Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" they'll get

[Roosh]

I'm not a fan of Harley-Davidson bikes (i.e. Boomer Cycles) because they are unnecessarily loud for no other purpose than receiving looks. Bikes that run faster and more reliably make far less noise. It turns out that the attention is a selling point that salesmen use. Excerpts from the training manual teach how to emotionally manipulate potential buyers into wanting a Harley.

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Source: https://www.rideapart.com/articles/257151/how-to-sell-a-harley-davidson/

Problem is that boomers are the main buyers of HD's, so the company is struggling:

Demographics have bedeviled the bike maker. A decade ago, baby boomers were the right age to afford an expensive motorcycle and still ride one. Now, the boomers are getting old. Retail unit sales have declined since 2015 as the company scrambled to find younger buyers and international customers. Used bikes compete for sales with new Harley products.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/ha...ngs-disappoint-51548769857?mod=article_inline

Sales are so bleak that HD is now developing electric bikes to woo millennials... which make practically no noise!



Though this is unlikely to replace lost sales to boomers.

Sales are looking bleak
Wedbush analyst James Hardiman told investors in a note that channel checks indicate third-quarter sales are down between 5% and 10% with a month to go in the period.

That's especially worrisome because U.S. sales in the year-ago third quarter cratered more than 13% to just 36,200, a decline so bad that not even during the collapse of the financial markets did Harley sell so few motorcycles during a period.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/09/27/just-how-bad-will-harley-davidsons-third-quarter-b.aspx

 

[Eazy_E]

RE: Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" th...

If you like classic cars, fiestaware, RVs, or Harley Davidson bikes, the next 10 years are gonna be a gold mine of deals.

It's like a lot of things. I've got a background in the hotel business. St Louis hosts the Elk's club annual meeting. You know how old a young member of the Elk's club is? About 65, going up from there. Pretty much all of those civic or church organizations are on the brink of collapse like that. Same thing for plumbers. Everybody doing it is old and nobody is behind them to take over.

 

[Thomas More]

Sounds like a good sales strategy. Harley has been around longer than the boomer generation, and hopefully long after. It's only natural to teach salesmen how to most effectively reach likely customers.

It's a shame that modern soy boys are less susceptible to wanting loud, powerful machines. It's almost as bad as not liking guns or rock music.

 

[Leonard D Neubache]

That brand jumped the shark a while back. All corporations are globohomo converged now so the idea that you're buying a rebellious lifestyle in a spotless dealership from a guy that looks like he's never seen a fight much less been in one is a joke.

These days unless the rider is clearly affiliated with 1%ers everyone just thinks "tosser".

 

[Thomas More]

So a guy who wants a motorcycle is better with what? A Honda? Kawasaki? Indian? Or should men not even like this kind of thing anymore?

 

[louiebeans]

If you want a Harley or any motorcycle, you don't buy it from a dealer. You wait for the guy that bought from the dealer to get bored and want to sell his bike for 1/2 the price he paid for it. Then you ride it for a few years and sell it for the price you paid for it.

 

[AntoniusofEfa]

HD are for old lame dudes. Take a look at Aprilia, MV Auguste or BMW motorbikes.

 

[Thomas More]

RE: Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" th...

If you want a Harley or any motorcycle, you don't buy it from a dealer. You wait for the guy that bought from the dealer to get bored and want to sell his bike for 1/2 the price he paid for it. Then you ride it for a few years and sell it for the price you paid for it.

I've only bought two new cars in my life. I'd much rather buy a good used car in excellent condition. I assume a salesman would use the same strategy to sell a used Harley as a new one.

I don't like the idea of shaming men for the fact this sales approach is effective. I bet Honda salesmen in Japan have trouble selling motorcycles to the grass eaters. I'm not surprised the soy eating young men in Western countries are less susceptible as well.

What kind of red blooded man wouldn't want a loud, powerful machine? Back in the day, when Tool Time came on, did any of the younger generation understand how men always want more power?

Get off my lawn.

 

[Brewer]

Marlon Brando, Peter Fonda, and Steve McQueen were boomer idols. It was a symbol for the older generation. My 60-year old stepfather and his friends take their Harleys out every Sunday morning until the weather turns.

On the other hand, I've hardly met anyone my age who owns a bike. People seem to be more concerned with making rent. No surprise that sales are down.

 

[AntoniusofEfa]

^Were HDs as expensive as they are now? Some two-tone variants can easily cost 30K EUR here in Germany.

 

[ed pluribus unum]

RE: Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" th...

This is not really surprising and I am not sure it is anything new.

For many years HD advertising copy has been all about the feels, not actual advancement. Something along the lines of "...our new cruiser has custom chrome highlights for more bare-knuckle attitude on the street..." vs. let's say, an ad for a Kawasaki cruiser which might read "...we've advanced the ignition timing by .5 degrees for better off-the line performance..."

Everyone got in a lather when the V-Rod came out because a HD had finally broken the 100hp mark, when Japanese 600s had been there for years. It may be apocryphal, but the old saying is HD is the only motorcycle company that spends more on marketing than on R&D.

In any case, a lot of other manufacturers are hurting and looking to snag the next generation of consumer. Triumph's promotional copy is filled with young bearded hipsters in urban environments, for example.

 

[Leonard D Neubache]

RE: Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" th...

So a guy who wants a motorcycle is better with what? A Honda? Kawasaki? Indian? Or should men not even like this kind of thing anymore?

Triumph has the same style without the wank-factor.

Unless you buy a rocket, which is wank-factor-10. But you still wouldn't be hanging off the street cred of hardened criminals so it's wank-factor you can own.

[img=500x300]https://editorial.pxcrush.net/bikes...5686502170872.jpg?width=1024&height=683[/img]

 

[Aizen]

Most younger people are barely making ends meet. The ones that do have money, through a good job/trust fund, generally drive high end cars to show off on Instagram. This is without mentioning the high physical risk of riding a moto. No surprise sales for them are dropping - young people would rather splurge on photogenic meals rather than an ear-splitting edgy-mobile. But most are too broke to even consider such a purchase.

 

[rpg]

RE: Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" th...

Drivers texting and playing with phones has made the chances of getting hit even higher than they already were before. Daily riding is very high risk now.

 

[Cobra]

Preface: I don't know jack shit about motor bikes. I just keenly observe people that ride them. I'm also in sales and love to observe markets and buyer behavior in such scenarios.

So my wife's cousin has a bike. He's a skinny but cool martial arts junky and a millenial. On Instagram, other social media, girls love him, etc. He has what you would expect from a guy like this. A small but fast bike. He has his friends, who are not the same as him, who also have those types of bikes. They want speed, not noise. They want to look young, not "hardened."

Now, me personally, I do love bikes although I have never ridden one. I have always wanted to. I'm a brown Indian guy that suits up and give off an international vibe. I'm not getting a loud ass Harley even if I get to the point of owning a bike. Just doesn't fit my personality and never will. I'll sure as hell drive a classic American car before going for a loud Harley. Harleys are more "hey look at me, I'm so cool" IMO than an old Chevy. Unless you truly are some hardened white guy, I don't see the fit.

This brings me to my next point. Aside from the middle age+ white guy market, who is HD going to target based on this. Maybe middle age+ Mexican guys? I haven't seen any other types ride the bike. Other issue is white men generally are taking less risk and becoming more soyish. Ain't no target market there. As demographics in this country change, most of the remaining guys ain't falling for the HD "culture." Might seem like a sad truth but it is the truth.

Anyways, just my honest opinion. Not trying to offend anyone.

 

[Pinkman]

I have wanted to get a bike for a long time, but apparently riding causes pelvic and prostate issues, which I already suffer from. I tried to ride once and had pain for days afterwards. Too bad.

Loud or not, Harleys look really comfortable to ride on. If I were able to ride, I'd most likely get some kind of cruiser bike instead of a racing bike. Well I'd probably have one of each, but the majority of the time would be spent on a HD-type of bike.

 

[Augustus_Principe]

RE: Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" th...

Sounds like a good sales strategy. Harley has been around longer than the boomer generation, and hopefully long after. It's only natural to teach salesmen how to most effectively reach likely customers.

It's a shame that modern soy boys are less susceptible to wanting loud, powerful machines. It's almost as bad as not liking guns or rock music.

No. "Modern soy boys" aka Millennials, dont mind a loud, powerful machine that actually PERFORMS. That's the keyword here. If a bike is loud, it better go 160MPH+, not tap out at 120MPH and can barely take a corner. It also doesnt help if they look good (which cruisers lack)

As a millennial Bike rider myself (I own a Sport bike), I am not the least surprised that our generation and younger are not interested in "Loud", crap sounding, under-performing bikes that have been unchanged (except for the part where they're made in china now) for the last 50 years. HD offered no innovation, no technological progress and unfortunately, went all-in with the "Feel" marketing. It truly is unfortunate because I wish HD would do better as its an American company, but now they're suffering for their past mistakes. Of course instead of correcting their mistakes and perhaps start making bikes than can corner, they go to another extreme and make E-bikes that NO ONE WANTS.

Younger people are generally not interested in the "lifestyle" of Cruisers. Although I do not own one, I love cafe racers and so do many younger guys. They look good, are a classic, can corner, and do not have the reputation of a bike associated with Boomers/Gangs. Naked bikes (Street triple), sport tourers like the BMW S1000XR and the Ducati MultiStrada are also great bikes as well.

HD did this to themselves, and while it worked for a few decades, it's time for them to close the curtain.

Pictured. BMW Nine R T Racer:

 

[Renzy]

RE: Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" th...

Drivers texting and playing with phones has made the chances of getting hit even higher than they already were before. Daily riding is very high risk now.

Surprised it hasn't been brought up yet, but one of the advantages of your bike being loud is that other drivers are more likely to know you're there.

 

[Aurini]

RE: Harley-Davidson salesmen show prospective buyers how much "attention" th...

I'm not a fan of Harley-Davidson bikes (i.e. Boomer Cycles) because they are unnecessarily loud for no other purpose than receiving looks. Bikes that run faster and more reliably make far less noise. It turns out that the attention is a selling point that salesmen use. Excerpts from the training manual teach how to emotionally manipulate potential buyers into wanting a Harley.

Professional Wrestler (WWE): "You wouldn't accuse ballet of being fake, just because it's well choreographed!"

Sales is a performance art, intended to highlight the value of the product, while connecting emotionally to the customer. You don't buy a motorcycle because it's practical and fuel efficient - you buy it because it's awesome. Going on a date with a girl, and pre-planning some venues to visit, and conversation topics to initiate if the conversation is dull, is no more manipulative than what the sales guys here are doing. It's just goal-directed communication. Half the job of a sales guy is finding me a suit that fits; the other half is making me feel awesome in my new suit.

I agree that Harleys suck, they're annoying, and only Boomers want to ride such a stink-bucket, but - so long as the sales guy is being honest about what the product actually does - there's nothing wrong with giving his customer the "Harley experience."

I'd only take issue if they were hiring actors to compliment him at the pre-designated locations. That would be a bit skeezy.

 

[Leonard D Neubache]

Around about the time Sons Of Anarchy wrapped up HD dropped this abomination in showrooms.

These are by far the most common Harleys I see these days, and you might think it doesn't look that bad but what you don't realise is that it's scaled down compared to a typical HD, so most of the guys I see riding them look like this:

[img=400x300]https://im.rediff.com/getahead/2014/apr/09harley-davidson-street-750-8.jpg[/img]

Honestly it's one of those things that reminds me that no matter how stupid something is, never to underestimate (temporary) market appeal. In Australia if you want to get a motorcycle license you're generally capped at riding an underpowered bike for the first 6 months while you're on your learners license. But guys want to start looking "cool" straight away and in their infancy buy one of these bikes thinking it buys them immediate street cred. In the end they just look like idiots.

Yet if you told me 5 years ago that dudes would be buying these bikes for the sticker price instead of just getting a POS old postie bike for 6 months and buying a proper bike afterward I would have laughed. In fact I did laugh when they were released. I thought it was even dumber than the new breed of microscopic 150cc two cylinder "race" bikes decked out in shiny race faring despite having cheesecutter wheels, which also seem to be selling like crazy to guys who incidentally can't seem to afford decent safety gear (they wont give you a loan in the dealership for new gear, which seems sort of counterproductive when you think about it ).