In today’s auto market, inventory isn’t the problem—attention is. The days of waiting for walk-ins are over. Auto dealer lead generation has changed.
Knowing how to generate auto sales leads is a skillset that can transform your career. It involves knowing where your buyers are, how they think and what motivates them to engage.
Whether you’re working the showroom floor or managing online inquiries, lead generation is the engine that drives your sales.
In this post, we’ll break down the strategies top-performing dealerships use to fill their pipelines—and how you can do the same.
Optimize Your Website for Conversions
Your website is more than a digital business card—it’s your #1 lead capture tool.
But too many dealer sites are clunky, outdated and hard to navigate. Yours needs to be fast, mobile friendly and designed to convert leads into prospects.
That means:
- Clear calls to action (CTAs), like “Schedule a Test Drive” or “Get Pre-Approved”
- Easy-to-use forms
- Live chat and other communication options
- Inventory that’s accurate and updated daily
And don’t underestimate reviews. Google ratings and customer testimonials build credibility. Make it easy for happy customers to leave reviews—and use them in your marketing.
You can also start a blog to educate people in the local area on auto-related topics. Stick to high-level topics, like how to increase your gas mileage or save money on car insurance. Avoid topics that are specific to certain vehicle makes and models.
In every post, encourage your readers to take some action, whether that’s book a meeting at the dealership or sign up for an email list (more on this next). Your blog readers are anonymous leads you can’t pursue until they identify themselves.
Start an Email List
An email list is a great way to continue nurturing leads until they are ready to buy a car. At this point, you have their contact information. Now, you need to win their trust.
Like your blog posts, the emails you send should be packed with useful information. Combining education with inventory updates is a great way to reach people who are in different stages of the buying journey.
For instance, you could create an email template that begins with a section where you share your expertise on a particular topic and then follow with inventory updates.
We also recommend including a video message in your email to give a voiceover of its content. This is a great way to personalize your dealership and make it more memorable in the minds of recipients. Plus, video is often better for communicating more complex or nuanced details.
Your sending frequency will depend on two factors: sustainability and value.
Make sure that you and your team have the capacity to maintain a great newsletter. If you send too often, you risk burning out. If you don’t send often enough, you won’t stay top of mind with prospects and attract people who are ready to take action.
(btw, check out this article on car sales email templates you can use throughout the sales process)
Stay Active on Social Media
Car buyers need to be aware of you and your dealership before they start shopping. Social media is a great channel for this. You can build an audience organically and maintain connections over time.
If you’re in charge of your dealership’s social accounts, the key is to deliver value with every post. You want to build a great reputation and avoid adding noise to the newsfeed.
If you’re posting from your personal accounts, value still matters. But don’t feel like you only have to post work-related content. The right balance of personal and work content helps you come across authentically to your audience.
You can also use different social media channels for different purposes.
For example, you can post about new cars on Facebook Marketplace and Instagram. On TikTok and YouTube, you can share interesting videos about car maintenance or marketplace trends. And then you can use LinkedIn to share content related to sales strategies and tactics more broadly.
We recommend using a combination of video messages and text-only posts on social media. That way, you provide multiple ways to consume content and can showcase your personality. The more people that like you, the better your chances are of selling a car to them one day.
To make social media a true lead generator, you need to include CTAs in your posts. Let people know they can book a call or meeting with you at the dealership if they want to learn more about something. You can also direct them to the dealership website to check on the availability of a certain car.
Most people don’t take action unless you give them a good reason to. Be bold, and ask when it makes sense.
Retarget Engaged Leads
It can take a while for people to convert from leads into car buyers. That’s where retargeting comes in.
Retargeting means putting ads back in front of people who previously showed interest in buying a car on your website or who engaged with another one of your ads.
Retargeting tends to be less costly and more effective because leads are already somewhat qualified. You’re just trying to push them over the tipping point, which is easier than starting from square one.
Retargeting typically requires you to set up a “pixel” or add some code to your website for attribution purposes. You can find tutorials on how to set this up with a quick Google or YouTube search.
Surf Craigslist and Other Sites for Private Car Sales
People who are trying to sell a car directly to another person can be good potential prospects.
If your dealership purchases used cars, you can reach out and invite private sellers in for an appraisal. You can also see if they are looking to buy a new car to replace the old one.
This is a great way to catch people when they are actively thinking about car ownership. In your outreach, emphasize how much easier it is to go through your dealership and, again, focus on building an authentic connection.
Work Closely with the Service Department
If you’re able to partner with the service side of your dealership, do it. People who are coming in for oil changes, repairs and other maintenance already trust the dealership. Some may just need a slight push to move on from an older, broken down car.
There’s no harm in asking service customers if they’ve considered a new car recently. People dealing with larger repairs are likely already frustrated to be there. You can offer a solution to their pain – a new vehicle with fresh parts.
See if you can get a list from the service department of people who are coming in for appointments that day or that week. Reach out in advance, starting with the most expensive repairs.
Something as simple as “Hey, I saw you’re coming in for a service appointment on Thursday. While you’re waiting, would you be interested in taking a newer model for a test drive?”
You can also make this offer to people who are sitting in the waiting room. It’s an easy sell. Taking a quick spin in a nice car beats watching cable television with a room full of strangers.
Pick Up “Orphaned” Customers
Anytime salespeople leave your dealership, see if you can pick up some of their customers. Give these people a call, introduce yourself and ask about the vehicle they purchased from the salesperson who left.
(btw, here’s an article on how to make better cold calls as a car salesperson)
This is a great opportunity to build a relationship with someone who already appreciates your dealership. It’s an effective strategy for car lead generation and repeat purchases.
Build Relationships with Other Dealerships
Reps at other dealerships can be a great source of leads. When car buyers don’t find what they’re looking for at one dealership, you want them coming your way.
Spend time reaching out to salespeople at other dealerships. Grab coffees or lunches to exchange ideas. Share what’s working for you and ask for advice.
These connections can evolve into mutually beneficial business relationships based on the goal of helping customers find the perfect car for them.
Should You Purchase Lead Lists?
It’s tempting to purchase lead lists. With minimal effort, you receive a list of people you can start selling to immediately.
But here’s the thing: your competitors are probably buying the same lead lists.
That means you’re both actively calling people who may not remember submitting their information anywhere. This ends up being a poor buying experience for most people. You don’t like getting lots of calls from unfamiliar numbers either, right?
One report from SmarterHQ found that 72% of consumers will only engage with marketing that is tailored specifically to them. It’s hard to deliver this experience for leads you purchase.
You also can’t guarantee the quality of a lead list. In many cases, sales professionals end up spending a lot of time pursuing low-quality leads.
The better path is to learn how to generate auto sales leads on your own. Focusing on the approaches mentioned here will yield much better results.
For a broader overview of modern selling techniques for auto professionals, this post is for you.
If you want to give video messaging a try, sign up for a free 14-day trial here.
If your dealership is exploring video, you can also sign up for a demo here.
