The Secret to Setting Car Sales Appointments that Show

With dealership foot traffic falling fast in the age of the internet, you need a proven way to bring customers in the door. 

Phone and internet channels are the only ones that guarantee a human-to-human connection, so these have to be priority tools for generating showroom traffic. Unfortunately, the average dealership appointment conversion rate on these calls is 20%. You need a strategy that will make the most of your opportunities to get people in the showroom so your sales representatives can work their magic.

We’ll help you identify the strategies that will work at your dealership to increase car sales appointments and lift your bottom line. 

Script Design Is Crucial

Your team needs to use scripts, as they are one of the best ways to ensure consistent customer service and reliable, on-brand messaging. 

If you include the following critical components in your outbound sales call script, your dealership will have the best chance of converting calls into appointments that show. These points are so important we’ll be linking a video from a series by industry expert Nicole Marcellino that fully explains each one.

Preparation

Although not strictly part of the sales call, a script should still prompt team members to take a moment to make sure their notes and CRM are available, as well as mentally prepare for the call. They need to be ready to take extensive notes for future reference throughout the customer interaction.

Confirmation

When the customer answers, team members need to confirm who is answering. Your script should prompt employees to ask for a customer’s name, then greet the customer using their first name only. 

Tripping over a last name (which tends to be more complicated than first names) makes the customer feel like they’re speaking to a telemarketer. 

Authorization

Instead of diving right into a pitch, take a moment to make sure you have permission to continue. This helps the customer feel in control. A great way to phrase this request is, “I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.” 

Worded this way, it dramatically increases the chances of a “No, it’s not a bad time”. If they say “Yes, it’s a bad time,” you still haven’t introduced yourself, so they’re still curious. That gives you the opportunity to ask to call at a later time more convenient to them. 

Introduction and Reason for Calling

Next, your script should prompt your employee to introduce:

• Their name (first and last).
• Dealership name.
• Reason for calling.

There should be nothing else scripted between the introduction and the reason for calling.

Talk About the Opportunity

Whether there’s a special deal your BDC has identified as interesting to this customer, a dealership rebate, service notification, or something else, the goal of this step is to give the customer reasons to come into the dealership. A great script accomplishes this by:

• Going through the opportunity.
• Expanding on the opportunity.
• Presenting all the relevant information.
• Enticing them in.

Advantages of Buying Now

Most people will buy cars only when there’s a serious problem with their current vehicle. This means if everything’s going fine, there’s no reason your call will bring them in!

Your scripts need to sell the customer on the reasons why they need to come in right away, today if possible. Some excellent examples are:

• Special financing.
• Limited inventory.
• Expiring deals.
• Closeouts.
• Tax advantages.

There are others that will be specific to your dealership and locality. But you need to sell the customer on the idea that this is the moment they can get the best possible deal.

Ask for the Appointment

Shockingly, the reason most outbound phone calls don’t result in car sales appointments is that the associate never asked. If they’re following their training and don’t ask for the appointment, it’s management’s fault for a bad script! 

The “When are…” technique is especially effective. It’s not a yes or no question, so you’re much more likely to get a useful answer. For example, “When are you available? Later today? Tomorrow?” 

Once you’ve got a general window, offer the customer at least two choices of a specific time and date. Avoid, “Will 2:30 work for you?” Again, don’t ask questions with a yes or no answer.

Drive to Closure

Now it’s time to wrap up. Your script should ensure:

• The customer has written down the associate’s name.
• The customer is given directions to the dealership from their location.
• You have explained what will happen before they get there.
• What they can expect or will see when they arrive.

A great follow-up is a call from the manager within fifteen minutes, or a day before the appointment if it’s significantly later in the calendar. Confirming with two people increases the customer’s sense of obligation.

Plan for the Future

You won’t get the appointment every time, but you can salvage something from a “Not today, thanks” by laying the foundation for future car sales appointments. At this point, scripts should:

• Exchange information with the customer.
• Set up specific or general plans with the customer to re-contact them.
• Make sure everyone is on the same page going forward.

After hanging up, your associate needs to put everything from their notes of the call into the CRM.

Train Your Team

In order for scripts to successfully drive car sales appointments, each team member must be thoroughly trained on CS and the scripts they will be using. They need to know them inside and out so they can deliver them naturally and enthusiastically every time.

This is where Phone Ninjas can really set you up for success by leveraging the talents of your staff. Our coaches work one-on-one with each associate with our scripts in weekly sessions to ensure they learn thoroughly and maintain their skills.

We check in with mystery shops to verify mastery in the workplace and follow up to smooth over any remaining wrinkles. This results in car sales appointments that are three to four times higher than the industry average! We are also experts at helping dealerships set up Business Development Centers and keeping them working at peak efficiency. 

Get in touch with our Phone Ninjas today for a demo and two free mystery shops, and find out what industry-leading training can do for your business.