Starting a car dealership can be an incredibly lucrative entrepreneurial venture. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, managerial positions in the automotive dealership industry generally make an average of $54 an hour for their work, which could be a major upgrade for many Americans. If you’ve wanted to start a car dealership but were never sure where to start, here are some tips to get you from idea to execution.
File the Necessary Paperwork
In order to start any business entity in the United States, you need to file the right paperwork. This involves registering your business as well as setting up a bank account and applying for the correct zoning permits.
Different cities and states will have different requirements for automotive dealerships, so it’s best to talk to someone at City Hall in order to make sure you’re filing everything appropriately. You’ll also want to consider different types of insurance for your company, such as limited liability insurance and workman’s compensation insurance.
Purchase a Lot for Business
In order to sell cars, you need a place to display them. This is where purchasing a car lot comes in. When looking at properties, it’s important to consider the proximity to other dealerships as well as the value you’re getting in terms of acreage.
You’ll also want to consider whether or not you have sufficient funds to construct a building for your leasing office, sales floor, and other components of your business. It may make sense to purchase land with an existing building on it if you can’t afford building from the ground up.
Be Prepared to Sell to Anyone
If you can broaden your sales capabilities to go beyond your city, you may be able to make more sales overall. Many times, people are interested in buying a specific make or model of a car, and if you have the best price and the ability to ship the car across state lines, you can make some extra money and move inventory more quickly.
Easy Car Shipping is one of many services helping dealers and customers transport cars from one place to another. Whether you’re looking to move a vehicle through a covered or open trailer, it’s easy to get an estimate for the cost to ship your car on their website.
Use Smart Marketing Tactics
Technology has revolutionized the way that you can market your business, and with the right tactics, you can do a great job attracting new customers to your physical location. One way to do this is with geofencing mobile marketing. With registered showroom visits using tools from businesses like Demand Local, you can actually track when your mobile marketing campaign leads to a customer coming to visit your dealership.
From search engine marketing to display ads, Demand Local has all the tools necessary to get the right messages in front of the right customers in a specific area. This makes it easier than ever to stake your turf as a dealership and start to build a dedicated customer base.
As you can see, starting a car dealership is best done utilizing a multi-pronged approach. There are a lot of important details to set up your dealership properly, whether it’s purchasing a lot for business or filing the correct paperwork in order to do business in the first place.
It’s always a good idea to take a look at the way that different technologies can help you in your automotive sales, too. Whether that means using a service like Easy Car Shipping to sell to a wider range of customers or using geofence marketing to reach potential customers in the right place, there are many ways to gain a competitive edge as a business owner.