How to Master the Automotive Cold Call // Andy Elliott

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How to Master the Automotive Cold Call" by Andy Elliott

Release Date: December 4, 2024
Host: Andy Elliott, CEO of The Elliott Group

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Introduction to Automotive Cold Calling

In this episode of Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training, Andy delves deep into the art of mastering automotive cold calls. He emphasizes the distinction between true cold calls and strategic outbound calls to existing customers, setting the stage for effective sales techniques tailored for the automotive industry.

Understanding Cold Calls vs. Warm Calls

Andy begins by clarifying what constitutes a cold call. A cold call is defined as contacting someone who has no prior knowledge or relationship with the salesperson or the company. However, Andy points out a strategic approach: calling previous customers who have already engaged with the business, thereby transforming a traditional cold call into a more warm and receptive interaction.

“A cold call is when you call someone who don't know who you are.”
[00:17]

Leveraging Existing Customer Relationships

Focusing on customers who purchased vehicles in 2019 and 2020, Andy explains that these customers are part of what he terms "free game" due to their existing equity and familiarity with the company. By targeting these individuals, salespeople can approach conversations with a foundation of trust and recognition.

“These two years are what I call free game... They already spent money with us once, right.”
[00:17]

Three Pillars to Achieve Success in Sales

Andy outlines three essential components to get rich through sales:

1. Face-to-Face Selling: Building personal connections is paramount.
2. Consistent Dialing: Making outbound calls consistently can yield significant results.
3. Effective Communication: Knowing what to say during calls is crucial.

“Three things to get rich... You ready? Got to be able to sell someone face to face. Alcatraz. No one escapes.”
[02:17]

Overcoming Common Challenges in Cold Calling

One of the primary obstacles Andy identifies is the lack of knowledge about what to say during a call. He stresses the importance of training to equip salespeople with the necessary scripts and frameworks to initiate and sustain meaningful conversations.

“People don't know what to say. Nobody's ever taught you what to say.”
[01:55]

Practical Role-Playing Demonstrations

To illustrate his methods, Andy engages in role-playing exercises with participants. These demonstrations showcase how to structure conversations, ask open-ended questions, and handle objections effectively. Through these scenarios, Andy provides actionable insights into making each call productive.

“We're going to role play, me and you together.”
[03:25]

The Power of Framing and Storytelling

Andy emphasizes the importance of framing questions and telling stories rather than just selling. By creating a narrative, salespeople can engage customers more deeply and guide them towards making positive decisions.

“Stop selling. Start telling stories. Tell it. Tell a story.”
[05:50]

Building Confidence Through Training

Highlighting his personal journey, Andy shares how the fear of embarrassment drove him to become a dedicated trainer. He underscores that consistent practice and embracing pressure situations can significantly enhance a salesperson's performance.

“If you're good enough to do it.”
[02:17]

Key Takeaways and Actionable Strategies

1. Earn the Right to Ask: Before requesting a sale, build rapport and establish trust.
2. Use Familiar Reference Points: Mentioning previous purchases to create a sense of familiarity.
3. Ask Permission: Always seek consent before diving into the sales pitch.
4. Handle Objections Gracefully: Provide compelling reasons and alternatives when faced with hesitations.
5. Consistent Practice: Regularly engage in role-playing and real calls to hone skills.

“Earn the right. You want to ask for somebody's business, you got to earn the right to ask for it.”
[07:15]

Conclusion and Call to Action

Andy concludes the episode by reiterating the significance of continuous training and personal development in achieving sales excellence. He invites listeners to connect with him for one-on-one coaching, emphasizing his commitment to helping sales professionals elevate their skills and achieve their goals.

“If you're serious about kicking some ass, going to the new level, recreating next version of yourself, I'm your guy.”
[04:52]

For those eager to transform their sales approach and master the art of automotive cold calls, Andy Elliott offers personalized coaching to guide them towards unparalleled success.

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Connect with Andy Elliott:
For personalized coaching and to take your sales skills to the next level, visit the description box below this YouTube video and click on the provided link to enter your information. Andy promises a personal reach-out within 24 hours to discuss your goals and how he can assist in achieving them.

Transcript

[A]

And perform a live phone call to call one of these customers. Come on, let me grab you. I can 5x his money right now. All I have to do is teach him how to use the phone. Okay? Does anybody know what a cold call is? Okay, what is a cold call?

[B]

You're just calling.

[A]

A cold call is when you call someone who don't know who you are. Am I right? Can I ask you a question? If somebody bought a car in 2019, right now, do you think they have equity? Yes or no? If somebody bought a car in 2020, do you think they have equity? Yes or no? Hold on. 2020 didn't even get hot till about may. Hold on. But these two years. These two years are what I call free game. Does that make sense? These two years, okay? Now, no matter what they paid, they've had two years to pay down also, right? All right, now watch this. Think about this for a minute. Is that a cold call? If you were to call one of these customers? No, that's not a cold call. Because they do know who are. Who we are. Do they trust us? Yes. Because they already spent money with us once, right? Who in here can get up here in front of me and perform a live phone call to call one of these customers? Come on. Let me grab you. Come on, man. Hey, listen to me. What did I tell you? Three things to get rich. By the way, does it cost you any money to mess up in this room? Three things to get rich. You ready? Got to be able to sell someone face to face. Alcatraz. No one escapes. I'm going to talk to you guys about that Number two, you got to be able to make the dials. Can I tell you the trick? Okay. I can 5x his money right now. All I have to do is teach him how to use the phone. I know he knows how to take an inbound call, or he should. But most people don't know how to make an outbound call. Does that make sense? Guys, you can make 100 outbound calls to one inbound call coming in. When we don't have a customer, what should we. What should we be doing? Making the dials. Calling. But you know why people don't call. You know the number one reason why they don't call? Why? They don't know what to say. They don't know. It's. Guys, do you want to know the truth? They don't know what to say. Nobody's ever taught you what to say, do they? Do you ever teach you what to say?

[B]

Not on a cold Call?

[A]

No. Okay, but this isn't a cold call. You're going to call people that bought from your company in 2019 or 2020, right? What do you sell at Cadillacs? We're just going to say they bought a used Toyota Corolla, right? Okay. They bought a 2019 Toyota Corolla as a one year old program car and guess what? They bought that car. You're going to call them. What do you say? If I could teach you guys what to say and I could guarantee and ensure that you could set an appointment on every call, how much money could you guys make? Dude, you guys want to get rich? You want to. You're going to have to get skilled. You don't get rich if you don't get skilled. Now listen to me, Will people do what you want them to do? As long as you're good enough to do it. Okay, we're going to role play, me and you together. Okay? Alright. Now listen, here's how we're going to play this scenario. I'm going to try a couple of you guys, okay? Remember this, dude, listen, Fight, flight or freeze. Don't ever walk away from the chance to get better. Pressure makes you better. Everybody say positive peer pressure. This is negative peer pressure. I'm negatively. Hey, do these drugs, do these drugs. That's negative peer pressure. Positive is this. You got a family? You already said you had a wife.

[B]

I do.

[A]

Okay. She deserves a better lifestyle, you know she does. You want to take her there? I'm going to make sure that you learn the skill today. So you can make a million a year. And I know you guys can do it. Does that make sense? Now he's like, hell yeah, man. I want my baby girl to see bigger checks. Okay? That's what I'm after everybody. By the way, remember what I told you, what drives me, what drives me? Fear of embarrassment. I became obsessed with training when I got called to the front of the room like this and I was 19 years old and somebody told me, they said, hey Andy, go show us how to convert a customer out of service. You know what? I didn't know how to do it. You know why I didn't know how to do it? Because no one ever taught me to do it. Okay? This is why we train. So here's what we're going to do. My name's Andy, you're going to call me. So it goes ring, ring, he's going to call me and then I want to know what he's going to say on this 2019 Toyota Corolla. Is that cool? I bought it back in 2019. Ready? Ring, ring. This is Andy. Super important, guys. If you're watching this video right now and you're like, andy, I'm not built like that. Bullshit. Yes, you are. You got to train the way it works. Train or complain. It's your choice, okay? Every day I train the greatest in the world. You know what I mean? Are you ready to kick some ass and build your legacy and make history? If you are in the description box below on this YouTube video, there's going to be a link. You click on it, enter your phone number, email, full name, and I will personally reach out to you in the next 24 hours. If you're serious about kicking some ass, going to the new level, recreating next version of yourself, I'm your guy. Let's kill it.

[B]

Hey, Andy, how's it going? This is Devin, over.

[A]

Devin, what's up, buddy?

[B]

Not much, man. I thought I'd give you a call here. I see you bought a Toyota Corolla from us not too long ago. You still have that?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Awesome. Awesome. Have you ever thought that the possibility of possibly getting more money than what your car is worth is something you'd be interested in?

[A]

I love my car. I'm good, buddy. I appreciate you reaching out.

[B]

That's great. So does my manager. That's why I'm calling you today, is because he wants your car. That was the best time to get out of that and into something new.

[A]

I'm cool. I love my car. I'm really happy. I'm.

[B]

I'm telling you, it's a fantastic car. That's why you want to capitalize on this market.

[A]

Okay, now listen to me. You're on the phone. You're calling them, right? Does that make sense? Okay. Do you want them to say yes?

[B]

I do.

[A]

Did I say yes to anything?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay, you want me to teach you? By the way, listen to me. If you want to get somebody to buy something, what do you got to do? You got to ask them questions the answer is yes to. Okay? You ready? You're gonna be my customer.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Is that cool?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Very simple. Okay? Ring, ring, answer.

[B]

Hey, man, how's it going?

[A]

Hey, what's going on, buddy? Hey. Hey, this is Andy down here at ABC Motors, where you bought your last car from. Look, I was reviewing your account. I need about 30 seconds of your time. It's extremely important. Can I get 30 seconds? Cool. Number one, do you still have the 2019 Toyota Corolla you bought from us back in 2019. You still got it, my man. Listen, my general manager, his name's Eddie, he wanted me to personally reach out and ask you one question. If you still have the car, if Eddie was willing to offer you more money, more money than what your car was worth, would you mind if I told you how much that was? Can I tell you?

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Hold on, hold on, hold on. But he can't say no, can he? Why can't he say no? Yes. All right, you ready? Do you want to know why? Because I'm really good at what I do. I'm trained. Hey, what's going on? It's Andy down here at ABC Motors, where you bought your last car from. Number one, I was reviewing your account. I need about 30 seconds of your time. It's extremely important. Can I get 30 seconds? Sure, man. What's going on? Cool. Hey, number one, do you still have the 2019 Toyota Corolla you bought from us back in 2020? You still have it? Yeah. Beautiful. Well, the reason why I'm calling is because my general manager, her name is Sarah, she's amazing. She wanted me to personally reach out, personally and ask you one question. If you still have the vehicle, if we were willing to offer you more money, more money than what your car was worth, would you mind if I told you how much that was? Could I tell you? Oh, sure, you could tell me. Bam, that's it. I didn't say, would you trade it in? Would you upgrade it? Would you drive it down? I said, could I tell you? Can I tell you? Could I tell you? Could I tell you? Oh, yeah. Well, you could tell me. Okay, cool. Yes, ma'am. You ready? Yes. Okay, cool. But even if you loved it, you still let me tell you because you love your car. Everybody wants to know what it's worth, but let's role play together. You ready? Okay. Okay. Here, stand up here. Let's get her up here. Hold on. You're staying here with me. Hold on, hold on. Because I like this. Even though she would say yes to me, we're going to let her say no. Okay? Ready? Ring, ring. You gotta say hello. Hey, what's going on? It's Andy down here at ABC Motors, where you bought your last car from. Look, I was reviewing your account. I need about 30 seconds of your time. It's extremely important. Can I get 30 seconds? Okay. Awesome. I noticed you bought a 2019 Toronto Corolla back here in 2019. Do you still have it?

[B]

I do.

[A]

Okay, beautiful. Well, the reason why I wanted to reach out is Eddie is my general manager. He's a super nice guy. He wanted me to reach out and ask you one question, only one question. If you still had it, if we were willing to offer you more money, more money than what your 2019 Toyota Corolla was ever worth, would you mind if I told you how much that was? Could I tell you how much it was? Good. I'm retired. I'm actually going to be the last car I purchased. Totally understand. Listen, if your house is worth $100,000 and someone is going to give you 500 grand for it, you'd probably give them two minutes of your time, right? Just two minutes. I mean, if it's five times more sentimental value, like, I can't imagine parting ways from it. Totally understand. All we want to do is make you a crazy offer. Have you ever won the lottery? No. Yeah, you just have. All I want to do. I don't know if you got a magic rabbit foot in your pocket, but I just want to give you a crazy number. And in the end, it's completely your decision. I'm not asking you to buy anything. I just want to blow your mind. And in the end, it's up to you whether you do nothing and roll off into the sunset. I just want to tell you we appreciate you, we're grateful for you. We want to blow your mind. Would it be okay if I gave you that offer? Sure. Okay, Let me tell you how this works, okay? My general manager has Already rode over $200,000, over $200,000 in this last week overpaying for people's cars. He's getting so crazy, we're about to put him in a straitjacket. All I need you to do is come down to the dealership. It's going to take about two minutes. I'm going to give you a crazy offer and blow your mind. And in the end, it's completely your decision. Do whatever you want. Does that sound fair? Can you make it in right now or would after work be best? That's it. By the way, watch, watch. You ready? She says, I'm not interested. You know what I say? Have a blessed day. Thank you so much for your time. You're a valued customer. If you need anything, let us know. Make the next call. Would you do three passes or do you have a cardinal rule? No, I mean, because I'm actually just calling to see if something's there. Does that make sense? Okay. And by the way, I want to give you an example. Do I know what I'm saying? Did I just make this up. You guys think I'm winging this in any way, shape or form? No. You know how I practice it? Number one, I wrote down word tracks and then I made calls I got hung up on. I did exactly what you did. I said, well, what do you think about Bam. They hang up. I'm like, well, how in the hell am I going to get them to believe in me if I'm not framing everybody Say framing. Framing my questions, Framing my script to move people forward and advance them closer to where I want them to go. So I sat down myself while everybody sat on their ass out by the front gate waiting for an up. I was selling about 30 cars a month. I go, dude, I can sell 80. I just can't sell. I can sell 30 standing at the gate and taking a couple phone pops, but I could sell 80 if I could freaking make these dials. So I want to give you my framing. Ready? Hey, what's going on? It's Andy down here at ABC Motors, where you bought your last car from. That's the first thing I say out the gate. Where you bought your last car from? Because I'm creating familiarity, right? Like, I'm not a stranger. I'm not cold calling you. I'm not from AT&T. Right? It's Andy down here at ABC Motors where you bought your last car from. I say this. I was reviewing your account. Hey, when somebody goes, I got your account pulled up. You're like, shit, man. What account? I'm creating interest. So I said, it's Andy down here at ABC Motors, where you bought your last car from. I was reviewing your account, okay? I say it's extremely important. I say that it's extremely important. And then everybody say, rephrase. People won't always remember what you said, but they'll always remember the way you made them feel. People won't always remember what you said during a negotiation, but they'll always remember the last sentence that came out of your mouth. So I do quick pops. They're rephrases. So I say. I say, hey, can I get 30 seconds? Can I get 30 seconds? Because that's the last thing they hear. Hey, what's going on? It's Andy down here at ABC Motors, where you bought your last car from. I was reviewing your account. It's extremely important. Can I get 30 seconds? All I need is about 30 seconds. They say, oh, yeah, you get 30 seconds. See, what did I do now? I've got them to give me permission. Everybody say, earn the right. Earn the right. You Want to ask for somebody's business, you got to earn the right to ask for it. Some of you know about that, some of you don't. I need to earn the right to get more time. So then I say, awesome. The 2019 Toyota Corolla you bought from us back in 2019, whatever car on the sheet it says they bought Acura, Honda, Toyota, Cadillac, I don't care. Hey, that Cadillac you bought from us in 2019, do you still have it? You ask them a simple question. Do you still have it? If they say, no, say, hey, no problem. What do you got? Just pivot the other way because it doesn't matter. It all goes down the same deal. Oh, wow. That's crazy. So what do you have now? Okay, well, listen, man, that's amazing. Well, my general manager, you just roll into it again. But if she says, yeah, I still got it, then I say, awesome. Everybody say, tell a story. Everybody say, tell a story. Can I. You guys want to get rich? You want to get rich? You want to get rich? Yes. Stop selling. Start telling stories. Tell it. Tell a story. What do you. What do you want? What do I want you to do? Can I explain it in such a way that my words flow like water? Does that make sense? Guys, it's called being a pro, right? Hey, guys, looks like you made it to the end of the video. You're the true 0001 percenters. Look, I know 1 percenters that can make it halfway through the video, but making it all the way through, you guys are the best. Now, here's what I'd like to do. Number one, I want to get closer to you. The fact that you made it all the way through the video, you're like, man, dude, I want to roll with this guy. Okay? So I need to connect with you. Down below, there's a description box. On this YouTube video, there's a link. It says, coach with me one on one. Okay? If you'll go and you'll enter your information, I'll reach out to you in the next 24 hours. You can tell me what you need help with, what your goals are. Will crush it together. I would love to help you guys go to the next level in life. You can tell I'm changing my life really fast, and I know that you guys want the same thing. I'd love to go with you on that journey. So right now, if you'd like to partner with me, team with me, if you want me to help coach you and push you, Everybody needs a coach. A higher level of accountability to go to the next level. Go to the description box below. Click on the link, fill out your information. I'll talk to you in the next 24 hours. Let's kill it.