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Buying a Car Takes Time & Trust

Buying a car typically takes people time and a healthy dose of trust. As a dealership, you need the right people, the right process, and the right products to conquer those vectors of time and trust. Let’s unpack them both. 

The Data Behind Time & Trust Needed to Buy a Car

The Capital One Car Buying Outlook dropped recently, and three things stuck out. One, younger people actually appreciate face-to-face interactions when buying a car. I usually only see the tops of my kids’ heads while they’re looking at their phones, so this was refreshing to hear. 

Bar graph showing generational trends in car buying preferences, focusing on whether the experience is completed mostly in-person or online. It compares Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers.

Two, trust really hinges upon the salesperson to create. 

Horizontal bar chart showing how different dealership personnel contribute to trust and distrust in car dealerships, as perceived by car buyers.

Three, nearly half of buyers take 3 months or more to make a purchase. Dang!

Horizontal bar chart illustrating how long customers spend actively shopping for a car before completing their purchase.

How The Right Products Build Trust & Shorten the Sales Cycle

That brings us back to having the right people, process, and products to handle the time and the trust needed by consumers. Since we’re a product company, not a people or process consultant, let’s tackle the product side.

There’s no better way to build trust before people even set foot in the door than with a personalized video. It breaks down the technical coldness of canned email and text follow-up. 

There’s no better way to shorten the sales cycle than by helping people do all of their vehicle research in one spot, with you, rather than navigating off to a bunch of 3rd party sites where you risk losing the relationship. 

Make it easy for people to find service records, accident history, awards, warranties, window sticker, all that stuff on all of your inventory. 

Bonus! That also improves the trust factor, and people will reward you more often with their attention and their business.