The 5 Steps to Success

When an inbound call comes in, it is an extremely hot deal. Almost every single customer that gives you a call has spent numerous hours researching and then decided to pick up the phone and dial your number. This shows commitment and conveys that the buyer is ready to come into the dealership. Nevertheless, when handled improperly, even these types of deals can slip away from automotive sales professionals. However, they don’t have to. With the right techniques and tips, you will be able to set the appointment on nearly all of the inbound calls you take. In this blog, learn the 5 steps that skyrocket success at setting appointments off inbound calls!

Inbound Call – Step #1

The first step to the inbound call is to start off with a compliment.

After a brief introduction, now is not the time to jump right into things. The sales team at a dealership is not a collection of order-takers – they’re salespeople! So, regardless of vehicle availability, objections or questions, the first step is just to compliment the buyer. Compliments allow you to take control of the deal and start on a positive note, which will make it easier to sell throughout the call. This can be centered around multiple aspects, including for calling your dealership, the vehicle the customer selected or their timing.

Inbound Call – Step #2

The second step to the inbound call is to expand your inventory.

Now that you have taken control of the deal with a compliment, it is time to expand your inventory. Order-takers get stuck when they don’t have the vehicle the customer wants because they haven’t done this before confirming availability. Remember, customers are more flexible than you think and likely are not calling in on their dream car. So, regardless of if you have the vehicle they want or not, expanding your inventory beforehand will drastically improve your chances at setting the appointment by having multiple vehicles to set one on. When you present additional options to the customer the right way, you will build your customer service and improve your odds at success!

Inbound Call – Step #3

The third step to the inbound call is to engage the trade.

“What are you driving now?” is a great way to find opportunity to set the appointment. Not only does this allow you to gather some valuable information, but if needed, the appointment can be purely set around the trade. By engaging the trade, you are setting yourself up to move past things like pricing objections and vehicle availability issues. So, find out what the customer is currently driving, pay them a compliment on that vehicle and offer them an appraisal.

Inbound Call – Step #4

The fourth step to the inbound call is to gather contact information logically.

Contact information is so much easier to gather on an inbound call when you do it logically. So, the order that you gather this information is very important. You want to gather contact information before the buyer feels that the call is done! Therefore, before confirming or denying vehicle availability, make sure to get the customer’s phone number and email address. If you admit that you don’t have what they are looking for, and don’t already have their contact information, it makes it easy for customers to hang up the phone.

You also want to gather a buyer’s phone number and email address before their name. Offer to check on what they called in on and then immediately go to their contact information. By gathering information in this order, customers will be a lot more apt to give you what you asked for!

Inbound Call – Step #5

The fifth and last step to the inbound call is to set the appointment.

By the end of an inbound call, you should be ready to utilize everything you've done earlier to set yourself up for the appointment. Between expanding your inventory and engaging the trade, you are already prepared with multiple ways to set an appointment. For example:

• • Set an appointment around the original vehicle if available
  • Set an appointment around a similar vehicle if what the customer wanted was not available
  • Set the appointment around bringing the customer to the dealership so you can locate the vehicle they want together
  • Set an appointment around a test-drive
  • Set the appointment around getting the customer’s vehicle appraised

The Inbound Call Guide

It can be difficult to stay on track to setting the appointment. Luckily, call guides allow sales professionals to always stay on process and on the way to the appointment. Your dealership should already be equipped with some call guides, but if you want to follow the structure outlined in this blog, click here to get a free editable version of the Inbound Call Guide today!

Want to sell more cars? With Webinarinc’s On-Demand Automotive Sales Training, it’s easy to increase your team’s ability to close deals! Our state-of-the-art LMS is filled with over 1,400+ sales training videos covering topics such as inbound calls, outbound calls, objection handling and so much more! To learn more, contact us today at (888) 603-4443 or sales@revdojo.com.