Have you had the disappointing experience of selling a used service truck or used utility truck and receiving pennies on the dollar for what you paid for it? You spend hours listing the truck on every website imaginable, putting ads in local publications, but still end up receiving considerably less money for your service body truck than you had hoped for. You deserve better than that.
The silver lining is that it does not have to be this way. You can get your asking price (or more) with the right strategy in place, and save the hours, days, and weeks of hassle trying to get the money you deserve for your used utility truck. That is exactly what we are going to teach you to do today.
1. Take great photos of your truck
Taking good/great pictures of the service truck that you hope to sell is crucial. I repeat, taking great pictures of the service truck that you hope to sell is crucial.
If you hope to stand out in the marketplace, this step will be a game changer, and with good reason.
It is not a coincidence that car dealerships all over the country use professionally edited photos to display their inventory of vehicles.
Nowadays, it is assumed that if you are selling a service truck, you will be taking the photos of the truck with your cell phone.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to get great images of your service truck that will entice potential buyers into inquiring further (and hopefully buying). Simple cell phone apps allow you to edit photos in under a minute by adding filters and effects that allow your service truck to pop off the listing page.
We suggest Snapseed as a photo editing app. It can be downloaded here for Android or here for Iphone.
Edited Service Truck Photo vs Unedited
It is equally as important to take multiple pictures (no less than 10), if you are listing your truck online at Truck Paper, Commercial Truck Trader, or any other online listing site. Buyers are weary when they see one or two images of a service truck, and they are less likely to show interest.
Take photos of the truck from the front, both sides, rear, inside the cab, and any close-ups of features that you would like to highlight on your listing.
This step alone will separate you from the pack, and help raise the selling price of your used service truck.
2. Write detailed descriptions that are easy to read
You don’t need to be William Shakespeare to write a clean and easily readable description of your used utility truck.
This step will be skipped over by the vast majority of the population, and it is even more of a reason that you should pay attention to it.
Go on any service truck listing site and take a look at the descriptions. Most will read as one, lazily written sentence of the trucks features, separated by commas.
This is not a grammar lesson, but rather one of sales and sales psychology.
People buy things based upon how easy it is for them to do so. The shop in the same manner. Why do you think Amazon is taking over the world? It is stupid simple.
The same principles can be applied when listing your used service truck.
When writing the description for your used service truck for an online listing:
- Write 1-2 sentences describing the model, make, year, and any features or defects that the potential buyer should be aware of
- Create a bullet pointed list (like this one) of every feature that the used service truck has
- Highlight in BOLD TEXT the most desirable features (this helps draw the eye directly to the selling points)
- Be transparent about any issues or defects (most of the time, people understand that there will be some minor damages to a used work truck AND they will trust you more as a seller)
So…
Do this:
2014 Ford F-350 Utility Truck
Specs:
*9' Length
*7'9" Width
*Overall height 8'9"
*Front GVWR = 5,000 lbs
*Rear GVWR = 13,500 lbs*
*Total GVWR=18,500 lbs
Features:
*10 storage compartments
*Roadside safety strobe lighting system
*Extended warranties on engine and truck body
*6.2 L V8 Engine (420 HP)
Not this:
The bed of the truck is 9' long by 7'9'' wide. The overall height of the truck is 8'9''. This utility truck has 10 storage compartments. GVWR front 5000lbs GVWR rear is 13,500lbs and total GVWR is 18,750lbs. Extended warranties are also available on some of the features.
3. Set your selling price 10-15% higher than your ideal sale price
Another tactic to ensure you get the most value from selling your used service truck is to list the truck at a price roughly 10-15% higher than the final buying price you expect.
Use this tactic with caution.
Check local and regional listings for comparable service truck and see what the market is demanding. Don’t shoot too high and scare away buyers. On the flipside, don’t list too low and risk losing money on the sale. This will take about 15-20 minutes of market research and could yield hundreds, if not thousands more dollars in sale price.
By setting the price 10-15% higher, you are opening up room for negotiation from potential buyers.
Example:
A potential buyer is very interested in your used service truck but is on the fence about the initial asking price. They ask if you have any wiggle room (people love saying wiggle room).
Luckily, you listed the truck at a price a little higher than you expected.
For this example, let’s say the truck was listed at $30,000 (and you expected to get roughly $25,000 out of it).
You say to the buyer, “The best I would be able to do is $27,000.”
Buyer says to you, “I can make that work.”
Boom.
You just netted an extra $2,000 because you’re one smart cookie.
Always list slightly higher to put yourself in the driver’s seat when it comes to negotiation. Most (if not all) of the time, you will come out in a better situation.
4. Utilize online platforms for listing
Utilizing online truck posting sites, such as Truck Paper or Commercial Truck Trader is a good starting point to get your truck listed and in front of the public.
Potential buyers can sort by price, geography, features and more.
Additionally, posting your used service truck to more non-traditional platforms can increase your chances of gaining more interest in the equipment you are selling.
Facebook Marketplace and Ebay are lesser used platforms that can generate more leads for potential buyers.
Facebook Marketplace works as an option if you have a Facebook account, allowing you to upload pictures and descriptions of your truck, set a price, and people will contact you if interested.
Ebay allows for both auctions and set price listings, but they charge fees for all sales, so take that into account when deciding on whether or not to list here.
When using Ebay, always set your price. DO NOT PUT YOUR TRUCK UP FOR AUCTION. We will explain more about that in a minute.
5. DO NOT SELL AT AN ONLINE AUCTION (unless you have no other choice)
Selling your used service truck in an online auction is a gamble most can’t afford to take.
While you may be rewarded and receive more money than anticipated by style of bidding war, you also could end up essentially giving your truck away and accepting a bottom dollar sale price.
Only in extreme cases where you need to move the truck quickly is this an acceptable plan. We advise against it, unless the seller absolutely must sell the truck within an allotted time frame.
Use your discretion when entertaining this option and know the high-stakes risk involved with doing so.
6. Send short emails or Linkedin messages to local and regional businesses
This is a tactic that most will overlook, but it can be a terrific alternative to an online auction if you need to sell your used service truck quickly.
Make a list of 10 to 20 local or regional businesses that would have a need for a service truck or utility truck and send emails or Linkedin messages to them, notifying them that you have equipment for sale that they may have a need for.
While this is not a surefire way to garner interest in your used service truck, it casts a wider net into the sea of potential buyers, and it targets high-potential buyers if there is a need.
This method takes a bit of effort but should not take more than a couple of hours.
It is a small price (of time) to pay to ensure that you sell your service truck for what it is worth.
7. Future forecasting
Chances are, if you are selling a service truck, you probably intend to buy a new one relatively soon.
Not all service trucks and service truck bodies are created equally, and every service truck has a lifecycle.
When it is time to buy new, take future resale value into account when making your selection.
Key factors to consider on a new service truck that will guarantee a higher resale value:
* Rust-resistant service truck bodies made from aluminum or carbon fiber
* Add-on features that have multiple uses, such as cranes, tool boxes, etc.
* Extended OR lifetime warranties/guarantees
We hope that you can use this methods and principles to maximize the resale value of your service truck.
If you are looking into new service trucks or service truck bodies, please take a look at our fully customizable line of service truck bodies, cranes, and service trucks or you can click here to get a free quote and consultation on your next utility truck.
