Text is where your follow-up actually happens now. People don't answer unknown numbers and they don't open emails from a salesperson, but almost everybody reads a text within a few minutes of getting it.

Which is exactly why bad texts hurt so much. "Just checking in!" is the fastest way to teach someone to ignore your number permanently, and once you're ignored you don't get un-ignored.

Here are 22 templates by situation, plus the rules that make them work.

Six Rules Before the Templates

1. Every text needs a reason that isn't you. Price drop, new arrival, a document, an answer to a question they asked, a photo. "Following up" is not a reason. If you can't name the reason, don't send it.

2. Sign your first three texts. They don't have your number saved. "It's Chris from [store]" goes at the front until they've replied twice.

3. One question per text, and make it easy. A question they can answer in two words gets answered. "What are your thoughts on everything we discussed?" gets nothing.

4. Short. Two or three lines. A paragraph reads like a form letter, and they'll assume it was automated.

5. Never text a number instead of calling with a number. Payments, discounts, and trade values in writing get screenshotted and shopped against you. Text to set up the call, then call.

6. Follow the rules. Business hours, honor an opt-out immediately, and know your store's TCPA policy. One "STOP" ends the conversation forever and that's fine.

Unsold Customer (Same Visit)

The bulk of your follow-up income lives here. Most people who leave your lot buy something inside 30 days, and they buy from whoever stayed in the conversation.

1. Same day, within an hour of them leaving:

Hey [Name] — it's Chris from [Store]. Here's the silver Highlander you drove. Sending the history report tonight like I promised. Nice meeting you and your daughter.

[photo]

The photo is doing the work. It's the vehicle they sat in, not a listing.

2. Day 2, deliver the promised thing:

[Name] — history report attached. Clean, one owner, service done at a dealer every 5k. Any questions on it, just text me back.

3. Day 3, the low-pressure open question:

Quick one — after sleeping on it, is it the vehicle you're unsure about or the numbers? Either one I can work with.

This is the single highest-reply-rate text in the list, because it's specific and it gives them an easy out.

4. Day 5, new inventory:

Got a second one in this morning — same trim, 8k fewer miles, gray instead of silver. Want a picture before it goes on the site?

5. Day 7, price change:

The one you drove dropped $850 this morning. Didn't want you finding that out from a website. Want me to hold it for the weekend?

6. Day 10, the honest check:

[Name] — did you end up buying something? Totally fine if you did, I just don't want to keep texting you if you're done looking.

Sounds like it gives up. It doesn't — it gets a reply from people who've gone silent, because it's the only text that doesn't want anything.

7. Day 20, no reply at all:

Last one from me for a while. If anything changes or you want a second set of eyes on a deal somewhere else, my number's here. No hard feelings either way.

8. Day 30+, monthly, tied to a real event:

Rates dropped a half point this month and your trade is worth about $600 more than when we ran it. Worth a five-minute look?

The full cadence with call scripts is in the unsold customer follow-up script and the follow-up framework.

No-Show Appointments

9. Fifteen minutes past, before you assume anything:

Hey [Name], it's Chris — I've got the [vehicle] pulled up front. Traffic bad, or should we move it to later today?

Assume a reason, offer a fix. Never guilt.

10. Two hours later:

No worries at all on today. I'm here until 8 tonight and 9 to 6 tomorrow — which is easier?

11. Next day:

[Name] — still holding the [vehicle] off the front line for you. Do you want me to keep holding it or let it go?

A real yes/no with a real consequence. See BDC no-show follow-up.

Internet and Phone Leads

12. Within five minutes of the lead — the one that matters most:

Hi [Name], it's Chris at [Store] — yes, the [year model] is still available, I'm standing next to it. What's the best number to send you a quick video?

Speed to lead beats everything. Five minutes versus an hour is a different business.

13. If they only asked for a price:

Sending you the out-the-door sheet in a minute so you have real numbers, not an estimate. Quick question first — are you trading anything in? It changes the number by a lot.

14. Day 2 no reply:

[Name] — did my message about the [vehicle] come through? Want me to just send the video and let you look on your own time?

15. Day 4, add value not pressure:

Two others came in this week in your range. Sending photos — no reply needed, just want you to see everything before you decide.

16. The "send me more info" lead:

Sent. One thing a spec sheet won't tell you: [specific detail about this actual unit]. That's the part people care about once they're sitting in it.

See the "send me information" objection and the web lead follow-up email.

Sold Customers

This is the group that pays you in year two and three, and almost nobody works it.

17. Day 1 after delivery:

[Name] — congrats again. One thing I forgot to show you: hold the unlock button on the fob to roll all the windows down. Enjoy it.

Useful, not salesy. Sets the tone that texts from you are worth opening.

18. Day 30:

Month in — how's it treating you? Anything driving you nuts that I can help with?

19. Day 45, the referral ask, after they've said something positive:

Glad to hear it. Do me one favor — if anybody you know starts talking about needing a vehicle, send them my number before they walk into a dealership. I'll take care of them the same way.

More: referral request script and the delivery day script.

20. Quarterly, when the equity math works:

[Name] — pulled your file this morning. Your [vehicle] is worth more than what you owe by about $[X]. You could be in a newer one for close to the same payment. Want me to run the actual numbers?

This one text, sent to 100 past customers a quarter, is worth more than most reps' entire prospecting effort.

Lease-End and Service

21. 90 days from lease end:

[Name] — your lease is up [month]. Three options: turn it in, buy it, or get into something new. I can walk you through all three in ten minutes so nothing surprises you. This week or next?

See lease-end conversion script.

22. Service customer with equity, while they're in the building:

[Name] — Chris from sales. I saw your [vehicle] is in for service today. It's actually worth about $[X] right now, which is more than you owe. If you've got 10 minutes while you wait, I'll show you what that means. If not, no problem at all.

Language for the whole play: service-to-sales equity mining script.

What Separates a Reply from Silence

Look at the templates that get answered and you'll notice they share three traits: a specific fact the customer didn't have, no ask bigger than a two-word reply, and a tone that assumes they're a normal adult with a life.

The ones that die share one trait: they're about the salesperson's need to touch the record, not about anything the customer wants.

Also worth saying plainly — text is where you start the conversation, not where you close it. Once someone replies, get to a call. The deals that die in text die because five texts of back-and-forth about payments turned into a negotiation with no tone of voice attached, and you can't hear hesitation in a text bubble.

Which means the payoff for good texts is a phone conversation, and the phone conversation is where the actual skill lives. When they call back and say "so what's your best number on that Highlander," what happens next decides whether you have a deal at $2,100 gross, a mini, or nothing.

If you want a place to run that conversation before it counts, practice the callback out loud against a customer who pushes on price — you talk, they push back, and you find out in four minutes whether your answer holds. More on building the skill on your own at DealSpeak for salespeople. If you want the phone side written out, start with the car sales voicemail script and the follow-up email script.