How to Become a BMW Salesperson

So, you want to be a BMW salesperson. While the job can be challenging at times, it does have its perks — the chance to make a decent living and spend a significant portion of your day talking about BMWs.

The pay for car salespeople varies widely depending on where you work and how skilled you are at selling cars since a significant portion of your pay comes from commissions. According to payscale.com, the average pay is $41,768.

Most BMW salespeople, however, make between $89,000 and $171,000, according to glassdoor.com. On top of that, most automobile salespeople sell between 200 and 1,000 cars every year and average more than one each day.

Being a car salesperson isn’t for everyone though. You need to be great with people and have skills in sales and customer service. You also need to have knowledge of cars and financing options.

Plus, you have to be prepared to be on your feet all day and work long hours, weekends and some holidays. If you want to work at BMW, you should also have a passion for beamers.

If you think you’re up for the challenge though, being a BMW salesperson can be an excellent career. Here’s how to make it happen.

Gain Experience

You don’t need a college degree to become a BMW salesperson, but you should have completed high school. It can be helpful if you’ve completed some sort of commercial or technical professional training related to sales, marketing or a related field.

You could take a few classes at a local college or enroll in an online training program. If you hope to move into a management position, a bachelor’s degree in business may be helpful.

BMW also prefers that you have some sort of experience in sales or customer service. You might start in a retail, sales or customer service position unrelated to cars, or you could get a job at another car dealership before moving up to BMW. The dealership you apply to will also consider your personality, skill set and enthusiasm for BMW.

Apply to Become a Junior Salesperson

Once you feel you’re ready, you can apply to become a junior salesperson at BMW. Simply search BMW’s website for open positions or look in the classifieds section of your local newspaper.

Complete the BMW Training Program

If your application is accepted, BMW will automatically enroll you in its car salesperson training program. The program is modular and will adapt to your experience and skill level. It will take a maximum of 12 months to complete. The program consists of several phases:

  • The introductory training will teach you about the BMW brand, the product lines, the BMW technologies most crucial for sales and the steps of the sales process. This will take about one week.
  • The basics module takes about two weeks and involves learning the essential consultation techniques and putting them into practice. It concludes with an exam and oral test.
  • The advanced modules will help you to improve your existing skills as needed. You’ll look at real-life cases and work with BMW retail organizations.
  • The specializations modules will teach you additional skills depending on your department, the size of your dealership and other conditions.

Check License Requirements

Depending on the state you live in, you may need a license to become a car salesperson. Check the requirements for your home state.

In California, you need to submit an application and pay a fee to the Department of Motor Vehicles. In Colorado, you need to pass an exam in addition to submitting an application and paying a fee.

You can also choose to participate in voluntary certification programs through organizations such as the Society of Automotive Sales Professionals (SASP) and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).

Move Up

Once you complete the above requirements, you can become a BMW salesperson. If you do well and decide to stay in the field, you may eventually want to move up. Junior salespeople can eventually be promoted to more senior sales positions.

If you want to become a sales manager, you may need to go back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in business if you don’t already have one. After some more time in the industry, you may even decide to start your own dealership or buy an existing one and run the whole operation.

The requirements to become a BMW salesperson aren’t extremely stringent, but the job can be demanding and requires a specific set of skills. If you find success in this field, you can have a rewarding career as a BMW salesperson.