How to Gobble Up Plenty of Thanksgiving Car Sales

Consumers are hungry for exceptional deals in November—here’s how your dealership can boost Thanksgiving car sales.

Consumers are beginning to realize that there are a ton of dynamite Thanksgiving car sales, and it’s up to you to figure out how to stand out from other dealerships in your area and get a piece of that pie. Why is November such a hot month?

At the end of 2016, iSeeCars.com released the results of a study in which they looked at 40 million used car sales around the county from 2013 to 2015. They zeroed in on the top 10 times of the year that consumers found the best deals. Out of those 10, four fell within the month of November.

1. Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving)
2. Veteran’s Day (November 11)
3. Thanksgiving
4. The entire month of November

Let’s talk turkey: Ways to increase your Thanksgiving car sales

The magnitude of the Thanksgiving car sales you offer will ultimately be up to you and what your dealership can afford. However, even if you can’t necessarily swing the lowest prices in town, you can still try your hardest to get noticed and bring in customers.

1. Get ahead of the Black Friday sales.

Black Friday is known for fantastic deals, so what if you got ahead of the competition and offered your top sales before then? This can give you a competitive edge and attract people who may not want to spend a few hours buying a car on Black Friday when there are so many other deals to take advantage of.

2. Promote those current year models.

You undoubtedly have a nearly full stock of 2018 models on your lot now, so Thanksgiving car sales that push 2017 models will keep your inventory fresh—and encourage buyers who want that new car smell without the big price tag.

3. Cross-sell in the service department.

Promote Thanksgiving car sales throughout your dealership – even in the service department. If a customer brings a car in for service that has seen better days, or they need pricey repairs done that don’t financially make sense, this is your service department’s cue to mention the current sales going on. You may just get a few customers who weren’t initially planning to buy.

4. Offer free holding for holiday gifts.

Customers who know they want to purchase a vehicle as a gift for someone are attracted to Thanksgiving car sales, but often don’t know where to store the car until the holiday season. In your advertising, specifically note that your dealership offers free holding during the holidays and that someone can buy a car now, but pick it up right before Christmas or Hanukkah. It seems small, but it’s a big deal to people making a big purchase that’s supposed to be a surprise.

5. Reach out to past customers.

A quick and easy way to increase your Thanksgiving car sales is by sending an email through your CRM to past customers to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and let them know you’re thankful for their business. Don’t make the email about the sale — it’s about your relationship with them and that you genuinely wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. However, at the end, in one sentence, you could mention that you have some excellent Thanksgiving car sales and you’d be happy to help them out if they’re interested.

6. Have a giveaway.

You may not want to knock any more dollars off a car’s price, but a giveaway is an effective way to get foot traffic in your showroom. For example, you could say that everyone who buys a car in November will be entered to win free snow tires—and your dealership will put them on and take them off for free for the life of the new vehicle.

It’s fun to think of Thanksgiving car sales promotion ideas once you get going. In your next sales meeting, take the time to encourage your team to throw out ideas and bounce thoughts off of each other. They may just come up with your best advertising tactic ever.

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