Appointment-Driven Communications – Part 14

Appointment-Driven Communications – Part 14

TRANSCRIPT: Okay, we’ve talked about the ‘why’ you need to use these talk tracks to drive an appointment culture. We’ve talked about why you need appointments. In general, why you want to live in an appointment culture. We also did the ‘whats’. The ‘what’ to say, right? What the talk tracks were. Both of those are fairly simple. They really are. You’ve just got to stay on course.

Now, it’s the ‘how’. The ‘how’ is the hard part. If you want to have an appointment culture, you require a singular focus on the goal. You need to tell yourself, “I don’t get paid for information”. I’ve got to have a singular focus on the goal. If I’m on the phone with someone, I have one goal. That’s an appointment that shows. So, whatever they ask, I’ve got to bring them back to my goal. That’s the hard part.

It requires tenacity, right? My goal is an appointment that shows, so, I have to be tenacious about it. If someone is not willing to set an appointment with me over the phone, then they are not a good fit for me, right? Because that is my goal: an appointment that shows, so I have to be tenacious about it. It requires discipline. I have to keep circling back to my goal. If someone says, “I’m not coming in til you tell me what you’re going to give me for my ’08 Taurus”, we’ve got to have the discipline to say, “Well, you know what? Only a trained appraiser knows what your Taurus is worth, and it would be irresponsible for a dealer to give you that information over the phone. I have two appointments open today with my appraiser, I’ve got a 4:45 and a 5:15. Which one works better for you?” See, that’s discipline; to circle back to my goal every single time.

We need to remember that appointments are the GOAL. G. O. A. L. When someone has an objection for us; something that would take us off our goal, we’re going to Grant the Objection. Basically, we’re going to agree with their concern. Then we’re going to Avoid it. Yes, we’re going to redirect their concern. Finally, here’s the L, we’re going to Launch back into our talk track, right? We’re going to set the appointment. This is Discipline 101, and appointments are the goal. GOAL – Grant the Objection, Avoid it, and Launch back into your talk track.

So, someone says they aren’t going to come in until we tell them what their 2008 Taurus is worth. We’ve tried telling them we have two appraisals open. It doesn’t matter. They say they’ve gotta know.

We say, “Listen, Mrs. Jones, I understand that it’s important to you to find out what we will give you for your Taurus before you arrive.” We are going to agree with the customer. We’re going to Grant the Objection. Now, here’s where we’re going to Avoid it, “However, if I gave you a price over the phone, the only thing I could do is ‘low ball’ you, because, only a trained appraiser knows what your Taurus is worth.” Now, I’ll Launch back into my talk track and say, “I have two appointments open today with my appraiser. I have a 5:15 and a 5:45. Which one works better for you?”

That’s a little reminder that appointments are the goal. Grant the Objection, Avoid it, Launch back into our talk track.