How to Start an Online Business Selling New Cars
Car shopping usually starts with online research. Consumers perform research on makes, models and car prices. They also read reviews written by model owners. Position yourself in the market to use the Internet not only as a reference source, but also as a method for selling cars. Start an online business selling new cars.
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Instructions
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Plan your business strategy. Pad your financial predictions for start-up costs. Brad Sugars, journalist for "Entrepreneur" magazine, explains, "I've never seen a startup business where expenses weren't at least 30 percent more than initially planned or anticipated, and revenues are at least that much less." Set weekly, monthly and annual goals for the business. Predict how many sales you want to make, cars you want to sell or a dollar amount you want to reach.
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Get a financial consultant to help you put together a plan for funding necessities. Package your needs into an investor proposal. In the proposal, detail your business strategy, the reasons your business model will appeal to consumers and how you plan to reach those consumers. Be sure to illustrate the strength of the market.
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Apply for a wholesale dealer's license for your state. Attend any necessary training courses required by the state motor vehicle division to receive your license. If you plan to own a car lot for buyers to visit, the Department of Motor Vehicles may require an inspection of your lot. Apply for a business license. You can request business licenses online in many jurisdictions.
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Pick a market demographic. Sell directly to consumers or sell to other dealers. Create your unique brand position based on your customers' most important benefits. Consumers may be more interested in style, while dealers may be concerned about price and vehicle delivery methods.
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Find lot space. Sign a longer lease to reduce costs. Build an effective website. In "Mastering the Art of Selling Cars Online," Edward Coleman writes, "This can be done by creating unique website addresses with specialized content that produce unique sales channels in a dealership's immediate market."
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Apply for dealer tags to give consumers the ability to test-drive your cars. Dealer tags are available through the state's Department of Motor Vehicles. Get approved for your wholesale dealer's license before requesting dealer tags.
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Purchase business liability insurance to reduce your personal liability if someone gets hurt by defective engineering or manufacturing.
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Use video to market to consumers. Instead of just using pictures, hire a video production company or buy your own camera to record the cars in action and create short videos for your website. This strategy was used by an entrepreneur in Seattle. Jake Swearingen, "Business 2.0" magazine writer-reporter, says the entrepreneur found this idea "[a]fter a few frustrating days of trawling Craigslist and driving around the Bay Area, only to find cars that looked better in their photos than in real life."
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Advertise online. Use search engine banner ad programs to reach as many customers as possible. Choose keywords for your banner ads, such as "new cars" or "buy cars online." Hire a graphic designer through a freelance job board to create professional-looking banners.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit car dealership 1 image by Alexey Stiop from Fotolia.com
