It can be tough to link results directly to an investment in dealership sales coaching, and without a direct correlation with KPIs, it’s hard to know if you’re getting your money’s worth. Some training programs provide a lot of information with no follow-up, but the best ones focus on coaching your team through the skills and tactics and ensuring you’ve got measurable results.
To get the ROI you need on training, the program you pick should include efficient, individualized sales coaching that keeps your team sharp without interfering with their daily workload. And by utilizing real sales calls and customized sales scripts, they’ll quickly develop the tools they need to maximize revenue and keep every call moving toward closing.
With the right coaching partner, you can expect to see numbers like appointment rates, monthly sales goals, and extras like service contracts start to climb—and much faster than with other training formats.
Training Results by the Numbers
According to a report by Consumers Affairs, 97% of new sales are still completed in person at dealerships, and only 39% of dealerships offer customers the ability to purchase online. And while nearly every car-buying journey begins with an internet search, only 29% of customers are interested in completing the sale through the internet.
That means the first point of contact with a dealership is often by phone, but customers are already fairly deep into their purchasing journey. Sales coaching should equip your associates to meet customers where they are with consistent and accurate information and engage in key strategies that maximize your revenue opportunities.
Phone Scripts
Phone scripts allow your team to deliver the answers customers are looking for quickly and accurately while ensuring they never forget to set appointments and sell value-added services. The scripts your coaching partner provides should be tailored to your dealership’s products and services and highlight key selling points and appointment-setting language.
Not only do phone scripts provide an instant framework for your most important KPIs, but they also give your coaching partner a baseline to evaluate performance on real sales calls so they can offer individualized support and generate data-driven reports.
Lead Management
One of the most frustrating experiences for GMs and owners is watching potential sales fall through the cracks because of errors in the CRM or untimely callbacks to interested customers. Your dealership sales coaching partner should be taking a holistic view of revenue, including lead qualification, upsells, and relationship-building activities.
Sales scripts and training should deliver results in the following areas:
- Reliably gathering critical customer information with low CRM entry error rates
- Faster callbacks that address specific needs
- Promoting service agreements and other valuable upsells
All of these elements lead to higher customer loyalty rates and sales that can be tracked over time.
Appointment Rates
Appointment rates are tied directly to your sales numbers, and that means your dealership coaching partner will need to deliver a clear strategy for increasing appointment sets and shows. The average sales team converts 20% of their phone and internet traffic into live appointments, and the biggest reason speaks directly to the value of well-written sales scripts: sales reps forget to ask!
The top coaching programs use targeted strategies to boost your appointment rates to 60%. Clients that engage in weekly training sessions (often requiring less than 20 minutes) can achieve results as high as 87%.
When You’ll Start Seeing Results
The short answer is that a great coaching partner will start producing changes you can measure right away. Bigger shifts in the metrics will take some time, but consistent work will produce value for your dealership that lasts for years and impacts every aspect of your business.
Immediate Results
Sales training should begin with a group session to ensure everyone’s up-to-date on the fundamentals. This will also ensure that everyone understands contemporary strategies and core concepts like phone scripts before individualized coaching begins. The effect on your business can be seen right away:
- Appointment rates will begin to climb relatively quickly by properly using sales scripts to gather all the necessary information as efficiently as possible with every call.
- Closing rates will start to rise as appointment rates improve.
- Dealership brand messaging will be much more consistent with sales scripts and training—a major factor in building customer loyalty.
- Additional revenue streams: customers don’t buy upsells if they’re never offered! Scripts prompt sales staff to touch on high-margin add-ons and promote service agreements reliably.
Longer-Term Results
Without consistent follow-up practice and coaching, people forget about half of what they’ve learned within twenty-four hours, and over a week, it’s up to 80%. Overcoming this “forgetting curve” is best accomplished by returning to the material regularly, practicing, and analyzing performance in bite-sized sessions over time.
Because of this, you’ll get an initial boost from your training, but there will also be a steady improvement as your sales team perfects its skills. That’s why ongoing active coaching with efficient one-on-one sessions delivers the best results for your investment. By making training a habit rather than an event, your team will turn the fast benefits of proper coaching into a culture of success that elevates your entire business.
Over time, you will see:
- Appointment conversion rates climb steadily to an average of 60%, possibly as much as 87%.
- Employee retention rates increase as team members are happier, feel well-supported, and make more money.
- Closing rates climb as employees internalize strategies for overcoming customer objections.
- Customer retention improves due to unified brand messaging and engagement with additional offers and services.
Get Fast, Durable Results with Phone Ninjas
Phone Ninjas clients regularly see all these improvements after working with our coaches and instructors. We’re leading the dealership sales coaching industry with a proven strategy that incorporates custom sales scripts, active coaching, and feedback based on real sales calls that translate directly to higher numbers and bigger sales for our partners. Our clients routinely see 300% improvements in key metrics like appointment rates while unifying brand messaging and increasing revenue across the business.
Give us a call today to find out how we can deliver results that translate directly to rising sales numbers and higher revenue for your dealership.
