Setting up your own car dealership business can be an exciting and challenging time. There’s a lot to consider when launching your company and sometimes it’s hard to know where to start.
To help, we’ve put together a handy guide to help you set the gears in motion.
Find a location
Suggestion: Your decision to rent or purchase a commercial space for your business will often depend on your financial situation. It’s important to keep this in mind when looking for suitable premises.
Based on the amount of financing you have, you may want to either rent or purchase a commercial space to operate your business from.
A good way to see which commercial spaces are available in your local area is to get in touch with a commercial real estate agency.
Have a chat with them about the sort of space that will suit your business and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
TOP TIP: Always organise a viewing before signing a contract. What looks great in pictures might not live up to your expectations in real life.
Apply for a licence
To set up your own car dealership business, you’ll need to apply for a licence. To do this you’ll need to complete a government-approved application.
To complete the process you will need to give your consent to a criminal background check and provide proof that you have met property regulations.
There will also be an inspection from the licencing authority for car dealerships to make sure that everything is legal and ready to go.
Recruitment and employer’s liability insurance
If you’re looking to hire more members of staff for your car dealership business, it’s important that you have a set application and interview process in place.
Examples of some good interview questions are:
? What is your favourite thing about working at a car dealership?
? What is an example of a time you gave fantastic customer service?
? Try and sell me this stapler.
? Do you have a set strategy that you use to get a sale?
Remember, if you employ any other members of staff, you will need to have employer’s liability insurance.
Take out motor trades insurance
If you’re going to be running your own car dealership business, you will need motor traders insurance.
For more information on motor traders insurance, click here.
Get some cars
There’s a variety of ways that you can obtain cars to sell in your car dealership. One of the most common ways to do this is to attend auctions of cars that have been seized from the hands of criminals. These cars are often auctioned off at a low price, meaning that you will be able to sell them on for a decent profit.
As your business grows, so will the number of vehicles you sell. You’ll also be able to accept trade-ins from your customers.
Advertise your car dealership
One of the most cost-effective ways to advertise your car dealership business is to print out flyers and distribute them to the local public.
It’s also a great idea to create your own website. You can do this using a popular platform that’s easy to use, like Wordpress.
Don’t be afraid to get on social media and promote your business that way. Using sites like Facebook and Twitter means that you can reach a wide audience with posts about your business. You could even run a competition to get some interest around your page.
