Sell the appointment not the car

Thank you so much for attending Mark Rodriguez's workshop over at Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.
He really appreciates your attendance and he really wants you to continue learning long after the workshop.
He wants to be your coach and guide.
That's a great way to frame it.
The workshop is just the starting line, right?
Yeah.
The real learning, the implementation, that all happens when you're back on the floor, phone in hand.
Exactly.
And looking at this material from the session, we aren't just doing a simple how to guide today.
We're really, you know, trying to get into the psychology of handling these inbound calls and Internet leads.
Because for so many people in the business, let's be honest, the phone ringing can be a source of, well, anxiety, not excitement.
It really is.
And the data shows why the average customer these days is, I mean, they're hyper informed.
They've been on three, maybe four different websites, they've been on your dealership site, They've probably watched a dozen YouTube reviews.
So when they call, they're not just browsing.
No, not at all.
They usually have a very laser focused question.
It's almost always, is the car there or what's your best price?
And the human instinct, I mean, my instinct is just to answer the question.
It's how conversation works.
Right.
They ask, you answer.
And according to this method, that is the exact wrong thing to do.
The exact wrong thing.
It's what he calls the death of the deal.
If you just answer the question.
You're not a sales professional.
You're, you're an information kiosk, an order taker.
And order takers don't get appointments.
They don't.
The entire philosophy here is about shifting the goalpost.
You have to get it in your head that the mission of the call is not to sell the car.
You literally can't sell a car over the phone.
Okay.
That's a huge pivot for a salesperson.
If I'm not selling the car, then what on earth am I doing?
You are selling the appointment.
Ah.
That's the only metric, the only thing that matters.
The whole objective is just to reach an agreement on the day, the time, and what's going to happen in that next interaction.
That's it.
And to do that, you have to take control of the conversation from the very beginning.
From the first second.
Yes.
So let's get into that.
The intro pause.
This is highlighted in the notes as like a critical failure point for most salespeople.
The phone rings, they grab it and they're already in a rush.
Right.
The customer Says, do you have that 2021 Escalade?
And the salesperson just matches that frantic energy.
Hold on, let me cheque.
Yeah, I think so.
You've already lost.
So the intro pause is a brake pedal.
It's a psychological brake pedal.
The tactic is to say something like, let me grab a pen so I can better assist you, or, perfect, let me just sit down so I can better help you.
And then you just go quiet for.
Two or three seconds.
That silence does all the heavy lifting.
Okay, let me play devil's advocate here.
I'm a customer, I'm busy.
I ask a simple yes or no question and you tell me you need to find a pen, wouldn't I just get annoyed?
Feels like you're stalling.
It is a stall, but it's what I'd call a high status stall.
Think about the subtext.
If I answer you instantly, I'm just reacting to you.
But if I say, let me grab a pen, I'm signalling that your call is serious enough to require notes.
Okay, I'm signalling I'm a professional who works at a desk, not just some guy running around the lot.
It slows their heart rate down and more importantly, it slows your heart rate.
Down so it stops you from just blurting out an answer.
The verbal vomit.
Exactly.
It prevents you from giving up price or the availability before you've built a single ounce of value.
It forces the customer to wait for you and that subtly shifts the whole dynamic.
So now you're the consultant, not the order taker.
You're leading the dance.
Okay, so we've bought ourselves three seconds, we've got our pen, we're seated.
The material then moves into guided discovery.
This is where I think most people just cheque out and go, let me look at the computer.
Which is another huge mistake.
The guided discovery is your only real chance to find out the why.
Why this car?
Why today?
You have to ask questions that open them up.
And there are specific ones in the notes.
Yeah.
Things like, what was it about this specific model that prompted your inquiry?
Or my favourite, how do you plan to use the vehicle?
That second one feels so important.
How do you plan to use it?
Because if they say, oh, it's from my construction business, that's a completely different conversation than I need it for the school run.
Precisely.
And it gives you ammunition, it gives you leverage.
If you find out later that the car they called about is sold, but you know they need something for carpooling, you can pivot to another vehicle that fits that need.
Right.
If you Never asked.
You're just.
You're dead in the water.
We're done.
There's a really interesting technique in this phase called the trade hook.
The trade in question usually feels like an afterthought.
If you got a trade, what is it?
It's like a chore.
Most salespeople treat it like a liability.
Oh, you have an old car we have to deal with.
The trade hook flips that on its head.
You ask about their car and then you say this verbatim.
We have tremendous demand for quality vehicles.
Like yours from customers who want something a few years older at a more affordable price.
I love that tremendous demand.
It's total ego bait.
And it works.
You're telling the customer your car isn't a burden, it's an asset.
We actually want it.
So it makes them feel like they're holding a winning lottery ticket.
Exactly.
They're not just coming in to buy, they're coming in to sell you something valuable.
It changes the whole vibe of the interaction.
Okay, so we've build rapport.
We know their needs, we've hooked the trade.
Now we actually have to go find out if the car is there.
But the script is so specific.
You don't just say, hold on, you use the go to work pivot.
This might be the single most critical phrase in the whole process.
You say, perfect, let me go to work for you.
I'll cheque on the availability.
Give me 10 to 15 minutes.
Let me go to work for you.
Why those words?
Why not just let me cheque for you?
Because checking is.
Is passive.
Checking is me typing on a keyboard going to work.
That implies effort.
It implies I'm getting up, I'm talking to my manager, I might even walk the lot.
I'm expending energy on your behalf.
And because you're doing that work, you've earned the right to ask for something in return.
Now you've earned it.
And that's their contact info.
This is where so many people freeze up.
They're terrified to ask for a phone number.
But if you frame it correctly, it's the most natural thing in the world.
I'm going to spend the next 15 minutes working on this for you.
What's the best cell number to reach you at with an update?
And the notes point out how critical this is.
Now, because of all the call screening apps, it's huge.
If you don't get their number and tell them you're calling back in 15 minutes, your return call is just another spam number.
They'll never pick up.
You have to set an appointment for the callback itself.
Okay, so we've got the number, about to hang up and go to work.
But wait, there's one more step here.
The trial appointment, the pre trial.
And honestly, reading this, it felt completely backwards to me.
It feels backwards, but it is the secret weapon of the whole script.
You're saying you asked for the appointment before you've even confirmed the car is available?
Yes.
The question is, by the way, if the vehicle is available and if we can make the numbers work, when were you thinking of stopping by?
Later today, or would tomorrow work better?
That little word, if, if makes it hypothetical.
It takes all the pressure off.
But why ask it, right?
Then why not wait until you call back with the good news?
Because in that moment, the customer's guard is completely down.
They think the call is basically over.
You just said you were going to work and hanging up.
So when you casually slip in, by the way, if it all works out, they give you an honest answer.
They'll say, oh, I guess I could come by Tuesday afternoon.
And if you wait until you call.
Back, the second you call back and say, good news, it's here, their guard shoots right back up, they start thinking about negotiations, their busy schedule.
They'll say, oh, let me cheque, and.
I'll call you back because you asked in the pretrial.
You already have the intel.
You know they're free on Tuesday.
That is.
That is clever.
It completely neutralises the let me think about it objection before it even happens.
It's not about being clever.
It's about solving the callback problem.
You can't fly blind.
You have to know their timeline before you invest your own time.
So we hang up, we do the work.
The notes say to actually take the time.
Don't just call back in 30 seconds.
Build some anticipation.
Now we call them back.
The return.
And here comes the manager pivot.
You don't just say, yep, I found it.
You say, hey, I just spoke with my manager, and based on what you told me about your budget and your trade, it looks like that vehicle is available.
Why loop the manager in?
What does that do?
It's third party validation.
It's authority.
If I say it's there, I'm just a salesperson.
If I say my manager confirmed it, it sounds like the dealership has officially blessed this deal.
It adds weight.
It adds seriousness.
Okay, so now for the close.
We've got the car, the manager's on board, and we have that little golden nugget of information that they're free on Tuesday.
Now we use the power forward.
This is where it all comes together.
You use their own words to guide them.
You say, now you mentioned you are available Tuesday.
I've got a 1.
15 opening or a 4.
15.
Which of those works better for you?
And you never ask, so do you want to come in?
Never.
That's a yes or no question and no is an easy out.
You give them an alternate choice, Time A or time B.
You're empowering them to choose, but you've anchored the choice to the day they already told you they were free.
It makes it socially very difficult for them to say, actually, I'm not free Tuesday.
It guides them down the path of least resistance.
The structure does the work.
But even with all of that, people flake.
No, shows are a killer.
You set the appointment for Tuesday at 4:15.
You do all this work and they just vanish.
Which is why the final step is setting up a social contract.
You can't just hope they show up.
You have to create a sense of obligation.
It's called professional courtesy.
The script is, I schedule all my business by appointment.
And the reason I do that is because your time is valuable.
We'd rather wait on you than have you wait on us.
That's the give.
You're framing it as a service to them.
And then comes the ask.
If for any reason you're running early or late, would you give me the professional courtesy of a call and I'll do the same for you?
Those two words are magic.
Professional courtesy.
You are elevating this beyond a simple transaction.
You're two professionals agreeing to respect each.
Other'S time, the reciprocity, curiosity.
I'll do the same for you.
Exactly.
It humanises you.
It makes it much harder for them to just blow you off without a call because now they feel like they're breaking a personal promise.
It all just seems so disciplined.
It's easy to think sales is just about being a people person, but this is a science.
It is.
It's emotional engineering.
You're managing their anxiety, you're managing their scepticism and you're managing your own panic.
When you have a script, you don't have to guess what's next.
Structure creates freedom.
That's the whole idea.
When you know the structure, you're free to actually listen and connect with the customer instead of scrambling for the right words.
It's about slowing down the process to speed up the sale.
Well, this has been an incredible deep dive.
A lot of actionable stuff in here.
It's a game changer if you actually use it.
Hey, if you really found value from this, leave a scan of your workbook again.
And leave him another review online.
You can never get enough good feedback.
Absolutely.
Now go put it to work.