Making a phone call to a car dealership to check availability and pricing of a new or used car seems like a simple task, but there is more going on than you probably realize. The phone call to a dealership is the highest quality lead a car dealer can receive because they have the highest probability of visiting the dealership and buying a car. Therefore calling the car dealership is taken very seriously and handled in a predetermined manner to take maximum advantage of every phone call a dealer receives.
Most car dealerships use 800 telephone numbers for to people contact their dealership and they use several of these numbers. They have different numbers for each source, for example they have a phone number for a direct mailer letter, a different for their car dealer website, one for radio advertising, one for television advertising and different ones for each online advertising source. By using these phone numbers they can track where calls come from and measure the effectiveness of each source and these statistics are used to determine their advertising budget.
Besides tracking all of these 800 phone numbers, these special telephone numbers are recorded and you should hear a disclaimer when you calling using one of those lines telling you that they are recorded for quality assurance and training purposes. Since these calls are recorded the caller phone numbers are also recorded. These phone numbers are used for future follow-up and if the person that answers the phone does succeed in bring the customer into the dealership for an appointment. Anyone calling the car dealership is considered a hot prospect because you are looking for a car and that means you will buy a car at some point, so be prepared for future phone calls.
Calling the Car Dealership for Information
The person that takes your call to the car dealer has been trained to answer the dealership’s telephone and they receive ongoing training by using the recorded calls that I mentioned earlier. They primary objective is to get you in the dealership and if they don’t get an appointment from you their secondary objective is to get your contact information. These people use finely tuned scripts and word tracks to give you some of the information you request, but not everything. They use words and redirection questions to control the telephone conversation in order to get you to visit the dealership. They often evaded the fine details and speak in generalities because you are a hot lead and they want you to visit the showroom.
Hopefully you will call the car dealership and get the information you desire, but that is not always the case. However there are times that you will get someone on the other side of the phone that is new or just doesn’t car about their job and they will tell all, but this only about 32% of the time. Some dealerships will tell you absolutely anything just to get you in the showroom because they know that 80% of car buyers will buy a vehicle that is different than what they came to buy. It might something as simple as color, option or accessory, but they buy a different car than they came to purchase.
Now if you did not tell the person at the dealership that you would come in to see them you can expect a phone call or 2 and maybe 20 calls. The car dealership that is on the ball will have a structured follow-up system to make outgoing calls to anyone calling the car dealership. A good car dealer follow-up system means that they continue to call follow-up and they only stop if you die, buy or issue a restraining order. The next time you call the dealer be prepared and ask the right questions so you can decide if you want to visit the dealership.