If your dealership’s sales numbers hover around the industry average, chances are you’ve got the basics in place: phone scripts, an appointment setting strategy, and some periodic training during the year.
But what’s going on with the outliers who are getting big appointment numbers and constantly smashing their sales goals? Are they just getting farther into the weeds with their scripts?
Nope. They’re deep in the forest with a dealership training partner who’s transformed their sales team into stone-cold killers. And it doesn’t take hours of work to sharpen their skills, either. In just 15 minutes a week per employee, a top consultant can deliver the solid tactics and stealthy tricks that will turn your foot soldiers into phone ninjas.
Finding Your Sales Sensei
Without the right dealership sales coach, no amount of reps or hours in the training room will get your numbers where they need to be. Auto sales is a game all its own, and you’ll need to separate the generic black belts from the true industry masters.
Here’s what you should look for when finding your sales sensei:
- Deep industry experience. You can’t coach a champion if you’ve never been in the ring. You’ll want a training partner with decades of combined experience across every aspect of the business.
- Focus on auto sales. A jack of all trades is a master of none. Any partner you pick should be relentlessly dedicated to the auto industry.
- Lethal efficiency. Training can’t take over your business. A great coach will work quickly and deliver game-changing tactics to your team.
- Real-world feedback. Everybody’s a champion against the bag—it doesn’t hit back. Coaching tips should be pulled from mystery shops of your actual customer calls for maximum real-world impact.
- Short-term contracts. Just like your sales team, a training consultant should be willing to prove themselves month in, month out. No long-term commitments.
Advanced Training Techniques
There’s nothing worse for a sales team’s morale than sitting through hours of lectures about things they already know—especially when it’s generic sales advice. They need specifics for all aspects of their game that translate directly into bigger commissions and crushed monthly goals.
What are the top dealership coaching firms focusing on? Here are the key weapons they’ll bring to the table.
1. Custom Scripts and Word Tracks
The fundamentals are easy to lock down, but phone scripts that consistently chip away at sales goals need to have custom language that reflects your market, brand, and strengths. It should also include strategic language that speaks directly to key metrics like appointment setting and show rates.
Scripts should be carefully crafted to:
- Gather all customer data every time
- Handle common objections
- Ask for and confirm appointments
- Keep calls moving toward a sale
A great phone script is also structured by word tracks—key phrases or sentences for handling critical points in the call. How do they work? Consider the following two examples:
“We’ve definitely got that model in stock right now. Would you like to come take a test drive this week?”
“We’ve got several models with [features you mentioned], [Customer Name]. Would you like to come down on Tuesday or Thursday?”
Both are 20 words, but only one of them builds value in the appointment, creates rapport, and promotes a closed-ended choice. Can your sales team say exactly how it does that?
2. Active Coaching
Without repetition and hands-on training, even the most well-written script will get KO’d. Active coaching is a rapid-fire, one-on-one interaction between coaches and sales reps that highlights specific elements of calls that improve performance.
Basically, it’s your sales team’s secret weapon. Here’s what active coaching delivers:
- Freshness. Real calls handled within the last 48 hours ensure that interactions are still fresh in your sales team’s mind.
- Digestible feedback. Coaches should deliver bite-sized tips that can be rapidly explained, processed, and put into action.
- Efficiency. Lots of trainers can explain things if they have all day—the best can do it in 15 minutes or less and get your people back on the showroom floor.
- Repetition. Practice makes perfect. Coaching should include multiple reps on key tactics, not just boring explanations.
- Manager-free. A great training partner handles everything quietly so managers and GMs can focus on running the business.
3. Team Tactics
How do some dealerships hit 80% appointment rates while the rest of the industry hovers around 28%? Simple. They coordinate with each other and make the most of their CRM. Without a solid ground game for the entire team, opportunities will slip through the cracks and take your sales numbers down with them.
Here are some critical stats that separate elite sales warriors from the grunts in the trenches:
- The average sales rep forgets to ask for customer data 50% of the time. That’s a lost appointment today and confusion for your team tomorrow.
- 25% of calls aren’t transferred properly or go to voicemail boxes that aren’t set up. It kills customer trust and speaks to a lack of coordination.
- 5% of callers hang up because they’re mad or frustrated. If customer information and notes aren’t detailed in the CRM 100% of the time, every call starts from scratch and ends in rage.
Your partner should also offer powerful instructor-led team sessions that break down inbound and outbound call strategies and align your team on big-picture goals. That way, everyone knows the score regardless of who takes the call.
Mastering the Art with Phone Ninjas
At Phone Ninjas, we’ve been turning talented sales teams into appointment-setting machines for decades. Our coaches work one-on-one with your people to develop solid phone script fundamentals and elite training strategies that speak directly to your bottom line.
That’s why our most committed clients see appointment set rates of 80%+ while building customer relationships that generate long-term revenue. We handle everything so GMs and owners can focus on running the business and deliver lethal results that crush your competition.
Ready to train like a ninja? Schedule a demo today and get two free mystery shops to find out how we can turn your sales team into KPI killers.
