Immortalized for living one of the most id-centric, free-wheeling days on film, Ferris Bueller is an icon of ‘living the dream’. Matthew Broderick inhabited the role with a rebel-with-a-clue bravado that made us feel he was destined for greatness. And he was. Ferris would live an amazing life because he always took that next step toward greatness that others don’t. It all started with his phone skills. Your salespeople need to be a little bit more Bueller.
Ferris Bueller wouldn’t have had the same great day if it had not being for the accompaniment of his best friend, Cameron. He needed company to reach his goals. Yet, Cameron didn’t want to see Ferris. It was only because Ferris was persistent on the phone that he got what he wanted. He called him multiple times and it finally worked.
As Cameron sat in his car, debating what to do with his day, he had an internal struggle. “He’s going to keep calling me. He’s going to keep calling me until I come over. He’ll make me feel guilty. Fine… I’ll go.” It took more than one call. And most sales teams and BDCs are unwilling to make that extra call. Cameron feared the amount of calls he would receive from Ferris so he gave up and joined him.
Most outbound phone calls go to voicemail. The customer is normally thankful that they “dodged the bullet” that is a call from a car salesperson. However, they are much more willing to connect quickly if they anticipate future calls. When your sales team and BDC are making phone calls and leaving messages, they must end every call with an alert that more calls are coming. “If I don’t hear from you shortly, I’ll give you a call later today/tomorrow/in the morning.” The customer needs to feel like Cameron. They need to think Ferris Bueller is on the other end of that phone, and he’s going to keep calling them until they come to the dealership. When you begin incorporating this word track into your script, you will see prospects calling you back in an effort to stop the pre-emptive calls. (This especially happens if you say “I’ll call you tonight”, because no one wants their dinner interrupted.
[blockquote name=”Joe Webb” organization=”@zonewebb”]“He’s going to keep calling me. He’s going to keep calling me until I come over. He’ll make me feel guilty. Fine… I’ll go.”[/blockquote]
This is just one of the many key tactics DealerKnows teaches our clients in an effort to engage more customers, connect with more prospects, and create more opportunities for appointments. Dealerships need phone training and they need to be coached to keep calling. They simply aren’t doing it.
Our lead management coaching service, TaskTeacher, monitors BDC and ISM follow-up to Internet leads and I can tell you our data shows that 70% of customers NEVER receive a phone call attempt after Day 3. (And this is by automotive professionals who KNOW they are being watched and graded. Imagine how little effort your team is giving if you aren’t keeping an eye on them.)
Where is the incentive for all the customers to come over if they don’t think they’re going to ever have to speak with you? You have to prove to today’s consumers that you want their business, and it takes more than one phone call voice message to show your interested. Thank goodness Ferris Bueller kept calling and set the expectations for Cameron, or he’d have never gotten his friend out of bed and had an amazing day.
It’s time we train our salespeople to be more aggressive, give a lot more effort, and think long-term when calling their customers. They won’t reach their goals of greatness without showing persistence and panache. This trend of accepting lackluster effort from our employees must end. We can’t let laziness or lack of management stand in the way of achieving stardom. It is time we pick up the phone and keep calling in an effort to have an epic day. Save Ferris.
