Online Dealer Auctions: 5 Ways Dealers Can Maximize ROI
Used car dealers are in a non-stop hustle. Between tracking down the right inventory and keeping retail customers happy, there is always a lot on your plate. On top of that, there’s pricing vehicles right and building trust with retail customers — all while trying to avoid the dreaded lot rot.
The good news is that with the right tools (and online dealer auction), you can keep up with all these priorities and maximize your ROI in the process. Whether you are buying or selling, here are five ways that you can take the guesswork out of your wholesale operations, protect your bottom line, and unlock higher return on investment.
Tip #1: Use data to guide your bids
With so many makes, models, and trims out there, it is impossible to be an expert on every single vehicle that rolls across your screen (a challenge that applies to even the most experienced used car dealers). By using wholesale valuation tools like Market Guide 2.0, you get instant access to live market values, making you ready to transact with total certainty.
Market Guide 2.0 also offers future predictive pricing, which means you can see where vehicle prices are heading anywhere from 30, 60 or 90 days out. This gives you the confidence to step right out of your comfort zone with your own actionable game plan. Learn more about Market Guide 2.0 in 7 Ways OPENLANE’s Market Guide 2.0 Helps You Find Market Prices.
Tip #2: Build trust on the retail floor
Today’s retail car buyers are better informed than ever before. They might wonder — what is the market price? What are typical negotiation strategies at a used car dealership? If they feel like you are hiding something, they will walk away. Use data tools that help you remain fully transparent with retail customers. When you can show live market comparisons right on a tablet, you eliminate friction, validate your pricing, and build the kind of trust that closes retail deals faster.
OPENLANE has several options for this — including Retail Inspect and Retail Suite (offered in our ProPower subscription tier). With these tools, you can offer retail customers easy-to-read car previews and have them view a detailed vehicle inspection from the comfort of their home.
Tip #3: Keep your inventory moving
Every single day a vehicle sits on your lot, it eats into your profits. To prevent ‘lot rot’ from draining your cash flow, you need a system that highlights hidden bottlenecks. Subscribing to an Inventory Management System (IMS) will help you actively manage your inventory. It keeps your stock fresh by notifying you exactly when it is time to retail a unit or cut it loose to wholesale.
One option for this is OPENLANE’s MyLot — it’ll alert you when your vehicles are aging and let you launch it into an online auction from the same page!
Tip #4: Get a complete view of your timeline
Maximizing ROI requires looking at both sides of the coin. You need to know exactly how many days a vehicle has spent on your lot and the average days-on-market for comparable vehicles in your region. To get that full 360-degree view, you need a tool built for the job. That’s exactly what MyLot does.
Tip #5: Track opportunities right at the front door
Think about how many times a day your appraiser is asked for the value of a trade-in. If those vehicles walk out the door untracked, you are losing a potential future opportunity. You need to track all sale opportunities at the very front door of your dealership. Make it a rule to capture the VIN, exact mileage, and customer contact info every time. This simple habit will help you make more deals, simply because it leads to more meaningful conversations with your customers.
At the end of the day, wholesale shouldn’t be a headache. Closing deals becomes easier and much more profitable when you let data insights do the heavy lifting. By injecting these five habits into your daily routine, you stop guessing and start growing.
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