by Terry MacCauley - Posted 23 hours ago
In the first two principles of this series, we laid the foundation: Reach (telling the most people for the least amount of money) and Frequency (showing up often enough to be remembered). But both of those principles only work if you have the right fuel behind them, and that fuel is your advertising budget.
This week, we turn to the third Big Time Advertising principle: Budget Tied to Actual Sales.
Too many dealers still set their budgets based on feelings instead of facts. They look at what they spent last year and roll it forward. They pick a round number that “feels” comfortable. Or worse, they let a vendor pitch them into a spend that has no tie to sales outcomes.
We call this hope to goals. Dealers hope their budget matches their sales goals, but no guardrail is behind it. And hope is not a strategy.
A comfort budget may feel safe, but it is the fastest way to starve your pipeline or burn dollars without results.
Every smart advertising budget begins with reality: what it costs to actually sell a car.
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) reported that in 2023, the average spend per new vehicle sold was around $708. That is the real-world number dealers are living with today.
But here is the truth: it does not have to be that high. With the right plan, your target should be closer to $250 cost per retail sale (CPR). That is the guardrail.
Independent stores typically spend less than the national average, and Buy Here Pay Here dealers often spend the least, averaging around $250 per car sold. That number is not and should not be just a coincidence. It has to become a natural baseline, a workable standard.
And that is the point: you need a standard. Without one, you are guessing. Guardrails give you a benchmark that can grow with your business. When sales rise, the budget increases. When sales dip, the budget retracts. That is how you plan forward for the next year: by building your budget based on the previous year’s results, not random numbers pulled out of the air.
No matter where you set it, commit to one cost-per-sold number and hold it. Over time, if you want to raise that target, say from $250 CPR to $300 CPR, that is how you adjust a budget. But you do not do it by panicking in a slow month and throwing extra money at advertising, hoping it will magically turn November into your best month of the year.
Budgets are built on discipline, not impulse.
When discussing cost per sold, one natural objection is: “Not every sold unit costs us to sell, so why should we budget that way?”
And yes, it is true. Some vehicles will practically sell themselves. Others may take longer, require deeper discounts, or need heavier advertising support. In service, we know that not every repair order is the same dollar amount. But you still measure it in averages because that is the only way to set a budget on which you can run your business.
The same is true with advertising. Some units may sell for far less than $250 to $700 in ad cost, while others cost far more once you factor in time on the lot, reconditioning, or remarketing. That variance is normal. The point of cost per sold is not to capture each outlier. Instead, it is to set a disciplined, repeatable average.
And here is the other truth: no matter how good digital analytics appears, it cannot perfectly measure how every customer journey begins. Last-click attribution will tell you the final step, but it misses the dozens of touches that happened before. It all works together: awareness, frequency, consistency, and cost per sold is the ultimate way to build a marketing game plan.
When you tie your budget directly to sales, you eliminate the guesswork. Here is the simple formula:
Start with your sales goal. Let us say your target is 80 units this month.
Work backward into CPR. If your target CPR is $250, then your budget should be $20,000.
Compare against reality. If your current CPR is closer to $708, you know there is inefficiency to fix. If you are below $250 but missing sales goals, you are not spending enough to fuel the pipeline.
This is not just a one-off theory; it is math. Tie your budget to sales, and you will know instantly whether your spending is efficient, wasteful, or underfed.
The fundamental goal of tying your budget to sales is not just hitting this month’s number. Instead, it is about protecting and growing your market share over time.
Markets go up and down. Sales rise in the spring and summer, dip in late fall, and climb again during tax season. No dealer can control those seasons. What you can control is ensuring your advertising budget flexes with those realities, without ever breaking the discipline of your cost per sold guardrail.
When you stick to cost per sold as the measuring stick, you do two things:
Protect market share in down times. Even when sales dip, your advertising presence does not disappear, because your budget naturally retracts with volume. You do not vanish; you stay visible, while weaker competitors pull back and lose ground.
Grow market share in up times. As sales rise, your budget scales in proportion, giving you more reach and frequency when the market is strongest. You are not overspending; you are investing more because you are selling more.
This is precisely how large consumer brands think. They spend when demand is high and stay present when demand is soft to maintain and expand market share.
The same logic applies to your dealership. Sticking to the cost per sold is what keeps you consistent. It lets you flex up and down naturally with the market, without panic overspending or dangerous underspending. Over time, that consistency compounds, and your market share grows while competitors shrink.
Another mistake many dealers make is setting the same monthly budget as if sales are flat all year. That is not how the market works.
Setting a December budget like it is March is a recipe for overspending and goal failure. It is not because the advertising does not work. It is because no amount of budget can turn November into the best month of the year. You can grow year over year, yes, but you cannot create unreasonable surges just by shoving more money at a slow month.
Think of other industries:
Kingsford charcoal does not pour its ad dollars into late fall and winter when grilling season is over.
Campbell’s Soup does not spend its most enormous ad budgets in the heat of summer when no one wants a steaming bowl of soup.
The lesson for dealers is simple: your advertising budget should flex with your sales seasonality. Spend more aggressively when demand is naturally higher. Stay present during slower times, but do not overspend trying to force something the market is not ready to deliver.
Budgets tied to actual sales must also be tied to the calendar.
Dealers usually fall into one of two traps:
Starving the pipeline: Cutting ad spend too tightly to save money. The short-term effect is a better-looking expense line, but the long-term result is an empty showroom with fewer leads, fewer ups, and fewer deals.
Wasting dollars: Throwing money at campaigns without measuring CPR. This feels aggressive, but without accountability, it is nothing more than expensive guessing.
The answer lies in balance. A budget tied to actual sales keeps you lean enough to stay efficient but strong enough to keep the funnel full.
At Big Time Advertising, we treat budgets like you treat inventory. You would never stock your lot without tying it to projected sales. Advertising should be no different.
That means:
Start with the sales number.
Use cost per sold as your north star.
Monitor CPR monthly and quarterly.
Adjust quickly when sales or costs shift.
Flex your budget seasonally the same way demand naturally ebbs and flows.
When you budget this way, advertising stops being a scary expense line. It becomes an investment that pays off, month after month.
Like reach and frequency, budget reveals whether your dealership is growing or retreating. A “hope” budget is really a retreat in disguise. You may feel safe, but you are falling behind. A sales-tied budget is growth, because every dollar is tied to a result.
There are no neutral dealerships. You are either growing or shrinking. And budget is one of the clearest indicators of which direction you are heading.
Budgets are not about what makes you feel comfortable. They are about what sells cars.
When you tie your budget to actual sales, every dollar has a job, and every campaign has a purpose. Your marketing stops being a gamble and becomes a growth lever.
So ask yourself: Is my budget tied to sales reality, or is it just a guess?
Because growth belongs to the dealers who use budgets as guardrails, not guesses.
• Next week: Principle #4 – Creative That Builds Brand and Urgency Equally: Crafting messages that both stick and sell.
-by Terry MacCauley, Founder & CEO
Starting October 28, 2025, Google is tightening its Misrepresentation Policy to crack down on dishonest pricing practices. The focus is on greater transparency and preventing tactics like bait-and-switch pricing, unclear free trials, or hidden charges.
This comes down to one principle for auto dealers: be upfront and clear with your pricing in ads. If your advertising creates even the perception of misleading or incomplete costs, you could receive a policy warning. If it’s not corrected within 7 days, your Google Ads account could be suspended. We have seen it happen to good-intentioned dealers, so avoid it now.
For our Big Time Advertising & Marketing clients, this is nothing new. We have already built campaigns to comply with these standards because Meta (Facebook/Instagram) has had similar policies in place for years. Our ad strategies are designed to stay compliant while still driving leads and sales. We have been anticipating this update for quite some time.
• Double-check pricing claims in your ads. Make sure they match what the customer will actually see and pay.
• Be clear about promos and trials. If there’s an expiration or future charge, state it plainly.
• Make sure your landing pages are updated. Pricing on landing pages must match the ad, and all proper disclaimers should be present and visible.
• Ask your vendor or team: “If Google flags one of our ads tomorrow, do we have a plan to respond?”
If any of this feels unclear, reach out to us. We can review your campaigns, walk you through the changes, and ensure you’re fully protected. The worst-case scenario is losing access to your Google Ads account, and that is not a risk worth taking.
This week’s video features "YOU NEED TO BE TOUGH – Nick Saban's Best Motivational Speech" by Storytelling Phoenix.
Legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban shares what it really takes to succeed, both on the field and in life. From overcoming setbacks to building the mindset of a champion, this speech is packed with powerful lessons for anyone chasing big goals.
Dealers deserve vehicle feeds that work as hard as they do. Get Best Used Cars delivers inventory to Google, Meta, TikTok, Microsoft, and more. All organized, sorted, clean, and guaranteed to be live in under 48 hours.
