Thats okay, most people do. The best senario is to have it sold BEFORE you shop for a replacement. But most of the time thats not possible. Either financing falls through for the buyer or you waste a lot of time giving tours through your RV, Car or whatever then to find out it's in the buyers "Five year plan". For this article we will assume that you tried selling your trade and had no luck. Now it's time to show you behind the scenes of the "art of the sale".

For this lesson we will assume that you are in the market for a new RV. Keep in mind though, this scenario works for any big ticket item. So if your buying a car or truck the sales process works almost identical.

One of the most important things a Sales Manager trains their sales people is to find out as early in the sale as possible this information:

• Is there a trade?
• What kind?
• Condition?
• How much is owed?
• Current monthly payment?
• Who is it financed through?

This is invaluable information to the dealership early in the sale. Here's a breakdown of why each is so important to the dealership and why they try to find this information out so soon in the deal.

Is there a trade? Why is this tiny bit of information so important for the sales person to have? Because they don't want to quote you a great price if you have a trade. The reason why is most of the time people owe more on their trade than the dealer is willing to give them. For this the sales person has to be careful so to not quote you a "smoking deal" price and then tell you that your $10,000 upside down (upside down = When a trade is worth less than what is still owed on it). You would hit the roof, punch the guy in the mouth and stomp out of the dealership. But if he quoted you $10,000 higher on the new motorhome and said he would payoff your trade, thats not so bad. In your head you might be thinking that the price sounds a little high, but you can negotiate that little bit. You won't be storming out of the dealership though.

What kind is it? This seems like an abvious question for the sales person to ask and there are many reasons why. First and foremost they need to know what kind/model/layout it is because even if the trade in book says its worth X amount of dollars it doesn't mean its going to sell for that price. Did you know that a travel trailer with a front kitchen is not as appealing as one with a rear kitchen? Why you ask? Because front kitchens add a lot of tongue weight and pull differently than a rear kitchen. How about a split bath vs a side isle bath? Split baths are nice because someone can use the toliet while another person showers. And a side isle is nice because everything is in one room. Side isles are more in demand because they usually give you a lot more room. Most campers, like me, like the extra room instead of being cramped in a tiny little water closet. The split bath owners usually close both doors to make it one big bathroom but close of one half of the trailer to everyone else. The dealership will also give a trade value compared to what they have new sitting on there lot. If you come in with Dutchmen 26 foot bunkhouse and they sell a Coachmen 26 foot bunk house they will look up the trade numbers on a Coachmen to. If the Dutchmen trade in value is $9,000 and the Coachmen is $8,000 they won't put $9,000 into your trade. They match your trade to the closest unit they carry on the lot. Did I lose ya? For a dealership to put an extra $1,000 into your trade would be ludicrious. The trade in books companies calculate their numbers based of the origional MSRP. So if the Dutchmen when it was new, had a higher MSRP, (which is a fictitious number anyway made up by the manufacturer), the trade in prices are always going to be higher in the book than comparable units from other manufactures. So keep in mind that just because the trade in book has a certain price listed that doesn't mean that the dealership is going to even come close to what there going to put in it. (Put in it = Term used to describe how much money a dealer is going to have tied up in your trade)

Condition- This is pretty self explanatory but let me add a couple points. Smoking, water damage, exterior damage, odors from mold or mildew, homemade repairs all decrease the value in your trade. The last thing a dealership wants to see is a leak that was covered up by what looks like someone who was having a seizure while holding a caulk gun. If you can't fix it back to the factory look, step away from the tool box. It will hurt you in the long run.

How much is owed? This question is important because, in all honestly, a sales person does not want to spend their time on a customer who owes way more than their trade is worth and also has no money to put down. Unless you are planning to move up into a much more expensive unit they can't hide your negative equity in the new deal. The bank will come back with a counter offer and the deal will end up going south. (Going South = Going down hill, soon to be a dead deal, no hope)

Current Monthly Payment- If they know what you are already paying then they will be able to figure out about how much more they can bump you up on the payment. If you pay $250 a month for a travel trailer and want to get a new travel trailer then they are thinking "I could bump this guy at least $100 a month". Although in your head your thinking "I am going to just swap mine for a little nicer one, probably be the same payment."

Who is it financed through? This gives the sales person a good indication how your credit is. If you tell them your trade is financed through "Larry's EZ credit Buy here Pay here bank and school of cosmetology" Then they know that your credit is probably a little messed up and you probably a slow payer. And if your coming to the table (Table - The negotiations) with nothing down it's probably a bad deal.

If you take a moment and think back I am sure that you all can remember the sales person asking these questions to you early in the sale process. A popular question they ask is "So what do you like about your camper now?" They don't come right out and ask if you have a trade, they know people are trained to leave the trade out of the deal until the end. So they ask a general, conversational question like that. Which you answer and then they know. If you shop with your kids they like to leak a lot of information out that you may not want them to know either, so be careful.

There you have it folks. Thats what goes through a sales persons head when they deal with a trade. I will add another lesson on "The Numbers Game" so you know how the deal works behind that door of the Sales Managers office.

-SalesScoop