If you want your car dealership to turn a real profit, even in unstable economic times like these, you need to make sure that you’re running a truly great dealership. What makes a car dealership great? Well, believe it or not, it’s not selling a lot of cars. That’s the effect, not the cause. To sell a lot of cars and turn a great profit, you have to be open and honest with your pricing, make your business an essential part of your community, and pay attention to your customers.

Stop Playing Pricing Games

Sure, everyone loves to feel like they’re a master haggler, but what if there was no need? Car dealers have a bad reputation for being dishonest and jacking prices up artificially so that they can “knock a chunk of money off the top” for customers who “drive such a hard bargain!” This is all theater and cheap showmanship, and your customers are already onto you about it.

Instead, price your cars at market value and focus on your customer service, warranty options, and maintenance plans. Show your customers that you’re going to be there for them and that you’re not trying to take the shirts right off their backs.

Be an Essential Part of the Community

You can further add to this sense of trust by including your dealership in as many community events as possible. Make a place in your budget for charity donations. Work with your local high school and hold a customer appreciation car wash at your lot that will benefit the school and bring people to your dealership. Attend community meetings. The more involved you are and the more familiar you are to people who live in your area, the more likely they’ll be to think of you when they buy their next car or even just get their next oil change.

Pay Attention to Your Customers

Make sure that you encourage feedback from your customers. If you go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting, ask the people you chat with before or afterward what they think of your dealership, how it could improve, what its strengths are, and how it can be a better part of the community.

Your customers don’t appear out of nowhere when they walk onto your lot. They’re your neighbors and friends. They shop at the same grocery store as you and your employees. The more you engage with them and listen to them, the more they’ll want to give you business.