Getting into the dealership world can be a daunting process, what cars do you sell? How do you get licensed? What software to use, CRM, DMS, BHPH acronyms for everything! Auctions, where are those? What's a good price to buy at?
With this guide our aim is to ease you into the process, break down some of the lingo, simplify that confusing paperwork and help you better understand the business.
This guide will be updated regularly as we post new content, so be sure to check back to see what's new.
Sections
Acronyms
Let's get on the same page when it comes to some of the terms you're no doubt going to come across.
BHPH (Buy Here Pay Here)
How To Be a Successful BHPH Dealer
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
10 Common CRM Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
DMS (Dealer Management System)
Two Ways to Help You Understand the Difference Between DMS and CRM
Paperwork
Now onto some of the more fun stuff, paperwork... While it may not be the most interesting, it definitely pays to wrap your head around the processes.
Start with these guides.
The Complete Guide to Auto Dealer Forms
How Accounting Software Can Help Your Dealership
Inventory
Next up on the dealership roadmap is getting yourself some inventory. Filling your lot to the brim with cars for you to sell, this can open up the floor to the next barrage of questions. What cars are people buying, where do I secure the best deals, what's a good markup, how do I track all of this?
Luckily for you we've been hard at work breaking all of this down so you don't have to start at square one, you can dive on in and go head to head with the pros.
Most Sought After Car Brands Nationally
Knowing Key Vehicle Milestones
A Guide to Purchasing and Managing your Inventory
Does a Good VIN Scanner Make a Difference?
MAX Digital Powers DealerCenter Enhanced Market Pricing
Websites
What comes after getting your inventory in your showroom, getting it straight back out, as fast as possible.
Selling, selling and more selling. To sell means you need to be marketing all of the vehicles you've purchased. Leaving vehicles unsold collecting dust costs you money every minute it's sat there so you want to maximize your marketing efforts.
You can' think marketing without thinking website. Having a polished website is crucial to your marketing efforts. If you're not a whizz with html then you can't get a head start with one of DealerCenters out of the box, done for you websites.
With a solid, mobile optimized website in place, you can start taking notes from our following website related guides.
Top 3 Tips to Create the Best Auto Dealer Website
Five Steps to Elevate Your Dealership Website
Digital Marketing
With a website built, inventory listed, now comes the digital work, the digital side of marketing.
Getting potential customers to your website so they can browse, compare and choose the vehicle they're after is your goal. But how do you bring those people to your website?
These guides will give you a solid head start and get you on your way.
Merchandising Your Vehicles
How to Sell Cars to Millennials: Top 5 Tips from a Millennial Buyer
3 Steps For Managing Your Auto Dealership’s Online Reputation
Top 6 Social Media Tips For Used Car Dealerships
Knowing Your Target Market & Customer Demographic
Now we've covered bringing buyers directly to your website, we can turn to the other side of marketing and that's leveraging the power of car listing sites.
Selling on these sites is simple. With your dealership established, inventory acquired, prices determined you just need add your inventory to these power houses.
What's so great about car listing sites is that they've spent and continue to spend millions of dollars in advertising to bring customers to their sites, that over the years has earned them a seal of trust in buyers eyes. While you do need to spend an advertising budget to car your inventory listed on these sites, they will likely have the ROI (return on investment) for you when it comes to your business.
Check this guide out to get you on your way.
Top Free Car Listing Sites For Dealers
Bookmark this page and check back periodically to see when we add new articles and guides to help you level up your dealership.
