Appointment-Driven Communications – Part 5

Appointment-Driven Communications – Part 5

TRANSCRIPT: Okay, so, remember, we’re talking about ‘the goal’. Every time we are on the phone with someone, we have one goal and that’s what? An appointment that shows.

Now, let’s talk about the out-bound call. Let’s say you’re an internet salesperson or a BDC agent, and you’re calling Barbara Jones about a 2014 Camry she inquired about and you happen to reach her now on the phone. This is how I’m going to start: “Hey, Mrs. Jones, this is Steve Stauning calling from Century Toyota. Did I catch you at a bad time?” Now, let’s stop there because I want to be clear here: your team doesn’t want to say that. You don’t want to say that. You want to say, “Hey, Mrs. Jones, Steve Stauning calling from Century Toyota, family owned and operated for 182 years, home of the life time oil change. I’m calling about your enquiry on the 2014 Toyota Camry. Is now a good time?”

Terrible.

See, you want to do your value proposition, you want to tell her why you’re calling, and you want to ask her if it’s a good time, not a bad time because you don’t like to say the word ‘bad’. Sometimes you even start the call with: “Hey, Mrs. Jones, Steve Stauning calling from Century Toyota. How about those Cowboys?”, or, “How about the weather we’ve been having?” See, you try to build rapport. That’s not our goal. What’s our goal when we get someone on the phone? It’s an appointment that shows.

My goal is going to be an appointment that shows, and, by the way, that’s better for the customer, too. Here’s the deal, I’m going to be efficient. I’m going to be quick. I’m going to value their time because I’m going to say, “Hey, Mrs. Jones, Steve Stauning calling from Century Toyota. Did I catch you at a bad time?” I don’t have to say why I’m calling, she knows why I’m calling. I don’t have to say “I’m calling about your internet enquiry on the 2014 Toyota Camry”. She knows why I’m calling. She’s done 19 hours of research. She’s the one who submitted the lead, and she saw ‘Century Toyota’ on her caller ID. I might not even have to say that but I will, “Hey, Mrs. Jones, Steve Stauning calling from Century Toyota. Did I catch you at a bad time?” Now, no matter what she says, I’m going to say “Great, I understand. Listen, I’m just calling to schedule your priority test drive on the 2014 Toyota Camry. Now, I’ve got two openings this evening, I’ve got a 5:15 and a 5:45. Which one works best for you?”

Then I’m going to shut up and wait. I have one goal when I get them on the phone: an appointment that shows. What if I had said “Hey, Mrs. Jones, Steve Stauning calling from Century Toyota. Did I catch you at a bad time?” And then she says, “Well, I’m just about to go into surgery.” What are you going to say? First off, she’s not about to go into surgery. She saw your call. She just wants to get you off the phone. Let’s not even use that one. Let’s use something that’s more realistic; “Hey, Mrs. Jones, this is Steve Stauning calling from Century Toyota. Did I catch you at a bad time?” “Yeah, I’m about to head into a meeting.” Typical, right? And, if she really is about to walk into a meeting, she probably doesn’t have very much time at all. But, she did answer the phone.

Now, this is what your team does: “Oh, I’m sorry to bother you. Is there a better day or time to call you back? I just want to talk about the 2014 Toyota Camry.” She says, “Sure, why don’t you call me back next Tuesday at this same time?” “Okay, I’m going to call you back next Tuesday, at 10:15. At this same number?” She says, “Yes, at this same number.” We say, “Great, we’ll talk to you next Tuesday at 10:15, at this same number. Sorry to interrupt your meeting, have a great day. Goodbye.”, and hang up the phone.

What did I get? I got more information, right? I got a day and time to call her back. Was that my goal? No, my goal is an appointment that shows. Here’s the worst part about that call: I never had a chance to set myself apart from all the other salespeople out there. See, she fears sales pressure. If she is a typical consumer, she is afraid I’m going to try to sell her something on the phone. I never got a chance to say, “I’m just calling to schedule your priority test drive. Now, I’ve got two of those test drives open today. I’ve got a 5:15 and a 5:45. Which one of those works better for you?”

So, instead, this is how I’m going to handle that call: “Hi, Mrs. Jones, Steve Stauning calling from Century Toyota. Did I catch you at a bad time?” “Yeah, I’m about to head into a meeting…” “Great, I understand. Listen, I’m just calling to schedule your priority test drive on the 2014 Toyota Camry. I’ve got two of those test drives open today. One at 5:15 and one at 5:45. Which one works better for you?” And, that’s it.

“Steve, she said she didn’t have any time. She’s going into a meeting.” That’s right. And what did I just do? I saved her a ton of time. I saved her a ton of time because I did two things: I didn’t go into some long spiel about “Oh, I’m sorry to bother you. When is a better day and time to call you back”? Because, if I go through all of those talking points – “When can I call you back? Okay, great. At this same number? Great. Have a great day”. That takes a lot longer than what I just did.

What I was able to do by saying I was calling to schedule her priority test drive, I was able to set myself apart. I’m not a typical salesperson. I’m just calling to schedule your priority test drive. If time truly was of the essence to Mrs. Jones, I saved her time. I saved her time by getting right to the point. That’s how Mrs. Jones wants to be sold. That’s how internet shoppers want to be sold. That’s how consumers want to be sold these days.

Anybody who inquires about a vehicle or calls you about a vehicle really only want one thing, and it’s not information. They want you to pull them through the phone, drop them in your dealership and sell them a car. They just don’t want you to hurt them this time. They want you to make it easy. They don’t want to build a relationship with you. They don’t want to build rapport with you. More people are like millennials than you think and this is how you sell to millennials, and, on the phone, we only have one goal, an appointment that shows.