Payment / Price Objection

Your customer came into the dealership looking to purchase their next vehicle. You went through all the steps and landed on the right vehicle checking off your customers wants and needs. However, when it came time for the customer to select a payment option. The customer stated a pricing or payment objection that resulted in an unsold showroom visit.

Before making this call please check in the with sales manager on the deal and see if there is anymore room to make the price or payment adjustment in order to make the customer feel more comfortable with the payment or price.

Your initial goal in this process is to contact the customer and thank them for taking the time to visit our dealership. Next, our goal is to work the customer towards a price or payment that they will agree to. We want this number to work for both parties, but the goal is gain some sort of commitment. Once we’ve gained that commitment, we can review with a manager or potentially switch to a vehicle that would work better.

Building Value:

Building value is essential prior to getting payments or a price. During the customer interview, you should already have an idea of what the customer is looking to accomplish financially. The choice and guidance to a vehicle that works within the customer’s budget, but building value in a vehicle that the customer has chosen prior to coming in or during the visit is all about the presentation. When a customer believes that they're receiving the value associated with the price tag, this objection becomes much easier to overcome. Consistently emphasizing the value of the vehicle, its features, and what is included in the sale price will help you navigate through price or payment objections more effectively.

Choosing the right vehicle in the first place:

If a customer comes in on a 50k vehicle but wants to pay $300 a month, flush this out early. Ask them how much they plan to put down on the vehicle immediately. Do not shy away from this conversation. Sometimes the math doesn’t math so to speak.

If we’re financing a vehicle, every 1k financed turns into about 20 dollars in payment. So a 50k car with no money down is going to be closer to a $1,000 a month payment than it is a $300 a month payment. Do not spend an hour making a customer fall in love with a vehicle that is way out of the budget.

Do not use this as a final thought process, we’re here to serve, so kindly show the customer the vehicle, and explain that we’d need a lot down to get to the customer’s goals, but be sure to ask:

  • “Which is more important, this vehicle and it’s features or sticking to your budget?”

This will set the tone and the response will allow you to proceed on the vehicle or begin to offer options that are within the customer’s budget. Be sure to highlight key features that the original choice had while making the transition to the new vehicle.

We’re on the right vehicle, we’re close to the budget:

When we get to a place where the customer is within a reasonable amount of the proposed deal, and you are sure you are on the right vehicle. It’s time to revert back to the section above. Offer a lesser vehicle that would get the customer in the budget and ask them if that would work for them. We’re using this as friendly reminder that the budget is obtainable and we’re going to use that to try and flush out a better offer from the customer. This sounds like this:

  • “Hey Jake, I mean I know you were looking at the XSE Camry but it’s stretching the budget a bit, but I still do have the SE I showed you if you’ve put any more thought into that.”

  • “I understand that’s really the one you wanted, but we were like 50 bucks a month apart, any shot you can meet me halfway and I can take that to the manager and go to bat for you?”

Word track:

“Hey Jake, thank you for coming by to check out the Camry’s with me on Saturday. Have you put any more thought into how we can fit it into your budget?”