Ahh, the phone. Invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, if only he could see it now! While it has changed drastically over the years, the phone call is still 100% relevant today - yes even with texting! What most people don't realize is that personal connection is best created via the phone. Text is easily misinterpreted, while your voice on the phone paints a clear picture for your potential customer. You have so many more techniques available to you when you are on a call with a customer also. For example, since the customer is not physically in front of you, you cannot gauge them by their body language and instead have to rely on their voice tone. You cannot judge voice tone via text. While many customer psychology techniques will work via text, they are easier to execute via phone. So, let's get into it, how can we make more money using the phone? PICK IT UP AND MAKE CALLS!

The Phone Is Not Your Enemy: I know it feels scary making sales calls, especially if you are a people person, which most salespeople tend to be. You can sell things easily in person, but over the phone, you freeze. Don't panic. That's step 1. Oftentimes the easiest way to accomplish your goal is to take a step back and look at the big picture. Let's say you have a fresh internet lead that comes in at 10 am. The first thing you should do is look over the lead, see what type of vehicle they are looking at, do we have it in stock, what do you know about the vehicle, what questions did they ask, do you have the answers, and has this customer ever shopped here before (if so, did they purchase?). Then think about your goal, to get them in. How do we get them in? By calling them. This brings us to step 2.

Step 2 is to pick up the phone and call them. Literally connect with them. If they answer, this is your time to shine. Let your personality come through, but work to stay in control of the conversation. Do not start by answering every single question they asked in their online submission. Try to figure out exactly what it is they are looking for, confirm their vehicle of interest and ask if they are open to alternates also, you never know when something could go wrong with their initial vehicle of interest, so it's best to be prepared. I suggest verbiage like "Now Claire, it looks like you were checking out our 2018 Impala, is that right?" and let the customer answer. This confirms with them you know exactly what they want and you can follow it up with "ok, now if I have anything similar, are you open to looking at that as well?". Always try to end on a question keeping it open, do not revert back to "or does it have to be just this one" which locks you back into the initial vehicle, and again - you never know when something could go wrong with it. The idea here is to open the possibility of a plan B vehicle, not redirect back to the initial one. If they are open, awesome, narrow down what that alternate vehicle looks like. Do they want brand new or is preowned an option. Cloth vs leather or you can even ask if they are more interested in a base model or fully loaded. You can control the questions as long as you keep them choice-based. Once you ask openly "so what are you looking for" expect them to reply with "a unicorn!" which is nonexistent. If they are not open to alternates, that's fine - move to offer them an appointment.

Ask for an Appointment: In the majority of sample calls we hear when a potential client is interested in training with my company, we do not hear the rep offer an appointment. A typical call is around 90 seconds, they answer all of their questions and hang up. Often no contact information is obtained and no appointment is offered. Regardless of whether you have an inbound or outbound call, you want to focus your attention on building rapport with the customer over the phone and offering them an appointment to come see it. The easiest way to manage your day and ensure your customer doesn't have to wait around is to set an appointment with them. By the time the customer has submitted a lead or picked up the phone to call in, they have obviously thought about purchasing the vehicle. Assume they want to come to see it and offer an appointment.

Again, control this portion of the conversation by using choices such as today or tomorrow and then time A or time B. It's impossible to say how many customers just show up without an appointment when so many of our sales calls end without obtaining any contact information. Unless you log every call that comes in on your caller ID into your CRM, you will never know. As a general rule, set yourself the goal of always building rapport, obtaining info, and offering appointments at least twice, in every call.

Training CAN Help: Remember that practice does help. Roleplay with co-workers or someone at home so that you can get a good flow down. Try to keep your call structure organized and practice different techniques so you can find the right path for yourself. If a call bounces all over the place you will miss stuff and the customer will feel the disorganized flow. You do not want them to hang up and think "what was that" instead you want them to be excited about the appointment with you. Using the phone to create urgency and excitement is key and remember to give them your information over the phone as well. Build as much of a relationship as you can over the phone to help ensure the customer shows for their appointment. Rapport building via text is not as easy, you have no voice inflection or small talk, and it's very hard to show your personality. The fact is, the more connected the customer feels with you, the more likely they are to show up and purchase.

Think of the phone as your friend, make phone calls, connect with people and invite them in!

Just remember, that if you hate the phone and treat it like a negative experience, it absolutely will be. Think positive and believe in your abilities. Good luck!