It’s 5:15 on a Tuesday. Your salesperson has the car pulled up and keeps looking at the door. 5:30 comes and goes. The customer never shows, and nobody can reach them, because nobody got a good number.
Most stores treat that as a customer problem. People are flaky. They shopped somewhere else. There’s nothing you can do.
Our numbers say otherwise. About half of the appointments untrained reps set end in a no-show. For reps we’ve trained, it’s about a quarter. Same kinds of customers, same kinds of cars. So the difference isn’t the customer. It’s what happened on the phone.
A no-show starts on the phone call
Last month I wrote about what counts as a real appointment: a specific day and a specific time. That’s the first step, but it isn’t the last one. A lot of reps get the time, say “see you then,” and hang up. They think the call is over.
Once you have the appointment, you’re not done.
At that moment the customer has made a soft promise to someone they’ve never met. They may not know your name. They may not know exactly where you are. And if something comes up, they have no reason to tell you. Four things change that.
1. Offer a day, not a blank calendar
Never ask “When can you come down?” That blind question sends the customer thinking about next week. Give them a day to work with instead: “I’m here until 8:00 tonight. What time today works best for you?”
If today won’t work, move to tomorrow: “I’m here until 6:00 tomorrow evening. What time works best for you tomorrow?”
2. Make it easy to commit
Some customers just won’t lock in. Their kids have soccer, or they need to talk to their spouse. Don’t let those calls end with “I’ll try.” Offer a tentative time: “We can set a tentative time for tomorrow, just something to shoot for. If you’re unable to make it, just give me a call and we’ll get you scheduled for a better time. What works best for you, tomorrow morning or tomorrow evening?”
Then narrow it down to an exact time. Now you have a real time on the calendar, and the customer has agreed to call you if it changes.
3. Ask for a favor, then return it
Once the time is set, ask for one small thing: “I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at 5:15. If you’re unable to make it, would you do me a favor and give me a call to let me know?”
They’re going to say of course. Now they’ve made you a personal promise, and you have a natural reason to ask for their number: “I’d like to return the courtesy. What’s your number, just in case the car sells or something happens on my end?”
4. Send the text
Ask if that’s a cell number, because you’d like to text them the dealership’s address, the appointment day and time, and your name so they know who to ask for. It takes a few seconds. The customer now has everything they need in one place, and they’re more likely to show up, and to show up on time.
What it’s worth
Take a store where reps set 100 appointments a month, about half of the customers who show up buy, and each car brings $3,000 in profit:
- Half don’t show: 50 customers arrive, about 25 cars sold. Roughly $75,000 a month.
- A quarter don’t show: 75 customers arrive, about 37 cars sold. Roughly $112,500 a month.
That’s $37,500 a month from the same appointments, without one more call or one more advertising dollar. You can run your own numbers with our phone-up calculator.
A habit, not a script
None of this is complicated. The hard part is doing it on every call, on a busy Saturday, with a customer who’s trying to get off the phone. That’s why we coach it one-on-one, every week, until it’s automatic.
Your customers aren’t the reason half your appointments don’t show. What happens on the phone is. And you can change that.
