Buy here, pay here is when the car dealer also arranges the loan and then you make payments to the dealer. It’s often used when buyers can’t get approved through a regular bank loan.
Wholesale is when cars are sold to other businesses (like other dealers) instead of being sold directly to the public. The process is usually more about inventory and less about individual customer financing.
Highline is dealer slang for selling higher-end cars to customers who expect a more premium experience. It usually means the sales approach and expectations are different than for cheaper or more credit-focused sales.
Appointment setting is the steps a dealership uses to get a customer to come in at a specific time. It’s important because it helps turn interest into an actual visit.
A credit application is where the dealership collects information to see if you qualify for financing. It’s what the lender uses to decide whether to approve the loan.
DMS is the dealership’s computer system for managing sales and paperwork. It helps organize leads, customer info, and the steps needed to finalize a car deal.
Overcoming objections means handling the customer’s concerns during the buying conversation. It’s how a salesperson responds to questions or worries so the customer moves forward.
Following up after the sale means checking in after the customer buys a car. The goal is to make sure they’re happy and to ask for referrals to bring in new customers.
LIVE
Hey everyone and welcome to the Monday Minute, a quick reset to help you leave better, think
clearer and build your dealership with intention.
But before we get started, make sure you've gone and looked at the Sunday's newsletter.
Newsletter lays out the theme for the week and simple exercises you can work through
with your team.
The Monday Minute is the mindset.
The newsletter is the roadmap.
Jeff, what we got?
All right.
So every dealer has a sales process.
The question is, is it intentional or is it accidental?
Whether you realize it or not, your team already has a road to the sale, right?
All of your little salesmen have got their own process, they think that's going on.
And if it's not written down and trained consistently, then every salesperson will
just make it up.
And often it's the path of least resistance, I promise you.
So it's where consistency needs to start, right?
Not one customer getting a great experience and another customer gets confusion and one
customer follows up because he feels good that day and the other day he doesn't follow
up and just lets the contact fall into the cracks.
It's not a scalable solution.
It's not smart.
It's going to create confusion.
So how you sell a car is just important is what you sell.
When your process fits your business model, right?
So retail might be a little bit different than a buy here, pay here sales process.
Buy here, pay here is going to be a little different than wholesale.
And Highline is a completely different animal based on the economy or inventory where you're
selling.
So different customers, different expectations and different processes.
But regardless of your model, your team should know exactly what to expect on every single
step of the sales process, right?
And what to say, I would say.
So you've got your handling the lead.
Out of the first phone call sound and look, what's your appointment setting process?
How do you greet the customer when they're on the lot?
How do you present a vehicle?
What do you say?
What's the process for a test drive?
Credit application, building the deal out in your DMS, closing the deal, overcoming objections.
And then most important, following up after the sale, make sure your customer's happy.
Don't be scared to call that customer, see how the cars are running and ask for referrals
from them, right?
Every single step matters.
It all needs to be documented and it needs to be taught consistently to your salesman
every single time.
Yeah, that whole following up after the sales, a big deal, because tons of leads come there
and people just stop it and it just makes me so mad.
Anyway, and this is where many owners fall short.
Me included.
I've done this so many times.
I explain it to the salesperson and verbally.
And a lot of times I write it down, but a lot of people don't write it down.
But if you won't consistency, it has to be written down.
Specific wording, specific expectations and specific scripts.
Now, we don't want them to sound like robots, but a customer trust clarity.
And if your team understands that clarity and how to explain it to the customer, the flow
is better.
Their confidence goes up, the confidence from the customer goes up and your closing probability
improves at that point here.
Scripts don't need to sound fake though.
They need to sound like we're talking, like we're having conversation, but they have to
eliminate confusion.
Top athletes, they practice fundamentals, your sales team should too.
So this week, your assignment, pretty simple here.
Write down your road to the sale step by step, define how your dealership is going to handle
each phase of this customer journey, review it with your team, refine it, practice it,
improve it, because random sales process creates random results.
But intentional processes create predictable growth.
And that's what we want.
So it's your dealership, let's get predictable, let's be able to forecast.
Let's build this together.
About this episode
Dealers already have a sales process, but it’s often accidental—so results become unpredictable. The host argues for writing down a step-by-step road to the sale, defining how each phase of the customer journey is handled, and training it consistently so salespeople don’t improvise. He highlights how post-sale follow-up keeps customers happy and prevents leads from falling through the cracks, and notes that intentional processes create predictable growth and better closing probability.
Welcome to the Monday Minute — your weekly reset to lead better, think clearer, and build your independent dealership with intention. Every dealer has a sales process. The question is whether it's intentional or accidental. If it's not written down and trained consistently, every salesperson on your lot is making it up as they go — and the path of least resistance is never the path to growth. One customer gets a great experience. The next gets confusion. One lead gets followed up. The next falls through the cracks. That's not a business. That's a gamble.In this episode, Jeff and Luke get specific about what a real road to the sale looks like — from the first phone call and appointment setting, to the lot greeting, vehicle presentation, test drive, credit application, deal build, close, and the follow-up call most dealers are still skipping. They break down why your process has to match your model — retail, BHPH, wholesale, and highline all run differently — and why scripts don't have to sound robotic to eliminate confusion and build customer confidence. Top athletes practice fundamentals. Your sales team should too.
Your assignment this week: write down your road to the sale, step by step. Define how your dealership handles each phase of the customer journey. Review it with your team. Refine it. Practice it. Because random processes create random results — and intentional processes create predictable growth.
Review this week's Sunday newsletter at TheIndependentDealer.com for the full theme and exercises.
