The Phone still has as much power as the Internet. So, why is it that we as a culture are more inclined to rely on technology than the phone?

I'll never forget the first time I sat with a gentleman who is a self made multi-millionaire as we went over some things while I was in training. This man was President of the company and still loved selling on a daily basis. He stood up to make his call to some people he did not know, they were a recent referral from some folks that had been secured as recent clients. He made the appointment in roughly five minutes. This gentleman was salt of the earth, good natured and truly loved helping people but all of the sudden I saw the seriousness in his eyes while he was standing and I was sitting. He said: "You see this phone as he pointed to it. (I said yes)...This is how I make my living!" It made the hairs on my arms stand up and still does today.

The reason I share this story is because I see alot of people who go into sales and are extremely uncomfortable utilizing the phone as a means to develop business. With technology, it's so easy to become complacant thusly relying on the Internet or advertising to do all the leg work. This is simply a huge part of why the talent pool is shrinking. In this day and age you not only need to be reactive but pro-active as well. This is no longer a one way street and the technology is growing at a rapid pace. But let's not forget this is not nor has it ever been about color, options, trim level, price or anything like that. This has always been a people business and will continue to be this way.

So why is it that some... many sales people can't pick up the phone and call a lead? Why do they insist on waiting to call the lead back or for that matter never call them back? I'll tell you why. They are as afraid of dealing with the unknown as the customer is engaging a car sales person. So if you could get the training for your sales people in place to find the real rock stars in the dealership, and they were to have leads coming in 24-7-365 do you think that would help the sales people as well as the dealership prosper? Of course it would. They just need some self confidence; once they have that, they want to get up and come to work.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Richards on January 19, 2011 at 9:33am

Bill, excellent observations and commentary. A very small percentage of people, automobile sales people or otherwise, possess a natural and effective telephone persona. Couple that with the fact that so much of the automotive telephone sales training available is Neanderthal in its approach and we find that many people avoid using the phone.. You are right, the phone is every bit as powerful as the internet as a sales tool. But the phone call has been mishandled for so long by so many it is perceived as an "enemy" not a "friend."

I had an opportunity to attend a phone seminar put on by Merrill Lynch several years ago, "Handling Incoming Financial Services Calls;" and what I learned was stunning. Almost everything the automotive industry "experts" had been teaching me for years was not just wrong; it was the opposite of right! Meaning, the better I learned what the "big names" were me teaching the less likely I would ever meet the callers in person. Great post, thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Goodfriend on January 19, 2011 at 1:40pm

Thank you Steve for your reply. I couldn't agree more with your comments and personal story. The funny thing to all of this is that sales people who say they love selling as a means to make a living are the same ones that shrink when another sales person approaches them. I'll share a recent story you might find amusing. I've been working on getting into a local dealership as my company is a lead provider that is truly unique and one of a kind. They are interested but never seem to want to talk or schedule an appointment. However, one of the sales guys who does website work on the side approached me to see if we would be interested in upgrading. I said sure...absolutely give me a call. 4 days go by with no word then he calls me one night and says he's been busy but he has not forgotten about me and that he'd call me back fairly soon and still no phone call. You are correct Steve; I think the phone is now considered an enemy as opposed to a friend.

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Permalink Reply by Stan Sher on January 21, 2011 at 10:32am

Very simple, no motivation and a lot of laziness. They don't forget to cry when they have a small check though.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Rhoades on January 21, 2011 at 12:29pm

very well put Bill. Most people are afraid to make a call or let alone take a call blind. What they don't realize it the phone is their paycheck. It makes me cringe when people do not want to answer or make a call. I will take them all then. However that does not help people to understand how to communicate in that fashion. Thanks Again for the Article