Meeting 14: “What’s the Lowest You Can Go on the Payment?”

Manager plays 45 seconds of a phone call where the salesperson quotes a number before asking a single question. Room identifies what’s missing. Someone re-does it. 7 minutes. No prep. The customer hung up because nobody asked them anything first.

How This Meeting Works

You play (or describe) 45 seconds of a real phone call. Customer called in on a 2026 Kia Telluride SX. First words out of their mouth: “What’s the lowest you can go on the monthly?” Your salesperson quoted a number. Customer paused, said “that’s too much,” and hung up. Room figures out what went wrong. Then two people re-do the call. One plays the salesperson, one plays the customer. Room votes. Then you tell them what was actually going on in the customer’s head.

Seven minutes.

Why You’re Running This One

Here’s a call from this week. Customer dials in on the Telluride SX. “What’s the lowest you can go on the monthly?” Your salesperson quotes a number. Customer says “that’s more than I wanted to spend” and hangs up. Thirty-eight seconds.

The customer asked for a number and your salesperson gave them one. No questions asked. No information gathered. The number landed in a void.

Ask Before You Quote. Three questions that save this deal:

Trade. “Are you looking to trade anything in?” This customer had a paid-off Sorento with serious equity. That’s the biggest swing in any payment calculation.
Down. “Are you putting anything down, or rolling everything in?” This customer had cash saved. Nobody asked.
Budget. “What monthly payment are you trying to stay around?” This customer had a specific number. It works once the trade and down are factored in.

Three questions turn a hang-up into an appointment. With the trade and down factored in, the real payment was under $375. The salesperson quoted $649 because they skipped all three.

Wake Up the Room (60 seconds)

Higher or Lower. Name a car on the lot. “2026 Civic Sport, zero down, 72 months. What’s the monthly?” Room yells out guesses. Reveal the real number. Closest wins. Do three cars, different price points. No calculators, no phones. Just gut. Whoever wins the most rounds gets bragging rights. The misses are the point — if you don’t know the payment, neither does your customer, and that’s when they panic.

Set It Up (60 seconds)

Read this out loud:

“Here’s a call from this week. Customer calls in on the 2026 Kia Telluride SX. First thing they say: ‘What’s the lowest you can go on the monthly?’ Salesperson says ‘$649 a month.’ Customer says ‘that’s too much’ and hangs up. Thirty-eight seconds. Done.

I need two people. One of you is the salesperson calling this customer back. One of you is the customer. Salesperson, your job is to NOT quote a number until you’ve asked at least three questions. Customer, I’ll tell you how to act. Let’s go.”

Pick your two volunteers. One sits with a phone (or pretends to hold one). The other faces away from them so they can’t read body language. This is a phone call, not a desk conversation. No eye contact.

How to play the customer (keep this in your head, don’t read it out loud):

Who you are: You’re 34. You and your spouse have two kids, 5 and 3. You’re driving a 2021 Kia Sorento LX that you bought new. It’s paid off and worth around $22,000. You love Kia. You want the Telluride SX because you need the third row and the cargo space for hockey gear and strollers. You’ve got about three grand saved for a down payment. Your budget is around 550 a month. You already called this dealer once and got quoted $649. You hung up. Now they’re calling you back.

How to act on the callback:

Start guarded. “Oh. Yeah. Look, I already called and the payment was way too high.”
If the salesperson apologizes and immediately re-quotes a lower number: stay guarded. “I appreciate that, but I don’t think this is going to work.” They’re just throwing numbers again.
If the salesperson asks about your current vehicle or trade: soften a little. “Yeah, I’ve got a Sorento. 2021. It’s paid off.” Let them pull it out of you.
If they ask about a down payment after asking about the trade: soften more. “We’ve got about three grand we could put down.” You’re warming up. They’re asking the right questions.
If they ask what payment range you’re trying to stay in: tell them. “Around $550 is where we need to be. Is that even possible on this car?”
If they’ve asked about your trade, your down payment, AND your budget before quoting a number: you’re interested. “OK, so what does that actually look like?”
If at any point they quote a number before asking about the trade: “I already got a number last time. That’s not going to work for us.” Click.
If they get all three answers and then run the math and it comes in well under your budget: “Wait, really? When can we come in?”

Let Them Go (3 minutes)

The salesperson “calls back” the customer. The customer answers guarded. The salesperson’s job is to ask before they quote.

How to run the room:

The room watches in silence. No coaching. No hand signals. This is a phone call. Phone calls are lonely. That’s the point. Your salesperson on the floor doesn’t have the room backing them up. They’re sitting at their desk with a phone in their hand and a customer who already hung up on them once.

First attempt, 90 seconds. Then switch. New salesperson, same customer. Room votes after both.

What to watch for:

Did the salesperson lead with a number again? Most will. The reflex is hard to break.
Did they ask about the trade? That question alone changes everything.
Did they get all three answers (trade, down, budget) before quoting anything?
Did the conversation feel like a conversation or an interrogation? You don’t want 14 questions in a row with no acknowledgment. You want questions that build. Small answers that lead to bigger answers.

If it wraps early: “Who took a phone call this week where the customer asked about price in the first ten seconds? What was the first thing you said back?” Use a real one. New pair. Run it.

Who Won, and What the Customer Was Really Thinking (60 seconds)

“Who handled it better? Hands up for salesperson one. Hands up for salesperson two.” Count. Announce.

Then tell them what was going on in the customer’s head:

“Here’s what I wasn’t telling you. This customer has a 2021 Sorento that’s paid off. Serious equity. They’ve got cash for a down payment. And they had a budget number in mind.

They’ve got two kids, hockey gear, and a stroller. They NEED the third row. This wasn’t a browsing call. Once you factor in the trade and the down payment, the real monthly comes in well under their budget. There was massive room in this deal.

But the first call? Nobody asked about the trade. Nobody asked about down payment. Nobody asked about budget. Just a number thrown into a void. The customer heard something over their budget and hung up. Dead in 38 seconds because nobody asked three questions.

The trade was the key. One question: ‘Are you looking to trade anything in?’ That changes the entire deal. But you can’t ask it after you’ve already lost them.”

What you’re looking for:

Did they acknowledge the bad first call? “I know last time we just threw a number at you and that wasn’t helpful.” That earns trust.
Did they ask about the trade BEFORE anything else? The trade is the biggest variable in any deal. It changes the math more than rate, term, or rebates.
Did they ask about down payment?
Did they ask about the customer’s budget?
Did they build small yeses before the big number? “Tell me about your Sorento.” Yes. “Are you putting anything down?” Yes. “What range are you trying to stay in?” Yes. By the time you quote a number, the customer has already said yes three times. The fourth yes is easier.

What You Say After (30 seconds, read this out loud)

“Ask Before You Quote. Three questions before any number leaves your mouth.

Trade first. That’s usually the biggest number in the whole deal and most salespeople never ask. ‘Are you looking to trade anything in?’ One question.

Down payment second. Even if they say nothing down, you’ve learned something. ‘Are you putting anything down or rolling everything in?’

Budget third. Now you’re quoting toward a target instead of throwing a number and hoping. ‘What monthly payment are you trying to stay around?’

The order matters. Each answer gets them more invested in the conversation. Small answers first. Big number last.”

Send Them to the Floor

“Next phone call where the customer says ‘what’s the monthly,’ what’s the first question you ask before you quote anything?”

One person answers. You’re listening for some version of “are you trading anything in?” or “tell me about what you’re driving now.” If they say “what’s your budget?” that’s not wrong, but the trade question is the bigger swing. If they answer with a payment number, they just did the thing you spent seven minutes fixing. Get on the phones.

Why You Bring It Up Tomorrow

Open tomorrow’s meeting with:

“Who had a customer ask about the monthly payment yesterday? What did you say before you quoted a number? Did you ask about the trade? Did you ask about down payment? What did you find out?”

If you run a great meeting and never bring it up again, it was seven fun minutes that changed nothing. When your team knows you’re going to ask tomorrow what they said BEFORE the number, they actually ask the questions. One meeting becomes a habit. That’s how you change a floor.

What good answers sound like: “Customer called on the Telluride. Asked about the monthly. I said ‘great, are you trading anything in?’ Turns out they’ve got an Optima with serious equity. Asked about down payment and budget. Ran the numbers, came in way under their target. They’re coming in Saturday.” THAT’S what you want to hear.

Make It Harder (For Your Experienced People)

Your 20-year vet plays the customer. But this customer won’t answer your questions easily. “Why do you need to know about my trade? I just want the monthly.” The vet pushes back harder: “Just give me the number first and then we’ll figure out the rest.” Now the salesperson has to hold. Not cave. Not quote. Find a way to redirect that respects the customer’s impatience without giving in. Can they reference the blown first call without sounding desperate? Can they explain WHY they need the information without it feeling like a stall? Let your team figure it out. The vet doesn’t budge until they earn it.

Switch It Up

On the floor: Customer is sitting at the desk. “So what are we looking at payment-wise?” Same instinct kicks in. Your salesperson grabs the calculator and starts punching in the full sticker at 72 months. Stop. “Before I crunch those numbers, tell me about what you’re driving now. Is that something you’d want to put toward this one?” In person, you have more time. But the reflex to quote first is the same. Ask Before You Quote works at the desk the same way it works on the phone.
Internet lead: Customer fills out a form and the only comment is “What’s the monthly on the Telluride SX?” Your salesperson’s first instinct is to email back a payment grid. Don’t. Pick up the phone. Call them. “Hey, I saw you were looking at the Telluride. Great choice. Before I put some numbers together, can I ask a couple of quick questions so I can get you an accurate number?” Same three questions. Trade, down, budget. The email gives them a number with no context. The call gives you the full picture.
BDC callback: BDC agent following up on a web lead. “When you come in, we want to have numbers ready that match your situation. Are you looking to trade anything in? … And are you putting anything down? … Is there a monthly range you’re trying to stay in?” Three questions before the appointment. Now the desk has real numbers when the customer walks in.

If Things Go Sideways

What’s Happening	What to Do
Room is dead	Run Higher or Lower again with a harder car. Pick the weirdest unit on the lot. “2024 Wrangler Rubicon, zero down, 72 months. What’s the monthly?” Gets voices moving.
Short on time	Skip the opener. Describe the blown call. One person re-does it. Straight to the teaching point. Five minutes.
Small team (3-4)	Everyone takes a turn as the salesperson. Same customer. Score after each one. Track who gets all three questions before quoting.
Big team (12+)	Split into three groups. Each group picks a salesperson. All three call the same customer (you play them). Room votes on who gathered the most information before quoting.
Salesperson quotes a number before asking anything	GOOD. That’s the whole point. “First instinct was to answer the question. Makes sense. But you just re-created the 38-second call. The customer asked for a number and you gave them one. What if you asked about the trade first? That changes the whole deal.”
Salesperson asks questions but sounds like a robot	Don’t crush them. “You got all three questions. That’s the hard part. Now make it sound like a conversation, not a checklist. Each answer the customer gives, acknowledge it. ‘Great, so the Sorento’s paid off. That’s actually going to help a lot.’ Then the next question.”
Somebody nails it	Call it out. “Did you hear that? Three questions. Trade, down, budget. The customer went from ‘this isn’t going to work’ to ‘when can we come in?’ And no number was quoted until all three answers were on the table. That’s Ask Before You Quote.”

What You’ll Actually See in the Room

Both salespeople quote a number within the first ten seconds. Happens most of the time. The customer asks for a monthly and every instinct says give them one. “Both of you answered the question. That’s the reflex. But answering the question IS the problem. The customer didn’t need a number. They needed someone to ask them three questions that make the number work.”
Someone asks about the trade but then quotes a number before asking about down payment or budget. One out of three. Better than zero. “You asked about the trade. Good instinct. But then you quoted before asking about down payment or budget. You had one piece of the puzzle and guessed the rest. Get all three.”
The customer softens when the salesperson asks the right questions. This is the moment that teaches. The room can hear the voice change. The customer goes from guarded to interested because someone is actually asking about their situation. “Did you hear that shift? The customer went from ‘this isn’t going to work’ to ‘we’ve got about three grand to put down.’ That happened because the salesperson asked instead of told.”
Someone asks great questions but then forgets to quote a number at all. They get all the information and then say “great, well, when would you like to come in?” without closing the loop. “You gathered everything. Nice. But the customer called for a number. They deserve one. Once you’ve got trade, down, and budget, run the math and give them the real number. That’s the whole point. The number is the reward for asking the questions.”
Somebody says “I need to check with my manager” instead of running the math. That’s a phone hang-up waiting to happen. “You just asked three great questions and then told the customer you can’t actually help them. The customer called for a number. You now have all the information to give them a real one. Run it.”
The callback framing trips people up. They don’t know how to open a call to someone who already hung up. “Start with the truth. ‘Hey, I’m calling back because last time we jumped straight to a number and I don’t think I gave you an accurate picture.’ That earns you a second chance.”

What’s Really Going On (Your Eyes Only)

Here’s what most salespeople don’t realize about payment questions on the phone. When a customer calls and says “what’s the monthly,” the customer isn’t really asking for a number. They’re asking “can I afford this car?” Those questions sound similar but they’re completely different. One has a single answer. The other has a hundred answers depending on trade, down payment, term, rate, and rebates.

Your salesperson heard the first question and answered it. Accurate if you finance the whole thing with nothing down and no trade. But nobody buys a car that way. This customer had serious equity and cash ready. The gap between the quoted number and the real number was massive. Your salesperson missed it because they answered a question instead of asking three.

The micro-commitment piece is what makes this work long-term. Each question the salesperson asks, and each answer the customer gives, is a small yes. The customer talks about their trade. That’s engagement. They share their down payment. More engagement. They give you their budget. Now they’re invested. Three answers before the number means three moments where the customer chose to stay in the conversation. By the time you quote, they’re not hearing a number from a stranger. They’re hearing a number from someone who listened to them.

The real payment was a fraction of the quoted number. The salesperson answered a question instead of asking three. That’s the difference between a hang-up and a Saturday appointment.

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“What's the Lowest You Can Go on the Payment?”