What do doctors, dentists, eye doctors and hairdressers all have in common? That’s right; they all book the next appointment. So why don’t we do it? Oh, I know many of you do, and that’s great. But most shops don’t, and I have heard every excuse under the sun why booking the next appointment does not work (“My customers don’t know what they are doing in 4 months”). Well, guess what; when your dentist books your next cleaning, you don’t know if you will be available on the booked date in six months or a year either, do you?
Booking the next appointment will help to smooth out the highs and lows in your workflow. It will keep the customer coming back to you and not thinking of someone else.
But there is a trick to the success of booking the next appointment. What does your dentist do a day or so before the appointment date? Yes, he calls you. And if you can’t make it that day? Right again; he books another day. So the trick is to set up a call system to remind customers.
The thing to remember is that every car in your shop today will need future service work, the questions is; will that customer come back to you? The odds are in your favor when you book the next appointment.
This article was contributed by Joe Marconi of Elite. For additional help increasing your shop’s sales, learn more about Elite’s industry acclaimed Masters Service Advisor Training Program.
