subject: Used Car Dealer in Chicago, Illinois [print this page] Chicago is a wonderful, cosmopolitan metropolis and you will have many reasons to love the Second City if you live there. Known for its cold winter, beautiful parks, elegant boulevards and great musical heritage, Chicago is one of the largest transportation centers in the United States. Chicago is a great city to have a business in. The Second City has great culture, is reputed for its outstanding infrastructure, is a hub of business and finance, and is acknowledged to be one of the world's top global financial centers. Chicago is home to almost 3 million persons, and its extended metropolitan area, commonly known by the appellation "Chicagoland", is home to about 10 million people. If you are a used car dealer in Chicago, there can be no doubt that your business has the potential to be great, but it must be acknowledged that your competition too will certainly be equally strong. Continue reading to learn about the benefits as well as the challenges of being a used car dealer in Chicago, and the tactics that you must employ to ensure the longevity and profitability of your car dealership.
It is obvious that being a used car dealer in Chicago is quite lucrative. Chicago has a massive population, and the demand for cars is therefore bound to be equally huge. The used car market is quite lucrative in Chicago and the potential for making a fair profit is huge. Should you work your socks off and utilize the right strategies, your business should definitely do very well.
Now let us consider a few numbers. Like I said above, Chicago is home to about 3 million people and the Chicago metropolitan area houses approximately 10 million denizens. There are approximately 6,000 car dealerships in Chicago and nearly 10,000 in the Chicago metropolitan area this includes Chicago the city. About 200,000 cars are bought in Chicago per annum, and the corresponding number for the CMG is thrice that. These statistics imply that on an average, a used car dealer in Chicago can expect to transact business of less than 4 automobiles per month. Actually, what happens is that fewer than 20% of the car dealerships transact nearly eight out of every ten car sales. The remaining car dealerships end up having to fight for whatever's left. The major challenge of being a used car dealer in Chicago is that your market is extremely competitive. This line of work is difficult and most of the car dealerships are compelled to scrap for their business night and day.
The other negative that dealerships have to struggle against is that trust is in short supply in the car dealer business. Car dealers have acquired a bad name due the practices of a small minority of their peers. Earning the trust of a new customer takes very long.
Despite these challenges, you can certainly succeed as a used car dealer in Chicago if you follow the right strategies. The first tactic is to embrace new technologies and start leveraging the power of the internet. The first thing to do is to have your business website created by a web designer, if you already have not done so. Your business website should have your address details, contact information and details of the services you provide. It should also have a contact form where potential customers can ask questions. Ensure that you check your email several times a day and reply to all queries promptly.
Then, hire a search engine optimization professional and make sure that your website ranks high up on the front page of the internet search engines for your local search keywords. This is very important and will make the difference between only 3 car sales a month and ten times that number. And lastly, hire good salesmen. Train then well and maintain a culture of honesty and putting the customer first. Build your reputation over time and make sure that your customers keep coming back to you.
Being a used car dealer in Chicago is not for the lazy. If you follow these easy strategies, you will certainly succeed. Good luck!
