Across the country, sales consultants are becoming scared of the phone. They send an email instead. They text "call me when you're free". They answer the customer's question about price and hang up without booking anything.

Here's the truth about selling cars over the phone: you don't. You sell the visit. The car gets sold at the dealership, on the test drive, with the trade-in valued and the finance sorted. The phone call has one job, and that's to get the customer in the door with everything they need to buy.

This is the phone approach we teach in Week 1 of The Sales Reset.

Before you pick up the phone

  • Plan the call. Look at the enquiry. What car, what source, what did they ask? Failing to plan is planning to fail.
  • Know your goal. An appointment, with a day and a time.
  • Expect some rejection. It's part of the job. Reset after every call.

The script

Say it in your own words, but keep the structure. Each question has a reason.

1. Open and give the reason for the call. "Hi, it's [name] from [dealership]. How are you today? The reason I'm calling is I can see you made an enquiry on the [model]."

2. Confirm they're in the market. "Great, so you're in the market for a new car at the moment?"

3. Sell the drive. "Have you had the opportunity to take one of these for a drive before?" "Is that something you'd like to do?" "Great. When would you be free to come in?"

Notice how that works. We didn't ask "Do you want to come and drive one?" That's easy to say no to. We broke it into two small questions that are easy to say yes to.

4. Handle the trade-in now. "Do you have a vehicle you're looking to trade in?" "Have you had it valued before? Is that something you'd like us to do for you while you're here?"

Make a big deal of the trade-in. It's a reason to come in, and it removes one of the biggest objections before they arrive.

5. Handle finance now. "My business manager is here that day too. Would you like to have a chat with anyone about finance?"

6. Get the second decision maker. "Is there anyone besides yourself who'd like to take the car for a drive? Will they be coming with you on [day]?"

7. Recap the appointment. Run through what's happening: the drive, the trade valuation, the finance chat, the time. Then: "Once we're off the phone I'll send you an SMS with all my details, so if you need anything just give me a call. Apart from that, I'll see you on [day] at [time]."

Three objections, handled before they arrive

Steps 4 to 6 aren't small talk. They take care of the three things that stop a deal on the day:

  1. "I don't have my trade-in here." Solved: they're bringing it for a valuation.
  2. "I don't know how I'm paying or what my budget is." Solved: they're meeting the business manager.
  3. "My partner isn't here." Solved: they're coming too.

An appointment where all three are sorted is a closable appointment. That's how you close on the first visit.

What never to do on the phone

  • Don't negotiate price. "Best price" conversations on the phone turn you into a quote machine, and the customer takes your number to the next dealer.
  • Don't send a stock list. Talk about the car they enquired on and what's available to drive.
  • Don't price the trade over the phone. You haven't seen it. Book the valuation.
  • Don't talk too much. Limit what you say, and don't get pulled into a conversation that doesn't move you towards the appointment.
  • Watch how you sound. Your tone, volume and pace do more than your words. Calm and confident books appointments.

Word tracks for the five common brush-offs

You'll hear these every day. Have an answer ready.

"I only enquired because I thought you'd send me a stock list." "No problem, I can do that. So I send you the right ones, what's most important to you: colour, spec or getting into one quickly?" Then book the drive on the car that fits.

"I'm just calling around for the best price." "Makes sense, it's a big purchase. Price depends on your trade-in and how you're paying, so let's get those sorted properly. When could you bring your car in for a valuation?"

"I need to check with my husband / wife / partner." Give them a job: "Of course. Have a chat tonight, and I'll call you tomorrow once you've had a chance to talk. Would they like to come for the drive too?" Build value in the conversation by offering the trade valuation and a finance chat.

"I'm not at that stage yet." "No worries. When do you think you'll be ready to change cars? It's worth a drive now so you know which one you like, with no pressure."

"I just want a price on my trade-in." "We'd love to give you a proper figure, and the only way to do that is to see it. It takes about 15 minutes. When are you free to bring it in?"

These are starting points. Put them in your own words and practise them until they sound like you.

Too busy to talk?

Keep them on the phone and run through the script a little faster. If you let them go, chances are you'll never get them back on the line.

Practise, practise, practise

Rehearse the script. Plan every call before you pick up. Visualise the appointment before you dial. The consultants who sound natural on the phone are the ones who've practised the most.

Want to hear it on your own leads? In Week 1 of The Sales Reset, I call your live leads in front of your team and show them how it converts, then coach each consultant one-on-one. Book a Sales Reset.