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PHONE SCRIPTS STILL WORK.

Stop Excusing Poor Phone Skills.

By Chris Vitale, Vice President, Phone Ninjas

There’s more to a quality phone script So How Do I Get My Sales Consultants & BDC
than just words written down for your Agents to Follow A Script If I Cannot Get My
dealership to follow. A quality phone Sales Managers to Do the Same?
script aims to help coach your dealership's
Sales Managers, Sales Consultants, and This is easier said than done. Training your
BDC Agents on how to handle the phones Sales Consultants, BDC Agents and Sales
effectively. If your dealership’s phone skills Managers should be a top priority. After
improve, it can turn those inbound phone all, your dealership is likely spending
calls, and Internet leads into sales. But hundreds of thousands of dollars annually
before that can happen, you have to outline to drive traffic to your dealer's website.
the expectations and the role your Sales If those leads are not handled properly,
Managers and GM will play in the overall you could be losing more sales than you
process. Otherwise, you’ll continue to have realize. Not to mention, if there isn’t a
the same inconsistent results. clear-cut policy on how the phones and
internet leads are to be handled, you’ll
Consistency is Key in Sustaining Results. wind up having inconsistent results. more importantly, making sure that
Phone Training is Not a One Time Thing. Another issue many dealers face is a lack you - the dealer owner - have your Sales
of accountability from their management Managers on the same page. If your Sales
If your Sales Consultants or BDC Agents teams. Namely, sales managers do not Consultants and BDC Agents see the
are handling the inbound phone calls and believe they need help or a refresher on buy-in from the Sales Managers, they are
the Internet leads inconsistently (and most their phone skills. If your dealership's more likely to partake in the efforts to
are), the lack of results will show. Do you sales managers have this feeling, it will refine their skills.
ever wonder why some months - perhaps be difficult to change the culture. One
after a training session - their set-rate, of the best ways to combat this issue is One of the other critical components
show-rate, and sold-rates are higher? It’s having your Sales Managers go through to making this a success is not using
no secret that the phone scripts and quality the phone training process first. After all, this training process to beat up your
training make all the difference, which has how can they coach or mentor their Sales Sales Managers, Sales Consultants, and
a direct impact on your sales. Consultants or BDC Agents if they do BDC Agents. If you use this training to
not have a refined process in managing negatively say "they are terrible" or "they
The idea that the more familiar your Sales inbound calls and internet leads? Once should just not handle the phones," that
Consultants and BDC Agents are with the you’ve outlined the expectations for will not change anything. In fact, that will
script, the more second-nature it becomes your Sales Managers (how they will be easily disenfranchise them from the entire
in how they handle the phones and Internet involved), and they have completed the process, which is not the goal. Instead,
leads, it becomes muscle memory. Think training, it's now time to train your sales remember to offer them encouragement
about it for a minute. If you’re unsure consultants and BDC Agents. and set individual goals that can and
of yourself when answering an Internet will have an impact on their results. All
Lead or an Inbound call, the customer can Keep in mind, training your Sales of which can increase their individual
easily wind up leading the conversation Consultants and BDC Agents is by income depending on their pay plan!
but they’re the one calling with questions. no means a one-time event. In fact,
However, if your team is well trained, to keep their results on par with your Once your Sales Managers, Sales
and the script is second nature, they’re expectations, it should be an ongoing Consultants, and BDC Agents have
handling the inbound calls and leads with occurrence. The idea that once your completed the training, it is also essential
confidence. Having confidence on the Sales Consultant and BDC Agents are to have role-playing sessions or one-
phones is what can set your dealership better equipped in handling inbound on-one coaching sessions to assist them
apart from the competition. In which case, calls and Internet leads, you can work with their own struggles. Remembering
you’ll see an increase in your set, show, and towards refining their objection handling that each of your Sales Managers, Sales
more importantly, your sold rate. And, your techniques. To get this process started Consultants, and BDC Agents, has their
customers will hang up feeling satisfied (as mentioned above), you have to own unique challenges to address. And
with the outcome, refreshed with the outline your employees' expectations, by outlining those challenges - for them
experience and looking forward to doing giving them a purpose for why they are to overcome - you are providing a clear,
business with you. to complete the phone training. And defined road map for future training. n

GIADA Independent Auto Dealer JUL/AUG 2020 | 5