image of cars in a parking lot

Biggest BHPH Mistakes

With over 15 percent of vehicle purchases coming from BHPH lots, and more people opening BHPH businesses than ever before, the time is now to enter the BHPH industry. However, selling cars is no cakewalk—there are plenty of mistakes to be made when entering such a competitive and highly complex field.

In this blog, Skypatrol will outline some of the biggest mistakes BHPH businesses can make—some of which can tank BHPH businesses completely. Avoid these mistakes, and you have a better chance for profit, growth, and success.

You don’t have a good plan.

The BHPH industry is more competitive than ever before—so if you think you can wing it and still be a successful BHPH business, you are mistaken. Make sure you’re prepared for any situation the industry can throw at you—get the startup funding, have a plan for worst-case scenarios, establish a cost-effective and compelling marketing plan, and find the right people to run your business (we’ll touch more on this later).

BHPH is a growing, yet challenging industry—and with cars involved, it can be an expensive industry to enter (and an even more expensive industry to leave). Plan every step on your road to BHPH success, and you have a much better chance of growing your business for years to come.

You haven’t established business processes.

What happens when a customer comes in the door? What steps do you take when a customer is unhappy? Do you have a checklist for new vehicles that you add to your inventory? These are questions that you must ask yourself before your BHPH business opens its doors. If you haven’t established clear and concise processes for the most common (and the not-so-common) situations that will arise on a day-to-day basis, you won’t be prepared to handle these situations, which will make you appear unorganized and unprofessional to your customers—and when those customers tell their friends and family about how unprofessional you were, it’s not going to do your business any favors.

All new businesses are going to feel some growing pains—that’s just part of learning the trade and gaining experience. But if you haven’t figured out how to handle the basics, your business will suffer.

You don’t have the right people.

Businesses are built on relationships, and relationships are built on people—so if you don’t have the right people working for your BHPH business, your community outreach and professional relationships will suffer.

Finding the right people isn’t necessarily about finding BHPH experts or charismatic customer service professionals—it’s about finding people who are willing to learn and grow along with your business. People who are passionate and hard-working have the qualities of a successful, long-term employee, and that’s exactly what you need for business success and growth.

You don’t place enough importance on marketing.

Even with the best employees, excellent inventory, and oodles of professionalism, your business could fail. So what’s holding you back? Well, it could be the simple fact that nobody is aware that your business exists. This why marketing is so important to the short-term and long-term success of your business—you must generate awareness of your brand, and maintain that awareness until the end of time (or until you sell your masterfully crafted, multi-million dollar BHPH business).

Marketing is not a single event—it does not end. It’s a constant, neverending process that helps people connect with your brand. Do not make marketing an afterthought, in terms of time or money.

You don’t use technology to your advantage.

BHPH businesses deal with a ton of data, customer information, and financial records. Unless your want to spend all of your time keeping your data and records organized, you need to use technology to your advantage.

That’s where Skypatrol can help. Our Defender BHPH and vehicle financing system helps you take control of your BHPH business, offering key metrics, pre and post-sale verification, and advanced repo tools that make managing a BHPH business easier than ever before. Schedule a Defender demo today!