the stage.

It's obvious to me that they're more than bored about doing the same stuff over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...

And now they can't stop because they're being paid for it, trapped forever, and hypocritically convincing others to do the same thing.

INSANITY.
 

luniac

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ALC

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Passion is needed, you need to have the passion to be successful, of course i would love to follow my passion and my ultimate skill which is Automotive Racing, but this is not doable.

So then what's next ?
See if you can make money with your passion, monetize it, see the magnitude and the scalability of it.

If not, then it's time to find something else, the key is to be able to keep your goal in sight, while doing something you might not like, but making money.
 
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luniac

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Passion is a luxury.
 

Brian Fleig

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I get what the OP is saying. People are more likely to buy from a guy who is passionate (and knowledgeable) about the product than someone who's not. He is not trying to say he's selling passion, he's selling passionately. He's making a living doing what he loves AND it's scale-able. How many of us can say that?
I'm a little surprised at how much of what looks a lot like negativity is in this thread
 

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