“We have to understand the idea that the people who are buying these vehicles are very diverse across the globe,” said Rebecca Lindland, the executive analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “We have to think about, ‘What does that Chinese billionaire want?’ Or the wealthy daughter of a Chinese billionaire.”

2. Follow the Fashion World

Smart dealers see their business as pure luxury retail, closer to selling a brand identity than a device—like hawking a Birkin bag or Gucci shoes.

“You’re dealing with wealthy people, and they’re rich for a good reason: They understand that, like clothing, by and large the car is a depreciating asset,” said Tom O’Gara, Bentley’s dealer in Beverly Hills, Calif. So automotive brands must sell the story behind the asset and the lifestyle that goes with it. The best place to do that is on social media.

The most exclusive fashion brands—Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Céline—post avidly on social media. If they can do it, so can the fellas down at the dealership. They just have to retrain their focus.

“Where the Bible for us has been historically been Automotive News, the Bible now is [LVMH head Bernard] Arnault’s luxury strategy book,” said O’Gara. “It’s the rules for anti-marketing. We are now in a completely different world.”

3. Bring the Car to the Client—or the Client to the Car

Aston Martin takes its atelier, as it were, directly to the customers, with personal exclusive “fittings” of its $3 million Valkyrie for the 150 individuals who merit the right to purchase one. (The materials covering the seats, dashboard, and headliner; the style of the body panels; and exterior trimmings such as rims and wheel covers are all bespoke.)

Pagani will do the same but in reverse, flying customers to company headquarters over the two- to three years it takes to develop a car that it tailors the vehicle to the owner like a suit, down to sizing the car for torso length and shoulder width.

“You can’t go sell cars—you have to offer an experience,” O’Gara said. “Especially with the young millennials, that is what everyone is looking for.”