Attracting used car buyers means knowing exactly what motivates them to visit your dealership. This has traditionally been a challenge because 43.5% of Canadian used car buyers are silent leads – customers who show up at a dealership with no advance contact. Silent leads are difficult to track, which makes it harder to know where to spend your marketing budget. But the good news is that CARFAX Canada Driving Insights has heard from silent leads across Canada, and we’re ready to share exactly where they’re coming from, and how you can target them.

Why do silent leads matter?

Not only do they make up nearly half of your potential customer-base, but did you know that they’re better quality leads than the customers who reach out before visiting a store? 41% of silent leads will close a deal the first time they visit the dealership they buy from, plus they shop around less overall.

What brings silent leads to your store?

The primary reason a silent lead walks onto your lot is an existing relationship. The silent lead (or their friends/family) knows someone at your dealership, and this relationship brought them in to buy a car. After that, silent leads find you because you have the specific car they saw online, or you happen to be close to their home or where they’re already shopping.

How to win silent leads

Silent leads won’t waste your time shopping around, because their existing relationship means they already trust you. Create a positive consumer experience in your dealership – one where you push your sales team to win the customer rather than just the deal – and customers will literally show up at your dealership ready to buy. How cool is that?