Telephone Skills Are Important, Too - Transmission Digest

Telephone Skills Are Important, Too

I have to start with the telephone procedure. I know that might sound pretty elementary to some of you, but I have been in a lot of shops that do not have one, the smaller ones especially. They just shoot from the hip. That's why they lose the game on the telephone. If you want a telephone procedure you can get one if you try. AAMCO wrote one 60 years ago, and every franchise and major independent shop since has copied it in one way or another with some small differences and changes over the years. If you can't get a copy of one, you can come to my website. I am working on a new one and I will send it to you. The point to having a telephone procedure is that it gets you organized. Guys who shoot from the hip don't know it, but it is much easier to sell off a telephone procedure.

Telephone Skills Are Important, Too

A Little Help

Author: Art Little
Subject Matter: Management
Issue: Telephone procedure

A. Little Help

  • Author: Art Little
  • Subject Matter: Management
  • Issue: Telephone procedure

Last time, we visited the world of lead-generation experts and learned a lot from the question-and-answer session in the article. How to get the phone to ring is one game, but what you do when the phone rings is another. When I am asked what one thing makes a shop successful, my answer is always telephone procedure. If the car does not get there, nobody gets paid – pretty simple logic.

  • “When I am asked what one thing makes a shop successful, my answer is always telephone procedure.”

However, this aspect of our business is often overlooked in smaller shops and hard to come by for the big shops. The small shops don’t get enough leads to attract the top managers, if they have a manager at all. With the big shops, let’s face it, folks; there are not enough of the good ones to go around. So in this piece, I will give you some tips that the seasoned pros use with customers to be the more-attractive shop for the customer to bring his car to.

I have to start with the telephone procedure. I know that might sound pretty elementary to some of you, but I have been in a lot of shops that do not have one, the smaller ones especially. They just shoot from the hip. That’s why they lose the game on the telephone. If you want a telephone procedure you can get one if you try. AAMCO wrote one 60 years ago, and every franchise and major independent shop since has copied it in one way or another with some small differences and changes over the years. If you can’t get a copy of one, you can come to my website. I am working on a new one and I will send it to you. The point to having a telephone procedure is that it gets you organized. Guys who shoot from the hip don’t know it, but it is much easier to sell off a telephone procedure.

  • “The purpose of the telephone procedure is to get the customer to bring his car to your shop for a diagnosis.”

If the purpose of a telephone procedure is to get you organized, the first thing we need to do is get a telephone-procedure pad next to every phone in the shop. There needs to be a pen available and in your hand when you answer the phone. If it’s not there, you are shooting from the hip and are at a disadvantage in this game. If you have to tell the customer to hold while you find a pen or get to your desk, you start off looking unorganized. Some of you may be able to type the lead into the computer while you are talking with the customer, but most of us cannot sell and type at the same time. So, most managers will do better with the pad in front of them when they talk with a new customer. You get only one chance to make a first impression in any sale. If you answer the phone with your pen and pad ready, that’s a good start.

The greeting or start-off line can vary among good managers. “Thank you for calling XYZ transmissions, Bob speaking; who’s calling, please?” is an old one that is still popular. Another is “XZY Transmissions, how can I help you today?” Short and to the point. Another is, “This is Bob at XYZ Transmissions; how can I help you?” What ever you are comfortable with, it doesn’t matter. Any of these beat “Transmission shop” or “Shop.” You see, the last two do not ask a question. The key to getting into a meaningful dialog is to ask a question. Don’t just leave the customer hanging.
Your personality has a lot to do with your ability to get the car in, too. If the customer likes you and trusts you, he will bring the car to you. So, it is important to have a good attitude when you answer the phone. A friendly voice on the phone is well accepted by a customer who is upset because his transmission is having a problem. The good ones get the customer to like them and trust them to the point that the customer does not want to take their car anywhere else. How do they do that?

They are consistent each time they answer the phone. Whatever greeting they choose, they stay with it. On any telephone procedure there are key questions to ask and stock answers to questions the customer asks. The good managers use them because they know they work. Not all the answers will be on any telephone procedure you choose, so they keep this in mind: The purpose of the telephone procedure is to get the customer to bring his car to your shop for a diagnosis. So, they shoot from the hip here and answer the customer’s questions that are not in the procedure with that in mind.

They do not rush or push the customer. I have seen managers answer the phone as if it is a race. It’s as if a judge is standing next to them with a stopwatch in his hand timing how fast he can say the greeting. The pro is calm and has a rhythm when he answers the phone. His builder may have quit two minutes ago, the police may be in the lobby or a car may fall off a lift as he is going to answer the phone. Still, he has his pen in his hand and the pad open, and he greets the customer as if he just stepped out of the Jacuzzi. He’s cool under fire.

He asks his questions and listens to the customer’s answers before he responds. I cannot tell you how important that is. Listen to the customer. Salesmen have always been taught to control the sale, and the young or dumb ones think that means they have to talk when they really should be listening. Ask your questions and shut up. Then, don’t rush the customer. It is important to let the customer vent. When the customer is finished with his answer, the great managers ease into the next question in the procedure. If you let him talk and you listen, the customer will tell you how to sell him. Be patient and show genuine concern.

If you are not truly concerned about your customers’ problems then you should not be answering the phone.

If you are not truly concerned about your customers’ problems then you should not be answering the phone. A natural like and concern for people is a must. It is hard to fake that consistently. This trait is what the customer is looking for, whether he knows it or not, when he calls you. When the customer says what his problem is the pro shows concern and offers solutions and peace of mind to his customer.

The pros minimize the problem to the customer over the phone. They know that it might not be an internal problem and emphasize that to the customer. It might not even be a transmission problem, and they tell the customer that. That is what the customer wants to hear, and it is the truth. Until the diagnosis is performed we don’t know, so how could the customer know? An old sales manager told me once, “People will pay you real good to tell them what they want to hear.” It is a point well taken here.

After gathering the information he needs by listening to the vehicle owner in a concerned manner, he will ask the customer to bring the vehicle to him so they can drive it together and find out what the problem is. The customer calls thinking he needs a transmission, and the manager converts that to making the customer understand that what he really needs is a diagnosis. He assures the customer that he has found the right man for the job and that he will personally be there to take care of the diagnosis when the customer arrives.

  • “The initial phone call is the first impression the customer has of you and your shop.”

Now, if you will notice, the pro wants the customer to bring the vehicle in so he can drive it with the customer. It is a personal thing now. The apprehension the customer felt on the initial phone call is overcome because the pro made friends with him and because the problem may not be as serious as he thought. Now the customer feels as if he has a friend to go to when he gets to the shop who is familiar with his problem. This is very important to the customer. Now it is personal. Giving personalized service is what the pro does best.

When the customer gets to the shop the manager calls him by his first name and welcomes him into the shop, gets his information logged into the workflow system and begins the diagnosis by taking the first road test with the customer. On the road test he lets the customer tell him what the problem is, and he tries to duplicate it. When he does, he asks the customer to confirm that that is the problem. Now the customer knows that the manager understands the problem, and that gives him peace of mind.

On the road test the manager will ask the customer about the vehicle and, in the process, strengthen their personal relationship. When the road test is over the customer should know that the manager understands the problem, and he should be more at ease with the manager. Making friends with the customer is the purpose of the first road test. Most managers I see nowadays try to shortcut the intake process by asking the customer to drop off the keys and calling them on the phone. Whom would you rather take your car to? Remember, people buy from people.

Another important aspect of the art of telephone procedure is to create an urgency to bring the vehicle in for the diagnosis. The old standby “The longer you drive it the worse it may get” is still a good one. People and shops are busy now, and customers figure they will have to drop off the car and leave it. The pro will take the phone away from his mouth and say something like, “Hey, Joe, are you about finished with that car?” Then, they say to the customer: ” Listen, John, give me a chance to earn your business. I have a bay clearing up in about 20 minutes. if you can come in now I will perform the diagnosis for you. Do you know how to get here?”

Creating an urgency to bring the vehicle in now is the “close” in the telephone procedure. If he cannot bring it now, politely ask why and remind him that he could damage the transmission by procrastinating. Then if he still can’t bring it right now, give him an option: “Would 11:30 this morning or 2:15 this afternoon be better for you?” Bottom line, you can be consistent, show concern, be friendly, listen and have the right answers, but if you cannot close, you do not need to be answering the phone. The pros can close. You have to be able to close and set the appointment. Once you do, make sure they know how to get to your shop and tell them to ask for you when they get there.

This procedure is a lot different from the common responses to the questions customers ask us all:

  • “How much?”
  • “It will cost somewhere between $1,000 and 1,500.”
  • Click.

People who quote prices over the phone either are lazy, have not been exposed to the merits of a good telephone procedure or are afraid of the customer, in my opinion.

Another poor response is, “Just drop it off and we will check it out.”

Where’s the concern, personal service and urgency in that? If you are a shop owner and hear your manager say that, I assure you that you are losing leads because the pro down the street is creating the urgency and a personal relationship with his potential customers over the phone, and that is where your leads are going to end up.

Marketing is important, but so are telephone skills. It is the one-two punch, if you will. This is a “right now” business that is extremely competitive. As a shop owner, when you think of all the advertising money you spend just to get the phone to ring, you have to make the most of it and persuade the customer to bring his vehicle to you. Repairs are selling for thousands of dollars now, not hundreds. One or two extra leads coming into your shop every week could mean the difference between living well and living on the street. The initial phone call is the first impression the customer has of you and your shop. Make it a good one. Listen, show concern, minimize the problem and persuade them to bring you their car so you can drive it with them and properly diagnose their problem. Then, make friends and earn their trust during the road test, and the sale is yours.

Art Little is the founder of TransTeam. His website has been the home of the National Employment Headquarters for the transmission industry since 1997. Visit www.TransTeam.com for more information.

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