The Importance of a Receptionist

As a receptionist, you become the face of a dealership. This is a highly important position that impacts the profitability of your dealer. Receptionists are a customer-facing position that shapes the first image buyers have of a dealership. It is up to you to impress buyers and make them feel that they have called or walked into the right place!

Learning how to best represent and handle customers at your dealer is paramount to the creation of solid car deals. As such, cleanliness, organization, and attitude go a long way. So, it’s important to learn how to properly welcome buyers and take messages like a pro. As a result, you can positively represent your dealer and give your teammates the tools they need to work any car deal! In this blog, take a look into the important job of a receptionist and the various duties and know-how needed to succeed.

Receptionist – Over the Phone

          Create a Positive Image of Your Dealership

They say that a smile can be heard over the phone, and this is especially important for customers that have never been to your dealership. How you sound over the phone will shape how the buyer envisions your dealership. If you sound happy, then buyers will envision a happy place! On the other hand, if you have a bad attitude, then buyers will envision a place where they would not want to do business. Regardless of how the buyer sounds, you always need to keep an upbeat attitude and big smile! They are thinking of coming to your dealership, so you want all buyers to feel that your dealer offers a good buying experience with sales staff they can be comfortable around!

          How to Take Great Messages

A receptionist's ability to take comprehensive messages directly equates to the ability of their team to follow up! So, when taking notes for a team member, make sure that you are overly detailed. Assuming that your teammate will know the buyer or the situation will oftentimes leave them unable to do quality follow-up.

First, ask the buyer for this information:

• First and last name
• The best number to reach them at
• Their email address

Now that you have all of the buyer's contact information, it’s time to take notes on why they called. A receptionist needs to take very detailed notes of why a prospect is calling and repeat it back to them to make sure they have everything. Write notes with such detail and quality information that your team members could have great follow-up with any buyer just from the message alone.

Receptionist – In-Person

          Warmly Welcome All Buyers

Proper greetings from receptionists are crucial in setting your dealership apart from the competition! Receptionists are one of the first people buyers see when they walk in the door. As such, how friendly and welcoming your greeting is creates the early customer impressions that shape whether or not they want to do business with your dealership.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FZ1jTEprJ0

          A Customer-Facing Desk

A receptionist's workspace is one of the first things that customers see inside the dealership. The more organized your desk is, the better of the situation will be for everyone! A clean, organized space will give better impressions to customers and make it easier for any last-minute covers of your shift. In contrast, a messy desk will put customers off and give a feeling of unprofessionalism right from the get-go. Keep a tidy space and welcome buyers to a place where they want to do business!