Let’s face it, running a motor dealership is tough. Competitors are growing, costs of sourcing stock is rising, and government compliance is forever changing. To add to that, dealers are faced with maintaining customer trust and increasing vehicle sales. With all the responsibilities involved with running a motor dealership there is a high chance of making a mistake.
Here are 5 of the biggest mistake’s car dealers make and how you can solve them.
1. Not reporting on advertising expenses
Advertising is essential for all motor dealers. If you can’t get customers into your dealership, you will quickly close up shop! The biggest mistake that so many car dealers make is not frequently reporting on advertising expenses. With some dealerships spending up to $600 dollars per vehicle on advertising, you would want to be sure you are getting the leads to warrant that type of investment.
As you would already know the cost per lead on many classifieds is enormous. To minimise cash burn dealers should frequently report on their total advertising spend and contrast that with the leads or enquires you received rom a particular advertiser.
The benefit of frequently reporting on your advertising expenses is if something isn’t generating a return on investment you can make immediate changes and minimise cash burn.
2. Paying too much for stock
We get it, used cars are in demand right now. But just because used cars are in demand doesn’t warrant you paying overs to source new stock. Paying overs for vehicles will result in minimal to no profit margin and stock sitting around in your dealership for longer than intended.
Before investing in new stock, it’s so important you look at the market trends, see what vehicles are selling and at what price they are selling for. After assessing all options then determine how you can source a vehicle and make a healthy profit on it.
For dealers there are valuation tools available to you which helps give you a better understanding of what used cars are worth, how much you should pay and the percentage of return you can get. It’s so important that you understand all the ins and outs and consult all relevant parties before making an investment in new stock to minimise risk.
3. Not having a Dealer Website
Let’s not sugar-coat it we live in an online world now. There isn’t a day that goes by where we don’t use the internet. Recent studies show that 95% of car buyers in 2020 used the internet as their source of information instead of physically attending the dealership – Proving that dealer websites are more valuable than your yard.
Many dealers believe a website is not essential or not worth the investment but, the statistics don’t lie. If you don’t have a dealership website, you could be potentially losing thousands in sales each month!
To learn more about EasyCars Dealer Websites click here
4. Not having a dealer management system
As a dealer there’s a thousand different things to do everyday in such a short space of time. Many dealers have the mindset of if it’s not broken don’t fix it. Selling cars has changed so much in the last 3 years, in saying that, the process you may be currently using, could be impacting your profitability and future growth.
A complete Dealer management system simplifies and automates the day-to-day tasks of running a motor dealership – freeing you up to grow your sales and maximise profit. All essential tasks such as advertising, stock management, government compliance, forms, and accounting is completely automated - meaning less time spent on manual data entry and more time focusing on selling cars and growing your dealership.
5. Getting the cheapest DMS
The main reason for investing in a DMS is to automate tasks and give you peace of mind. A huge mistake that so many dealerships make is subscribing to the cheapest dealer management system. Cheap programs mostly indicate a lack of resources, features and or not offering reliable support when you need it most. Essentially you are getting what you pay for.
It’s so important for dealers to research, and evaluate what supplier will give you a solution customised to your unique needs.
Dealers should assess all the features being provided and more importantly what current customers are saying about the system. If dealers are giving great feedback, then chances are the company genuinely looks after its customers and their dealership.
Where EasyCars can help?
EasyCars is a simple and adaptable dealer management system that automates all the everyday tasks of running a motor dealership.
EasyCars includes all the features needed to manage your dealership seamlessly. With over 38 years of experience creating solutions for Australian motor dealers we understand your vision and our software is completely customisable to your dealership’s unique preferences.
Over 200 Australian dealers have joined EasyCars in 2021 alone! Call us today on 1300 473 744 or submit the form below for a no-obligation free demo of EasyCars.