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How to be a respectful vendor

Jan 24, 2026
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Nico
Hey DealerRefresh, I'm an avid reader trying to soak in all the wisdom here, but this is my first post lol!

I previously worked at one of the public dealer groups and fell in love with this industry, been trying to build a company for the past year or so and after about a dozen pivots I'm finding some traction helping dealers with used car acquisition. So far it's been a no brainer for the dealers I've talked to since they're only paying per car they buy, but at this point I've about exhausted my own connections/warm intros and it's time to move into a more repeatable sales motion...

In the past I've only used LinkedIn (to decent success) and email (no success there yet lol), and as far as I can see the only alternatives would be cold calling or walking into the stores. I just want to make sure whatever route I go down I'm taking an approach that's respectful of the dealer.

I recognize that as a vendor my business only exists to SERVE dealers, and I want to help them with this problem. The last thing I want is to take a sales approach that stifles this and leaves me looking like an annoying sales rep.

Other than the obvious of avoiding end of the month and focusing on times they're less busy, any advice on the right approach to take here? My instinct would be to go up and say something along the lines of "I know I'm cutting in on the middle of your day, but could I have 30 seconds to tell you why I'm here" and then giving a quick spiel, of course not sure if this is the right approach though or I wouldn't be asking lol.

Any other tips/tricks? So many other variables I didn't cover around how to get in front of the right person (assuming I can't find their office and need to talk to a receptionist), then what that spiel should look like, etc.

I'm a newbie and just want to make sure I am as polite as possible, any advice is welcome and more than happy to share whatever additional context helps - thanks!
 

✨ AI Highlights

A first-time poster and early-stage vendor asks the DealerRefresh community for advice on how to respectfully prospect dealers beyond LinkedIn and email, having found traction with a pay-per-car used vehicle acquisition service but needing a more scalable outreach strategy. The thread appears to be cut off before completion, but the core question centers on navigating cold calling and in-person store visits without being annoying or disrespectful to busy dealership staff. It's a useful starting point for any vendor wondering how to break into dealer relationships ethically and effectively.

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