Incoming Calls: Why do we let untrained salespeople answer them
It seems the one thing that training time is not spent on is taking incoming calls.
How much money is lost, how many appointment not made, how many phone TO's
not given to managers. What is the path we need to take. A Call Center where we can pinpoint the incoming call or the open sales floor where we can spend our time chasing salespeople.
Instead of correcting the salesperson of what not to do why don't we role play and train.
Thirty years ago I had an owner tell me that the only tool in the dealership that can and will
make you money is the phone. WAS HE RIGHT!!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rick Bryant on
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I agree you should have your BEST people on the phones, you are not selling a car on the phone you are selling the appointment
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Permalink Reply by Paul Hardy on
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Car salespeople have not been good phone people in the past. A lot of dealers have the phone ups handled by the BDC now being that they are better at handling getting the appointment.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Proctor on -
Pretty amazing we spend millions to get to the point to receive the call; then turn it over to a "green pea" who has not been properly trained. Or even worse; an old pro with bad habits. That is true insanity.
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Permalink Reply by Chip King on
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Joe,
You are right on point!
BDC's/CallCenters set twice the amount of appointments on incoming calls....different skills and talents are definitely required for this role---in many cases we find the very best floor sales rep is challenged on the phone...no matter the training! Its a very different process to sell an appointment than a car....
At 10% increase in inbound sales call appt setting, with a 60% show and 60% sell is 3 sales for every 100 sales calls. If the average dealer get 300 sales calls per month--the increased gross profit potential is $15000 to $30000 per month....the impact on long term relationships and CSI is significant as well I would venture. I have heard from some dealers that keep the calls on the floor successfully, but they are in the minority.
The phone is the safest way for the customer to decide if he/she wants to do business with the dealership and is involved in over 80% of sales--and 100% of the relationship post sale.
Call Centers are significantly easier to train, the training lasts longer, there is less turnover,and the performance is easier to measure.
If a dealer focuses on the profit opportunity by increasing the appt set, and not throwing money at advertising to create more leads until the leads are handled efficiently, the cost of training is an absolute no-brainer. The average inbound appointment set in sales across the country, measure by the requested department (not measure by specific vehicle discussion) is 23%, and the top performers are above 40%.
No matter how you get there, I think Glynn Rodean's article in DD "10 Essential for Today's Sales Call" should become the mantra for every dealership.
Go to http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8e0b8bc#/e8e0b8bc/24 for the article (on page 25)
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Permalink Reply by Chip King on
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By the way--that was almost 40 years ago! Jerry Stautberg said it then. "Young man, that phone is made of gold!"
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Permalink Reply by Joseph M Bonincontri on
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Chip you are right on point
Chip King said:Joe,
You are right on point!
BDC's/CallCenters set twice the amount of appointments on incoming calls....different skills and talents are definitely required for this role---in many cases we find the very best floor sales rep is challenged on the phone...no matter the training! Its a very different process to sell an appointment than a car....
At 10% increase in inbound sales call appt setting, with a 60% show and 60% sell is 3 sales for every 100 sales calls. If the average dealer get 300 sales calls per month--the increased gross profit potential is $15000 to $30000 per month....the impact on long term relationships and CSI is significant as well I would venture. I have heard from some dealers that keep the calls on the floor successfully, but they are in the minority.
The phone is the safest way for the customer to decide if he/she wants to do business with the dealership and is involved in over 80% of sales--and 100% of the relationship post sale.
Call Centers are significantly easier to train, the training lasts longer, there is less turnover,and the performance is easier to measure.
If a dealer focuses on the profit opportunity by increasing the appt set, and not throwing money at advertising to create more leads until the leads are handled efficiently, the cost of training is an absolute no-brainer. The average inbound appointment set in sales across the country, measure by the requested department (not measure by specific vehicle discussion) is 23%, and the top performers are above 40%.
No matter how you get there, I think Glynn Rodean's article in DD "10 Essential for Today's Sales Call" should become the mantra for every dealership.
Go to http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8e0b8bc#/e8e0b8bc/24 for the article (on page 25)
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Permalink Reply by Bobbie Herron on
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I just finished the article you reccomended and found it extremely enlightening. Thanks for taking the time to suggest it!
Chip King said:Joe,
You are right on point!
BDC's/CallCenters set twice the amount of appointments on incoming calls....different skills and talents are definitely required for this role---in many cases we find the very best floor sales rep is challenged on the phone...no matter the training! Its a very different process to sell an appointment than a car....
At 10% increase in inbound sales call appt setting, with a 60% show and 60% sell is 3 sales for every 100 sales calls. If the average dealer get 300 sales calls per month--the increased gross profit potential is $15000 to $30000 per month....the impact on long term relationships and CSI is significant as well I would venture. I have heard from some dealers that keep the calls on the floor successfully, but they are in the minority.
The phone is the safest way for the customer to decide if he/she wants to do business with the dealership and is involved in over 80% of sales--and 100% of the relationship post sale.
Call Centers are significantly easier to train, the training lasts longer, there is less turnover,and the performance is easier to measure.
If a dealer focuses on the profit opportunity by increasing the appt set, and not throwing money at advertising to create more leads until the leads are handled efficiently, the cost of training is an absolute no-brainer. The average inbound appointment set in sales across the country, measure by the requested department (not measure by specific vehicle discussion) is 23%, and the top performers are above 40%.
No matter how you get there, I think Glynn Rodean's article in DD "10 Essential for Today's Sales Call" should become the mantra for every dealership.
Go to http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8e0b8bc#/e8e0b8bc/24 for the article (on page 25)
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Permalink Reply by Richard Emmons on
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Well done! You really have a handle on this.
Bobbie Herron said:I just finished the article you reccomended and found it extremely enlightening. Thanks for taking the time to suggest it!
Chip King said:Joe,
You are right on point!
BDC's/CallCenters set twice the amount of appointments on incoming calls....different skills and talents are definitely required for this role---in many cases we find the very best floor sales rep is challenged on the phone...no matter the training! Its a very different process to sell an appointment than a car....
At 10% increase in inbound sales call appt setting, with a 60% show and 60% sell is 3 sales for every 100 sales calls. If the average dealer get 300 sales calls per month--the increased gross profit potential is $15000 to $30000 per month....the impact on long term relationships and CSI is significant as well I would venture. I have heard from some dealers that keep the calls on the floor successfully, but they are in the minority.
The phone is the safest way for the customer to decide if he/she wants to do business with the dealership and is involved in over 80% of sales--and 100% of the relationship post sale.
Call Centers are significantly easier to train, the training lasts longer, there is less turnover,and the performance is easier to measure.
If a dealer focuses on the profit opportunity by increasing the appt set, and not throwing money at advertising to create more leads until the leads are handled efficiently, the cost of training is an absolute no-brainer. The average inbound appointment set in sales across the country, measure by the requested department (not measure by specific vehicle discussion) is 23%, and the top performers are above 40%.
No matter how you get there, I think Glynn Rodean's article in DD "10 Essential for Today's Sales Call" should become the mantra for every dealership.
Go to http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8e0b8bc#/e8e0b8bc/24 for the article (on page 25)
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