The "Art" of Voicemail by Richard Keeney

With email and texting being the dominant forms of communication these days, we must remember that a good old fashioned phone conversation can be much more effective, helpful and personal.

Some on your staff may suffer from being a bit phone-shy, but in an industry dependent on following up on sold and non-sold customers, preparation is key.

Leaving a voice mail can be a detriment if the message left is vague or lacking confidence.

Though so much of the communication these days seems to be in the form of email and texting, we must not forget to pick up the phone. I catch myself sometimes starting an email when a phone call would be far more personal and helpful. Wow, a good old fashioned phone chat.

It is human nature for many salespeople to avoid direct communication with the customer. They think the customer would prefer electronic communication, or face it, some on staff may even have caller-reluctance.

WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PHONE IS STILL UTILIZED OFTEN IN OUR QUEST TO FOLLOW-UP ON NON-SOLD AND SOLD CUSTOMERS IN THE DATABASE.

With that being said, the subject today is "Voice Mail." You may remember the Seinfeld show when George left a horrific voice mail and was trying to figure out how to scale a wall or whatever it took in order to retrieve the message. Once it's gone, it's gone.

There are many reasons for a follow-up call. I'm willing to bet there are some on staff that could benefit greatly with some script options for the cause.

Below are a couple of sold and non-sold options that you can review and customize for the dealership.

The objective is to make sure some aren't "winging it" and causing a detrimental result.

Sold:

"Mr./Mrs. _____ this is _____ with (____________) and I wanted to thank you again for allowing us to serve you. Please don't hesitate to call us if we can help in any way because our mission is to keep you 100% satisfied with your vehicle and of course with our dealership as well. Remember, after a few days it is very common for people to have a question or two regarding the vehicle and I invite your call or you can simply stop back by for assistance. Have a fabulous Day/Evening. Goodbye."

"Mr./Mrs. _____. This is _____ with (Dealership) and I wanted to thank you again for allowing us to serve you. Please don't hesitate to call us if we can help in any way. Congratulations again on your new vehicle and please know that all of us at (Dealership) really appreciate your business. Call me anytime. Have a fabulous Day/Evening. Goodbye."

Unsold:

"Mr./Mrs. _____ this is _____ with(________________). I just wanted to say it was a pleasure meeting you and we appreciate your stopping in (or calling) our store. We hope to help you further with your vehicle needs so please don't hesitate to call me for more information or if the kind of vehicle you are looking for has changed. Have a fabulous Day/Evening. Goodbye."

"Mr./Mrs. _____. This is _____ with (Dealership). I just wanted to say I very much enjoyed meeting you and hope to help you further with your vehicle needs. Please don't hesitate to call me for more information and especially if the type of vehicle you are interested changes so I can assist you there as well. Have a fabulous Day/Evening. Goodbye."

Share these additional tips with your team:

Speak at a comfortable pace
Repeat phone numbers that you leave (people don't want to play a message back again!)
Review the message before placing the call, maybe keep a script copy out for review
No more "winging it"