7 Car Sales Prospecting Strategies to Try
Car sales prospecting can be a hard process, because of the simple size of the purchase. On average, people will own around nine vehicles in their lifetime.
This means that car sales are not a volume game, and you can’t expect someone to swoop in and buy thousands of cars (unless you’re selling fleets to international companies, of course).
With that in mind, you need to put a lot of effort into car sales prospecting to generate new customers. The following are a few tips and strategies to try out: read on to see how you can grow your car sales to new heights!
Four Strategies for Car Sales Prospecting
In the digital age, there are a ton of new strategies you can leverage to gain access to new audiences – even people located in your neighborhood!
Go Online!
One of the best ways to drive new leads to your business is through an online presence, and car sales are no exception. Running a blog, either independently or through your dealership’s website, can help attract organic traffic. Writing on topics related to car maintenance and car shopping can attract people who are already interested in vehicles.
What you need to keep in mind is that when running a blog, consistency is key. You need to make sure that you are regularly updating it with new content. Otherwise, search engines will penalize your site and it won’t attract as much traffic.
A good way to branch out from your blog is to incorporate several types of media into it. Making video content, for example, and linking your YouTube channel to your website, is an effective way to attract leads. You can also make an infographic (branded with your website or dealership name, of course) that can be easily shared on social media platforms.
Social Media
Of course, this could fall under the above point – but social media is a whole different beast when compared to the rest of the internet. You need to know who you are selling your cars to. Luxury and fleet dealerships would benefit from focusing on LinkedIn since you will be operating under a B2B context (or looking for those with the disposable income to afford your cars!)
However, local dealers that sell vehicles to families and individuals should focus on other social media platforms. Twitter is a great way to engage with people minute by minute, though it can be harder to develop a larger message. Facebook makes it easier to write those longer messages.
Of course, there are other platforms that you may want to explore. Pinterest and Instagram are focused almost exclusively on images, which means that making content for them is different than Twitter or Facebook.
Again, much like your actual website, social media needs regular updates. It also requires an authentic presence: customers like to know that there is a real person behind the profile. It may be worth dedicating an entire position to your website and social media, if you have the budget for it, because of their potential to attract new leads.
Digital Ads
You may also want to consider online advertising. Unlike traditional advertising channels, digital ads are able to provide extreme precision in who you target. For example, you can choose to only target people within a specific area, but then also narrow it down based on income, gender, age, and even interests and search history.
This level of targeting means that you are only paying to show your ad to people who are already interested – or at least who fit your ideal customer profile. Further, the majority of online advertising is Pay-Per-Click (PPC). PPC ads will only charge you once people click on the ad, not per impression. By setting a daily or monthly spend, you can use your marketing budget much more effectively.
Reach Out to Previous Customers
Another good way to find new leads for car sales is to reach out to old customers. Create a customer satisfaction survey that you can use to justify your call: this has the added benefit of letting you hear about anything that they weren’t happy with so you can address it. But it also puts you in the front of their mind, especially if they are now looking for a new vehicle.
You should also ask them about any friends or family that they think may be looking for a new car. This is a great time to leverage a referral program if you have one. Old leads, especially those with a good experience working with you in the past, will jump at the chance to benefit from one of your sales.
Another way that you can do this is through email lists. Maintaining several lists, divided into what they purchased from you, can help you create relevant content that keeps them connected to you.
For example, for customers that bought electric cars, you can send them advice and news about developments in the industry. People who bought larger vehicles could benefit from an email detailing how to improve fuel efficiency. Keeping up a stream of several small touches over time means that you’ll be the first place they think of when they need to buy a new vehicle (or tell someone where to go!)
Leverage as Many Prospecting Strategies as Possible
The above strategies are all effective ways to engage in car sales prospecting, making use of new technologies. They’re best used all together, especially because success in one will bleed over to another. Having a well-designed and constantly updated website lends your business legitimacy, which makes it more likely that a referral from an old customer will convert.
For more information about building your car sales leads, feel free to contact us about our training sessions!