Have something to say? Nobody’s ever going to hear you if you don’t speak up. Have a used car to sell? Nobody’s ever going to hear you if you don’t tell them you have a used car to sell.
The last car I sold was a 1995 Honda Civic back in 2005. I had tried to sell it once the previous summer through newspaper classified advertising and there were some nibbles on it. But, then nothing happened. We weren’t desperate to sell the car. It was the 3rd car in a two-driver family and was mostly driven by friends in a bind.
When I first advertised the car for sale, I told a friend about it. All I said was, “If you know anybody interested in a used Honda Civic, have them give me a call.” Well, he called me nine months later and asked, “Do you still want to sell the Civic?” I was able to sell the car for its exact private sale value all because of good old fashion word of mouth.
That’s not saying your word of mouth needs to be old fashion. There’s an old joke about the fastest ways to spread a rumor: telephone, telegraph (I told you it was old), and tell (fill in the name of your most gossipy friend). Well, here’s my update advice based on that old punch line: telephone, tell your friends, and tell your email address book.
Telephone and tell your friends fall along the same lines. Whenever you run into somebody or talk to them on the phone, work this into the conversation, “I’m selling my XXXXXX. Do you know anybody who might be interested?”
Have doubts that networking works? Look at the job market. Alison Doyle, the About.Com guide to job searching reports: “At least 60% - some report even higher statistics - of all jobs are found by networking.”
For your email address book, make your initial email fairly simple. Create it as a text document without fancy graphics or a photo included. Some email serves will filter them out as spam.
Remember, these are your friends, family and business associates you are communicating with, so be honest about your offering. Ask them to reply to you if they are interested.
You have to be prepared for folks who are interested. I found this great little website, WindowSticker.us that will create a pretty nifty looking window sticker for you for $3.95. The best part is it generates a PDF document that can be forwarded via email.
You know the best part of using your social and professional networks to sell your used car? It cuts down on the number of whackos who will waste your time. Plus, it’s increases the safety factor, if that’s a concern of yours.
However, make your sure friends know they are absolved from being responsible if something goes wrong with the used car you sell a friend of theirs and vice-versa. Don’t get mad at a friend if something goes wrong with a transaction with a colleague of theirs.
