“Your Price Is Too High”

Meeting 6: “Your Price Is Too High”

Two teams go head-to-head on the most common objection in the business. 7 minutes. No prep. You play the customer.

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How This Meeting Works

You’re the customer. You sit in a chair facing the room. You’ve got a quote from another dealer that’s $1,600 less. Two teams each send a salesperson to work the deal. Room votes on who did it better. Then you tell them what the customer was REALLY thinking. That last part is what makes this work.

Seven minutes.

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Why You’re Running This One

Your team hears “your price is too high” three, four, five times a week. And here’s what kills me. Most of them do one of two things. They panic and run straight to the desk to get the price dropped. Or they get their back up and start defending the sticker. Both are wrong. Both cost you money.

Here’s what nobody tells your salespeople: most of the time, “your price is too high” isn’t even a real objection. It’s a complaint. The customer isn’t saying “I’m leaving.” They’re saying “give me a reason to stay.” When your salesperson panics and starts negotiating, they just turned a complaint into a real price negotiation that didn’t need to happen. Now they’re giving away gross on a deal the customer was already going to do.

The three moves that save you $1,600 in gross:

1. Agree. “I totally understand, and I want to make sure you get the best deal possible.” You just took the fight out of it. You’re on their side now. Nobody argues with someone who agrees with them.
2. Fish. “Other than getting the best deal, what else is important to you?” Nine times out of ten, there IS something else. Color. Timeline. Trade value. Monthly payment. Now you know what’s really going on.
3. Investigate. “Where are you seeing that price?” Now you’re comparing deals, not defending yours. And their other deal almost always has a catch.

Most salespeople skip straight to step 3 or skip all three and just run to the desk. This meeting teaches them the whole sequence.

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Wake Up the Room (60 seconds)

Objection Hot Potato. Grab a pen off the desk. Toss it to someone. Yell an objection: “Your price is too high!” They have five seconds to respond — anything, just don’t freeze. Then they toss the pen to the next person and yell a NEW objection at them. “I can get it cheaper online!” Five seconds. Toss. “What’s your best price?” Five seconds. Toss. Freeze or drop the pen, you’re out. Go until three people are out. Survivor picks who goes first in the role-play.

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Set It Up (60 seconds)

Read this out loud:

“Two teams. Customer spent an hour with you. Drove the 2026 Honda CR-V Sport Touring. Loved it. Sat down at the desk. You quoted $41,800 out the door. I’m the customer. I’m about to tell you my price is too high.

Huddle up. Thirty seconds. Pick your salesperson. Whoever keeps the gross wins.”

Split the room. Each team picks one person. Sit down in the chair. Arms crossed. Look skeptical. You’re the customer now.

Your line when they’re ready: “I like the car. But I can get the exact same thing at another dealer for $40,200. Your price is too high.”

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Let Them Go (3 minutes)

Team A’s salesperson goes first. They talk to you. You respond like a real customer. Skeptical but persuadable. Sixty seconds. Then Team B.

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

Who you are: You have a real quote from another dealer at $40,200 for a CR-V Sport. Not the Sport Touring — the Sport. You don’t realize they’re different trims. You just see “CR-V” and “$1,600 less.” The other dealer only has it in silver. You want the Meteorite Gray Metallic. Your wife wants the panoramic sunroof — that’s non-negotiable. The Sport doesn’t have it. The Sport Touring you drove today does. You don’t know that yet. You’d rather buy here because the other place was pushy. You just need to feel like you’re getting a fair deal.

How to act:

• If they agree with you and ask what else matters besides price: Start softening. Uncross your arms. “I mean… I do want the right color. And my wife really wants the sunroof.”
• If they ask what trim the other dealer quoted: Pause. Think. “I think it was the Sport? Is that different?”
• If they connect it — the other dealer’s car doesn’t have the sunroof your wife wants: Drop the guard. “Wait, really? She’s going to lose it if it doesn’t have the sunroof.”
• If they agree but then immediately pivot to price anyway (“I understand, so let me sharpen the numbers”): Stay guarded. They said the right words but skipped the question. “OK… I mean, what does that look like?” You’re back to comparing spreadsheets. They never found out about the color, the sunroof, or that you’d rather buy here.
• If they ask where the quote came from without acknowledging your concern first: Give them a little. “Another dealer, about 30 minutes away.” But stay guarded.
• If they just drop the price without asking anything: Accept it, but look disappointed. They left money on the table and you both know it.
• If they get defensive about the price: Shut down. Look at your phone. You’re done talking to this person.
• If they ask what would make you buy here: “Honestly, I’d rather buy here. I just need to feel like I’m getting a good deal.”

Don’t coach during the huddle. Don’t hint. Let them work it out.

If it wraps early: “Give me a price objection somebody heard this week. Exact words.” Use it. Both teams huddle. New round.

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

“Who handled it better? Hands up for Team A. Hands up for Team B.” Count. Announce the winner.

Then tell them what was going on in your head:

“Here’s what I wasn’t telling you. The quote at $40,200? That was for a CR-V Sport. Not the Sport Touring. Different trim. The Sport doesn’t have the panoramic sunroof. My wife told me this morning ‘don’t come home without the sunroof.’ The other dealer’s car was also silver. I wanted the Meteorite Gray. And the other dealership was pushy — I didn’t want to go back there. I was comparing two completely different cars and I didn’t even know it. I just saw ‘CR-V’ and ‘$1,600 less’ and used it as leverage.

If somebody had asked ‘what else matters besides price?’ I would have said the color and the sunroof. And if they’d asked what trim the other dealer quoted, the whole thing falls apart. Their $40,200 car doesn’t have the one feature my wife cares about most. That’s not a better deal. That’s a different car. But nobody asked. So I sat here waving a number around and your salesperson either dropped the price or fought about it instead of asking one question that would have ended the conversation.”

What you’re looking for:

• Did they agree with you first? “I totally understand, let’s make sure you get the best deal.” That’s how you take the fight out of it.
• Did they ask what ELSE matters besides price? That’s fishing. That’s where you find out about the color, the sunroof, the wife. That’s the step that changes everything.
• Did they ask about the other dealer’s trim or specs? That’s investigating. That’s where the $40,200 quote falls apart — it’s a Sport, not a Sport Touring. No sunroof. Wrong color. Different car.
• Did they connect the dots? “The car you drove today has the sunroof your wife wants. The one at $40,200 doesn’t.” That’s the close. No discount needed.

All of that? That salesperson keeps their gross AND the customer. Dropped the price without asking a single question? That’s $1,600 your store won’t see again. And the customer was never comparing the same car.

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

“Three steps. First, agree: ‘I totally understand, and I want to make sure you get the best deal possible.’ You just took the fight out of it. You’re on their side.

Second, fish: ‘Other than getting the best deal, what else is important to you?’ Nine times out of ten there’s something else going on. Color. Timeline. Their spouse. A feature they need. Now you know what really matters.

Third, investigate: ‘Where are you seeing that price?’ Now you’re comparing deals, not defending yours. And the other deal almost always has a catch. Wrong color. Not in stock. Missing the trim they want.

Agree. Fish. Investigate. In that order. Most of us skip straight to the desk. That’s how you give away $1,600 you didn’t need to.”

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Send Them to the Floor

“Next customer who tells you the price is too high, what are the first words out of your mouth?”

One person answers. You’re listening for some version of “I totally understand, let’s make sure you get the best deal.” If they jump straight to “where are you seeing that price?” that’s not bad, but they skipped the agree. If they say “let me talk to my manager,” you’ve got work to do. Get on the lot.

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Why You Bring It Up Tomorrow

Open tomorrow’s meeting with:

“Who got a price objection yesterday? What did you say first? Did you agree with them before you did anything else? What did you find out when you asked what else mattered?”

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 morning, in front of everybody, they actually try it. One meeting becomes a habit. That’s how you change a floor.

What good answers sound like: “Customer said they could get it cheaper. I said ‘I hear you, let’s make sure you’re getting the best deal.’ Asked what else mattered. Turns out she wanted the red one and the other dealer only had white. Held full gross.” THAT’S what you want to hear.

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Make It Harder (For Your Experienced People)

Your 20-year vet plays the customer instead of you. The vet doesn’t fold easy. When the salesperson agrees and fishes, the vet pushes back: “Nothing else matters. It’s the price. Period. I know exactly what they quoted me. They also said they’d throw in the all-weather mats and a full tank. What can YOU do?” Now your salesperson has to hold the line through real pressure. They can’t just agree and fish once. They have to keep asking, keep finding out what’s underneath. Because even when a customer says “it’s just the price,” it almost never is.

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Switch It Up

• On the phone: Customer calls in. “Your online price is higher than the other dealer’s.” The job isn’t to negotiate on the phone. It’s to get the appointment. “I totally understand, and I want to make sure we put together the best deal for you. Can I ask, other than price, what are you looking for in this vehicle? … Great. Let me have my manager take a look at the numbers and we’ll have something ready when you come in. Morning or afternoon work better?”
• Used cars: Customer found a similar year, make, and model at a competing lot for $1,500 less. Different mileage (62K vs. your 41K). Different condition. The “same car” isn’t the same car. At all. Agree first, then ask what else matters. Mileage? Condition? Service history? Now you’re selling your car, not defending its price.
• Saturday afternoon: Customer has been at two other dealers today. Tired. Cranky. Using your price as a weapon. The objection is real but the energy is fatigue. Read the person, not just the words. Sometimes “your price is too high” means “I’ve been doing this all day and I need someone to make this easy.”

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If Things Go Sideways

What’s Happening	What to Do
Room is dead	Swap the opener. Grab something off the desk. “Sell me this in 15 seconds. Go.” Gets people moving.
Short on time	Skip the opener. One round. Straight to the vote and the answer. Five minutes.
Small team (3-4)	Forget teams. Everyone gives a response to you directly. Vote after each one.
Big team (12+)	Three teams. First delivers, other two vote.
Nobody agrees first	GOOD. That’s the whole point. “Both teams went straight to negotiating. Nobody agreed with the customer first. Watch what happens when you agree first. The whole conversation changes.”
Somebody folds on price immediately	Don’t roast them. “That gets the deal done. But you just gave away $1,600 you might not have needed to. Let’s see if there’s a way to keep the customer AND the gross.”
Somebody nails it	Call it out. “Did you see that? They agreed, asked what else mattered, and THEN asked about the other deal. That’s the sequence. That’s how you hold gross.”

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What You’ll Actually See in the Room

1. Both teams say the same thing. Usually some version of “let me talk to my manager.” That’s your opening: “OK, two teams and nobody asked the customer a single question. Both of you went straight to the desk. Let’s talk about what happens BEFORE you go to the desk.”
2. Someone jumps straight to “where’s the other quote from?” Good instinct, but they skipped the agree and the fish. Point it out: “You went right to investigating. Smart. But you didn’t agree with the customer first, and you didn’t ask what else mattered. If you’d asked, you would have found out about the sunroof and the color before you ever got to the other dealer’s quote. Now when you investigate, you already know what to look for.”
3. Awkward silence during the huddle. Means your team doesn’t have a go-to response for this objection. Good. Now you know. That’s exactly why you’re running this.
4. Someone turns it into a comedy bit. Let it play out. The room laughs, energy goes up. Then bring it back: “That was funny. Now here’s what the customer was actually thinking…”
5. The response goes on forever. Salesperson talks for 90 seconds without letting the customer respond. Stop them at 60. “Time. On a real deal you’d have lost them by now. Shorter. Agree, fish, investigate. Go.”
6. Nobody finds out about the color or the sunroof. Most common outcome the first time you run this. That’s fine. When you tell the room the other dealer’s quote was for a completely different trim without the sunroof, the light bulbs go on. “Nobody asked what else mattered. One question and you would have found out the wife needs the sunroof. One more question and you would have found out the other dealer’s car doesn’t have it. That’s $1,600 in gross saved by two questions.”

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What’s Really Going On (Your Eyes Only)

Here’s something worth remembering: a customer who says “your price is too high” is a customer who wants to buy. If they didn’t care, they’d just leave. The objection IS the interest. Your worst customer isn’t the one who fights you on price. It’s the one who smiles, says “let me think about it,” and never comes back. 71% of those people never do.

The agree step is the one everybody skips. It feels wrong. Your salesperson hears “your price is too high” and their instinct is to fight it or fix it. But when they say “I totally understand, and I want to make sure you get the best deal possible,” the whole dynamic changes. The customer stops fighting. They’re not up against a salesperson anymore. They’re working with someone who’s on their side. And a customer who feels like you’re on their side tells you things. The color they want. What their spouse cares about. What was wrong with the other dealer. That’s where deals get made.

This meeting gives your team the words and the sequence. And they get to practice it in a room where screwing up costs nothing, before a real customer is sitting across from them with $1,600 of your gross on the line.