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If you want to learn how to sell more cars at a dealership, it’s time to develop a modernized, well-oiled sales funnel.
If you take some time to analyze the sales process at your dealership as opposed to ten years ago, you should be able to see drastic changes. If you’re thinking, “No, the process is still pretty much the same,” then chances are your sales are down, and your dealership is in trouble. The fact is, finding success and knowing how to sell more cars depends on a completely different set of skills than years past.
If you want to learn how to sell more cars at a dealership, you need to develop a modernized, well-oiled sales funnel. This is the key to bringing in leads that are 90 percent sure they want to buy before they even reach the lot. When they do arrive, you will have all the pieces in place to ensure ease and confidence for them in their purchase. Adapting your sales funnel to a technology-driven customer base is the make or break of selling more cars than your local competition.
There are five basic steps to a modernized sales funnel for car dealerships. They are meant to provide a full picture of what you should be aiming for, but there’s also room to improvise with your specific needs. Learning how to sell more cars at a dealership is no longer just about acquiring the best sales team (though that’s still important!). Your focus should be several steps before your customer makes it to the lot. Keep reading to find out how to create a self-propelling sales funnel that works.
How to sell more cars at a dealership: a modernized sales funnel in five steps
1. Your internet presence covers all your bases
It’s likely that the number one source of leads for your dealership is through the internet. People today have a wealth of information at their fingertips–they can do all the shopping and research they need to online, without the help of a sales professional. If your internet presence and features are not up to par with your competition, you will always lose out. Make the investment to turn the internet into your biggest asset.
If you haven’t already, make these digital improvements right away.
- A responsive website, available over mobile and tablet devices
- A fully detailed and constantly updated inventory of the cars available at your dealership, including good pictures
- A list of your inventory on 3rd party sites like AutoTrader and Cars.com
- A professional and informative business blog with SEO-optimized articles to drive website traffic to your site and build rapport with prospective buyers
- Engagement over social media on a daily basis, including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
- A clear call to action with your inventory listings and website, by either filling out a form online or requesting to speak with a sales rep
2. You have a comprehensive CRM system to track and manage your leads
Being able to track your online sales leads is a huge improvement to your cause. Once a prospect shops around online and decides to contact your dealership, you can load everything you know about that person into your upsheets. That information will inform your sales team about what the prospect wants, how to market to them effectively, and where they are in the sales funnel at all times.
Your CRM will also provide a detailed overview of the sales performance at your dealership. The tracking can include sales reports, lead source reports, and individual performance reports for your sales team.
3. Your salespeople and inventory are prepared to finalize the deal
At this point, your prospect has done a full comparison of your inventory online, decided to contact your dealership for a quote and additional details, and is ready to come in for a test drive. This is where your knowledge of traditional car sales comes in. Your sales rep should have a full demonstration ready for the customer, prepared with all the information they may need. He or she knows the safety features by heart, has at least two similar cars available to look at and can refer to a detailed upsheet.
Also, be sure that the car is in tip-top shape. You want the car to seem as if it just came out of the factory: fresh new smell, shiny exterior, jet black tires, and clean enough to eat off inside and out. You want the prospect to feel proud about buying this car.
4. Streamline the final paperwork and signage. Make it easy for them to say yes!
One of the most influential aspects of learning how to sell more cars at a dealership is learning how to streamline the process for the very last signature to finalize the purchase. If the process of acquiring financing options from your managers is taking more than twenty minutes on average, you should aim to cut that time down. Look into using different technology platforms to help with this cause. Instead of doing everything by paper, transfer the process into a digital format, like a tablet or mobile device.
5. The sale doesn’t end when they drive off the lot
Proper follow up is key to repeat business and customer referrals. Let’s face it: car dealerships, particularly used car shops, have a stigma. But if you can give your prospect a memorable experience and gain their trust, they will want to tell their friends about it.
Go the extra mile and follow up with your customers. Have your salespeople write a short, hand-written note, congratulating them on their new purchase. Engage with them over social media and post pictures of them in their new car. Other people will take notice, and your referral base will grow.
How to sell more cars at a dealership? Get your sales funnel up and running!
Most people are 90 percent certain they will buy a car when they reach your dealership. They’ve done all the research they needed to do online–compared features, price quotes, car histories. In a sense, selling cars has become easier. It’s no longer in the hands of your sales reps and managers alone. But you need to adapt to these technology-driven consumers before you can take advantage of the streamlined benefits. Creating a sales funnel that begins online and ends in person is the only way to go.
Why scatter your online marketing, daily planning, and lead management over different platforms? We can gather all those together in one place. You can even call it your happy place–we encourage it. Let’s figure out a plan together. Call 1-888-421-6533 today!
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