Quoting Tires on WhatsApp
the script that closes
A tire shop's WhatsApp gets the same question a hundred times: "how much for a 205/55R16?". How you answer it decides whether that person walks onto your floor or the one across the street.
The three things to ask for (and nothing more)
Asking for a lot of details scares people off. These three are enough to quote without getting it wrong:
- The full size. It is on the tire's sidewall: 205/55R16 91V. If the customer cannot find it, have them send a photo of the sidewall.
- How many. It changes the price and it changes the deal.
- Car and year. It confirms the size is the factory one and lets you offer correct alternatives.
The sidewall photo answers all three at once and is the easiest thing to ask for: "send me a photo of the tire's sidewall and I'll get you a price".
Want to see how Victoria would quote this from your catalog? Send us a real quote request from your counter on WhatsApp and we answer it with your prices and stock.
Send a quote request on WhatsApp →How to give the price so they can decide
A bare price forces three more questions, and every question is a chance for them to leave. The message that closes brings it all together:
- Two options, not one: the middle one and the budget one, with brand and model.
- Whether the price includes mounting, valve and balancing, or whether those are extra.
- Stock: today, or by what day.
- A question that keeps it moving: "want me to set them aside for you?".
Two options make the comparison happen between your tires, not between your shop and the one across the street.
The clock runs faster than it looks
Whoever asks on WhatsApp has already asked in two other places. Across 29,455 real counter part requests, the median to first price is 16 minutes and 1 in 8 never gets a price within 24 hours.
What predicts losing the customer is not a high price: it is silence. Among those who never got a price, the vast majority never wrote again.
The hours when the messages arrive
Questions arrive when the customer can send them: at night, on weekends, and above all while your hands are inside a car. Answering "I'll get back to you" and never returning is the most common way to lose the sale, because the customer already got a price from someone else while waiting.
The fix is not answering faster by hand: it is having the price go out without depending on you being free. It is what gets lost on WhatsApp at any counter.
After the price
If they went quiet, write three days later with the saved quote. If they bought, write down the date: four tires last two to three years and that is your reminder to write again.
And while the car is on the lift, check what you can see with the wheel off: that is where the margin the tire does not leave you lives.
Frequently asked questions
What do you need to ask for to quote tires on WhatsApp?
The full size off the sidewall (205/55R16 91V), how many units, and the car with its year. A photo of the tire's sidewall answers all three at once and is the easiest thing to ask the customer for.
Is it better to give the price right away or ask them to call?
Right away and in full. Whoever asks for a price has already asked in two other places, and buys from the first one who gives a price they can decide on. Asking them to call adds a step almost nobody takes.
How long do I have to answer?
Less than it seems. Across 29,455 measured part requests, the median to first price is 16 minutes and 1 in 8 never gets a price within 24 hours. What predicts losing the customer is not quoting high: it is not quoting at all.
What do I do if they go quiet after the quote?
Write three days later with the saved quote. Between 70% and 80% of requests show no sign of a sale the same day, and that is the cheapest sale you can recover because you already spent to bring that person in.
Try it with your real catalog
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