Simple Phone Skills Can Instantly Increase Service Traffic!

Dealers like you have spent millions of dollars on their facilities and thousands more on advertising and goodwill all in the hopes that customers will call their dealership when they need service.  That was the plan and it worked…they call. But what happens when they call. How long does it take for your dealership to answer? How many transfers before they get the right department? How long are they kept on hold and how many digital voices must they listen to before being prompted to push 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6, 7, etc. That is a problem and you need to fix it – fast.

Fact is, 85% of all service shoppers call first. They want to know how long it will take, how much it will cost, do they need an appointment, do you have the parts and if you are really willing to earn their business.

Unfortunately, most of the time these valuable shoppers are greeted improperly, not listened to, seen as an interruption or put on what I call ‘terminal hold’ and eventually forgotten.  These shoppers are often not told about all the important features, benefits and advantages you offer like lifetime nationwide warranties or the fact that you have factory-trained certified technicians.

Instead, they are often told a ‘worst case scenario’ outrageous estimate of what it will cost to fix their car, given way too much information that they can eventually use against us and are often made to drag information out of your service sales people by having to take control of the conversation themselves by asking all the questions. 

Service shoppers are really just looking for someone to take control and help them. Think about it…they called you even though their perception is that you charge too much, take too long and are inconvenient. That is their perception from the start….so why do they even call you? The answer is simple…they want to do business with you, but you have to give them a reason. You have to make it easy to say Yes and hard to say No.

You have to listen. You have brag about your store, your service, your techs and if they ask for a price on something you are proud of…then brag about that too. You have to invite them in and control the conversation by asking questions…simple controlling multiple choice questions like… “Let me see when I can get you in for service…I have openings today or tomorrow…which is best for you?”

The cool part is that you can drastically increase your customer pay repair order count on a daily basis just by properly answering the phone and inviting customers in. Again, you just have to make it easy to say yes and hard to say no. The really cool part: it doesn’t cost you a dime of extra advertising. The phone is already ringing off the hook.  Do yourself a favor and call your store and pretend to be a customer…then hold a service sales meeting and get some serious bang for your buck!