7 Car Dealer Tools to Increase Sales

Have sales numbers been stressing you out lately? Try these car dealer tools to help make your life simpler and your sales more successful.

Selling cars can be tricky, and the competition can be brutal. No matter how good you are at your job, it seems there’s always someone a step ahead, but that doesn’t need to be the case. By utilizing specific car dealer tools, you can take much of the stress out of car sales, allowing you to focus more on your customers and less on your bottom line.

Of course, the bottom line is important, too. That’s precisely why we’re recommending these car dealer tools; so that your sales won’t suffer, and neither will you.

If this post-pandemic world has you scratching your head about increasing your car sales, then these tools are definitely for you. Check out our list and put some of them into practice. We’re sure you’ll see the results that you’re looking for.

Car Dealer Tools You Can Start Using Today

Used Car Dealership Automotive CRM

Used car dealership and automotive CRMs like AutoRaptor takes a lot of work out of the car-selling process. A CRM will help you keep track of your customers and maintain profiles for each one, making sales a lot easier. You can automate tasks like email follow-up and appointment reminders and manage inventory, among so many other things. If you’re not using an automotive CRM, you’re missing out on one of the most helpful car dealer tools.

Vehicle Pricing Tool

Take the guesswork out of pricing your vehicles by getting a tool that will do it for you. Estimating vehicle prices is a pretty extreme gamble as you could either short yourself or on the flip side, you might fall behind the competition. Vehicle pricing tools use actual sales and marketing data to give you an accurate price model for just about any vehicle. It may be the second most important of car dealer tools available today.

Text Communications

People love text messaging. They love it so much that it’s becoming a preferred method of communication—even for car sales. If you don’t have texting capabilities, you may be missing out on leads or even existing clients that could convert to additional sales, especially if you’re only using traditional forms of outreach. Technology has taken over communication. Embrace it and use it to your advantage.

Updated Your Dealership Website

Like text messages, websites are essential car dealer tools that may be your first point of contact with a customer. For that reason, your website should be sleek and easy to navigate, with updated inventories and professional pictures of the vehicles you have for sale. If you use a blog, make sure it’s search engine optimized so that more traffic will come through your site, hopefully resulting in more sales. Another tip is to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile viewing since many people rely solely on their phones for website access.

Virtual Showrooms

In addition to an updated, professional website, car dealer tools allow you to create fully functioning virtual showrooms where people can view many vehicle details before they ever step foot on your lot. This is important, especially in the post-pandemic world where so much shopping behavior has gone online. People have not only adapted to the virtual world, but some of them prefer it, giving them the time and space to shop at their own pace without worrying about a salesperson asking lots of questions. Showcase your inventory this way, and you’ll find many customers coming in to make a purchase rather than just shopping around.

Online Chat

With so many people shopping online now, it’s a good idea to have a way to engage with them and answer their questions even if they haven’t come into the shop. A standard method is a virtual chat—a little dialogue box in the corner of the screen where customers can instant message sales reps in real time. But, again, many people have come to prefer the lower-stress setting of buying online, so it would behoove you to pivot if you haven’t already and use tools that can do exactly what you’ve been doing for years, only in a different way.

Social Media

Websites aren’t the only way to sell cars online. Social media platforms can be powerful car dealer tools that may open doors to more sales than you’d have otherwise. Use social media to engage with customers, advertise your business, and demonstrate what makes you the best. Facebook is probably the most commonly used, but Instagram is also great for car dealerships because you can showcase your inventory with pictures.

Car Dealer Tools Are Here To Help

Car dealer tools can help used car dealerships streamline their operations and improve their bottom line – sales. As discussed, these tools can range from automotive CRM software to inventory management systems to marketing automation platforms. These tools allow dealerships to manage customer relationships, track sales processes, monitor inventory, and automate marketing activities.

A good car dealer tool should be user-friendly, flexible, and customizable to meet the unique needs of each dealership. Choosing the right software and receiving adequate support and training is essential to get the most out of these tools. Appropriately used, car dealer tools can help dealerships achieve their goals, provide better customer service, and increase sales.