If Your Car’s Extended Warranty Calls Are a Joke, Why Is Your Team Selling the Same Way?

We all know the call.

“We’re reaching out about your car’s extended warranty…”

Eye roll and Click.

Nobody wants the car’s extended warranty. It’s not because they love to pay repair bills and roll the dice on if a car will ever breakdown, but because the way it’s sold is awful and doesn’t make you think at all about the risk (insert vomit emoji here).

*I do truly feel for the reps that are in this profession though and asked to make these calls.

The Real Problem with the Approach

The typical extended warranty pitch goes something like this:

Rep: “Hi! I’m calling about your car’s extended warranty.”
You: “I’m not interested.”
Rep: “But repairs are expensive. Wouldn’t you like peace of mind?”
You: “No.”
Rep: “For just $XX a month, you can avoid costly breakdowns!”

It’s a similar script every time. There is no understanding of your situation, your car, or what problem / risk you may not even be thinking about. Instead, it is assumed that you know why it’s important to have an extended warranty, and that you have done the assessment and weighed out pros and cons (no one really has tho).

Why No One Cares

People don’t buy things just because they’re available. This goes for extended car warranties and 100k tech tools. They buy because they have a problem worth solving and because the sellers has done an amazing job and showing the case for change. So what’s the issue here with the warranty?

• Most drivers don’t see a problem. Their car is running fine.
• They assume breakdowns are rare or will happen later.
• They’ve heard bad things about extended warranties and don’t trust them (because they get so many calls)

So when a rep call leading with the warranty and the product, the answer is always NO from the buyer. (I mean, I’ve yet to meet anyone who has said – heck yes – I purchased that extended warranty).

Shifting The Conversation

Now, for a minute, I want you to think about someone who sells extended warranties actually getting five minutes with you on the phone. And they KNOW you have a family. And their questions make you think about a problem you haven’t thought about yet.

Instead of jumping straight to “Repairs are expensive!”, a real sales conversation would help the buyer connect the dots between their specific situation and the real financial risk of a breakdown.

For example, imagine someone living in Colorado:

• Their car warranty expires this year.
• They own a home.
• Property taxes just went up 22%.

That’s a perfect setup for a question that makes them rethink their priorities about their family!

“With property taxes up 22% this year, and your warranty on your vehicle running out, have you considered how a sudden $3,000 car repair would impact your family?”

That’s a different conversation.

It’s not about inciting fear.

t’s about making the buyer think about their situation. They may not have put two and two together that a 22% property tax increase every single month could cause them to have to change their lifestyle. If they’ve been stressing about higher mortgage payments, the last thing they need is a surprise car bill on top of it.

Now the conversation shifts into the nitty gritty where the seller can start to put together some of puzzle pieces to get a better understanding about the family, who drives the car, wear and tear on the car, the family’s plan for the car, etc.

This Applies to Every Sale

Extended warranties aren’t the only teams out there getting a bad reputation for straight product pitching. It’s rampant, and it has to change if you want the outcome to change. This same mistake happens across industries:

• Sellers pitch software before understanding anything about the company
• Trainers push workshops without identifying skill gaps.
• Reps send demos before identifying what the problem environment is

When buyers don’t see a problem, they don’t care about the solution. And if your reps are skipping straight to the demo or pitch or product, that’s exactly what’s happening.

The Fix?

Stop assuming people care. Start working with your teams on finding real problems buyers DO care about.