Selling car parts is a great way to make money, and its success as a field of business looks set to continue. Car purchases are on the rise, which means the demand for spare and replacement car parts is also increasing. However, to maximize this stream of income, you need to ensure that you’re taking advantage of every sales and marketing opportunity. A couple of extra sales on each day of the year can make a big difference to your annual turnover, and there are several ways to boost sales, which require minimal effort. Here are some ideas to help you boost car parts sales.
Build and Strengthen Business Relationships
The customers who walk into your shop are crucial to your turnover, of course, but you could be missing on bigger and more consistent orders. By building and maintaining positive working relationships with body shops, sales dealership and/or repair garages, you can become their go-to supplier when they need parts. You can visit local businesses and introduce yourself and perhaps even offer a discount off of their first order when trying to build your reputation.
You could also join a motoring trade association which runs networking events, so you can meet other industry professionals. Once you have a relationship in place, it’s a good idea to refer customers to them whenever you can to strengthen the partnership and increase the likelihood that they’ll return the favor.
Increase Online Sales
A great way to boost your revenue is to add an ecommerce website to your sales strategy. Your website should be easy to use for the customer with a quick sales process to prevent buyers from becoming frustrated and taking their business elsewhere. To ensure it appears in search engine results for key search terms which you want your website to appear for, you’ll need to get familiar with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) techniques.
Once you have this platform up and running, as your business grows and develops, you should consider expanding to multi channel ecommerce. This enables you to sell your car parts through multiple online outlets, including social media and marketplaces, as well as pop-up shops and events.
Communicate with Customers Regularly
It’s widely known that retaining a foundation of repeat customers is far easier and more profitable than spending money on trying to attract new customers all the time. You should try to keep the lines of communication open as much as possible and stay in touch with customers who may wish to purchase from you again in the future. This can be done by sending them newsletters or special promotions through email or even through the post if you think this is more suitable for your customer base. You may also want to consider creating a blog for your website where you can post helpful articles. Creating a presence on social media can also be a great way to engage with customers and build brand awareness.
Display Accessories and Extras on the Sales Counter
You may be able to increase the value of individual sales in your store simply by keeping a stock of impulse buy items on the counter. These should be small relatively inexpensive items from merchandise to small themed gifts or car care products. You could even give your sales team an incentive by awarding a prize or bonus to the employee who sells the most in add-on products.