Loading...

You may be blinking in astonishment, and you may have read that title over a few times, just to make sure that your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, but you read it right the first time. If you want your car dealership to do well, even in unstable economic times like these, you have to stop selling cars.

Now, we don’t mean that you need to get out of the car sales business; just the opposite, in fact. No, we’re talking about how you view sales. Step out the front door of your showroom. Look to your left. Look to your right. Look across the street. What do you see? Chances are, you see a lot of other car dealerships. Some of them will even be selling the same cars you are. What’s keeping your customers from becoming their customers? Well, if you’re smart, you are.

Sell Your Dealership

We don’t mean put a “For Sale” sign out front and give up on the business. We mean, sell the idea of your dealership to your customers. Why should they buy from you instead of the other guy? Show them how much better you are than the other guy. Does the other guy have personalized welcome-back packages for customers with their favorite beverage and newspaper or magazine to enjoy while they wait on their scheduled maintenance? Does the other guy have extended warranties that cover so much more than the basics that the factory warranty does? More importantly, do you have these things?

Increase Customer Service

Take a cue from the hospitality industry. The best hotels in the business get a lot of repeat customers. Why? Because they pay close attention to comfort and personalized service. By focusing more on your relationship with your customers and making a trip to your dealership an enjoyable time for them, rather than an errand they’d like to avoid, you’ll almost automatically increase your sales numbers.

Get Social

When you’re selling your dealership and your customer service to your customers, you need to get to know them better. Get involved with your customers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Make buying a car from you more fun by taking pictures of your customers with their new cars and posting them to your preferred social media site. The more involved and engaged you are with your customers, the more they’ll feel like they can trust you and that they want to deal with you and buy cars from you instead of anyone else.