Stand Out From The Background Noise

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Stand Out From The Background Noise

• One day as he drove to work, Chris Johnson
  noticed there were so many dealerships along the
  road that it looked like one huge car lot.
• You could not tell where one began and the other
  finished, said Johnson, owner of 6th Gear Auto
  Sales in Fort Worth, Texas.
• Johnson, who had established his independent
  dealership in 2011, knew he had a better
  operation than most. He had grown up in the
  business and had been taught by his father, a
  successful dealer.
• The problem was how to distinguish his operation
  as special among the two hundred used car
  operations within a five-mile radius of his
  store.
• The more he thought about the competition the
  more he thought the best way to increase his
  business would be to broaden his base from the
  used car row of Fort Worth to the national market
  by way of the Internet.

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The problem was, he found the same clutter on the
web that hed seen on the street around his
physical lot. The same problem of how to stand
out among all the car lots trying to be heard
also exists on eBay, Carfax or any other of the
many automotive listing services. As Johnson
studied the problem it became clear that if he
wanted to stand out, whether on the street or on
the Internet, he was going to need a certified
pre-owned product. Johnson had built 6th Gear
Auto Sales from the ground up. He wanted to see
the business thrive and provide income for his
family and his employees for a long time to
come. I realized that without being able to
advertise certified pre-owned, I would lose the
60 percent of the market that is currently
looking for the comfort of a certification
program, he said. Sixty percent is a large
segment. Not all of them know exactly what
certified is and what it means, but they know it
is something special and they want it or at
least the option of having it. Johnson knew to
take 6th Gear where he wanted it to go, he would
have to find a certified pre-owned program his
customers could afford. He also knew his options
were limited as an independent dealer. There are
not many national programs to choose from, he
said. The factories have their programs but they
are exclusive to franchises and theyre way too
expensive.
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Eventually, Johnson came across a program that
was tailor-made for his operation the NIADA
Certified program. First off, it was a National
Independent Automobile Dealers Association
program, he said. Since I was already a member
of the association, that made me feel
confident. When I found out it was backed
by Warrantech, the same people who handle General
Motors CPO and Mazdas and Bentleys programs, I
knew this would be the program for us. Johnsons
employees love the changes that have come out of
becoming an NIADA CPO dealership. It has been a
culture change for us, finance manager John
Frymire said. People see the certified cars on
the Internet and because there is a warranty
protecting them, they dont mind coming from a
long way away to buy our cars. There has been a
big change in the inventory because the cars are
selling faster. Johnson said he had 90-  to
120-day turn of inventory before the CPO program
now he is at 47 days and is working toward
turning his 70-car inventory in as little as 30
days as his operation becomes more known for
having certified pre-owned inventory.
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The news is spreading like wildfire on both the
Internet and in the community, 6th Gear salesman
Elvys Agreda said, and that is good for
business. Want to stand out from the background
noise in the used car market? Just ask Chris
Johnson how adding NIADA Certified Pre-Owned
vehicles changed his business. Article
Source https//warrantech.com/blog/june-2018/stan
d-out-from-the-background-noise/