Dealer Doctor - selling used cars online, for car dealers and sales reps.

Selling Used Vehicles online!
This is one of the most overlooked areas by dealers on the Internet. If you are using the Internet at your Dealership and do not push used cars, you may want to meet with your used car manager and get him on board. There are more used car buyers out there, and if you provide them with prices and photos you will again, receive more serious buyers.

1. You must have used car leads coming in everyday. Without a sufficient number of leads coming in, you will not get as many opportunities to sell. This means using CarFinder services that will send you traffic.
Used CarFinder Leads: These usually come in the form of email. Many of these shoppers will fill out multiple forms on multiple services and wait for the responses from multiple dealers. This is why it is so important to have many leads coming in, and a good email follow up system. You will find shoppers fill out forms differently. You may receive a request with Any filled in for Make and Model, yet the price range is filled in. Others will ask for a specific used vehicle with no price constraints. Our research has shown that most used car shoppers are more price oriented than brand oriented. Many want the best vehicle available in their price range. A person looking for a specific used vehicle will travel to get it. This is where having your own digital camera will be very rewarding. Send people actual photos of the vehicle they are looking for and they will respond. Click here for lead follow up tips

Be familiar with your current inventory. Keep in constant contact with your used car manager, because you may have the exact used vehicle the online shopper is looking for, and not even be aware of it. Many used car reps walk the lot every morning and check the trade in logs for upcoming vehicles. Do not assume that shoppers filling out CarFinder Forms have seen your inventory online, so make sure you provide a link in your follow up email. example: http://www.phoenixautonet.com/lougrubbchevrolet/index.htm

2. Actual photos will sell more cars!! You must put your inventory online with photos and keep it fresh. Online shoppers can't buy what they can't see, and they can't buy it if it has been sold for 2 weeks. Bringing in serious buyers is the result when you put photos of your inventory online, and many of the contacts you receive will be shoppers asking about a particular cars availability.

Direct hits on your online Inventory: This is where the action is! Put your used vehicles online with actual photos and good prices and you will be rewarded with serious buyers. Many of these shoppers will email you, call you direct, and many more will drive straight to your Dealership with no contact at all. When they get to your dealership, they want to see the vehicle they were looking at online, so keep your online inventory fresh! Nothing upsets online shoppers more than outdated vehicles. You must list your used vehicles in multiple classifieds (YAHOO, AutoNetUSA.com, etc.) and on your web site to maximize exposure. The more vehicles you have online with photos, the more vehicles you will sell.

Keep your inventory fresh and bring buyers in on actual vehicles.
Many serious shoppers will see your online inventory and call, or drive right in. Make sure you stand out or they will deal with someone else at your dealership. Make sure your name stands out on any print outs they may bring in.

Should you put prices on your used vehicles? Since 1996 we have been surveying online shoppers, and nothing upsets them more than cars with no prices. If you don't price them, you will receive less hits, because online shoppers will click on until they find prices. Keep in mind that many shoppers will compare your pricing to Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, and NADA, so keep your pricing in line.

Design your classified ads properly. The more info you put in your ad text, the more traffic you will receive and these people will be serious buyers. Remember the Internet is about information and if you hide the important options, miles, prices etc.... online shoppers will move on and deal with someone that provides the info they need to make the next move. Which will usually be contacting you about a test drive or just heading in to see you.

You must have the following included in all your classified ads:

Your name and your Dealership: Many online shoppers will call or come right in. If they don't have a name they will be handled by the floor.

Your own direct phone line: This is very important because all calls off your online ads will go straight to you instead of the switchboard. Many shoppers will call and the switchboard operator will send them to the sales desk. You will never see these people. If you can't get a private line, than make sure you let the switchboard know that all Internet leads must go to you.

Email address: Many shoppers will not call and will want to use email for their information gathering. If you don't put your email address in your ads you will lose these buyers.

Important Fact: Many online sales reps prefer selling used online to new because they tend to get bigger grosses. In view of the fact that the shopper can only use blue book values as a price guide, they do not know what you paid for the used car. This allows you to negotiate selling price with more authority. This only works if you are buying your used cars right. The Internet is NOT a good place to get rid of your over priced units, save those for the traditional off the street buyer.