Does anyone here know any private jet salesmen?

I know one. Who is he thinking about working for?

 

Sure, I know lots of them.

Is it a good industry to get into? That depends a great deal on which company you are talking about and how good a salesman your friend is.

Now, if he's been offered a sales job at Gulfstream, by all means take it! OTOH, if he's been offered a job by one of the start-up VLJ manufacturers, he may want to think on it.

If it's selling used aircraft, that depends on the company and the deal he's offered, as well as his sales ability.

Does he have any aviation industry experience? All of the successful salesmen I know have aviation experience, either as pilots or mechanics.

 

Gentry doesn't count.

 

Interesting first post. Your friend was offered a job selling multi-million dollar equipment and doesn't have any experience?

I find that quite hard to believe. Most salesman work for large aviation concerns (FBOs) and have extensive experience in aviation. I bought my last plane (Piper Turbo Arrow) from a former Navy A-6 driver.

As far as the VLJ (very light jet) comment there is currently a grand total of one - the Eclipse 500 - which is sold by the factory and has been a huge hit with a 2 year waiting list. If you could get a piece of that action (which you can't) you would be golden.

The Cessna Mustang and the HondaJet will not be certified for a few years and will also be sold by the company.

 

Bah, you guys beat me to it.

 

You are a little behind in your facts. The Cessna Mustang will be certified this December, 2006 with first deliveries in Jan 2007. They have presold about 270 aircraft.

 

Indeed I am.
See what happens when you stop playing with airplanes?

 

I was thinking the same thing. But I guess there's a side to this we don't know.

 

You know I cant think of a company, other than entertainment or government, that keeps that it even offered a job a secret.

Leaning towards BS right now too.

Oh and my contact is my an ex gf. I dont even know much about Gentry. (Sad for an F-Chat cop, huh?)

 

Well sorry if we upset you but it just doesn't sound plausible. People who are interested in buying these things just are not going to waste their time with someone who doesn't know when the last TBO was done or what a hot section is.

And if you have another friend already in the business I suggest you ask him - he would know.

 

Perks- nice of you to take it that way - I really didn't mean any bad will. I hope the best for you and your friends and I mean that.

It's hard enough finding a car salesman that knows anything about cars - I've got a million stories, the last being a Corvette salesman who didn't know they had an F1 style gearbox.

It's just that I do not see how someone without any experience in turbine equipment can expect to sell anything. The guys responsible for buying these things know their s@#* and your friend just won't be able to answer.

It ain't selling houses where any idiot can let you walk in and look at it.

well you were asking for unbiased opinions...

 

If he's selling fractional shares, and not for NetJets, then it's most likely FlexJet, Flight Options, or Citation Shares. Or one of the small fractionals, I suppose.

That's a very different deal from actually selling airplanes-- what you are really selling is a service. If he's a good salesman and has a finance background, he might be able to do okay. Other than Netjets, and possibly CitationShares, I don't think the other companies have been selling all that well, however.

As for the VLJ companies, it's true that Eclipse and the Citation Mustang should do well-- although in the case of Eclipse, I'd say it's not necessarily a given. But, there are many, many start-ups in that business as well, many with shaky financing and questionable products. That's who I was talking about.

And, being an Eclipse salesman might not be the best gig, anyway-- when is the next position you could sell? IIRC, most of those companies only pay your commission when the aircraft is delivered.

 

anyone have links to these small jets, eclipse, citation.....thanks

 

I think your friend is a pathelogical liar, that or you are your friend in which case you're a schizophrenic pathelogical liar.

But really, he has no to little previous experience in this industry and these people are offering him a job selling private jets? If I owned a company selling private jets I would want my salesman to know these jets inside/out and have previous experience with aircraft in some form of fashion or another. Sounds like b/s to me.

 

I don't thinki it's that unrealistic that his friend could get an offer to sell fractional jet shares. Like another poster said, he's not selling the actual jet. Ocean of difference. I don't think your average fractional jet buyer is going to be asking NetJets about turbine time and the last hydraulic service, but instead about whether they can bring their dog on board or how many strippers the plane will hold.

Heck, I when I bought our condo my mortgage was done through a friend of the RE Agent. He was one of the top lenders at Citibank, and 2 years ago owned an upperclass gym. He said he learned what he needed to, the rest is just personality.

 

If your friend has no knowledge or passion about aircraft, I can't see him being successful in aircraft sales. I would say the exact same thing about HE real estate. Discriminating buyers want knowledgeable salespeople, not someone who's going to have to "check on that and get back with them."

 

A lot of times aircraft sales basically consists of locating the aircraft a client is interested in. Not too many companies carry a large inventory of new and used a/c.. If they were to work for a large company with locations throughout the US or the world they might just act as a local/regional rep who would basically act as a middleman--still a quality job, but the expertise in aircraft would not be needed. Just locate it or help in the sale. I do not know too many private jet owners that fly themselves so they know nothing more than how many seats the plane has and what color the stripes on the outside are.. I doubt they even know the tail number and what airports they can fly into.. I can totally see a non experienced, professional, personable guy doing well in this position. keep us informed.

 

I think that is actually the point that many others have made. The people with the checkbook may not know all the details but the guys that work for them and advise on the decision know their stuff inside and out.

Anyone that already has a plane probably has a flight department or at least a captain that will spearhead the effort to find the next plane. Every corporate pilot I have met is the equivalent of a "gearhead" with planes. I can't imagine they would want to interface with a salesman who does not know the subject when there are so many out there who do.