It’s happened a thousand times to every associate in automotive sales: a customer call seems to be going well, there’s interest in a vehicle, and somehow…
… you hang up without an appointment on the books.
What happened? And why do other dealerships seem to be flooded with appointments from the same basic phone traffic?
In nearly every case, the answer lies in the phone word tracks in your scripts. How these key phrases are written—and the coaching your employees receive—makes all the difference for booking appointments that show and sales numbers that grow.
Ready to boost your numbers by 2-3 times just by tweaking your script game? With these tips, you’ll be crushing the competition in no time.
What’s a Phone Word Track?
Phone word tracks are the phrases, sentences, and paragraphs in a script that help your employees navigate the key moments in sales calls. These include:
- Appointment setting
- Handling objections
- Ensuring consistency
- Keeping sales moving forward
For instance, a phone word track for setting an appointment might look like this:
Sales Rep: Well, [Customer], we’ve got some great options in [your price range] with a variety of features you mentioned. If you’d like to come down, I’d be happy to take you through all the options. Would Monday or Tuesday work for you?
This phone word track might seem simple, but it achieves a number of important goals in less than 50 words:
- Builds rapport. It addresses the customer by name and offers them value in exchange for an appointment.
- Reflects their needs. By repeating the customer’s price and option requirements, it confirms that the experience is focused on them.
- Asks for the appointment. Incredibly, the number one reason sales reps don’t set appointments is because they forget to ask!
- Offers a closed-ended request. Rather than giving the customer a yes/no decision, this phone word track gives them a choice about when they’ll say “yes”.
How Phone Word Tracks Build Appointments
The most important thing automotive sales reps need to remember when building an appointment is that there’s no penalty to the customer for a no-show—but there is for you. That means you’re doing all the work to ensure everyone is successful.
As a result, there’s an art and a science to setting appointments that phone word tracks must reflect throughout a script:
- Timing the ask. Phone word tracks should build value through the call before prompting you to ask for the appointment.
- Gathering information. You’ll need contact info, dates, times, and information about the vehicle they’re interested in. Miss any of it, and you’ve already hurt your chances of capitalizing on the opportunity.
- Confirming customer info. Phone word tracks help eliminate mistakes with confirming prompts. After all, a wrong number or a misspelled name could be all it takes to derail a sale.
- Asking again. Didn’t get a “yes” the first time around? No problem. Phone word tracks find natural places to ask again.
- Follow-up and directions. Great phone word tracks ensure the customer gets a follow-up call before the appointment as a reminder and to check for any new information. It also gives them directions from their house to the dealership so there are no awkward day-of issues.
Balancing Sales Skill and Structure with Phone Word Tracks
Phone scripts are a critical business investment for auto dealerships because most appointments are lost due to inexperienced employees or challenging situations.
When you combine well-written scripts with an efficient, powerful coaching partner, new employees have the tools and support they need to be successful far earlier in their career journey. Phone word tracks give them tried-and-true responses to common objections and ensure they always follow a customer-centered path to appointment setting.
That puts commissions in their pockets, capital into your business, and customers behind the wheel of great vehicles they need.
At the same time, veteran salespeople aren’t hampered by a script if they understand how to use it. Scripts and phone word tracks are a map to value, not a robocall substitute. Most phone word tracks require a little bit of customization for every customer to be effective, and employees still need to use their instincts to pick the perfect moment and delivery style.
Regardless of where employees are in their careers, phone word tracks provide a framework for success that helps them make the most of their natural skills while staying on brand.
Why Active Coaching Matters
On their own, phone word tracks give your people guideposts through the sales journey—but success still heavily depends on how they perform under pressure. Phone word tracks need to be delivered flexibly and comfortably to be effective, and employees will ideally memorize these phrases to dial in execution.
Even a perfect phone script won’t be enough to boost your appointment rates if you don’t have a coaching partner who can take a hands-on approach. In fact, the best of the best don’t even require GMs and owners to participate in weekly activities unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Does it take a little time off the sales floor for employees to get the coaching they need? Of course—just not as much as you might think.
The top dealership consultants can give your people feedback, coaching tips, and repetition on key phone word tracks in as little as 15 minutes a week per employee. Your partner should be using mystery shops that leverage real (and recent) sales calls, and support their work with reporting data that connects the dots from coaching to KPIs.
Driving Appointment Rates with Phone Ninjas
At Phone Ninjas, we’ve spent decades in the automotive sales industry helping top dealerships boost their appointment rates one caller at a time. Whether it’s writing phone word tracks that keep your sales team moving toward deals or offering powerful coaching tips during weekly training, our tried-and-true methods turn into numbers you can stake your business on.
Schedule a demo today to find out exactly how we can put your appointment-setting game into overdrive. As a bonus, we’ll throw in two free mystery shops! And if you’re ready to go, you can be signed up and ready to go in less than 10 minutes, and one of our Phone Ninjas will take care of the rest.
