In the automotive sales industry, we sometimes get so wrapped up with adjusting/tweaking our own approach to the sales process (internal critiques) that we often forget to look at how our customers are approaching us with each potential sale.
The cliché, “…it takes two to tango...” comes to mind.
What kind of research or tips do they look for before coming to the car lot?

The Automotive Sales Tango: Always Better When You Know Your Partner's -- or Customer's -- Moves

Research Through Their Eyes

We can’t know ALL of the research they do, but put yourself in their shoes and write down the same questions you would ask.  Then go to Google.
Even a simple, generic online search like “buying a car tips and tricks” may give you an entirely new perspective on what people are reading/thinking before they come to talk to you about buying a new car simply by reading, for example, “Car Buying Tips & Tricks”.  This article has a high chance of being read by one of your potential customers because it’s one of the first articles that show up in the Google search for “buying a car tips and tricks”.
Will they read and believe all of the articles/blogs/news/videos they read/view online? Not necessarily, but the more knowledgeable you become about what they could be reading online about these “tips and tricks” will make you better equipped to handle certain questions you may not otherwise have had the answer (or, maybe more importantly, the correct answer) for in the past.

Finding Unique Information

Also, don’t be afraid to dig deeper and search for more specific tips (according to make/models, dealerships, etc.) that could be out there for your prospecting customers.  The more specific the tips are, the more unique your own sales approach will be perceived by your customers (as opposed to the general sales approach used by many salesmen).  If you’re unique, you’re memorable – a very nice trait to have a sales person.

Advanced Intel

If all of this information wasn’t enough, get ready for another huge bonus of conducting online searches made by your customers: the online writer’s background.  Several of the writers/publishers of these “car buying tips” have bit of their personal profile (location, age, background, experience, etc.) which allows you to gain very specific insight as to how a person with similar stats may be approaching you for a new car.

A Smoother Sales Dance

Will these online searches provide you with a bullet-proof guide to selling cars? No.  Will they provide you with a bit of potentially income-increasing information that you otherwise wouldn’t have? Absolutely.
Why? Because to get the best version of the “tango”, it’s better to know your partner’s – or customer's – steps; not just your own!