Looking for ways to continue to grow your business? Do you have tough competition and feel like you are struggling to get your “fair share” of sales in your marketing area? Maybe it is time to try some different approaches to your business.

Here are some effective ways of driving more consumers to your dealership and closing the sale once you have them in your doors.
Improve Your Website to Drive Traffic Make it easy for potential customers to navigate through your website. Have a logical sequence for how they would shop your site. Make sure your home page has tabs for how consumers think about their purchase. They shop vehicle type first (Golf Cart; Street legal; Lifted/Hunting; etc.). Then, they shop by brand or price. If you offer multiple brands, consider segmenting by “good, better and best” or by “starting from  $XX”

Highlight all other important elements that buyers look for. Accessories, consumer financing options, service hours; warranty information; and, of course, your points of difference…how you are better than your competitors in a certain area or area.

Have a call to action…with weekly or monthly specials. These could be financing options with low monthly payments, featured car of the week, accessories specials, hot price point “while supplies last”, etc.

Qualifying your Customers

When you get the customer in the door, it is critical that you know how to qualify the customer and close the sale.

Qualifying the customer is simple. You need to know how they are going to use the vehicle (application) and get a sense of what type of price range they are trying to stay within (Budget). What do they really want? What do they really need?

Here are a few key questions to ask the customer to help you know what they really want/need. How will you use the cart?? About how many miles a day/week will you drive? Do you have many hills where you will be using your cart? Where else have you shopped? What is your favorite vehicle that you’ve seen so far and why? Do you have a trade in? Would you buy today if you find the right vehicle at the right price?

These few simple questions can help you sell the right features and benefits that match the application of the consumer.

Good closing techniques are very important to improving your close ratio (number of sales closed /number of potential customers in your showroom). Many sales people try to talk too much and/or oversell. Find out what they need and then sell the benefits of the cart features based on how the cart will be used by the customer. Here are a few tips to help improve your close ratio:

• Avoid letting the buyer leave to “shop around”. If the vehicle you have matches what they need for their application, use your tools (i.e. consumer financing, special price, free accessories, extended warranty, etc.) to close the sale. Don’t let them leave your showroom. If they leave without buying, chances are, you will never see them again.
• Once you have qualified the prospective buyer, get them to test drive the vehicle. Customers really can sell themselves when they feel the seat, ride, steering and acceleration of the car. Experience and feel is important to most buyers.
• Once you’ve qualified your perspective buyer, sold the features and benefits (and potential test drive), then use “trial close”….would you like to write up a ticket for the red car or silver one? If they are not ready, then you will use your objection handling skills to get them in a position to buy.

Create a sense of urgency for consumers to buy Consumers today do their homework….shopping on the internet, calling multiple dealers, even before they visit a retail outlet to finalize their purchase decision.

Keeping this dynamic in mind, here are some ways to draw potential buyers to your dealership and help motivate them to make a purchase decision before they leave:

• Ensure every vehicle is marked with a price.  Buyers have increased trust when they don’t have to guess whether they are being “sized up” before they are told what the vehicle costs. It is best to show a suggested retail with a “buy today” special price. Consumers want to feel like they are getting a value price.
• Create an image of value through advertising and in store merchandising. “New fully loaded Golf Cars starting at $5,995” and “Used Golf Cars from $1,995” is a great way to create a value image. Try putting a windshield sized sign on vehicles in front of your store if it is located on a well-traveled road.
• Many budget conscious or fixed income individuals may elect to buy if they can do it via a small monthly payment with a reasonable interest rate. Be sure to utilize Sheffield consumer financing to price your vehicles with a low price per month. Mark several of your vehicles in store with “only $99/month” price bursts. Many manufacturers are offering their dealers these types of subsidized consumer offers…don’t let them go to waste. Star EV has aggressive offers including 1.9% financing!

You only have so many “at bats”. Incorporate some of these new strategies and tactics to drive more potential customers to your store and close them when they come. Business is driven by numbers and improving your odds can have a very positive impact on the bottom line!

Let’s sell some EV’s!!