Hi guys,

I was hoping to pick your brain about how to set appointments better. (Or at least how we can set more appointments) We’ve struggled, especially this last week, as we only set 24 appointments and our weekly goal is 40 weekly.

We follow your pieces of training, so we know the 4 reasons “Why” we can get an appointment, but it’s growing difficult to overcome certain objections. Lately, our objections have been…
“I don’t have time to get there”, or
“Can you give me a trade value because I live 2 plus hours away”, or
“I’m trying to reduce my payments”, or
“You’re not giving me enough for my trade” (if given), or
“The payment is too high”, or
“I need to wait to see what the economy does”.  

We’ve heard them all.

Do you have any additional tips on different word tracks or lines we could use to still turn these people around? I train the staff every Wednesday for about 30 minutes, and I was looking for some fresh ideas.

Appreciate what you can share.

Thank you!

JB
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Hey J.B.,

Happy to add a little more insight – and yes, when I initially created the 4 Appointments to Set, that was in a different retail environment. The economic changes and production cycle led to us expanding our methodology on creative ways to get sales appointments

If it’s okay, I’d like to address some elements of your email in parts and provide a few tips about how to set appointments more successfully. (We’d be happy to go over these on a call with your team)

How To Set Appointments

1) What once were the 4 Appointments to Set (Test Drive, Trade Appraisal, Credit Approval, Purchase), now, due to economic variables, have expanded to 6.

The additional appointments we see working are the “Off-site Test Drive” (ie, bringing a vehicle over the curb to see a customer on their turf) and the “Build/Order Product Consultation Appointment” (Inviting people to the store with the intention to either place a reservation (ie deposit) on an inbound/in-transit/in-production unit OR placing an order to have one built to their specs from the factory).

If you don’t have the vehicle in stock or incoming, the “Build/Order Product Consultation Appointment” is the only recourse. Offering a fully online car buying experience would be another option, but many dealers are ready for that.

2) The Objection: “I don’t have time to get there.”
“I’ll tell you what, unlike the big guys, we try to make it as easy for our clients as possible. Do you live or work in the area? If so, I’d love to bring the vehicle to you, whether it be to your home or work, to save you time. What day and time works best and where can I bring the vehicle?” (Two aspects to this invitation – first, most shoppers will say no to this invite, as they feel it obligates them to buy, but just making the offer wins points in credibility and trust.

Second, if they do agree to it, it so greatly increases the closing ratio because of the action and perceived obligation; it’s well worth the salesperson’s time)

3) The Objection: “Can you give me a trade value because I live 2 plus hours away?”
“Yes, we can certainly do that for you. Have you had the chance to complete a quick trade appraisal on our site? We like Edmunds because it analyzes your vehicle’s value compared to others being appraised and advertised in the market. I’ll send you the link. However, know that this is just one guide we use to assess value. You can rest comfortably knowing this is a reasonable estimate.” (If they have gone onto Carvana’s site, they may have gotten more offered to them.

The worst-case scenario is saying we will do our best to match, but in the end, if we can’t, they can always sell to Carvana, though the tax credit usually is enough to make your offer more advantageous. This also works for the “You’re not giving me enough for my trade” as well. You would just want to add, “so much depends on the condition and, mostly, the drivability of your vehicle, so seeing it in person is imperative.” Work the tax credit – give hope for gain – and lastly admit the alternative they can sell it elsewhere and buy your vehicle anyway.)

4) The Objection: “The payment is too high.”
“The best way to lower payments is extending the term or increasing money down. Which is easiest for you?”. Your team needs to educate the customer on the economy; it is true that vehicles are becoming more unaffordable. The worst case is to step them down into a lesser-priced vehicle, but that is something they should have done already in the beginning.

5) The Objection: “I’ll wait to see what the economy does.”
“That is definitely one option. As you likely already have read or seen on the news, there has already been one federal tax rate hike this year, and they’re estimating at least one more. With the manufacturers increasing the cost of their base MSRPs anywhere from $2,000 – $6,000, we’re seeing vehicle prices increasing dramatically in the near future, even more than any production increase could keep up with. For that reason, most customers realize the best time to buy is now rather than later.”

Let me know how these work out for you, and we could role-play these items to help teach your team how to set appointments more effectively the next time we speak to them.

Joe