One of the most common ways dealerships lose potential customers is when a caller hangs up after not being able to reach a representative. This often occurs when they encounter a convoluted interactive voice response (IVR) system or long voicemail greetings. Callers do not want to select from several layers of options before reaching a live person when contacting a dealership and will not wait through a long voicemail message.
Is Your IVR Too Complex?
Many callers at dealerships hang up when they experience an IVR system that is too long or incorporates multiple steps, sometimes with no guarantee of speaking to a representative. When calling, your customers should always have the option to speak to a live person as an option in the IVR. If this is not the case, add an option to speak to a representative and simplify your IVR to be no longer than three or four options. The dealership team should also make sure that the routing is accurate, and customers are routed to the correct employee. Regular review of the IVR and phone system will help ensure your clients reach the intended destination each time they call.
Does Your Lead Response Process Encourage Customers to Call Back?
Your potential customers do not want to wait through a long voicemail. Dealership representatives should keep voicemail greetings short and concise and remember to include their name and department.
Your voicemail boxes should also be properly set up to receive messages and be regularly checked and cleaned out. Establish guidelines for upkeeping voicemail boxes, and make sure your employees have provided a brief, friendly greeting.
Does Your Team Take Messages?
Representatives should be trained to take messages rather than transfer their customers to voicemail. Often when asked if people want to leave a message, they say yes – but then will hang up when transferred. When taking a message, collect some basic customer information. When the representatives call back, they will then be prepared with the caller’s background to deliver a better service experience.
Learn More
If you’d like to improve your sales team phone handling skills and drive more conversations, check out our guide. To learn more about Spotlight for Automotive, our auto-focused call analytics platform, schedule a demo today.
