Appointment-Driven Communications – Part 8

Appointment-Driven Communications – Part 8

TRANSCRIPT: As you may recall, earlier in the training, I talked about how today I’m going to tell you what to say; how to say it ; but, more importantly, why we want to say the things we’re going to say to try to drive appointments. Why it’s important that we even have appointments, and why we need to say things a certain way; why we have to use a talk track and, specifically, the way we’re going to do it.

The ‘why’ is easy – 80% is four times better than 20%. See, if I can get an appointment that shows, and I’m doing the perfect appointment, I’m going to close four out of five people who show. And, I’m going to close them in an hour and a half. Ninety minutes, in and out. I’m going to get higher CSI and higher grosses.

If I’m just going to live off Ups; traditional Ups, and if I’m really good at it, I’m only going to close one out of five of those traditional Ups and the ones I close are going to take three to four hours. Most of those deals are going to be minis and I’m not going to make a lot of money and the CSI is going to be questionable. See, 80% is four times better than 20%. That’s the real ‘why’ I need to use the talk tracks this way: that I need to set appointments; that I need to do the perfect appointment.

By the way, customers don’t know you have an appointment culture unless you tell them. See, back in the ‘70’s, when we went to the dentist’s office, my mom didn’t make appointments. She just threw me and my three sisters in the car and said “we’re going to the dentist”. We showed up at the dentists and waited in the waiting room until they were ready to see us, but, at some point, probably by the late ‘70’s, dentists got smart. They said, “You know what? If we make people set appointments, we can plan our day. Our business becomes predictable and we can make more money”. And, that’s what they do, by setting appointments, and so can you.

You can make your business predictable and, you can make more money because it’s more efficient and you’re giving better service if you’ll live off appointments, but, people don’t know you work off of appointments unless you tell them. People will do what you command. Remember, they only want one thing: they want you to sell them a car. They’re confused how this works. They want you to sell them a car. They want you to pull them through the phone; through the computer and they want you to drop them into the dealership and sell them a car. They just don’t want you to hurt them this time.

You’re the expert. You’re in control unless you cede control; unless you give control back to the caller by saying something stupid, like, “When would you like to come in?” See, you’re in control unless you lack discipline and you start answering questions.

Remember, your goal is not information, your goal is an appointment that shows.

Your goal is certainly not to give information. You don’t get paid for information. You get paid for appointments that show and buy. So, you’re in control unless you lack that discipline, and, finally, you are in control unless you’re happy at closing at 20%. If you’re happy at closing at 20%, turn off the training right now; don’t waste your time.

There’s a lot of WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?), in doing appointments. This is the biggest ‘why’ for you. It’s the WIIFM. “What’s in it for me, Steve?” Well, for starters, you get a balanced day, a balanced week, a balanced month. You know how many cars you’re going to sell based on the activities that you are going to do. Wouldn’t it be great to turn the key on the car tonight, as you’re leaving the dealership, and know that you have three appointments scheduled for tomorrow, and, you know, based on the confirmations that you made and the strong appointment setting that you do, you have a great chance that all three of those are going to show up, and, you know, based on your closing percentage, you’re going to sell two or three of those folks? Wouldn’t it be great, going home tonight, knowing you had two or three deals done for tomorrow? See, that’s a balanced day, a balanced week, a balanced month and it’s all math at that point.

Another WIIFM for you is that you get this higher closing percentage. We already talked about 80% versus 20%. How about the shortened sales process? That’s a real WIIFM for you. That’s a real benefit for you for appointments. Instead of spending three to four hours on a car deal, you’re spending ninety minutes, and the people are buying at a higher rate. So, it’s a shortened sales process. We talked about the higher CSI. We talked a little about the higher grosses, but they truly are higher grosses, both front and back, when you have appointments that show, on time, and you conduct the perfect appointment. And, finally, more sold units. You cannot sell thirty, thirty-five cars a month without appointments. You can’t do it by, simply, hitting the Up bus every day, because some days the Up bus doesn’t show, and, some days you close at 9 to 20%.

Now, here’s the biggest ‘why’; the size of the WIIFM. Let’s do some math.

If my next 100 prospects are traditional Ups, I’m going to close how many? That’s right. I’ll sell 9 to 20. How about this one: my next 100 prospects are traditional Ups, but, I have an average competitor who sets appointments with these 100 first. How many am I going to sell now? Let’s do the math: so, 100 people that I talked to on the phone, but didn’t make appointments with: I just said, “Be sure and ask for me”, right? So, they will be traditional Ups when they show up, if they show up. My average competitor set 100 appointments with those same people and they sold 50 of those, right? They are going to close 50% of those that show, if they’re average. So, my next 100 Ups turn out to be 50 that show and I’m going to sell 4.5 to 10 of them (9 to 20%).

The math doesn’t change just because they’ve shown up at another dealership first. I’ve got to get out ahead of them, right? How about this: let’s do some more math. Let’s say that my next 100 prospects are traditional Ups, but I’ve got a great competitor; one following the perfect appointment, who sets appointments with these folks first, right? So, I start with 100 people, that I’ve talked to; that I’ve told, “Be sure and ask for me”, so I think I’ll get 100 people in asking for me, but, I’ve got a great competitor who sets appointments with all 100 and they do the perfect appointment, meaning they close at 80%. That means they’re going to sell 80 of the 100 people before they ever get a chance to see me. That leaves me 20 people. Twenty people are going to walk in my door and they are going to be traditional Ups. Now, if I’m a great dealer, I’m going to close them at 20% of my traditional Ups. That’s four deals. That means that out of the next 100 prospects I talk to, I’m only going to sell four of them. That’s the math. That’s why you need to have an appointment culture.

So, let’s do this: let’s say the next 100 people I talk to, I set great appointments with, and we do the perfect appointment, how many am I going to sell now? How many of that 100 am I going to sell? That’s right. I’m going to sell 80. That’s the huge ‘why’. It’s just math. It’s very simple.