“Take it or Leave it” has been a very common theme occurring in the auto industry over the past two to three years. While it seems to be that customers are evolving and adapting to this moniker (or reality), is it something that we should be allowing to stay as a practice in our place of business?

Those of us that are taking a look at the bigger picture know that this way of sales is not something that will be available in this “seller’s market” for very long, nor should it be. One year, over the span of 15-30 that a customer may be purchasing cars for is not enough time to adapt to this “hot” market. We cannot forget that great customers stick with us, and all of our customers are going to remember their experience when they came to purchase a vehicle with our dealership. While we all know that not EVERY experience is a great one, we should strive for excellence for every customer that walks in our showroom doors. 

We need to have everyone on our team present a united front when it comes to this philosophy as well. The phrase “one bad apple can ruin the bunch” rings true. When everyone is on the same page working for the greater good of the team, we will prevail. Presenting a unified front on the phone and in person is also crucial to this cause. If we have one person with a poor attitude brooming customers at the front door or over the phone, it won’t take long before word gets around about a lack of empathy for the customer. With social media “reviews” and cancel culture running rampant, we need to strive for excellent customer service each and every time we interact with our customers.

Some customers are impossible to please, however if we have a standard that is set and followed, it is very easy to rest knowing that we made every effort to assist, and the customer was just unreasonable. Right now, there are plenty of reasonable customers getting the short end of the stick when it comes to genuine customer service because the staff assisting them only sees 30 days in front of their face. They think that because they hold the cards that they will be able to cherry pick customers or that by the law of averages, someone will want the vehicle that their initial customer did not.

The other item to consider is that growth is seen most through adversity. Sales is experiencing an unprecedented era where customers NEED to order/reserve ahead of time to get what they are looking for and sometimes there aren’t even vehicles to test drive. Learning to adapt to this has been tough across the board. Those associates that stick with the concept of customer first and foremost are going to come out on top in the end.

So, to sum this all up, we MUST focus on the larger picture. Focus on assisting each customer to the best of our ability including communicating all available options in an organized and professional manner. When this is done, and we are thorough with explaining the process and current market (even if that isn’t what the customer really wants to hear) we cannot go wrong.

A customer will take note of how they were treated over the phone and in person regardless of whether they heard what they wanted or not. And they’ll talk about it. Let’s make sure that talk is positive, and we are cultivating loyal customers for life. 

Difficult phone customers are the most nerve-wracking thing to deal with as a sales agent or customer service representative. Even if you have years of experience, having someone get upset or yell at you can just ruin your day. Luckily, there are skills that you can develop that make these calls easier and can even help you deescalate the situation successfully.

Don’t React

The worst thing you can do when you are on the phone with someone who is upset or being difficult is to match their attitude. Rather than giving you any real satisfaction or solving any of the problems, reacting and matching their attitude is likely to make things more difficult and escalate the situation. When you feel them start to escalate, make sure you keep your responses calm and polite, even if you want to scream back at them. Once you are off the phone, you can vent to your coworkers, but in the thick of it, keeping your cool and not reacting is the most valuable thing you can do.

Validate Their Feelings

One of the reasons that people get upset when talking to agents on the phone is because they feel they aren’t being heard or that they aren’t being taken seriously. Validating their feelings and acknowledging that a situation may be difficult or frustrating can go a long way to diffusing the tension. Validation doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, it just means you are acknowledging them. Rather than ignoring the emotions, if you give a difficult phone customer space to acknowledge that they are upset, you can take the wind right out of their sails.

Focus on the Main Issues

Once people get going, especially on the phone, it can be hard for them to stop. It can easily snowball away from what is important and what you can actually help with. Rather than chasing down everything that they bring up and trying to solve all of the problems they may be upset about, choose one thing and focus on that. Start with the main issue, which will usually be whatever got them started with being upset in the beginning. This does require some active listening and verbal dexterity because you don’t want to make things worse, but with practice, you can keep them on track.

Offer Appropriate Solutions

No matter how much they want you to, there will be some situations that phone customers bring up that you will not be able to solve. Sometimes people want things that aren’t possible, whether it is because they don’t understand what they are asking or because they have unrealistic expectations. Rather than explaining why you can’t give them what they are asking for, give them the solutions that are available for their main issues. Focusing on what you can actually do to help them, rather than what you can’t do, can make the situation more productive. It also redirects the conversation in a more positive direction, which can diffuse some of the tension. 

Stick to Your Script

Phone scripts are incredibly helpful for navigating any phone call, and they are doubly important for difficult phone customers. The point of phone scripts is to give you the tools you need to deal with different questions you may get, the information you need to give, and the solutions you can offer. When you end up in a difficult conversation, these scripts not only give you the answers you need, they can help you avoid promising things that the company doesn’t offer or that aren’t a good fit for the situation. Even if you are nervous, you will have a resource in front of you that gives you the cues you need to handle the solution and lets you know when it is beyond your ability to handle and you need to call in reinforcements.

These skills don’t develop overnight, so make sure you practice them on all of your calls so you are trained and ready for the difficult ones. You can even work with your coworkers when you have slower call volumes to role-play difficult scenarios ahead of time to make sure you won’t be caught unprepared.

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We'd be lying if we said we didn't enjoy the stint when cars drove off the lot faster than we could purchase more inventory. But as that winds down, we must ask ourselves, "are we prepared to sell cars again?" Let's be honest; in the last three years, we could easily overcome objections, and more so, we could even hold record levels of gross. But did we actually follow a sales process in this frenzy? Most will admit they didn’t.

Given that customer response times have slid in the last three years, chances are that the sales process did the same thing. And while we've always struggled with consistency in our sales process, it will become even more critical in the weeks and months ahead. As inventory shortages ease, customers will soon have more options. So, if we're not equipped to answer their inquiries or effectively assist them, we're setting ourselves up for failure.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be complicated. It's time we get back to the basics - or as they say – block and tackle the core aspects of a sales process. Keeping in mind that the customers' buying behavior has changed in the last three years. But the fact remains that customers expect their inquiries to be answered. And more importantly, customers expect to know the next steps when they enter the dealership. It's safe to say that the customer is not coming into the dealership for the fun of it. They're at the dealership to purchase a car.

Make no mistake, though, as the customer has more options, their patience to deal with a lack of a sales process might not last. And do we really want to lose out on sales opportunities simply because we don't follow a sales process? Instead, we should first focus on ensuring our Sales Consultants and BD Agents are aware of the process and when it begins, online and/or on the phone. That is understanding the various options the customer has when inquiring prior to coming in. So that when your Sales Consultant or BD Agent is working with the customer online, on the phone, or in the dealership, there is continuity.

A fluid process both outside and inside the store will make a difference in the customer's overall experience. And having a good experience - because you follow a solid sales process - means more vehicles sold with better CSI. It sounds simple, right? But the hard reality is that, more often than not, each of your Sales Consultants and Sales Managers tends to follow their own processes. That only makes it that much harder to effectively manage the breakpoints in their processes. None of us are perfect, and all of us have room to improve. So why make it that much harder on ourselves by having to manage several different sales processes at once? Instead, focus on one sales process so that no matter who's working with a customer, as a Sales Manager, you can easily step in or assist your Sales Consultants without causing unnecessary breakpoints for your customers.

To get started, take a minute and check out our FREE stealth test. We could all use a tune-up as we work towards a new normal. That is following a consistent sales process!

When it comes down to it, your dealership’s success relies fully on your ability to close sales successfully. There are various ways to accomplish this, but inbound and outbound sales have become the buzzwords of car dealership sales. But which one should you use, and how do you make them work for you?

Inbound vs. Outbound Sales

To understand how to use each sales method properly, you need to understand what they are. Inbound sales are when a potential customer reaches out to your dealership about buying a car or using one of your services. These customers usually come from marketing campaigns and other targeted materials that you use. They can also come from referrals from other satisfied customers. Outbound sales occur when one of your agents reaches out to a potential or returning customer about making a purchase they have not yet expressed interest in.

Sales Strategies to Entice Customers

To have successful inbound sales, you need to get your dealership name out there so people know who you are and want to visit your dealership. Inbound sales rely heavily on personalizing the experience and helping the buyer feel like their needs and concerns are at the center of the entire experience. This requires your sales team to work closely with the marketing team to create a seamless experience. Your marketing team puts the promotions out there that draw people in, and then the sales team delivers on the promises. This starts with the phone call experience. Some people will show up at your dealership, but others prefer to make an appointment ahead of time. 

Your sales team should tailor the appointment to the customer’s needs by ensuring they understand what they are looking for and what stage of their buying process they’re in. If they are only looking for information and aren’t ready to buy yet, avoid pushing to close the sale. This will more likely alienate them than to get a sale.

Methods of Identifying New Prospects

Outbound sales for car dealerships differ slightly from outbound sales for other companies. Most people don’t need multiple cars, so you must adjust your efforts to match their needs. One of the most valuable ways of drawing in new prospects for sales at your dealership is by pulling from the list of people who have already bought a car from your dealership. While you have already converted them to a customer once, you want to keep them. You can use outbound sales tactics to book maintenance appointments for past sales. Having someone call to schedule the oil change for their car is much more convenient than having to schedule it themselves, which means that they are more likely to book with you, especially if they had a solid experience before. 

You can also target past customers who have had their car for a few years by offering them trade-in deals and letting them know about the exciting deals you have on your lot. Not only does this bring you the benefit of new sales, but it can also lead to you acquiring their trade-in car, which adds to the valuable inventory on your lot.

Which Way is Best?

In the end, both inbound and outbound sales are a valuable part of your sales strategy that allows your dealership to be successful. You need both. There isn’t just one way to sell cars; focusing only on one area of your dealership sales means you are ignoring a large part of the population you could be reaching. But that doesn’t mean that everyone should do everything. You may find some of your agents are much more successful at outbound sales than inbound sales or vice versa. When setting your strategy, evaluating the strengths at your disposal and placing your employees appropriately is important.

Inbound and outbound sales are both successful sales strategies you should be employing, but you need to make sure you keep your market in mind. You may prioritize one over the other at different points based on the type of business you are looking for and what people are receptive to. Keep your finger on the pulse of the car market and adjust your strategy as needed.

Want your agents to be more successful in setting appointments? Click here to learn about our phone skills coaching!

With the start of the new year, you should be looking forward to what you can do to make 2023 a success for your dealership. While there are endless marketing strategies to employ, having a solid outbound calling strategy should be at the core of your efforts. Whether or not it was successful for you over the last 12 months, there are things that you can do to make it more effective.

Implement Scripts

Phone scripts for outbound sales calls are a must these days. There is a lot of information that your sales reps need to include in the call, and it can be hard to keep all of it straight. Using a phone script allows them to feel confident in the work that they are doing and to have the resources they need to have a successful phone call. There are a variety of phone scripts that they can use, depending on the purpose of the call. This can also help them not get tripped up and accidentally talk to the person on the other end of the phone about something that doesn’t apply to them at all. Phone scripts also improve your training because no one is going off and trying their own techniques that won’t be as effective. They also serve as protection for your dealership, so you don’t make promises you can’t keep.

Record Phone Calls

Recording the phone calls that your dealership makes and receives is a great way to see what is happening in the conversation and where improvements can be made. Even if you have a supervisor in your call center, they only hear half the conversation. If they do hop on the call, it’s typically because it was escalated. You can choose whether you record all of the phone calls or just record them randomly, but you should have a sample for each person making phone calls that can be reviewed at regular intervals. 

When listening to the recorded phone call, you can determine if the sales rep asked the right questions, if they introduced themself and the dealership, and how the sign-off was. If your reps are consistently hitting these marks, their calls stand a good chance of success. While the sales managers should check up on these metrics, they shouldn’t be the only ones responsible for improving employee phone skills. That’s where coaching comes in.

Invest in Active Coaching

At a time when car dealerships are feeling the pressure to stay competitive and remain profitable, phone coaching for sales teams is becoming an increasingly popular tool for improving customer service and boosting sales. As a dealership owner or manager, you know that having a strong sales team is key to success. Active coaching allows you to provide individual coaching to each salesperson in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses and provide tailored advice that can help them set more appointments. This includes regular feedback on their coached calls, highly effective scripts, personalized one-on-one sessions, and well-placed mystery shops. 

Phone coaching can also help you keep track of the progress of your sales team. You can monitor their conversations with customers and provide feedback in real-time to help them improve their performance. This will help them develop the skills they need to be successful and engaged sales reps. With proper coaching, they should be able to set appointments for your dealership 80% of the time, which can bring in a lot of business.

Listen to Employees

Your employees are the ones on the phone every day, and they are the ones who talk to your customers, web leads, and prospects. Ideally, your team is filled with talented and hardworking reps, which means they likely have a good pulse on what is going on with the company, the calls they make, and areas that can be improved. You should be empowering your employees to step up and make suggestions on how things can be improved and share what they have had success with. Let them own their success and take pride in their work. Even if their suggestions won’t work at this stage, make sure they know you appreciate their contributions. An engaged employee is a valuable asset you need.

Using these strategies will help your dealership see more success and closed sales in 2023. With the ever-changing market, it is important to not just talk to people but to get them to take action. Take a look at what you are doing and how these actions can help you improve your strategy this year.

If you want to improve how your dealership handles outbound phone calls, check out our Active Coaching Services and see how Phone Ninjas can help you!

Appointment setting is one of the best ways that a dealership can get people into the showroom to buy a car. But if your agents don’t see success on the phones, it can feel like a waste of time. Luckily, proven training methods increase your agents' efficiency in getting people into your dealership and closing sales.

Hold Regular and Ongoing Training

Phone training plays an important role in improving the outcome of your agents’ phone calls, but training is never just a one-and-done thing. Holding training at regular intervals will allow you to address current issues, teach new techniques to try, or allow team members to share stories of success. The type of training you require will depend on the length of time a person has been on the job, their responsibilities, and their overall performance. You can have training that involves the whole team for company-required training and team updates, but you should also focus on individual and small-group training that allows people to hone the skills they need at their own pace. These training sessions should happen at regular, expected intervals.

Involve Different People

Everyone on your team has their own strengths, and the best way to utilize them is to allow your team members to share the things that they are good at with everyone else. If the same person has been hosting the same training for a while, consider switching out who is in charge. Not only will this give the former trainer a chance to learn, but it also gives your team a new perspective to consider and a new way to learn something they may have heard before. Nothing makes people pay less attention than feeling like they already know every word that is going to be said. You can also reach beyond your team to find experts to help you train your employees. Professional coaches are a great resource to use when you are trying to help employees develop new skills and increase their success rates.

Set Clear Goals

Unless the training that you are implementing has clear goals that you can use to measure progress, you may not see any difference in the before and after your training. If there is no measurable change, that means you’ve wasted your time and your team’s time. The most measurable goal you can set for phone agents at a dealership is the outcome of their phone calls. Agents should set appointments, resolve concerns successfully, and generally have good phone interactions. Before you start any training, make sure you know each employee’s metrics for their phone calls, and set a customized goal for them to work on based on what they learn during the training. Custom-tailored goals can help employees feel empowered to be successful and apply what they have learned. After all, you probably shouldn’t expect your top performer and a new employee to have the same results. You can also set an overall team goal to motivate them to work together. 

Provide the Right Tools

No matter how much training you provide, if your phone agents don’t have the tools they need, they aren’t going to be successful. It’s important to not only provide them with these tools but also train them with them and incorporate them into all aspects of the job. Phone scripts are an excellent example of one of the best tools that allow your phone agents to be successful at what they are doing. Phone scripts give them the information and direction they need to have successful phone calls, but if your agents have never used a phone script before, it is unlikely that it will actually help them. If you update software, procedures, or anything else your agents use, ensure you have enough training to empower them to use these tools successfully.

Using these methods to improve the efficiency of your training will help you and your dealership flourish. With the ever-changing car market, you need all the resources you have access to to see the success you want.

Want to improve your appointment-setting phone calls? Click here to see what we can do for you!

With the constantly shifting car market, it is more important than ever to focus on the things that will make your dealership successful and allow you to continue business as normal. While there are plenty of things that you can do to keep your inventory up to date, it is just as important to invest time and energy into making sure that your employees stay up to date as well. Ensure they’re getting the coaching they need to succeed and keep your dealership running smoothly.

What Does Coaching Do?

Many people use coaching and training interchangeably, but there is a difference between the two that you need to focus on with your team. Training focuses on teaching your team information that they need to do their job. This could be focused on the systems they use, what you sell, or other information they need to complete a sale successfully. Active coaching focuses on teaching them the skills they need to be successful in real-world situations. This is often led by the coach - someone with experience and the ability to teach that experience to other people. Coaching your employees prepares them to adapt and deal with the demands of their jobs without feeling overwhelmed or unsupported.

How Often Should You Coach Employees?

The frequency of your coaching will depend on your employees, their individual needs, and the challenges your dealership is facing. The most important thing is that your coaching should occur regularly. Even the most experienced employees need support from their supervisor and team, and providing them with that support is a great way to keep them from feeling burnt out at their job. For newer employees, it may be helpful to have coaching sessions a couple of times a week. More established employees should have coaching weekly, perhaps not the same frequency as new hires. It is also beneficial to schedule coaching sessions for the whole team at least once a year to brush up on skills and try out new things.

What are the Benefits of Coaching?

The biggest benefit of coaching is seeing your employees be more successful at their job, which contributes to your dealership's overall success. Engaged sales reps should be able to set appointments for your dealership 80% of the time, which can bring in a lot of business. Additionally, coaching allows you to work closely with your employees and get to know them, what they do well with, and what they struggle with. These insights into your team allow you to recognize achievements and provide growth opportunities. Coaching also helps your team feel supported and valued. This is incredibly important, as feeling appreciated at work is one of the best ways to reduce turnover. With the constantly shifting job market, it can be hard to find solid employees, so holding on to the ones that you already have is a great win for your dealership.

How to Evaluate Coaching Success

Coaching without an end goal won’t accomplish everything you need it to. When your employees are working with a coach, make sure they take the time to identify specific outcomes that this coaching should help them with and set benchmarks to evaluate this progress. For dealership agents, appointment setting is one of the biggest skills that coaches can help with. You should have stats on how they are doing before the coaching, which will allow for specific goals for improvement. Ensure you’re following up on these goals and providing additional coaching and training to give them the tools they need to succeed.

The importance of coaching your dealership employees, especially phone agents and sales reps, can’t be overstated. While you may be lucky enough to hire some natural salespeople, most of them will need at least a little support to reach their full potential. With coaching, you can easily get them there.

Do you need help with your coaching? Click here to see what we can do for you!

With the holidays in full swing and plenty of shopping happening, it’s important for your dealership to get in on the action to close out the year with a bang. Cars are a fairly popular Christmas gift, so it is up to your dealership to find a way to get the maximum value out of this time of year.

Get Involved in Charity

Nothing promotes goodwill and a better impression of your dealership than using your resources to give back to the community, especially during the holiday season. There are plenty of ways for you to get your dealership involved that don’t take much effort but make a huge difference. You can host a food drive for the local food bank, participate in a toy drive, sponsor needy families, or even pledge a percentage of your monthly profits to a local charity. Your dealership is likely in a central location that many people know, so you can set up collection boxes for multiple charities. This allows people to make all of their donations at once and helps the charities have a well-known location to direct people towards. While the aim of participating in these charities should always be to give back without conditions, having more foot traffic at your dealership can provide more opportunities for sales. Additionally, advertising your charitable partnership can build a lot of goodwill in the community that can get you on potential customers’ radars.

Run a Special Event

Everyone loves a sale, so now is the perfect time to have a holiday-themed event! In addition to the normal Black Friday sale, you can host a December sales event to draw people in. The winter holidays often give people an excuse to buy something they’ve been thinking about for a while, so you need to be at the top of the list for people buying a car for Christmas. It’s also a colder time of year for many people, and they may find themselves longing for heated seats and steering wheels or other bells and whistles that make the cold drive more bearable. Make sure to get the word out about your sale and make the shopping experience a memorable one for them as well. You can even designate specific days during the month when there are extra perks to draw more people in.

Host a Contest

Getting people onto your lot and test-driving your cars is a great way to get them closer to making the purchase (the feel of the wheel will seal your deal), and having a contest or sweepstakes can sweeten the deal for those who are on the fence. You don’t want to have everyone entering if they aren’t going to bring in business, so if you decide to host a contest, it would be wise to make a test drive or a conversation with a sales rep part of the entry requirements. You can even give them more entries for larger actions, like actually buying a car from your dealership. There are plenty of prizes you can offer that would attract people, including cash, free oil changes, discounted tires, or other services your community cares about. You can also give away gift baskets.

Increase Customer Service

Shopping during the holiday season can be fun but can also become very stressful, especially on busy weekends. The experience you provide at every touch point for your leads and customers can make a huge difference for them and can do quite a bit to portray your business in the best light possible. While they may have to deal with a few Scrooges, it’s important to stress having the highest possible customer service from your employees during this time. When customers feel valued and taken care of at every stage, they are more likely to purchase from you and return in the future.

All of these strategies can have a great impact on the number of December sales you can close. Make sure to choose the ones that fit the best with your dealership rather than trying to implement all of them at once. 

Want to work on your phone agents’ customer service skills? Click here to see how our active coaching can help you!

At a dealership, we are responsible for doing everything we can for our customers. Sales and Service are set up to make a profit in their respective departments; however, sometimes their paths cross when it comes to assisting a customer to the fullest extent in an all-too-common situation… When to keep servicing and when to upgrade.

The sales department’s job is to move units; the service department’s job is to maintain those units. Sales would love to see a car turnover every 3-ish years, while service would like to see customers keep their cars for 10 or more years. While the average consumer keeps their car for a happy medium of 5 years, there is a fine dance that each department performs to keep their workflow moving. The big question here is, when does service finally say it’s time to visit the sales department for a new vehicle, and how should they broach that subject?

The customer with a 3-year-old car in a lease is an easy send-up to sales if they are talking about it, especially with most dealerships using an Exchange/Upgrade Department. The car, that’s about 5 years old, is starting to need maintenance and turning into a tricky sell. Each customer has their preference and [most of the time] has a plan for how they would like to handle their vehicle. Responsible customers plan maintenance charges into their budget and continue to move forward with their current vehicle until it doesn’t make sense or their timeline is up.

Then there are the customers with older cars that are starting to cost more money than they’re worth. A great sell for most service departments; however, where do you draw the line? With a dealership, customers range from working with disposable income to spare down to fixed incomes that amount to peanuts, and the customer is asking to pay in installments. It's up to the service department, tech, and advisor to present all of the options to the customer when it comes to extensive work on an older vehicle. The tech should be willing to present all valid options for repair to the advisor, and the advisor needs to work to build a strong rapport with the customer. This all comes down to excellent customer service. When it’s time to have this conversation, the customer should be comfortable, even considering the potential for a lengthy repair OR moving forward with a new vehicle. It’s also highly recommended that the advisor be comfortable with at least one salesperson to work with regarding a handoff. Customers are comfortable when they are confident in the next step of the process based on a smooth handoff and palpable comradery amongst departments. Customer service needs to be the main priority amongst both departments, as it is the tie that binds the two together.

But let’s take a step back. The handoff is important. However, the presentation of all viable options in service is even more important. Customers should be given clear options on both repairs or pursuing something new. Advisors in the game for the long haul know that their ability to sell is important, but customer retention is even more important. A good advisor has confidence in themselves when they recommend a new vehicle; their customer will continue to come back and service with them again. Another aspect sometimes overlooked is the client’s recommendation to friends and family. These things come from excellent customer service, and sometimes an advisor says, “it’s time to move on” or “this repair is worth it.” Giving the customer all options, presented in non-biased terms with the will to answer questions in a factual and straightforward manner, is always going to be the way to go. When the customer asks for their personal opinion, a great philosophy to work by is that the “truth will set you free.” Give it to the customer straight up and know that they are doing their best, in the customer's best interest, and they have done everything they can. Plus, as a bonus, the truth doesn’t change. By telling the truth, you don’t have to “remember” anything, as your answer will be the same for the same situation.

At the end of the day, it’s time to suggest a new vehicle when the customer is open to the option based on their current situation and vehicle needs. An advisor will only know that if they are learning their customers and focusing on their customer service skills first, ensuring that ALL viable options are put on the table when it’s time to discuss their vehicle. A customer service-centric dealership will always weather the test of time over the ones hyper-focused on their bottom line.

Doing right by customers is the best policy and always drives positive results in the bottom line. 

Nowadays, finding a way to retain your customers is an important part of the business. Car prices are rising through the roof, and not building the loyalty of your customers can be a quick route to losing them. Building loyalty for your dealership can be difficult since people aren’t buying cars as regularly as they buy other products, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible to do. Using the right tools is important to focus on to ensure that your customer retention is as effective as it can be.

Better Communication

Customers care about how you communicate with them. Having open and honest communication with your customers makes you someone that they feel they can trust and allows you to have difficult conversations when you need to. When it comes to your phone agents, having them properly trained to communicate with your customers and deal with their concerns is important. Phone scripts are an important way to ensure that they don’t miss out on important conversation steps and give them the tools to deal with difficult customers. The biggest thing to remember is that customers want to be heard and understood, especially when it involves things like their car. When you can provide that for them, it goes a long way toward earning their loyalty.

Innovative Marketing

Marketing is often thought of as a way to bring in new customers, but it is also an important step for keeping your current customers coming back. The loyalty phase on the marketing funnel includes follow-up emails and phone calls about new services you offer, sales that are currently happening, and reminding them of everything your dealership has to offer beyond just selling cars. You should also keep it interesting. If you only ever send emails, they may stop paying attention. Social media campaigns, events, and other engaging marketing tactics are an important part of keeping customers engaged and returning to your dealership repeatedly.

Solid Customer Service

The customer service that you provide as a dealership goes beyond the sales experience that customers have. Many people have come to see dealerships as a one-stop shop for everything to do with their cars, which means you need to make sure you are providing quality service every step of the way. From phone calls and communications to car repairs and maintenance, all of this should be conducted with the highest level of customer service. The ultimate goal is to earn the repeated business of your customers, especially if your dealership sells both new and used cars. Having loyal customers not only means that you will have their business, but they are also likely to recommend you to their friends and family. In addition to providing quality customer service, you should make sure that you are constantly striving to improve your customer service. New methods of helping customers are being suggested all the time, so keeping up to date with things is important.

Fun Perks

While perks aren’t the only thing people are looking for in a dealership, they provide a good option to sway people and keep them engaged with your dealership. Loyalty events can easily double as marketing events and provide options for those perks. You can showcase new cars, serve great food, and have drawings for fun prizes at these events. You can work with local businesses to provide these prizes and get the community engaged as well. Additionally, some dealerships will offer free car washes, snacks, and entertainment while you wait, or anything else you can think of. When people enjoy their time at their dealership, even if they are waiting for car service, they are more likely to become loyal customers.

Using all the tools at your disposal is one of the best ways to ensure that you and your business can weather this volatile car market. While prices may be higher than many people want, making sure you have a loyal customer base can help you weather anything coming your way. Customer loyalty can trump almost any storm.

Want to improve how your dealership handles phone calls? Check out our active coaching services and see how Phone Ninjas can help you!