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Struggling With Your Car Dealership? Here Are Some Tips

Struggling With Your Car Dealership

The vast majority of business owners out there have hit sales slowdown and financial difficulties. If you’re struggling in your business, don’t be too discouraged. This being said, you do need to be very careful with how you proceed. It’s not enough to do an Internet search for “struggling business” or “need more cash”. Different types of business will need different treatment and advice.

In this article, we’ll be dealing specifically with difficulties in car dealership businesses. There are some common mistakes that business owners in this field make. Here’s a rundown of those mistakes. Correcting these can help get your car dealership back on track!

Pushy salesmanship

If you’re reading this then, presumably, you own a car dealership. You may even be a car salesperson yourself, working out on the frontlines and engaging potential customers. So we don’t want you to take this the wrong way. But it is possible your tactics are putting customers off.

Car salespeople don’t have a great reputation in the mainstream. They’re depicted as untrustworthy people who chase their commissions at any cost. They get pushy with potential customers and use a variety of sneaky tactics to make their sale. Obviously this doesn’t apply to all salespeople. But I’m sure you’ve seen this behaviour for yourself at a car dealership.

This stereotype have made a lot of people suspicious about salespeople. The fact is that buying a car is a hard decision, and people often need time by themselves or with their partners while they work out what they want to do. Make sure you or your salespeople give your customers breathing and thinking room. Offer them a cup of tea or coffee. Hand them a brief pamphlet providing more information on a particular vehicle.

Trying to do too much at once

There’s a lot you need to do in the car dealership business. If you’ve taken on too much responsibility, then some areas of your business may suffer.

Many people who begin a car dealership want to get their hands into all the areas of the business. This includes the face-to-face with customers, acquiring vehicles, determining prices and managing post-sale products. This is certainly admirable, but it’s also called putting too many eggs into one basket!

If you and your employees are too thinly spread, then you may want to consider outsourcing certain things. For example, you can use an automotive BDC to handle post-sale products and customer outreach.

Get testimonials from happy customers

Strange but true: many business owners are too shy to call customers and ask for a referral! While that may come from a desire not to bother the customer too much, it could be hurting business.

These days, customers are becoming more and more vigilant. This is a good thing, by the way. People will search online for reviews about services before use. You may think to yourself, “Well, I’ve never had an unhappy customer. I don’t have to worry!” The first part may be true. But if people out there don’t know you have happy customers, then you certainly should worry!

Don’t be afraid to call up a happy customer a few weeks after the purchase. Ask them if everything is still okay. If it is, ask them if they’ll provide a testimonial to place on your website. Be honest with them. Tell them it will help business. It makes you proud to know you have happy customers. Getting testimonials may not be as hard as you think!

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