"What's your best price on that car?"

It is the most common question BDC reps face, and it is the one that trips them up the most. Reps who give a number lose gross and still may not get the appointment. Reps who dodge poorly lose the customer entirely.

There is a third option — and it is trainable.

Why "What's the Best Price?" Is Not Really About Price

When a customer asks for the best price on the first BDC call, they are not usually running a spreadsheet. They are testing you.

They want to know: are you going to be straight with me? Are you one of those dealers who will make me come in before you tell me anything? Can I trust what you say?

The price question is a trust question wrapped in a number question. Reps who treat it as a pure numbers negotiation miss the real opportunity.

The customer wants to feel like they are being dealt with honestly. Your rep's job is to give them that feeling — not by quoting a price they have no authority to quote, but by being transparent about why the phone is the wrong place to solve this for them.

The Honest Redirect

The best response to a price question on a BDC call is not a rehearsed deflection. It is an honest explanation.

"Here's my concern with giving you a number over the phone — the payment I'd give you right now could be pretty far off from your actual number because it doesn't account for your trade-in, your down payment, or which specific trim you'd actually want once you've seen them in person. I'd hate to give you a number that gets your hopes up or discourages you and turns out not to be accurate."

This is not a script. It is the truth. And customers recognize truth.

Follow it with the pivot:

"What I'd rather do is put something together for you based on your actual situation. If you can come in Tuesday or Wednesday, I can have real numbers ready in about 20 minutes. Does one of those work better for you?"

When the Customer Pushes Back

Some customers push. They have heard the "come in and we'll tell you" response before and they are not accepting it without more.

"Can you at least give me a ballpark?"

"The range on that model runs from the high twenties to mid-thirties depending on trim and options — but that's a wide window and where you land depends entirely on what you want on the car. Let me put together something specific for your situation. Would this week or next work better?"

Give a range, not a number. Ranges are less negotiable than specific figures. And a range with a wide spread sends the message that getting specific requires the appointment.

"I'm comparing you to [Dealer]. What can you do?"

"I appreciate you being straight with me. I can't compete on a number I don't fully know yet — what I can tell you is that when we sit down, we'll walk through everything and you'll see exactly where we stand. A lot of our customers tell us we surprised them. Would you be willing to give us 20 minutes before you make a decision?"

The acknowledgment of competition, combined with the confidence of "we'll surprise you," is honest and sets up the appointment without desperation.

"I just need to know you're in my budget range before I make the trip."

"That's completely fair. Tell me your target payment range and I'll tell you right now whether we're even in the ballpark for a car like this."

Get the range. This is a reasonable ask and worth honoring. If you are in range, confirm it and push for the appointment. If you are potentially out of range, say so honestly and ask if there is flexibility — or if a different vehicle might work.

The Two Responses You Must Never Use

"I can't give prices over the phone." This sounds like a policy, not a reason. It reads as stonewalling. Customers who hear this usually hang up.

Immediately quoting a price. Once a number leaves your rep's mouth, the call becomes a negotiation. The customer will say "the dealer down the street quoted X" and your rep has no ground to stand on. The appointment is effectively lost.

Both responses communicate that the rep is either hiding something or has no authority. Neither builds trust.

Building Reps' Confidence on Price Questions

The reason reps either give the number or dodge badly is a lack of confidence in the middle path. They have not practiced redirecting a price question enough times to deliver it naturally.

When reps practice the redirect for the first time, it feels awkward. They know they are not giving the customer what they asked for and that discomfort shows in their tone. The customer hears it and pushes harder.

After 15 to 20 practice reps, the redirect feels natural. The rep believes what they are saying because they have said it enough times to internalize it. That belief comes through on the call and customers respond differently.

This is why roleplay is non-negotiable for price question training. Reading the script once in a team meeting is not preparation. Running through 10 practice calls where the AI customer asks for the price in different ways — directly, persistently, skeptically — builds the confidence that makes live calls work.

DealSpeak runs BDC reps through exactly these scenarios with an AI customer that pushes on price in realistic ways. Reps get feedback on their redirect structure and tone so they know what to adjust before they face it live.

Connecting Price Handling to Show Rate

There is a counterintuitive dynamic at play here: reps who quote prices over the phone to secure appointments often have lower show rates than reps who redirect successfully.

Why? Because a customer who committed to an appointment in exchange for a price they liked is coming in to negotiate based on that number. When the in-store experience does not match the phone quote (because the phone quote was disconnected from reality), the customer gets frustrated or feels misled. Show rate drops and floor deals sour before they start.

Reps who redirect successfully and set appointments where the customer knows the number will be worked out in person have a cleaner handoff. The floor knows what to expect and the customer's expectations are set correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the customer says they will not come in without a price? Some customers mean it. Give them a tight range with an explanation: "Based on what you've described, you're looking at somewhere in the $XXX to $XXX per month range at current rates — but I want to get you the exact number, not a guess. Can we do that this week?" This often breaks the stalemate.

Should reps be allowed to quote any prices? Manager-approved ranges, yes. Specific out-the-door prices or payment quotes, no — not without a deal desk involved. Train the boundaries clearly so reps know exactly what they can and cannot say.

What if the customer has a competing offer in writing? "Bring it with you and let's beat it — or at least give you something to compare honestly. We can't be that far apart and I'd hate for you to make a decision without seeing what we can do. When can you come in?"

How long does it take to train reps to redirect naturally? Consistent practice across 15-20 scenarios gets most reps to natural delivery. Reps who are already comfortable on the phone typically get there faster. Factor this into your first 30-day training timeline.

The Price Question Is a Selling Opportunity

Most reps see the price question as a problem to manage. The best BDC reps see it as an opportunity to demonstrate honesty and build trust.

A rep who handles "what's the best price?" with genuine transparency and a clear invitation to resolve it in person is doing what good salespeople do: solving the customer's real problem, which is not the price — it is uncertainty.

Train your reps to see it that way and their price question handling will transform.

Try DealSpeak free at /onboarding and start building the price-handling skills your BDC team needs.