Selling Cars To Millennials: Their Habits and What to Expect

In order to succeed as a salesperson in any industry, you need to understand the customers that you work with. The way you sell a car to a millennial will be different than how you would sell to a baby-boomer or a gen X. If you know the values of millennials and their buying habits, you should be able to tailor their sales journey in order to close the deal. In this article, we’re going to go over common millennial values when buying a car, how to convert millennial leads and what to expect when selling to millennials. 

Key Takeaways

• Millennials are now the largest group of car buyers, and they expect digital-first, transparent, and personalized buying experiences.
• This generation does heavy online research, compares options across many tabs, and often chooses dealerships that offer clear pricing, reviews, and flexible financing.
• Millennials value convenience and speed, so tools like online credit applications, pre-approvals, and at-home test drives can strongly influence their choice of dealer.
• Social proof, like online reviews, testimonials, and strong Google ratings, is often more persuasive for millennials than traditional advertising.
• Dealerships that invest in digital tools, honest communication, and relationship-focused follow-up are more likely to win and keep millennial car buyers.
  

Millennial Values When Buying a Car 

Buying a Car is Personal

You may be confused as to what this means, but it’s simple. Many millennial car buyers want a vehicle that not only stands out but is also a reflection of their personality. What this means is that there is no one style of vehicle that millennial buyers are going to want so don’t try and convince these people into buying a car that doesn’t match their needs or personality. 

Instant Gratification Over Patience 

One of the biggest factors of car purchases in millennial buyers is what’s currently available. Most millennials would rather buy a car today than wait two weeks for a vehicle they would want more if it weren’t for the wait. This means they will probably shop around at multiple dealerships from the same manufacturer if it means they can get the vehicle sooner. 

Millennials LOVE Technology

It might not be hard to upsell your millennial customers on an upgrade trim model. This is due to the fact that most millennials love having the latest technology whether that be an upgraded stereo system or remote start. AutoTrader did a study on the “Next Generation Car Buyer” and found that 70% of millennials consider infotainment systems a must when shopping for a car. 

They Want an Environmentally Friendly Vehicle

Deloitte’s Automotive Consumer Study found that a majority of millennials anticipate driving an alternative fuel vehicle within a 5-year time frame and have no qualms about paying more for it. Millennials are more likely to walk, bike, carpool or take public transportation for short commutes while keeping their car at home. They will limit their vehicle use but owning a vehicle is still necessary for them.

How to Convert Millennial Leads

When you’re looking at leads, you need to look at the person’s age and adjust your strategy accordingly. Specifically, when looking at leads aged 18-37, you need to make sure your sales strategy is polished, convenient and trustworthy. Here are 4 things to help you close millennial leads: 

1. Have a Great Website

Typically, people will spend 17 hours browsing your online showroom before ever walking through your door. Knowing that potential customers are spending that much time browsing through your website, it’s critical that your website is easy to navigate and bug-free. If your website is a nightmare to navigate, your customers will most likely look elsewhere. Since 48% of 17-24-year-olds buy a car at the first dealership they visit, not having a good website can lose you on a lot of deals.

2. Be Active on Social Media

While millennials spend a little less time on social media than the younger generation of Gen X, they still spend upwards of 27 hours per week browsing. Doing advertising through platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok can help you reach millennials and bring them into your store. 

3. Focus on Tech

As we’ve already discussed earlier in this article, millennials love having the latest technology in their vehicle. So if you’re not putting a focus on each vehicle’s technology capabilities, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Selling upgraded trim levels should be much easier when dealing with millennials than older generations. Make sure you have a thorough understanding of each vehicle’s technology so you can sell it well. 

4. Establish a Trusting Relationship

For many millennials, coming to your dealership may mean their first time buying a car from a dealership and it’s likely most of them will have their guard up. The stigma around car salespeople/dealerships is real and it’s something that we as an industry need to work at improving. If you can be completely honest throughout the sales process, you will likely be able to reap the benefits. According to Deloitte’s Consumer Study, 82% of millennials are influenced by online reviews and 50% are influenced by family and friends during the car buying process. 

What To Expect When Selling To Millennials

An Educated Buyer: Millennial car shoppers are well researched and you need to know more about each vehicle than them so be prepared and know your models. 

Less Focus on Price: Millennials see the value in the vehicle they’re considering buying so you don’t need to worry as much about convincing them on a price. Almost half of them will put a deposit on their first visit to the dealership.

Quick Responses: Most millennials constantly have their phone nearby. Because of this, expect most of your messages and calls to be answered quickly if not immediately.