A word track is not a script. A script is a page. A word track is one sentence you've said enough times that it comes out clean when your heart rate is up.

You need maybe forty of them for the entire job. Here they are, in the order a deal happens. Steal the ones that sound like something you'd actually say, change the ones that don't, and ignore the rest.

The Greeting (1–5)

1.

"Hey, welcome in — I'm [name]. Have you been out to see us before, or is this the first time?"

Answerable, warm, and gives you information. Beats "can I help you?" which invites the word "no."

2. When they're already looking at a specific vehicle:

"That's a good one. It just came in Thursday. Are you shopping this specifically, or comparing a couple?"

3. The "just looking" redirect:

"Perfect — that's what the lot's for. I'll get out of your hair. One question so I point you the right way: truck side or SUV side?"

4. They came in for someone else / an appointment:

"He's with a customer right now — he'd want me to take care of you rather than have you wait. Let me get you started and I'll grab him the second he's free."

5. Phone up:

"Absolutely, that one's still here — I'm looking at it right now. Before I quote you a number off a sheet, tell me what you're driving now, because that changes the whole conversation."

More on this: phone price quote script.

Discovery (6–13)

6. The single best question in the business:

"What are you driving now, and what would you change about it?"

7.

"What made you start looking? Something happen, or has this been building for a while?"

8.

"Who's going to be driving it most — you, or somebody else in the house?"

9. Timeline, without pressure:

"If we found exactly the right one today, is today the day — or are you a few weeks out?"

10. Decision-makers, early, so it doesn't ambush you at the close:

"Is there anybody else who's going to want to lay eyes on it before you decide?"

11. Budget, framed as comfort not capacity:

"Where does the payment need to land to feel comfortable, not just possible?"

12. Trade, without saying "trade":

"Are you keeping the [current vehicle], or does it go away with this one?"

13. The one that gets you the real answer:

"What would have to be true for you to say yes today?"

Full set: car sales discovery question script.

Walkaround (14–19)

14. Set the frame:

"I'm not going to do the whole tour — you told me the third row and the tow package matter, so let's look at those two and I'll shut up about the rest."

15. Feature to benefit, tied to their words:

"You said the last one was a pain to get car seats into. Watch this — the door opens 90 degrees. That's the difference between fighting it and just setting it down."

16. Handing over control:

"Sit in it. Adjust everything. Move the mirrors. Pretend you own it and see if anything annoys you."

17. Pre-empting the price question mid-walkaround:

"We'll get to numbers, I promise, and they're good. Let's make sure it's the right vehicle first — otherwise the number doesn't matter."

18. On a pre-owned unit:

"Here's the history report and here's the reconditioning sheet — this is what we put into it before it hit the line. Read it while I grab the keys."

19. The comparison close-in:

"How does this compare to what you looked at across town?"

See the walkaround presentation script.

Demo Drive (20–24)

20. The assumptive ask — do not make this a yes/no question:

"Grab the passenger seat, I'll pull it out, and you can drive it back."

21. If they hesitate:

"You can't tell anything about a vehicle standing next to it. Ten minutes."

22. Parallel-processing the trade:

"While we're out, let me have my used car manager put eyes on yours so we're not sitting here waiting later. Keys?"

23. During the drive — after two minutes of silence:

"How's it compare to yours?"

24. Coming back in:

"Pull in right there next to yours. I want you to see them side by side."

More: test drive commitment script.

Trial Closes (25–29)

25. The one that saves you an hour:

"If the numbers land where you're hoping, is this the vehicle?"

26.

"On a scale of one to ten, where's this one for you? … What would make it a nine?"

27. Color/spec check:

"If I could get this exact thing in the gray instead — same price — which one are we writing up?"

28. Ownership language:

"Where would this live — garage or driveway?"

29. Before the worksheet:

"Let me go put real numbers together. When I come back with them, what are we looking for — the payment, the total, or the trade number?"

See the trial close script.

Numbers and Objections (30–35)

30. Presenting the sheet:

"Here's everything — price, your trade, the rebate, term, rate, and the payment. Take a second with it. Which line do you want to talk about first?"

31. "The payment's too high":

"Okay — which part is it? The payment itself, the money down, or the total you'd be into it for? Those are three different fixes."

Full version: handling the payment objection.

32. "That's not enough for my trade":

"Tell me the number you had in your head. … Can I show you where ours comes from? Here's what similar ones are actually selling for and here's what it takes to get yours front-line ready."

33. "I saw it cheaper online":

"Good, I'd have looked too. Pull it up — I want to check the trim, the mileage, and whether it's actually here. If it's a real match I'd rather know."

34. "Can you do better?":

"I can go ask. Before I do — if I come back with a better number, are we writing it up today, or is there something else we need to solve first?"

35. "I need to think about it":

"Of course. So I know what we're thinking about — is it the vehicle, the numbers, or the timing?"

The full cheat sheet lives in car sales objections and responses.

The Close (36–38)

36. Plain and unembarrassed:

"Let's do it. I'll get it through the wash while you and I do the paperwork."

37. Alternative choice:

"Do you want to put the twenty-five hundred down, or keep five of that in your pocket and take the slightly higher payment?"

See the alternative choice close.

38. When there's a real reason to move now — and only when there is:

"Two things I'd want you to know: the rebate expires Monday, and this is the only one in the gray within 200 miles. I'm not trying to rush you, I'd just feel bad if you found that out Tuesday."

Delivery and Follow-Up (39–40)

39. At delivery, while they're happiest:

"Do me one favor — when somebody you know starts talking about needing a vehicle, put them on the phone with me before they walk into a dealership. I'll take care of them the way I took care of you."

See the delivery day script.

40. The unsold follow-up call that isn't "just checking in":

"Hey [name], it's [you] from [store]. Two things: the silver one you drove dropped $700 this morning, and a second one came in with the package you wanted. Didn't want you to find that out from a website."

Cadence: unsold customer follow-up script.

How to Actually Use These

Do not try to learn forty word tracks. You'll learn zero.

Take three. One greeting, one trial close, one objection response — the three moments where you currently feel the least sure of yourself. Rewrite each in your own vocabulary, because a line that doesn't sound like you will sound rehearsed, and rehearsed is worse than clumsy.

Then say each one out loud twenty times. In the car on the way in. In the bathroom mirror. To your dog. Out loud is the whole point — reading a word track and saying a word track are different skills, and the customer only ever experiences the second one. The evidence on voice practice versus silent reading is not subtle, and neither is the difference in how it feels on the floor.

Two weeks later, add three more.

The reason this works is that under pressure you don't say the best line you know, you say the line you've said the most times. Right now, for most salespeople, that's an apology and a walk to the desk. It takes something in the range of 20 to 40 clean repetitions before a new line beats the old default — roughly what the rep count on objections looks like.

If you'd rather get those reps somewhere other than on a live customer who costs you $400 when you fumble, say your three out loud against a customer who pushes back and see which ones survive. More on solo practice at DealSpeak for salespeople. If you want the long-form scripts these lines came out of, the complete script library has them.