Bill Wittenmyer offers some advice on how to deal with customers that don't show for appointments in this episode of Witt's Wise Words.

Text messaging is the most popular data service in the world. It’s quick, easy and effective. The open rate for texts is a sky-high 98 percent, while email open rates hover at only 20 percent.

The average person looks at their mobile phone 150 times a day. It’s no wonder more than 90% of texts are read within 3 minutes of being received.

Texting is an effective way to communicate with prospects, engage with current customers and send inventory or service status updates.

Texting allows for two-way conversations in real time. That means the information you share is up to date, which is especially important when talking about inventory.

It also eliminates putting customers on hold. Sales staff can answer multiple questions simultaneously for a better customer experience.

Let’s dive into a few best practices to ensure that your dealership remains compliant while driving sales success with texting.

1. Know the rules

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act includes very specific rules about obtaining consent before sending texts to customers. Make sure you review them carefully before taking any action. Do your research and be sure to train your employees, so they know how to stay in compliance. It pays to play by the rules.

1. Own your devices

Too many dealers allow sales and service personnel to conduct dealership business on their personal phones. This is simply a bad business practice.

A private phone is not tied to your CRM. You can’t capture conversations, monitor for productivity, or review exchanges for training purposes.

It’s crucial to be able to monitor and measure conversations. Just because your employees look busy doesn’t mean they’re focused on activities that produce results. Even a motivated salesperson may need some help figuring out how to have conversations that drive conversions.

With high employee turnover in our business, you’re also taking the chance that employees will take customer contact information with them if they leave the company.

So, how do you mitigate this risk? Purchase business-only cell devices for employees. The cost is minuscule compared to losing valuable customer data and conversations.

1. Make it relevant

Don’t give prospects and customers a reason to opt-out of text messages. Whether you use an automation solution or prefer a more informal one-on-one texting strategy, make sure the messages you send are relevant and personal to the recipient.

For example, don’t send a text about new vehicle inventory to a customer who just purchased a car. Instead, group contacts into categories such as “sales leads” and “service leads” and craft your messages accordingly.

1. Gather analytics

Route all device numbers through a call tracking solution so you can gather analytics to measure customer opinions, feedback, reviews and more.

Your analytics can also reveal valuable training opportunities. For example, if the phrase “test drive” often appears in a salesperson’s text conversations but appointments are stagnant, that person may need more training to get customers through your doors.

Texting is a fast and easy way to communicate with prospects and customers and deliver a better buying experience. Follow the four easy steps outlined above to maintain compliance while boosting vehicle sales and service through texting.  

The “always connected” shopper trend continues to grow.

In the last year alone, the number of consumers using mobile phones to research vehicles jumped 11 percent. It’s safe to say that 99.9 percent of the people who walk on your lot have searched online with a mobile device or computer.

When an online lead gets handed off to an in-store salesperson, it causes friction between salespeople and confuses the customer.

So why are so many dealerships holding on to the old-school divide between an Internet sales department and physical lot sales staff?

A better sales model may be when the lead is worked by one person from cradle to grave.  Imagine a shark tank where the person who grabs a lead first gets to work that lead to completion.

This structure has a lot of benefits. Think about it.

It creates accountability for the tremendous amount of leads that go without proper follow-up.

It reduces unhealthy competition between Internet and floor salespeople because they’re now one unified team.

Most importantly, it dramatically reduces miscommunication with the customer. It’s the efficient, consistent and integrated online to in-store experience that today’s consumers expect.

So, you’ve decided its time to abolish the Internet sales department and embrace a one-salesperson model throughout your store. How do you go about re-structuring your sales department?

Take the time to explain what you’re doing and why. Once you lay down the benefits, your sales team should embrace this new structure. After all, they probably don’t like having to split commissions in the first place!

Next, make sure you have the CRM system in place to handle this new lead structure according to your specifications.

Some dealerships choose a round-robin system where reps are assigned leads in rotation. Others choose a system where the first rep to respond gets the lead. Your Sales Manager can also manually delegate leads based on availability.

With connected consumers, conversion only happens if you respond quickly with the information they requested. Focus on speed, accuracy and personalized responses.

Allow salespeople just 30 minutes to follow up with a lead. If they don’t send an email or pick up the phone within that time, the system assigns a new rep to the lead.

Whichever approach you choose, remember the ultimate goal is to convert leads into buyers.

When all shoppers are digital shoppers at some point during the buying experience, it doesn’t make sense to silo Internet salespeople and floor salespeople.

Transforming your sales department into a one-salesperson model reduces friction, increases lead follow-up and gives customers a consistent experience.

Deliver a better experience to today’s “always connected” consumer by allowing them to connect and build rapport with a single representative of your brand.

And the benefit to you? The potential for more conversions.

Good Selling!

Does your dealership use an external BDC for sales calls? Many managers like to keep control of their sales process in house, but realistically, the majority of salespeople don't have time to place the hundreds of calls necessary every week to keep their pipeline filled.

Additionally, many salespeople lack the skills to effectively engage consumers over the phone. The personality types that provide engaging in-person experiences don't always translate well to over-the-phone experiences.

Using an external BDC is not about handing off the sales process to someone else; it's about increasing the number of opportunities for your own team. If you're not sure whether a virtual BDC can provide value or ROI, use these metrics to measure performance.

1) Contact Rate

The more information provided with a lead, the better the contact rate. If a lead has a single phone number, the contact rate is typically in the low 60-percentile range. However, if a lead has two phone numbers, the contact rate jumps drastically. In general, contact rates between 70 to 80 percent are considered excellent.

Many salespeople complain they can't get hold of leads after repeated attempts. The reality is, most dealership salespeople quit after two attempts. External BDC data shows it takes an average 3.4 phone calls to connect with a customer. That's an average; most external BDC agents will make at least six to eight attempts.

2) Conversion Rate

Conversion rates are challenging to measure because they vary depending on the type of campaign. If a BDC is placing cold calls from a data mining campaign, the percentage will probably be low, whereas Internet leads from in-market car shoppers will yield conversion rates that are relatively high.

If you're looking for a rough average, approximately 45 to 50 percent of calls placed by a BDC will generate an opportunity of some sort; whether in sales or service.

If your BDC/CRM software is integrated with your DMS, you can track sold customers and/or number of service appointments set. This allows for accurate measurement of conversion rates for specific campaigns.

3) Time on Phone

Most dealers don’t think about this but depending on the type of call, time on the phone can be a gauge that helps to measure customer engagement. In sales, the longer a BDC agent is on the phone, the better customer experience they provide. In service the opposite is true. Service appointment setting should be a short, efficient process. The longer the BDC agent is the phone, the more questions the customer has and the longer it's taking to get those questions answered.

These metrics will help you evaluate whether the external BDC you're using is providing value and ROI for your dealership.

However, it's important to realize that outsourcing calls to a BDC is not meant to be a 'silver bullet' that will instantly flood your showroom with customers. An external BDC is simply an additional tool that can help elevate your own teams' performance to the next level, and at the same time improve the experience your customers have with your business over the phone.

If a BDC agent sets an appointment, it's still the dealership's responsibility to confirm that appointment, preferably twice; immediately after it's made and again the day before. If a warm lead is handed over, it's still your sales' team responsibility to answer customer questions and provide an honest, transparent experience.

One effective way for dealerships and BDCs to work together is a hybrid process, where the internal dealership salespeople handle short-term follow up, while an external BDC handles long-term follow up and business development.

One of the main benefits of having an external BDC do long-term follow up is the survey data they collect. Because the calls are coming from a third part, 95 percent of customers contacted after visiting a dealership are willing to give a short survey. This data is extremely valuable and can be used as a teaching tool to improve internal processes and/or salesperson behavior.

BDC agents typically ask customers to rate the salesperson's product knowledge, level of courtesy and test drive experience, as well as verify and gather additional ways to communicate. Most of these questions are designed to build rapport with the customer. The most important question comes at the end: what can the dealership do to earn your business? That's the feedback sales managers should pay attention to and use to recover lost prospects and increase sales to new prospects.

If you've ever considered outsourcing to a BDC, use these metrics to help you determine the value and ROI it provides. But don't expect the BDC to replace the efforts of your sales team; instead, it should complement your teams' efforts and increase the number of overall opportunities.

When a customer leaves the lot without purchasing a vehicle, there's a good chance he or she will never be back. A few may return, but most won't. Does that mean you should never follow up with customers? Obviously not!

The follow-up call is critical and can absolutely save a deal. Even if only one out of ten customers comes back to the store and buys from you, it's worth your time.

Unfortunately, many salespeople aren't trained how to make effective follow up calls. I understand that when you call or text a customer, and they completely ignore you, it can be disheartening. But ask yourself honestly, are you giving them a reason to return your voice mail or text?

Here are three types of follow up calls that DON'T work:

The "check-in" call. There are several variations of this: Have you made your decision yet? Are you close to making a decision? Have you checked with your husband/wife yet? (Hint: that was never the real reason they left in the first place).

The "bigger discount" call. If you call a customer to talk about price, the only way that price is going is down. Besides, you should have given them the best price in the showroom. If you let them leave without offering the best price, it makes you look bad.

The "do you need more information?" call. You should already know what information they need.

The reason these follow up calls aren't effective is because they don't address the customers' real objections. Here are the most common reasons why customers leave without buying:

• They thought they would get more money for their trade-in
• The vehicle they looked at/test drove did not meet their expectations
• They couldn’t arrive at a monthly payment to fit their budget
• They didn’t like you (the salesperson)—hey, don't take it personally

Granted, there's not much you can do about the last reason. But let's tackle the first three. In order to address the objection, you have to know what it is. That's why it's so important to qualify a customer when they arrive on the lot.

Ask all the qualifying questions and be sure to note answers in your CRM so you can reference what the customer said in a future conversation. Qualifying questions include:

• When are you planning to purchase?
• Why do you need a new vehicle? (life event such as baby, marriage, etc.)
• Do you know your current vehicles' trade-in value?
• Why do you like this vehicle?
• Which features are most important to you in a new vehicle?
• Will you use this primarily for commuting to work, outdoor adventures, etc?
• What's your color preference?
• How many miles do you drive per year?
• What's your budget or monthly payment?

Of course, you don't want to barrage your customers with a list of pre-rehearsed questions. Qualifying should be conducted in the style of an easy conversation between friends.

You might not get the answers to all these questions, and that's okay. The goal is to get enough information so that if the customer leaves without purchasing, you'll be able to deduce what their real objection is. Then DO something about it.

The follow-up call should convey new information. This could be a change of inventory, a new incentive or end of incentive, or a pre-owned vehicle that just came in that would work for their budget. Try sending them data that supports your trade-in offer, or tell them about a vehicle in a different color—any information that's valid and different.

Get your manager involved if necessary. Sometimes it's useful to have a manager call to ensure that the customer's experience was a good one.

If your manager doesn't have time, enlist your BDC to help, if you have one. If you don't have a BDC, consider outsourcing to a call center.

When a call center follows up with a customer, the approach is to ask for a survey about the customer's experience with the dealership. Very often, the customer will open up to a third party in a way they simply won't when dealing directly with dealership personnel.

Because of this, a BDC agent is often able to identify the real reason for not purchasing. If the customer's experience was less than optimal, that information is handed to the manager who can immediately follow up to try and save the deal.

Even if the deal can't be saved, the ability to compile a list of customer objections is helpful for future coaching and training purposes. As a manager, this type of feedback allows you to identify a salesperson that needs help or a process that needs fixing.

I know that follow up calls seem like a chore, but there's a reason that every top salesperson and sales expert recommends them. They work. Not every time, but a percentage of them do result in a sale that otherwise would never have happened.

Recently I was waiting in line at an airport, along with hundreds of other travelers. A couple appeared out of nowhere, shoving their way to the front of the line and complaining loudly, as if they were the only people affected by the long wait. When another traveler told them to get in line, the pair acted shocked, as if they had never seen all of us standing there.

I call this syndrome “Only Person in the World” disease, and unfortunately it seems to be spreading in our society.

Apparently, this disease gives people the ability to block out the existence of everyone around them as they travel around in little bubbles of self-absorption. The scary part is, most people with the disease don’t even realize they have it!

I don’t know what causes this disease, but I see the impact of it everywhere. It might even be hurting your dealership. If one or more of your employees have “Only Person in the World” disease, it could have a serious and negative impact on your customer relationships and reputation. If you’re a salesperson with this disease, your career is probably suffering.

Here’s how to diagnose “Only Person in the World” disease:

If you greet every customer and answer every phone call while saying to yourself, “I hope this person buys a car today, I really need the commission.”  What you should be asking is “What does this person need today and how can I help to fulfill that need?” Trust me; if you help enough people, sales will naturally follow.

When you encounter stressful situations or a wrench is thrown into your plans, you ask yourself “Why does stuff like this always happen to me?” News flash: Stuff like this happens to everyone. It’s called life. If you paid more attention to others, you’d realize the same stuff is happening to them too.

The good news is, there is a treatment for “Only Person in the World” disease. It’s called mindfulness. I realize that’s a new-agey sounding term, but all it really means is being aware and living in the present moment. I think this is rare these days.

So many people walk around with their noses in their phones, completely unaware of their surroundings. They’re so afraid to miss a single text or Facebook update, yet they’re missing opportunities to connect with real people around them.

It’s also common to spend too much time ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. The fact is, you can’t change the past and the future will take care of itself as long as you execute on your plan today! However, this takes awareness.

Many experts say that the best way to develop mindfulness is to meditate, but not everyone has the time or patience for that. Here are a few tips on how to develop more awareness while at work, that require little time and effort.

Observe

Once or twice a day, take a five-minute timeout and simply observe your surroundings. Observe the environment, your customers and co-workers. Do this without an agenda; you’re not looking for something. Look and listen without thinking or judging, but if you notice something that strikes a chord, jot it down. Observation is a developed skill that allows you to spot opportunities.

Empathize

To build trust with customers, you need to connect with them. The best way to do that is by tapping into and validating their feelings. Practice this skill with your co-workers. Start a conversation by asking someone what’s happening in their life. If they seem stressed, ask them why. Most people welcome the chance to talk about themselves to someone who cares.

You don’t have to try and solve anyone’s problem. Listening and validating is enough. You might even be surprised at how this helps to strengthen bonds with your co-workers. Now imagine how effective this will be with your customers.

Focus

We all have a million thoughts, memories, ideas and dreams running around in our heads. Buddhists call this “Monkey Mind.” Most of these thoughts don’t serve any purpose other than to distract us from the present and from what we should be doing.

Do you know how many hours of the day you are actually productive at work? If not, try tracking your time. How many of your CRM tasks do you complete on a daily basis, versus re-scheduling or finding an excuse to delete? What would happen if you actually completed all of your tasks on a daily basis?

If you want to be successful, it’s important to find a way to focus your mind, become productive and do the things you know you should be doing, no matter how much you really don’t feel like doing them. Whether it’s music, meditation or another productivity technique, only you can find the best method for you.

If you suspect you have “Only Person in the World” disease, try following these tips. Developing mindfulness will make you more aware of—and more responsive to—opportunities, customers and prospects. Not to mention, you won’t be annoying to others.

One of my college professors was famous for a crazy stunt that he pulled every semester. On the first day of class, he would introduce himself, take off his shirt and jump out the window. A few minutes later he returned to the classroom, calmly put on his shirt and asked, “Do I have your attention?”

He certainly did.

It turns out this guy wasn’t crazy at all. Do you know how hard it is to capture the attention of a bunch of jaded students? I would guess it’s almost as difficult as capturing the attention of a bunch of jaded car shoppers.

Many car dealers have mastered the art of getting attention. Think of the inflatable gorillas, wavy tube men and thousands of balloons that adorn lots everywhere. Think of the dealers that don 10-gallon hats and scream at the camera that this is the best deal of all time.

It’s one thing to be able to get attention. But the real question is, once you have that attention, can you deliver an experience that meets customer expectations?

The professor who jumped out the window was probably the best teacher I ever had. While the stunt that he pulled made him memorable, what made him great was that he delivered in the classroom on a daily basis with passion, purpose and knowledge.

To keep your customers’ attention, you must deliver as well. If you’re passionate about what you do, people will be drawn to you. If you have purpose, people will admire you. If you are knowledgeable, people will respect you. And years later, those same people will remember you as one of the greatest salespeople they ever dealt with.

But what if, as a salesperson, you’re not feeling the passion or purpose? How knowledgeable must you be? Here are a few tips.

Choose Passion

Maybe you decided to become a car salesperson because you’re still figuring out what you want to do with your life. Maybe you secretly want to be a writer or an astronaut, and you’re just doing this to pay the bills. The good news is, you’re not alone. I know a lot of people that fell into this industry, then eventually fell in love with it.

Here’s the thing: passion isn’t something that strikes you like lightning. Passion is ignited from within. You can choose to ignite it, or not. Once lit, passion can be nurtured or ignored. But if you choose to embrace what you’re doing right now, and nurture that passion, you’ll be a lot more successful. Why wouldn’t you make that choice?

Find a Purpose

Everyone needs a car. Despite the bad rap our industry gets sometimes, selling cars is a noble endeavor. Be proud of what you do. And if selling or servicing cars isn’t enough of a purpose in life, find another one.

Maybe your purpose is as simple as feeding your family. Maybe your purpose is to invest every penny you have so you can retire at age 50 and travel the world. Or you want to help those less fortunate than you—or all of these things. When you wake up in the morning, let your purpose in life drive you to be the very best at what you do that day. Remember that your job is the fuel for your purpose in life, so be grateful for the opportunity.

Never Stop Learning

The average car shopper spends 14.5 hours researching and shopping for a car, according to a Cox Automotive study. Approximately 20% or 3 hours of that time is spent in the dealership, which means the average consumer spends 11.5 hours researching which vehicle they want.

How many hours does the average salesperson spend learning about their brand, the various makes/models and learning about their competition? If you want to win your customers’ respect, you must be at least as knowledgeable as them, but preferably more so. You must become the expert and the teacher.

It’s one thing to be able to capture someone’s attention. It’s another thing entirely to keep it. To be successful, you must do your job every day with passion, purpose and knowledge. When you make that commitment, you’ll be remembered as one of the best.

At its core, sales is a numbers game. It always has been and always will be. If you’re selling the same product that others are selling, you can only expect to close a percentage of customers that come into your store. In our industry, top performers close 50 to 60 percent of their appointments.

Therefore, logic dictates the only way to increase sales is to make more appointments. We all know you can’t rely on “ups” alone.  So, how do you get more appointments? It’s pretty simple. You make more phone calls.

The person who makes the most phone calls makes the most connections. Those who make the most connections, make the most appointments and ultimately close the most sales. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Yet, many salespeople routinely struggle to make the necessary phone calls. This is why 30 percent of auto dealerships now use call centers for the type of “heavy lifting” phone calls that their sales team can’t, won’t or don’t do.

I’m talking about calling hot leads, cold leads and equity leads generated from data mining your CRM for potential customers who in a buying position, about to go out of warranty or come off lease.

What’s that I hear? Your salespeople are already making these phone calls? Are you sure about that? 

Just because your team is making some phone calls, doesn’t mean they’re making the right kind of calls, or all the calls they could be making. Let me share a few common myths that I keep hearing, and the reality of what’s going on.

Myth #1: My salespeople are making those calls.

Fact: Your salespeople aren’t making enough calls.

Call center data shows it takes an average 4.8 phone calls to connect with a customer. The average salesperson follows up with a hot lead two or three times and virtually ignores cold leads. Plus, salespeople get caught up in other activities of daily meetings, talking to ups, customer appointments and lunch. There’s isn’t enough time in the day for them to make the hundreds of calls required for prospecting.

Call center agents make phone calls, every day, all day long. That’s the only thing they do, and they are trained to know how to handle each type call professionally and use the right call guide to get information dealers need.

Myth #2: My salespeople are motivated to make phone calls.

Fact: Salespeople are not paid to make phone calls.

Salespeople are paid on commission when they sell cars. So, they will always be chasing the down funnel leads they believe are close to closing—and rightly so. They are not data mining your CRM or creating strategies that will fill their pipeline full of prospects three months away from purchasing a vehicle.

Call center agents create organized outgoing call campaigns and execute those campaigns with precision. They don’t lose interest in customers who don’t call them back. They contact cold leads and nurture up funnel leads. Then, when a lead becomes “hot,” they hand it over to your sales team.

Myth #3: My salespeople have better phone skills than an outsourced agent.

Fact: Not all salespeople are great on the phone.

Do you hire salespeople based on the impression they made from a phone call or from their in-person interviews? If the latter, how do you know what their phone skills are? Most sales people are great face to face but many lack the patience needed for effective phone skills.

How much phone skills training do your salespeople receive? Or, do you just assume that they should know what to say and how to say it? Converting conversations into appointments is a specific and learned skill. Call center agents are trained how to be personable and sound authentic. Asking for an appointment too soon is guaranteed to drive the customer away. You need to earn the right to ask.

Myth #4: My salespeople are great at making follow up calls

Fact: Some salespeople suck at follow up calls

It’s not their fault. When a customer leaves your lot without purchasing a vehicle, the salesperson has often done everything they can do. When they call to follow up, they don’t have an enticing offer to lure the customer back in, so they resort to the “checking in” call or asking if the customer has made a decision yet. No wonder customers avoid answering their phones.

However, 95 percent of customers contacted by a third party are willing to take a short survey about their customer experience. This is what call center agents do. These surveys provide valuable insights into what your sales team is doing right and wrong so that you can coach them up effectively.

Additionally, sometimes the customer shares the real reason why they didn’t buy, which is not always the same reason they give the salesperson. When the real objection is identified, the customer feedback is given to a sales manager who has strategies to overcome that objection.

Yes, your salespeople “should” be making phone calls. But are they? That’s the only question you need to answer, and hopefully, it’s an honest answer. Because whoever out dials, out connects and outsells.

The rules of email marketing have changed. ELEAD1ONE Partner Bill Wittenmyer explains the importance of targeted, relevant email content in this edition of Freebie Fridays.

As an industry, we have pretty much perfected the process of following up on Internet leads, but we are far from perfect when it comes to handling inbound phone leads. According to CallSource and IHS/Polk research, 84 percent of consumers purchase vehicles from a different dealership than the one they originally called.

The good news is, there’s a huge opportunity to improve. Consumers are using cell phones more than ever for research during the car-buying process. In recent years, this has led to a significant increase in the volume of inbound calls to dealerships, compared with the number of email and Internet leads which have stayed the same or even declined.

When a customer calls your dealership, most times you’ve got one shot to get it right. Which is why converting inbound calls to sales opportunities should be your number one priority. To ensure you don’t drive customers away, follow these tips.

Answer the phone

This may sound obvious but don’t expect your sales team to answer all inbound sales calls. According to Marchex, nearly 20 percent of incoming calls fail to connect the caller with someone at the dealership.

Auto attendant options, call routing errors and voice mail compound this problem. It’s not enough to measure whether a call is answered; you need to measure how many callers are connected to a live person who can help them.

Designate a receptionist or BDC agents to answer calls. Or, you can have salespeople dedicated to this task during certain timeframes. Just be sure during that time they are focused on the phone and not drawn away by other tasks.

Also, try attaching a spiff to an existing bonus as a qualifier. I don’t recommend paying people extra to do the job they’re supposed to do. But pay plans need to be tied to a number of goals such as CRM logging consistency, number of survey completions, average call length, etc.

Collect and give information

Numerous studies have documented how poorly most customer inquiries are handled. Less than five percent of salespeople identify themselves by name and/or ask for an appointment, and dealers gather viable information on only 11 percent of callers.

Our BDC data shows that when asked, 97 percent of callers will give information about themselves or their experience over the phone. At a minimum get their name, email address and phone number—preferably two phone numbers. From making over 60 million calls a year, we know that it takes an average of four attempts to get a customer on the phone. With one phone number, there is a 67 percent contact ratio, and with two phone numbers that rises to an 80 percent contact ratio.

People like to feel important, so let your callers talk and remember what they say. Always enter notes about the type of car they’re looking for and what the follow-up action is because there should always be a follow-up action.

Meet customer expectations

Be sure that the branding messaging you’re portraying is consistent with what consumers experience when they call your dealership. Most callers have done their research, so by the time they place calls they’re in the process of elimination. Don’t give them a reason to eliminate you.

Answer their questions and give them the information they’re looking for, even pricing questions. The reality is you’re not going to close any deals on the phone. Your goal is to give the customer a pleasant and memorable experience on the phone so they will continue to engage with you when you follow up. Giving them the third degree and trying to force them into an appointment before they’re ready is not a winning strategy. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with asking for the appointment, but don’t do it before you establish rapport and don’t try to force it.

Scripts can be helpful. Not everyone is a natural on the phone. Develop and test strong scripts to guide salespeople and BDC agents until they learn how to engage, memorize the important questions to ask and learn how to overcome objections. Ideally you want every conversation to sound authentic, so it’s OK to add your own words and style to a script.

On a weekly basis track your phone metrics, listen to conversations and provide your staff with feedback. Coach them on areas that need improvement. Also, test your phone system and processes regularly by calling into your own store from every phone number that you are marketing.

Thanks to improved digital marketing strategies, more consumers than ever are calling dealerships directly. Phone leads are still your best and most valuable opportunities, so don’t let them slip through the cracks of a bad phone process. Technology, measurement, training and accountability are key factors in implementing any successful process, inbound calls included.