A growing trend in the automotive industry today is the subprime and special finance market. The techniques on how to sell more cars in special finance have been mastered by many dealerships and sales associates. They have accomplished this with a strategy geared toward the subprime market. This strategy includes lenders for subprime auto loans, third party special finance auto leads, managers that are experienced on how to work a subprime car deal, and content to sell cars on social media to the special finance customer. As a result, they are selling more cars and holding higher gross profits.
The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast Presents:
Crissy Burton, The Car Fairy, Surpasses 90% of Car Salesmen In The U.S. With Just 5 Years In The Industry
This week on the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast, host Sean V. Bradley, CSP dives into the world of subprime car deals. Special finance customers can be some of the most profitable car deals for dealerships and sales associates alike. With a strategic approach to the subprime market, dealerships can grow their sales and profits to new heights.
Joining Sean today is Crissy Burton. Crissy is one of, if not the best, car saleswoman in the world and she focuses much of her attention to the subprime market. In March of 2021, Crissy sold 73 cars as a sales associate on the showroom floor. Using the average front end gross of $2,500 per copy, Crissy generated over $182,000 in front end gross profit for her dealership. While there are many average and above average car salesman out there, what does it take to be the best in the world… or in this case, what does it take to be the best car saleswoman in the world?
About Crissy Burton
Crissy Burton is a Car Saleswoman at Napleton Hyundai of Carmel in Indianapolis, IN. Known as “Crissy the Car Fairy”, Crissy has been in car sales for five years now. She caters to customers that have challenging situations. Focusing heavily on branded herself on Facebook with posting customer testimonials, Crissy has built her brand to where a majority of her business is repeat and referral customers.
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Show Notes: Techniques On How To Sell More Cars In Special Finance
How Crissy Got Started As A Car Saleswoman
Crissy ties her success to herself. This is because she is like her customers. Crissy needed a vehicle and while she had a good job, she had distressed credit and little money down. She saw an advertisement on Facebook and set an appointment at a dealership. Her sales associate at that time, Dion Crenshaw, never quit and worked hard to get Crissy a vehicle.
Dion became Crissy’s friend and mentor, and it was because of him that Crissy got a job at that dealership. When she started working there, Dion gave Crissy a task. He taught her how to utilize Facebook to prospect. Crissy filled up the appointment board for the two of them. Crissy sold 13 cars in one week.
What Is It Like Being A Female In The Automotive Industry?
It is not easy being a female sales associate at a car dealership, a predominantly male industry. Crissy advises that you need to be really strong willed. Crissy has periods were they are friendly, along with periods where they are not because most customers that visit the dealership are asking for her.
The easy part is working with the customers. Most customers prefer working with car saleswomen as opposed to car salesmen. Additionally, Crissy has found most men prefer working with a female sales associate.
What Is It Like Being A Minority In The Automotive Industry?
Crissy has found it to be very easy being black in the automotive industry. This is partially due to the area with which she works. However, based on how Crissy advertises and prospects herself as an automotive sales professional, her customers love her because she helps solve their problems.
The Biggest Challenges Of The Automotive Industry?
The hours are the most challenging part. Additionally, with many of her customers being subprime, the sales and approval process can be a bit lengthy. Knowing that one out of four customers will be a car deal, Crissy multi-tasks. She works with several customers at a time so she can remain productive while she is waiting on approvals.
3 Ways Dealers Can Improve Their Subprime Strategy
Inventory For Subprime Auto Loans
In order to be successful in the subprime market, you need to have the right inventory. More importantly, you need to have the right inventory that books out the right way. Even if you have exceptional people and the best lenders, it will be near impossible to be successful in the subprime market if you don’t have the right inventory.
Lenders For Subprime Auto Loans
The second ingredient to selling cars in the subprime market are your lenders. You need to have diversification with your banks. Each subprime lender has different guidelines and parameters, and if a deal doesn’t meet their criteria, you could be hit with hefty bank fees. Not only will this kill your profitability, but it could also prevent you from making deals as well.
Sales & Finance Managers For SubPrime Auto Loans
With the proper inventory and the right banks taken care of, next you need to have the right people. You need to have a finance manager that knows how to work a subprime deal. Additionally, they need to know all of your lenders and their programs to ensure each deal goes to the right bank to maximize gross profit. Furthermore, they need to place deals with the subprime lenders that have a smooth and fast funding process.
How Dealers Can Land More Subprime Car Loan Customers
Special Finance Auto Leads
One of the best ways that car dealerships can increase their subprime footprint is through special finance auto leads. There are many different special finance lead providers out there, such as Interactive Financial Marketing Group, CarLoan.com, and Auto Credit Express. Not only do they provide you with subprime leads, but they can also provide you with detailed information on each lead. With the proper subprime strategy, automotive dealerships can drastically increase their sales and profitability through third party subprime lead providers.
How To Market Yourself As A Car Salesman
How To Sell More Cars On Social Media
Crissy personally advertises herself as an automotive sales professional. In fact, she created a business page, “Crissy The Car Fairy”, about a year ago. She utilizes this business page to prospect for customers and to stay in touch with sold customers. Crissy takes a picture with every customer and posts it on her pages, along with customer testimonials. From there, she tags the customers on her business page so that all of their friends and family can see as well.
How To Run Facebook Ads To Sell More Cars
Crissy spends approximately $200 per month on subprime automotive paid Facebook ads. In March of 2021, the month that Crissy sold 73 cars, she reached over 67,000 people. Not only did she reach over 67,000 people, but she did so off of a $200 budget. Out of the 73 cars Crissy sold in March, all of them came from her Facebook page. Of those, 10 sales came from referrals and 63 are accredited to her Facebook paid ads.
How To Use Facebook Groups To Sell More Cars
Another way that Crissy markets herself as a car saleswoman is through the use of Facebook groups. She is a part of a group that supports black businesses, and Crissy The Car Fairy is a black business and a group for women in the automotive industry. Additionally, Crissy is a part of groups outside of social media, especially being involved in women empowerment groups.
Crissy’s Secrets to Sell More Cars In Special Finance
How To Sell More Cars To Subprime Customers: The 6 Questions You Need To Ask
There are 6 very important questions that Crissy asks every special finance customer.
- Qualification: Do you have a driver’s license?
- Replacement vehicle: What type of vehicle are you looking for?
- Current Vehicle: What is the vehicle that you are currently driving?
- Features: What are the features are you looking to have in your vehicle?
- Monthly Budget: What is the most you can afford monthly?
- Down Payment: What is the max down payment you have available today?
Crissy has found that she does not always get the most honest answers to these questions from her customers. This is especially true in regards to budget. She still asks these questions because it helps her frame out the customer. Additionally, it helps the customer understand that you are focused on doing what you can in regards to what they want. This makes the process of closing the deal with a higher payment and down payment easier.
How To Work A Subprime Car Deal To Sell More Cars
Best practices are not to sell your customer on a car first. Nor do you want them to choose a car randomly first. When you know you have a subprime customer, you need to start by qualifying your customer. Next, based on that information, you need to cross reference your banks and inventory. This will allow you to find the vehicles you have that you can maximize your gross profit.
You should pre-select three or four vehicles for them so you can still provide options. Then you can present the options that work for the customers based on their situation. The reason for this process is because with many subprime customers, it is not always about the car, but it is always about the approval.
Resources On How To Sell More Cars In Special Finance
Dealer Synergy & Bradley On Demand: The Automotive Industry’s #1 Training, Tracking, Testing, and Certification Platform and Consulting & Accountability Firm
The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast: is the #1 Resource for Automotive Sales Professionals, Managers, and Owners. Also, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today!
The Against All Odds Radio Show: Hosting guests that have started from the bottom and rose to the top. Also, join The Against All Odds Radio Show Guests & Listeners Facebook Group for the podcasted episodes.
Join The Millionaire Car Salesman Club: on Clubhouse
Win the Game of Googleopoly: Unlocking the Secret Strategy of Search Engines
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