Give people with poor credit the opportunity to drive in style.
Cars are essential to getting people to and from work when there isn't adequate public transportation. To qualify for a brand new car loan, buyers are expected to have impeccable credit. Those who have no credit history or have blemishes in their past can't often qualify. Position yourself to sell in the subprime market to capitalize on this undervalued market segment.
Instructions
Selling Used Cards to People with Credit Problems
1. Research your local prospects. Use social networks to ask questions about car buying habits. Review demographics and statistics of local editions of publications like Auto Trader and PennySaver. Call the sales team of those publications. Pretend to be an advertiser and request they send you more information about their car buying customers.
2. Develop a marketing message or slogan based on your market research. "Bad Credit. Bankruptcy. No problem" is a popular industry slogan. Make yours unique to your local area such as "Everybody Drives in Tacoma, Washington." Focus on the desires of a particular niche within the demographic. MotorTrader reports that an Experian study says that "women are typically more driven by factors such as the running costs, sticker price, tax bracket and the ability to finance the purchase."
3. Create a sales brochure. Take pictures of your best looking used cars. Use desktop publishing software templates to paste your pictures. Print your slogan in bold letters on the first page. Use the same colors from your dealership signs and logos in your brochure. Explain how you can help prospects qualify in a few paragraphs.
4. Print your brochure to a PDF conversion software such as PDF reDirect. Hire a web designer from the local college to build a website that matches your brochure. Include a few pictures of cars that you have with brief descriptions. Encourage prospects to come to your lot and see for themselves.
5. Give away two cars to families in need in the community. Contact the local Salvation Army chapter and ask them to help find a family to donate to. Write a press release and let the local news media know about your giveaway.
6. Buy ad space at bus stop locations. Contact the transportation authority to get the contact information for their advertising department or managing agency. Ad rates depend on local market conditions. McQuail's Mass Communication Theory by Denis McQuail says (pg 223), "Advertising-based media are assessed according to the number and type of consumers (who they are, where they live) reached by particular messages."
7. Pay for banner ads. Sign up with an affiliate program after getting referrals from other car dealers. Hire your website designer to create colorful, eye popping ads.
8. Add an email capture feature on your website so that you don't lose the traffic that the banner ads create. Develop an email newsletter that you send out weekly giving tips on washing cars, gas mileage tips, etc. Write a few paragraphs and include pictures of your newest lot arrivals.
9. Treat guests who visit your lot fairly. Don't pressure them. Use the experience as a chance to get future referrals. Cars sales professionals have a bad reputation. In "Making and Selling Cars" James M. Rubenstein writes, "Most Americans viewed buying cars as the equivalent of visiting the dentist--a procedure sure to inflict pain but necessary for long-term personal care."
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