Car Salespeople Are the Second Least Trusted Profession in America

A Gallup survey published in December 2025 asked Americans to rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in different professions.

Car salespeople ranked near the bottom. Only 6-7% of Americans rated car salespeople as having high or very high honesty and ethics. Car salespeople ranked second to last — just a few points above telemarketers and nearly tied with Members of Congress.

That’s not an advertising problem. Dealerships and OEMs can’t fix this by pouring more money into ads. That’s a profession-wide trust crisis.

But here’s what makes this fascinating. Ask anyone who works in the automotive industry. They’ll tell you the same thing. People reach out constantly asking if they know anyone that works at a Toyota, Mercedes, Subaru, or any other dealership.
People don’t trust car salespeople. But they desperately want to find one through someone they already trust.

Because when a friend says “my guy works there, he’ll take great care of you” — everything changes. That salesperson is no longer a stranger trying to take advantage of them. They’re an insider. They’ll help you. They’ll make sure you’re taken care of.

Same profession. Same dealership. Completely different perception of the car salesperson.

The introduction changes everything.

Video 1: Someone Is Charging $1,000 to Negotiate Car Deals — and ~400 People Per Month Are Paying It

Watch Tomi’s video

Tomislav Mikula — known as Tomi — is a former car salesperson who calls himself a Personal Car Buying Advocate and founder of Delivrd.

He charges consumers $1,000 to negotiate car deals on their behalf. He has 136,000 followers on Instagram and 612,000 followers and 10.4 million likes on TikTok.

He creates videos of himself negotiating car deals for his customers live. People watch and see exactly what it takes — the insider knowledge, the back and forth, the time commitment — and think it’s worth $1,000 just to hand it off to someone who knows what they’re doing.

People are not paying Tomi because they can’t negotiate. Tomi even says it himself: don’t hire me if saving money is your only goal. You can save more money by not hiring him.

People hire Tomi because they’re afraid. Afraid of being lied to. Afraid of being taken advantage of. Afraid of making a $40,000 mistake they’ll regret. The whole process feels stressful and designed to work against them. They don’t trust car salespeople. They don’t believe them. They want someone in their corner.

That’s the trust gap in action.

According to CNBC, Tomi is on pace for 400 to 700 deals a month by summer — potentially $700,000 a month in revenue across his team of 15 employees. That’s around $46,000 per employee per month. They all work remotely and don’t work the late nights and weekends that car salespeople do.

The average car salesperson sells 12-15 cars a month and makes around $500 per car — that’s $6,000 to $7,500 a month. Tomi’s team built a business out-earning most salespeople by solving the one problem the industry hasn’t: trust.

Video 2: This Dealership Owner Proved Car Shoppers Need a Trusted Insider

Watch Mike’s video

Mike Davenport is the owner of Mike’s Car Store, a used car dealership in Georgetown, Indiana. His dealership has a 4.9 star rating and over 800 Google reviews.

When his employee Connor wanted to buy a Honda Civic, Mike handled the entire deal himself.

Mike is exactly the kind of insider Tomi’s customers are paying $1,000 to find. Connor didn’t need to pay anyone because he already knew Mike. He had direct access to someone who knew the business inside out and had his back the entire time.

Mike made this video to prove you don’t need a broker. But what he actually proved is you do need someone who knows the car business inside out and will look out for you.

Connor came out nearly $3,000 ahead of what Carvana would have given him on his trade and paid nothing to a broker. Not because he didn’t need help. Because he knew someone who works at a car dealership and had his back.

Most car buyers don’t have a Mike. They don’t know anyone who works in the car business and will look out for them. But they wish they did.

A dealership referral app makes it easy for every salesperson’s customers and friends to introduce them to people they know. So more people already have someone they trust when they are shopping for a car.

Video 3: The Parody That Hit a Nerve

Watch Raul’s video

Raul Tomsa — known as Vincierge — is part of MotorWerks Auto Group, which includes a Mercedes-Benz dealership. He has 11,100 followers on Instagram and 7,664 followers and 52,200 likes on TikTok.

Raul made a parody video joking about charging customers just to look around or take a test drive. Because any salesperson knows the frustration — customers come in, take two test drives, ask a hundred questions, and leave without buying. His joke: what if we charged car shoppers just to help them buy a car? $250 for two test drives. $350 for three. $450 for unlimited.

Then Raul got on a live with Tomi and realized his joke wasn’t far from reality. Tomi helps people find vehicles, gives a really great car shopping experience, and charges $1,000 for his services. People are paying it. Tomi told Raul that if customers are getting taken care of well, you should charge people for buying a car from you.

So Raul asked his audience a real question: would you pay a dealership upfront to shop for a car if you knew you’d get a fair price and an amazing experience? What would make a customer actually want to pay upfront just to work with you?

The answer is peace of mind. And peace of mind starts with the introduction.
Consumers don’t need to pay $1,000 to Tomi to get that peace of mind. They just need a friend to say “my friend Raul works at Mercedes, he’ll take great care of you.” The referral app makes it easy for Raul’s customers and friends to send that introduction to everyone they know in 6 seconds — and rewards them when their friend buys a car.

What All Three Videos Are Really Saying

Over 50 million cars are sold in the US every year. Most of those buyers don’t know a single person who works at a dealership.

But they wish they did.

Because when they find out a friend knows someone at a dealership — that changes everything. They don’t see that person as a car salesperson anymore. They see them as an insider. Someone their friend already trusts. Someone who will look out for them instead of taking advantage of them.

The Problem Is Not the Salesperson. It’s the Introduction.

Mike and Raul are proof that great salespeople exist at dealerships. Salespeople who will look out for you, get you a fair deal, and make the whole experience feel nothing like what people dread.

The problem is most car shoppers meet their salesperson by filling out an online lead form or walking into a dealership cold. They don’t know who they’re going to meet. And because car salespeople are the second least trusted profession in America, they walk in guarded, skeptical, and ready for a fight. That changes the entire experience — for the customer and the salesperson.

Most Salespeople Are Uncomfortable Asking for Referrals. They Shouldn’t Be.

Most salespeople hesitate to ask customers and friends for introductions. It feels like asking for a favor. It feels pushy. It feels like using relationships for personal gain.

That hesitation is understandable. But it’s wrong.

Think about what you’re actually asking. You’re not asking someone to buy anything. You’re not asking them to spend money. You’re giving them the chance to be the person who connected their friend with exactly what they were already looking for — a trusted insider at a dealership who will look out for them. People pay Tomi $1,000 for that. Your customer can give it to their friend for free — and get rewarded for it.

Most people have a friend or family member who will be shopping for a car in the next 12 months. That person is going to fill out an internet lead form, walk into a dealership cold, and deal with a stranger they don’t trust. Or they’re going to pay someone like Tomi $1,000 just to feel safe.

When you ask a customer to introduce you to people they know, you’re giving them the chance to be the hero. The friend who knew someone. The protector who made sure their family got taken care of. The go-to person their friends rely on when they need advice.

That’s not a social risk. That’s a high social status moment.

And if you took great care of your customer, they already want to tell people about you. They just don’t know how. The referral app gives them a way to do it in 6 seconds.

You’re not asking for a favor. You’re giving them one.

Every Car Salesperson Already Has What Tomi Is Selling

Tomi built a $700,000 a month business because car salespeople aren’t doing what he does. But they could. Every salesperson already has customers who had a great experience. They already have friends and family who trust them. They don’t need a broker to step in between them.

The salespeople who figure this out — who position themselves as the trusted insider their customers refer friends and family to — won’t just sell more cars. They’ll earn more, stop working late nights and weekends, and stop chasing internet leads who are strangers that treat them like the enemy before they even say hello.

Ali Reda, the top car salesperson in the world, sells over 130 cars a month working only Monday through Friday and leaving by 6pm. He refuses to take dealer-driven opportunities. Today, if someone doesn’t come in asking for him, he hands them off to another salesperson. Only repeats and referrals. That’s what building a business on warm introductions actually looks like.

That’s what Blabber makes possible. The referral app that turns every happy customer and every friend into warm introductions. So the people who need a car already know who to call before they ever fill out an internet lead form or walk into a dealership cold.

The industry doesn’t need more brokers. It needs more salespeople who act like one.

That’s how the best salespeople have always built their business. Blabber just gives every salesperson the tool to do it at scale.

The post The Introduction Changes Everything: What Three Viral Videos Tell Us About Car Buying in 2026 appeared first on Blabber.

It’s not just Gallup. A KPA dealership trust survey found that 76% of consumers don’t trust dealerships to be honest about pricing. 86% are worried about hidden fees. 84% say price transparency is lacking at most dealerships.

The numbers are brutal. But they tell us something important about what works.

Most customers today come in as internet leads. They filled out a form on a third-party site, got blasted by five different dealerships, and walked onto your lot already on the defensive. They’ve spent hours researching online, reading reviews, and comparing quotes. They’ve decided you’re going to lie to them before they ever shake your hand. Every number you give gets challenged. Every recommendation gets questioned. You spend the first hour proving you’re not the villain in their story.

Referrals are the only lead channel where buyers trust the salesperson. When someone you trust introduces a salesperson, the conversation doesn’t start with “Why should I believe you?” It starts with “What do you recommend?” That trust transfers immediately. When it’s already there, your chances of getting the sale go up.

Think about it. When your sibling or your buddy comes to you to buy a car, they don’t question you. They don’t grind you on price. Friends and referrals don’t negotiate. They say, “you’re the expert, what do you recommend?”

That’s what happens with a referral. You’re not a stranger trying to sell them a car. You’re the insider. Someone they know who works at a dealership, who’s the expert, and who’s going to help them avoid a bad decision.

Selling 50+ cars a month is not about being “better at closing.” It’s about engineering a system that makes closing deals easy. Selling high volume is only possible when deals move fast. And deals only move fast when the customer already likes you, believes you, and trusts you.

The post Gallup Says People Don’t Trust Car Salespeople. Referrals Change That. appeared first on Blabber.

• The moment you get a referral, stop and acknowledge it. Do not rush straight into calling or emailing the referral.
• Reply to all referrals within 5 minutes when possible, including on your day off.
  Thank the referrer when replying to the warm introduction.
• Avoid any pressure! The goal of the introduction is to make a friendly connection and lead the person to save your contact information.

Example of a Warm Referral Introduction via Group Text

The Perfect Response — Copy This

Why Every Line In The Reply Matters

The line: “Hi [Referrer name], thanks for the introduction. I really appreciate it.”

Why it matters: Acknowledges the referrer first — not the lead. This signals respect and gratitude, which makes the referrer feel seen and motivated to keep sending you introductions.

The line: “I’ll personally make sure [Referral name] is taken care of.”

Why it matters: The referrer already promised the referral they’d be treated like family. This line confirms that promise publicly.

• The referral hears it and feels like they won by knowing the right person.
• The referrer hears it and knows their word meant something. That feeling is what motivates them to keep introducing you to people they know.

The line: “Hi [Referral name], nice to meet you. If you ever have questions about inventory, trade-ins, or car loans, feel free to reach out anytime.”

Why it matters: Positions you as a resource, not a salesperson. Listing specific topics (inventory, trade-ins, loans) shows expertise without being pushy.

The line: “Even if you’re planning to buy somewhere else, I’m happy to review the quote and financing terms you’re getting and help you negotiate the best deal.”

Why it matters: This is the trust-builder. Removing the pressure to buy from you makes you instantly more credible than every other salesperson they’ve talked to.

The line: “I’ll make sure you’re protected.”

Why it matters: The closing line shifts the entire dynamic. You’re not selling a car — you’re an insider that’s advocating for them. That’s memorable, and that’s what gets you the call when they’re ready.

The post How to Respond When Someone Introduces You to a Referral in a Group Text appeared first on Blabber.

His advice was simple. Make one video. Send it to every single person in your phone. From A to Z.

Not a polished ad. Not a corporate intro. Just you, talking to a camera, telling people what you do. And here’s the smart part — you’re not asking them to buy a car from you. You’re asking them to refer you to someone who’s in the market.

Then sit down on a Sunday afternoon with your favorite drink and text it to everyone. Start at 2 PM. Go till 9 PM. Get it done.

That’s it. That’s the whole strategy.

Everything You Need To Pull This Off

• Video script: We took Gary’s advice and wrote a video script specifically for car salespeople. Use it word-for-word. Jump to the script ↓
• Download teleprompter: Record the video with a BigVue teleprompter app. Paste the script, record with your smartphone while looking straight at the camera. Save time trying to memorize the script or rerecording it over and over. It’s $25/month, but use this link for 50% off.
• Referral app (powered by Blabber): The referral app your dealership already gave you does the heavy lifting, so you can pull this off in one afternoon. Jump to easy steps ↓

Let’s get into it.

The Video Script

Here’s a script you can use almost word-for-word. Swap in your dealership name and two names from your contacts. The rest works as is.

Why Every Line In The Script Matters

A few notes on the script, because every sentence is doing a job.

• “Most of my business comes from referrals.” This is social proof in the first ten seconds. You’re telling people other humans already trust you, so they don’t have to be the first.
• “Starting with [Adam Acosta] and ending with [Zachary Zimmerman].” This proves you really are texting everyone. It removes the awkwardness of the viewer wondering, “Wait, why am I getting this?” The answer is they’re getting it because everyone is.
• “Takes six seconds.” People won’t refer you if it feels like work. Tell them how easy it is.
• “$200 as a thank you for the intro.” Not a bribe. A thank you. The word choice matters. It signals you respect their time and trust.
• “I’ll treat your friends and family the way I’d want my mom treated.” This is the closer. It addresses the unspoken fear every person has when recommending a car salesperson. Are they going to embarrass me?

How To Pull This Off In One Afternoon (The Easy Way!)

Here’s where most salespeople would quit before they even start. Texting hundreds of people one by one sounds exhausting. Copy contact, paste, type message, attach video, send. Repeat 400 times. Nobody’s doing that on a Sunday.

This is exactly why your dealership’s refer-a-friend app exists. It does the heavy lifting for you.

One-time setup:

• Open your dealership referral app
• Click Menu → Business Tools
• Click Media and upload your video. From now on, your video will automatically attach every time you share the referral app with someone.

Then for each contact:

• Click Share App
• Sync your phone contacts. Your full list, A to Z, now lives inside the app.
• Click the Share App button next to each contact. A text message opens with their phone number already filled in, the message already written, and your video already attached.

All you do is tap send.

Here’s what “Share App” pre-fills:

When To Send It

Gary’s advice on this is exactly right. Pick a Sunday afternoon. Start at 2 PM. Go until you’ve hit everyone. Most people are relaxed, on their phones, and likely to actually watch.

Send individually so it feels personal. The app makes that easy — every text goes out one at a time with the contact’s first name in the greeting. It’s personal at scale.
Do it once. Then do it again in six months with an updated video. The people who didn’t refer you the first time might refer you the second time, because life changes fast and somebody in their world is always shopping.

The Bottom Line

Gary Vee gave this advice to landscapers and consultants and personal trainers. But the people who should listen hardest are the ones selling cars.

Your income depends on who knows you’re in the car business. This is how you make sure they all do.

Three steps. Record the video. Open your refer-a-friend app. Go A to Z.

Then go sell some cars.

The post Gary Vee’s 60-Second Referral Video — Rewritten For Car Salespeople appeared first on Blabber.

Olivia (00:00)
So I want you to imagine two salespeople, right? They’re sitting on the exact same dealership showroom floor.

Daniel (00:06)
OK, exact same setup.

Olivia (00:07)
Yeah, exactly. They have access to the exact same inventory, the exact same pricing. They get the exact same walk-in traffic and the exact same internet leads.

Daniel (00:16)
Right. Completely level playing field.

Olivia (00:18)
Exactly. But at the end of the month, one salesperson has sold maybe 10 cars and the other has sold 30, 50, or even over 100.

Daniel (00:28)
It’s a massive gap.

Olivia (00:29)
It really is. And the most compelling part of this isn’t that the second person has some rare innate natural talent. Yeah. It isn’t luck either.

Daniel (00:38)
No, not at all.

Olivia (00:39)
It is a mathematically engineered system of trust. So welcome to the deep dive.

Daniel (00:43)
Glad to be here.

Olivia (00:44)
Today we’re looking at a stack of internal training documents from something called the Blaber Referral System. Specifically, we’ve got their referral playbook and sales scripts for car dealerships.

Daniel (00:55)
Yeah, and the insights in these are just Well, they’re incredible.

Olivia (00:58)
They really are. But our mission today goes way beyond just selling cars. We want to extract the fascinating psychological frameworks these top 1% performers use to turn everyday relationships into massive self-sustaining pipelines.

Daniel (01:15)
Right, because these principles apply to pretty much anything.

Olivia (01:17)
Exactly. We’re going to explore how you can apply these exact communication secrets to your own life no matter what industry you’re in.

Daniel (01:25)
OK, let’s unpack this.

Olivia (01:27)
I mean, it really is a paradigm shift in how we view human interaction. To understand how the top 1% operate, we first have to look at the trap that the average salesperson falls into.

Daniel (01:37)
Right, which the playbook outlines pretty brilliantly.

Olivia (01:40)
It does. In the industry, they call average performers waiters.

Daniel (01:43)
Waiters, like literally just waiting around.

Olivia (01:46)
Exactly. They sit at their desk waiting for the organization to feed them. They wait for a walk-in. They wait for an internet lead.

Daniel (01:51)
Just hoping someone shows up.

Olivia (01:52)
Right. And when you operate that way, you are fundamentally always selling to strangers. I imagine that creates an immense amount of friction. I mean, if you’re only dealing with people who just walk through the door, you have zero prior relationship to lean on.

Daniel (02:07)
Precisely. And the playbook actually has a term for that starting line. They call it zero trust.

Olivia (02:13)
Zero trust.

Daniel (02:14)
Wow. Yeah. And when you start at zero trust, every single interaction is just an uphill battle.

Daniel (02:20)
Because you’re starting from scratch every single time.

Daniel (02:22)
Exactly. You are spending massive amounts of cognitive energy and time just trying to get the person to believe you, to like you, and to trust you.

Olivia (02:32)
And that’s long before you can even begin to actually diagnose their problem and help them.

Daniel (02:36)
Right. Because of that immense friction, deals take significantly longer, and the emotional toll on the salesperson is just really high.

Olivia (02:44)
And the close rate plummets to what, maybe 15% to 20%?

Daniel (02:48)
Yeah, right around there.

Olivia (02:49)
Which means you are losing 80% of the time especially because you were starting from zero.

Daniel (02:53)
It’s exhausting. But the elite performers, the ones moving 50 or 100 units a month, the documents call them builders.

Olivia (03:01)
Builders. Okay, I like that.

Daniel (03:03)
Yeah, they don’t wait for the dealership. They actively build their own pipeline through trusted introductions.

Olivia (03:09)
And the numbers these builders hit are staggering. I mean, the documents mention these absolute legends in the field.

Daniel (03:14)
Oh yeah, the stats are unbelievable.

Olivia (03:16)
Like there’s a guy named Ali Rita who broke a 44-year industry record by selling 1,582 cars in 2017, which is just— wow, working 5 days a week, no fleet sales, just individual buyers. That averages out to about 115 cars a month.

Daniel (03:33)
And then there’s Cody Carter, who reportedly sold 1,799 in 2025.

Olivia (03:38)
Just thinking about the logistics of that, you physically cannot achieve that volume if every conversation starts at zero trust.

Daniel (03:47)
You simply don’t have the hours in the day to overcome that much skepticism.

Olivia (03:51)
Right.

Daniel (03:52)
But when a customer is introduced to you by a trusted friend, the entire dynamic of the conversation flips.

Olivia (03:58)
How so?

Daniel (03:59)
Well, the customer isn’t walking in with their guard up, crossing their arms and asking, you know, why should I trust you?

Olivia (04:04)
They’re already relaxed.

Daniel (04:05)
Exactly. They walk in already relaxed, asking, what do you recommend? The trust has already been transferred to you by the mutual friend.

Olivia (04:12)
That makes total sense. So the deal moves faster. The friction just vanishes.

Daniel (04:17)
Yeah. And that is the specific mechanism that allows you to scale to those incredible volumes.

Olivia (04:23)
It makes me think of it like this. It’s the difference between standing outside with a bucket hoping it rains versus taking the time to build a fully functioning irrigation system.

Daniel (04:33)
Oh, that is a brilliant analogy. I love that.

Olivia (04:36)
Thanks. It just feels like you’re engineering your own weather.

Daniel (04:39)
You really are. And the underlying math of that irrigation system relies entirely on personal branding.

Olivia (04:46)
Hmm. Okay. But we should probably define that carefully.

Daniel (04:48)
Right. Because we aren’t talking about the influencer type of personal branding where you’re just posting on social media for likes.

Olivia (04:54)
Right. No TikTok dances required.

Daniel (04:56)
Exactly. In this context, personal branding simply means you don’t need to actually know everyone in your city. You just need everyone to know you as the go-to resource.

Olivia (05:06)
I hear that, but I have to push back here. Because playing devil’s advocate, car salespeople have a notoriously terrible stereotype in our culture.

Daniel (05:15)
Oh, absolutely.

Olivia (05:16)
The pushy car salesman is a universal trope. If I recommend a car salesman to a close friend, that feels like a massive social risk.

Daniel (05:25)
It does.

Olivia (05:26)
Right? Like, if it goes badly, my friend is going to blame me. Why would anyone willingly take on that social liability?

Daniel (05:33)
That is the exact psychological barrier the playbook addresses. And they call it the referability factor.

Olivia (05:39)
Referability factor.

Daniel (05:40)
Yeah, because you are entirely correct. An introduction is fundamentally a reputation risk.

Olivia (05:46)
People are putting their own name on the line.

Daniel (05:47)
Exactly. People hesitate because they are terrified their friend will get pressured and they fear giving away their friend’s phone number and subjecting them to unwanted spam calls.

Olivia (05:57)
Nobody wants to be the reason their friend gets spam.

Daniel (05:59)
Exactly. So to conquer this, the top 1% have to completely shed the identity of a closer.

Olivia (06:05)
Interesting. So what do they become instead?

Daniel (06:08)
They have to become what the playbook calls a protector, an advisor, and an insider.

Olivia (06:13)
A protector. I like the sound of that.

Daniel (06:14)
Yeah, because the number one thing customers fear is being taken advantage of or lied to.

Olivia (06:20)
Right, especially in that environment.

Daniel (06:22)
So the elite salesperson makes it their explicit stated mission to protect their client’s friends from making bad decisions.

Olivia (06:31)
And the playbook goes into detail about how Ali Reza actually does this in practice. It’s fascinating.

Daniel (06:37)
It really is. He goes so far above and beyond.

Olivia (06:40)
Yeah. He doesn’t just sell a car, hand over the keys, and vanish. He literally trains his customers to depend on him for absolutely everything related to a vehicle.

Daniel (06:50)
Everything.

Olivia (06:51)
If a customer gets a flat tire on the side of the highway, they don’t call a tow truck. They call Ali, and he calls the tow truck for them.

Daniel (06:58)
Which is amazing customer service.

Olivia (07:00)
Right. If they need an oil change, they text him, and he sends them a scheduling link instantly.

Daniel (07:05)
And let’s look at the behavioral psychology behind why that is so effective.

Olivia (07:08)
Yeah, what’s going on in the brain there?

Daniel (07:09)
He is creating behavioral habit loops. You see, modern adulthood is full of decision fatigue and cognitive load.

Olivia (07:18)
Oh, tell me about it. We’re all exhausted, right?

Daniel (07:21)
So by removing the friction from the usual chaos of owning a car, figuring out who to call for a tow, finding a reliable mechanic, he becomes a single reliable point of contact.

Olivia (07:32)
He just handles it.

Daniel (07:33)
Exactly. He reduces their cognitive load to zero.

Olivia (07:37)
Wow. So when that customer’s friend eventually says, hey, I need a new car, the customer doesn’t even have to weigh their options.

Daniel (07:44)
Not at all. The habit loop is so deeply ingrained that they just immediately say, you have to call my guy. He handles everything.

Olivia (07:51)
There’s this great quote in the source material from a general sales manager named Scott Montgomery talking about Rita.

Daniel (07:57)
Oh yeah, I remember that one.

Olivia (07:58)
He says Rita is highly consistent, Treats his customers like family. And this is the kicker: he won’t sell one person a car for $250 a month and then turn around and sell the exact same car to someone else for $190 a month.

Daniel (08:13)
If we connect this to the bigger picture that consistency is the absolute foundation of trust, it proves he’s actually looking out for them. Exactly. Top salespeople value long-term relationships over short-term transactional profits. If a customer knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are fair, consistent, and protective, the perceived social risk of referring you drops to zero.

Olivia (08:38)
But because they aren’t throwing their friend to the wolves, right?

Daniel (08:41)
They feel like they are giving their friend VIP access to an exclusive insider.

Olivia (08:46)
Okay, so if we establish that we have to be this protective insider, we still have to figure out how to actually get the introduction.

Daniel (08:52)
Yes, the actual execution of it.

Olivia (08:54)
And here’s where it gets really interesting. The plain science of how you ask makes all the difference.

Daniel (09:00)
It is entirely about linguistics and neurology.

Olivia (09:03)
Words matter.

Daniel (09:04)
They really do. The language we use triggers very specific cognitive responses in the person we are speaking to.

Olivia (09:11)
So what’s the secret?

Daniel (09:12)
Well, the playbook has a strict rule. You must never ask for a referral.

Olivia (09:17)
Never use that word.

Daniel (09:18)
Never.

Olivia (09:18)
Because the word referral sounds incredibly transactional. It triggers a feeling of pressure, like I suddenly owe you a favor.

Daniel (09:25)
Yes. And it puts the customer on the defensive right away.

Olivia (09:27)
So what do they say instead?

Daniel (09:28)
The playbook instructs salespeople to ask for 3 introductions.

Olivia (09:32)
3 introductions.

Daniel (09:33)
Yes. The word “introduction” triggers a completely different neural pathway.

Olivia (09:38)
It sounds a lot friendlier.

Daniel (09:40)
Exactly. It signals social connection and community. It significantly softens the ask. But the real genius here is in the framing of the question itself.

Olivia (09:51)
How so?

Daniel (09:51)
If you ask a customer, “Do you know anyone looking for a car?” You are forcing their brain to apply a very narrow filter.

Olivia (10:00)
Like a search engine query.

Daniel (10:02)
Right. They scan their memory strictly for people who have explicitly stated out loud that they are actively car shopping this exact week.

Olivia (10:10)
Which is almost always an empty search result.

Daniel (10:13)
Exactly. The brain returns a zero.

Olivia (10:14)
Right.

Daniel (10:15)
But if you change the question to, who are 3 people in your circle I should know? The brain completely drops the active buyer filter.

Olivia (10:21)
Because you aren’t asking for a buyer anymore.

Daniel (10:23)
Exactly. Now they are just recalling their social map. They picture their family members, the guy they spot at the gym every morning, their coworkers.

Olivia (10:30)
And the math behind why you want to meet those seemingly random contacts is fascinating.

Daniel (10:35)
It really is.

Olivia (10:36)
The documents cite a statistic from the National Automobile Dealers Association, or NADA.

Daniel (10:43)
A really crucial stat.

Olivia (10:44)
Yeah. It turns out that 30% of car buyers have a close contact who will buy a vehicle in the next 90 days.

Daniel (10:51)
Just think about that for a second.

Olivia (10:52)
Literally 1 out of every 3 people in a person’s close circle will likely be in the market soon.

Daniel (10:59)
That one statistic changes the entire strategy of selling.

Olivia (11:03)
It really does.

Daniel (11:04)
It means you do not need to find the person buying a car today. You just need to secure real estate in the phones of the 3 people around them.

Olivia (11:11)
Just be on standby.

Daniel (11:13)
Exactly. The playbook actually references the real estate mogul Ryan Serhant here.

Olivia (11:18)
Oh yeah.

Daniel (11:18)
Yeah. Noting that his daily goal is to meet 5 to 15 new people. He doesn’t care if they are buying a house today. He treats his contact list as contact currency.

Olivia (11:27)
So if you’re listening to this right now, you might be thinking, wait, the secret is to actively ask to meet people who have zero intention of buying your product today.

Daniel (11:34)
Sounds totally backward, right?

Olivia (11:37)
That seems completely counterintuitive to everything we are usually taught about traditional sales, where you are supposed to focus hyper-specifically on qualified leads.

Daniel (11:47)
It goes against traditional sales training completely. But that is exactly why the top 1% operate this way.

Olivia (11:53)
They’re playing at a different game.

Daniel (11:55)
Exactly. It is about building market presence inside private social circles. You are planting seeds.

Olivia (12:01)
Just building the network.

Daniel (12:03)
Right. By getting the introduction now, when there is absolutely zero pressure to buy, you establish yourself as the friendly advisor.

Olivia (12:11)
You get to prove your value without asking for a dime.

Daniel (12:14)
Exactly. So 3, 6, or 9 months later, when their transmission suddenly drops out on the highway, they don’t Google a dealership.

Olivia (12:21)
You are the default call.

Daniel (12:22)
You are the only call.

Olivia (12:23)
It’s the irrigation system again. We aren’t waiting for the rain. We’re laying the pipes.

Daniel (12:27)
Laying the pipes. Exactly.

Olivia (12:28)
So the psychology makes sense. Ask for introductions, not referrals. But I imagine there’s a huge gap between knowing that theory and actually getting a customer to hand over their phone before they drive off the lot.

Daniel (12:40)
Oh, execution is everything.

Olivia (12:41)
Right. How do they actually execute this in the real world?

Daniel (12:44)
The tactical execution. All comes down to a critical 60-second window.

Olivia (12:50)
60 seconds?

Daniel (12:51)
Yeah. The playbook states that the entire difference between getting zero referrals and getting three referrals is whether the salesperson has the discipline to stand with the customer for 60 seconds longer before they leave the dealership.

Olivia (13:06)
So you can’t just let them walk away?

Daniel (13:08)
You absolutely cannot let them say, oh, I’ll download your app and do it when I get home.

Olivia (13:11)
Because we all know what happens when someone leaves the environment.

Daniel (13:14)
Life gets in the way and it never happens.

Olivia (13:16)
Right. They forget instantly. So is there a specific window when you’re supposed to ask? Like, do you just ambush them at the door with your QR code?

Daniel (13:24)
No. Timing is everything. You definitely don’t ambush them.

Olivia (13:27)
Okay. Good to know.

Daniel (13:28)
The elite salesperson waits for what the playbook calls the peak satisfaction state.

Olivia (13:33)
Peak satisfaction state.

Daniel (13:34)
Yes. The absolute best time to ask for an introduction is the exact moment the customer says thank you or gives you a compliment.

Olivia (13:42)
Oh, wow.

Daniel (13:43)
Think about it. Maybe you just spent an hour negotiating a great interest rate for them, or you just brought their new car around, freshly washed and detailed.

Olivia (13:51)
And they’re thrilled, right?

Daniel (13:53)
And they look at you and say, wow, thank you so much for all your help with this.

Olivia (13:56)
Because nobody says no right after complimenting you.

Daniel (13:59)
Exactly. It’s a fundamental social contract.

Olivia (14:01)
You’d feel rude doing that, right?

Daniel (14:04)
When someone is at peak happiness with your service, Their defenses are completely down. The brain has likely just released a spike of oxytocin and dopamine from the positive interaction.

Olivia (14:15)
They’re literally chemically primed to be agreeable.

Daniel (14:18)
Exactly. To compliment someone and then immediately deny them a small, reasonable favor creates cognitive dissonance. It feels unnatural.

Olivia (14:27)
So the elite salesperson stripes right at that peak.

Daniel (14:30)
They do. They physically stop the customer, guide them through the dealership’s referral app right then and there.

Olivia (14:36)
Just knock it out in 1 minute.

Daniel (14:38)
Right. They have the customer scan a QR code, sync their contacts, and send a pre-written text message.

Olivia (14:44)
And to sweeten the deal, they emphasize a $250 Venmo reward that the customer gets if the introduction eventually leads to a sale.

Daniel (14:53)
Which is a pretty nice incentive.

Olivia (14:55)
For sure. And there’s this extra little behavioral trick they use if the customer in front of them actually came from a referral themselves.

Daniel (15:02)
Oh, this part is brilliant.

Olivia (15:04)
Yeah. The salesperson will say, hey, if it weren’t for your friend, I never would have met you.

Daniel (15:08)
It’s so simple.

Olivia (15:10)
But the research in the playbook shows that just reminding them of that fact increases their chance of introducing someone else by 21%.

Daniel (15:18)
Because it normalizes the behavior, right? It reminds the customer that they directly benefited from an introduction.

Olivia (15:24)
It triggers a psychological sense of reciprocity, making them much more willing to pay that exact same favor forward to their own network.

Daniel (15:32)
Exactly.

Olivia (15:33)
It sounds like running a marathon, but stopping one foot before the finish line.

Daniel (15:37)
It really does.

Olivia (15:38)
I mean, if you’ve done all the hard work to negotiate the deal, detail the car, and make them completely happy, taking that extra 60 seconds is the victory lap. It just seals the system.

Daniel (15:47)
It seals the deal. But of course, human beings are unpredictable.

Olivia (15:53)
Always.

Daniel (15:53)
Even with the perfect setup, the peak satisfaction state, and the right phrasing, people will still push back.

Olivia (15:59)
Right. In the real world, people throw up objections. So how do these top performers handle those objections without suddenly sounding like that pushy stereotype they worked so hard to shed?

Daniel (16:11)
Well, the most common objection is the customer trying to take the easy way out.

Olivia (16:14)
What do they say?

Daniel (16:15)
They say something like, “Sure, let me just give you a couple of names and phone numbers, and you can call them and say I sent you.” Which, on the surface, sounds incredibly helpful.

Olivia (16:23)
They’re giving you the leads.

Daniel (16:24)
It sounds helpful, yeah. But the playbook is emphatic. You must gently refuse this.

Olivia (16:30)
Refuse it?

Daniel (16:31)
Wow. Yes. If you call those numbers without the customer directly introducing you first, your chance of success drops by 50%.

Olivia (16:39)
A 50% drop just from not having the text sent?

Daniel (16:42)
Exactly. To the friend on the other end of the line, it still feels like a cold call. The salesperson has to gently insist that the customer sends the text from their own phone to bridge that trust gap.

Olivia (16:55)
But then customers will naturally say, “Well, I don’t want to sync my contacts to your app. I don’t want my friends getting spammed by a dealership.” Which is a totally valid modern privacy fear. Absolutely.

Daniel (17:06)
The counter to this isn’t to argue, though. It’s pure reassurance. You explain that the app doesn’t steal their phone book. It just uses the same local permissions as Facebook or LinkedIn to let them select the name quickly.

Olivia (17:18)
Just putting them at ease.

Daniel (17:19)
Right. And if they still hate the idea, No problem. They can just type the numbers in manually. You immediately give them back the control so they don’t feel trapped.

Olivia (17:27)
My absolute favorite objection handler in the script is for when a customer says, you know, I really don’t like giving referrals out. I’d rather just wait until one of my friends explicitly asks me for advice.

Daniel (17:39)
That’s a tough one to beat, right?

Olivia (17:41)
How do you overcome that without sounding like you’re begging?

Daniel (17:44)
The playbook calls this the flip-flop technique.

Olivia (17:47)
The flip-flop technique.

Daniel (17:48)
Yes. And this is where the identity of the protector really shines. It requires a profound psychological shift.

Olivia (17:55)
Okay, walk me through it.

Daniel (17:56)
The salesperson counters by saying, I completely understand. But if a friend told you they had a terrible, frustrating car buying experience, you’d want to introduce them to someone you trust, right? People trust your judgment. Who are 3 people you’d want to protect like that?

Olivia (18:11)
Oh, wow. It totally flips the script.

Daniel (18:13)
It does.

Olivia (18:14)
It takes the pressure off the customer acting as a sales enabler. And shifts their identity to being a friend protector.

Daniel (18:20)
Exactly. Humans naturally want to protect their tribe.

Olivia (18:24)
Right. If you don’t introduce me, your friends might get ripped off by someone else.

Daniel (18:28)
Yes. And once you tap into that tribal desire to protect, the resistance just melts away.

Olivia (18:34)
That is so smart.

Daniel (18:36)
And once that text message is finally sent, the follow-up has to be immediate.

Olivia (18:40)
Don’t wait around.

Daniel (18:41)
Right. The rule is, to acknowledge the referral text within 5 minutes.

Olivia (18:46)
5 minutes.

Daniel (18:47)
Yes. The salesperson replies to the group text, thanks the referrer publicly, and then explicitly removes all pressure from the new contact.

Olivia (18:57)
What do they say to remove the pressure?

Daniel (18:59)
They say something like, even if you buy somewhere else, I’ll review their quotes to make sure you’re protected.

Olivia (19:05)
You are offering your expertise for free just to prove you are the safe harbor.

Daniel (19:11)
What’s fascinating here is they celebrate the referral itself as the massive win, regardless of whether a car is actually sold. Completely regardless of whether a car is ever sold to that new person. The goal isn’t the immediate transaction, right? The goal is expanding the network of trust. Because if you reward the behavior of the introduction, the customer will keep doing it.

Olivia (19:33)
So what does this all mean? We’ve covered a lot of ground today from a very specific industry, but the implications are so much broader for anyone listening.

Daniel (19:41)
Oh, without a doubt. The core takeaway is that the zero trust grind is a choice.

Olivia (19:45)
You don’t have to live there.

Daniel (19:46)
No, you do not have to spend your career constantly draining your energy trying to convince strangers of your worth. If you can shift your mindset from being a transaction closer to being a referable protector, you change the entire dynamic of how you do business because you lower the cognitive load for your clients so much that they can’t help but recommend you. Exactly.

Olivia (20:07)
You leverage those moments of peak satisfaction. You ask for introductions. Instead of transactional referrals, right? And you build a system where your network is doing the heavy lifting for you before you ever even enter the room.

Daniel (20:19)
It is about engineering trust at scale.

Olivia (20:21)
I want to leave you with a final thought to ponder as you go about your day. Think about your own career, your own business, or whatever field you are in. If you completely stopped asking people for their business today and instead only asked for introductions so you could protect their friends from making bad decisions in your industry, How quickly would your calendar fill up?

Daniel (20:42)
That is a great question.

Olivia (20:43)
Thank you so much for joining us on this deep dive. Next time you see two people sitting on a showroom floor, you’ll know exactly who is waiting for the rain and who built the irrigation system.

The post Referral playbook for car salespeople – How the top 1% sell 100 cars per month appeared first on Blabber.

Sales script

7 more common referral objections

1. “Call them and tell them I sent you” (See what to say)
2. “I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.” (See what to say)
3. “I don’t know if anyone is shopping for a car right now.” (See what to say)
4. “Sure, I’ll do it when I get home.” (See what to say)
5. “I don’t want to annoy my friends.” (See what to say)
6. “What if my friend has a bad experience?” (See what to say)
7. “I don’t really like giving referrals. I’d rather wait until someone asks me for a recommendation or advice.” (See what to say)

The post How to respond when person says, “I don’t want to sync my contacts”. appeared first on Blabber.

Plus, typing an introduction message on their phone with one finger feels like a lot of work.

Like writing a Google review, they put it off until later.

Your dealership referral app takes care of that. Here is what to say next.

Sales script

7 more common referral objections

1. “Call them and tell them I sent you” (See what to say)
2. “I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.” (See what to say)
3. “I don’t know if anyone is shopping for a car right now.” (See what to say)
4. “Sure, I’ll do it when I get home.” (See what to say)
5. “I don’t want to annoy my friends.” (See what to say)
6. “What if my friend has a bad experience?” (See what to say)
7. “I don’t want to sync my contacts. I don’t want people getting spammed.” (See what to say)
8. “I don’t really like giving referrals. I’d rather wait until someone asks me for a recommendation or advice.” (See what to say)

The post Automotive – Referral sales script: How to respond when person says, “Sure, I’ll do it when I get home.” appeared first on Blabber.

In reality, the goal is to get your name and contact information into more circles so you become known by more people. That’s how you become the person people call later when they need a car.

Sales script

7 more common referral objections

1. “Call them and tell them I sent you” (See what to say)
2. “I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.” (See what to say)
3. “Sure, I’ll do it when I get home.” (See what to say)
4. “I don’t want to annoy my friends.” (See what to say)
5. “What if my friend has a bad experience?” (See what to say)
6. “I don’t want to sync my contacts. I don’t want people getting spammed.” (See what to say)
7. “I don’t really like giving referrals. I’d rather wait until someone asks me for a recommendation or advice.” (See what to say)

The post Automotive – Referral sales script: How to respond when person says, “I don’t know if anyone is shopping for a car right now.” appeared first on Blabber.

Sales script

7 more common referral objections

1. “Call them and tell them I sent you” (See what to say)
2. “I don’t know if anyone is shopping for a car right now.” (See what to say)
3. “Sure, I’ll do it when I get home.” (See what to say)
4. “I don’t want to annoy my friends.” (See what to say)
5. “What if my friend has a bad experience?” (See what to say)
6. “I don’t want to sync my contacts. I don’t want people getting spammed.” (See what to say)
7. “I don’t really like giving referrals. I’d rather wait until someone asks me for a recommendation or advice.” (See what to say)

The post Automotive – Referral sales script: How to respond when person says, “I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.” appeared first on Blabber.

Sales script

7 more common referral objections

1. “I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.” (See what to say)
2. “I don’t know if anyone is shopping for a car right now.” (See what to say)
3. “Sure, I’ll do it when I get home.” (See what to say)
4. “I don’t want to annoy my friends.” (See what to say)
5. “What if my friend has a bad experience?” (See what to say)
6. “I don’t want to sync my contacts. I don’t want people getting spammed.” (See what to say)
7. “I don’t really like giving referrals. I’d rather wait until someone asks me for a recommendation or advice.” (See what to say)

The post Automotive – Referral sales script: How to respond when person says, “Call them and tell them I sent you”. appeared first on Blabber.