Our latest series for auto dealerships is all about exploring ways to sell more cars. We’ve talked about personalization and maximizing your unique selling proposition, and today we will look at business automation and technology. We have a big list of 7 ideas to share with you, so let’s dive right in!
7 Ways to Use Business Technology and Automation to Sell More Cars
As an auto dealership, your focus is on selling cars, but are you utilizing all the tools available to boost your sales? With technology and automation, you can streamline your processes, increase efficiency, and sell more cars. Keep reading to discover 7 ways various tech and automation tools can level up your sales game!
1. Switch to VoIP
One of the best ways to boost your sales is by ensuring your team answers and properly handles every call. VoIP business phone systems like DealerPhones® allow you to:
- Pursue Every Opportunity: Missed call notifications alert sales and service reps if they are busy when the call comes in. Meanwhile, analytics allow you to track missed calls and unreturned voicemails.
- Capture Customer Data: Gathering data is vital to understanding your customers’ needs. Integrations with your CRM and other business software save your team time and increase data accuracy.
- Increase Mobility: With DealersPhones® and our new Clarity Cellular, your sales and service team can take calls and texts on the go using their personal cell phones while displaying the business number.
Every call to your dealership is an opportunity. By choosing the right business phone system, you’ll be able to seize every opportunity and sell more cars.
2. Use a CRM or DMS System
A CRM or DMS system is essential business technology that can be a game-changer for any dealership. These systems offer numerous benefits, including streamlining and optimizing your sales and service processes. With a centralized database of customer and prospect information, you can track interactions, preferences, and purchase history. Then you can use this data to personalize your approach and improve your chances of making a sale.
Additionally, a CRM or DMS system can allow you to better manage inventory and service requests, which can help you better serve your customers and improve their overall experience. You can save time and resources by automating appointment scheduling and tracking service requests. We’ll cover more about this aspect of automation in point #6 below.
3. Equip Your Sales Team with Mobile Tablets
Equipping your sales team with mobile tablets is a practical and effective way to improve the sales process at your dealership. With mobile tablets, your sales team can access information about vehicles, promotions, and inventory from anywhere in the dealership. This increased access to information can help them answer customer questions quickly and accurately, ultimately leading to more sales.
Another benefit of using mobile tablets is showing customers photos and videos of vehicles. This can give customers a better understanding of the features and benefits of a particular car, which can help them make a more informed decision.
To make the most of mobile tablets, it’s important to have a well-organized and easily accessible database of information. This can include photos and videos of vehicles, promotions, and inventory information. With this information readily available on tablets, your sales team can quickly and confidently answer customer questions and make sales.
4. Offer a Virtual Showroom
In today’s world, many customers prefer to do their research online before coming to the dealership. By offering a virtual showroom, customers can view vehicles online and get a detailed view of the car’s features without leaving home. Virtual showrooms can help your sales because they:
- Increase Convenience: A virtual showroom allows customers to view your vehicles from the comfort of their own homes, a major selling point for busy customers who don’t have the time to stop in.
- Expand Reach: Virtual showrooms make it possible to attract buyers farther away. This can help you expand your customer base and increase sales.
- Improve Efficiency: A virtual showroom can speed up sales by reducing the number of in-person visits required. This reduces the time and resources needed to make a sale.
- Give You Competitive Advantage: By offering the convenience and immersive experience of a virtual showroom, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and attract more customers.
5. Have a Digital Purchasing Process
In car sales, the purchasing process can often be lengthy and cumbersome, especially regarding financing and signing contracts. However, with a digital purchasing process, you can simplify these aspects of the transaction, making the experience more streamlined and efficient for your dealership and customers.
Online financing is crucial in digital purchasing, enabling customers to apply for credit and receive loan approvals without leaving their homes. By providing a secure online platform for financing, you can speed up the financing process and make it more accessible for customers. Moreover, digital signatures allow customers to sign necessary documents from any device without physically visiting the dealership. This saves time and reduces the need for paper and ink, making the process more environmentally friendly as well.
6. Send Automated Emails and Texts
Business automation can be a powerful tool in your sales arsenal. By using automated emails and texts to stay in touch with your customers, you can keep them engaged and informed throughout the sales process, increasing the likelihood of a successful sale. Here are some examples of how you can use automated emails and texts to sell more cars:
- Incentives and Promotions: Use automated emails and texts to inform customers about special deals, promotions, and incentives to increase customer interest and drive sales by creating a sense of urgency and value.
- Appointment Reminders: Send automated appointment reminders to customers who have scheduled a visit to your dealership. These reminders can include details about the appointment, such as the time and location, and can help ensure that customers show up for their scheduled appointment.
- Follow-Up Emails After Test Drives: Send a follow-up email after a customer takes a test drive to thank them for their interest and provide additional information about the vehicle they drove. This is an opportunity to answer any customer questions and provide a personalized experience that can help close the sale.
- Sales Follow-Ups: After a customer has made a purchase, use automated emails or texts to follow up and ensure their satisfaction with the purchase. This can also be an opportunity to offer additional services or products.
7. Use Chatbots on Your Website
Chatbots are a form of automation technology that can provide significant benefits for car dealerships. By implementing a chatbot, you can provide quick and helpful responses to customer inquiries, increasing customer satisfaction and generating more leads. A chatbot offers 24/7 availability for customer inquiries, meaning customers can get the information they need anytime, even outside of business hours. Chatbots can also provide instant responses, which can help speed up the sales process and move prospects further down the sales funnel.
To make the most of your chatbot, it’s important to design it to fit your dealership’s specific needs. Consider your customers’ most common inquiries and build your chatbot’s responses around those. Additionally, ensure your chatbot is integrated with your CRM or DMS so customer data is recorded and tracked accurately.
Embracing Business Technology and Automation
By investing in automation and technology, dealerships can improve operations, increase customer satisfaction, and sell more cars. Customers expect a seamless buying experience, and these tools can help dealerships meet those expectations.
In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing automotive market, dealerships that stay ahead of the curve and implement the latest technologies will have a competitive advantage. By embracing automation and technology, dealerships can provide a superior customer experience that will ultimately lead to increased sales and long-term customer loyalty.
We are now down to our last strategy for increasing auto sales—focusing on your existing customers. Stay tuned as we cover this topic and conclude this series next time!
