For Auto Dealers across the nation, today’s market is getting harder and harder
to handle. Sales are seeing a downturn after such a long up swing in the market. To
counteract the ever increasing expense of running and maintaining a profitable
dealership, dealers need to be savvy in today’s market.
New trends are emerging in today’s market. Down turn markets always seem to
bring out the new ideas and help to hone them. Internet sales, once a hard to handle and
mysterious market, are on the upswing. Sites like Ebay and Auto Trader are actually
selling cars. In fact they are both selling so many cars that it is getting impossible to
ignore selling online. With Auto Trader and Ebay Motors doing over half of the online
sales for vehicles, it is apparent that dealers are figuring out how to sell online with
the help of these emerging two giants.
The ease and success of selling online has been evolving and today’s savvy
dealer is using both Ebay and Auto Trader to boost sales and gain profit margin in an
ever tightening market. The conventional newspaper advertisement is being replaced on the
advertising budget with an online sales budget. Sales percentages are showing that they
are dollars well spent.
Some dealers have gone so far as to hire and train their own internet department.
Other dealers are taking the smart way and hiring a consulting firm that is well versed
in online sales. Whether the dealer is handling online sales in house or hiring it out,
the bottom line is the same, better use of the advertising dollar.
Conventional newspaper advertisements have less than 4 people look at a particular
vehicle. Most people are not even looking at the auto advertisements; they are reading
the paper for something else. 11% of all buyers attribute the Internet as the source that
led them to the vehicle they purchased versus 9% for newspapers. Internet customers are
looking for a vehicle when they look online. Could this be why so many are purchasing
online?
Ecommerce for the Auto Dealer is becoming more and more necessary. Being an expert in
selling cars and being an internet expert is no longer necessary. Hiring a consultant
firm that is both reasonable in fees and knowledgeable in online auto sales is becoming a
must for the successful auto dealer. Consulting firms for online sales work after the
dealer closes for the day and provides sales support 7 days a week. Helping the dealer to
sell online even when they are closed.
Checking out references and sell through percentages is necessary when choosing your
internet consulting firm. Consider which venues they sell on and are familiar with. Auto
Trader is responsible for 35% of the cars sold online, Ebay is responsible for 22% of the
cars sold online. With over half of the market, the online consulting firm a dealer hires
needs to be well versed in both.
Today’s market demands the best for online sales from auto dealers.
