MoosedMoosed Sales Academy · Beginner — Foundations · B5
B5 — Communication Channels I
*Source map: M5 (exact words) + M6 (phone) + M7 (written thread) +
customer-communication-rules.md + Rules v12 + speed-to-lead data
(library: new-school-and-negotiation) + word-track bank (re-voiced).
Sitz time: ~35 min.*
Learning objectives
By the end of B5 you can:
- 1. State the contact window and the 5-minute rule — and the data behind
them.
- 2. Work a phone call to an appointment or a clear decision step.
- 3. Write a text/thread message to standard: 1–3 short sentences, one
purpose, one easy question, always a next step.
- 4. Speak as yourself and as the store on every channel — and know what
voice each channel uses.
- 5. Handle the credit question on any channel with the wall answer.
Lesson script (narration)
[SLIDE: B5 title — "Communication Channels I" — phone/text/Facebook
plate]
TRAINER: (Walls, spoken.) "Most of our buyers never start with a
phone call. They start with a text, a Facebook message, a thread. So
this module treats every channel as a first-class channel — same
standard, different discipline.
"First, the clock, because the clock is money. The research is blunt:
answering a lead in **5 minutes instead of 30 makes contact roughly 100
times more likely and qualifying about 21 times more likely** (Oldroyd
lead-response research, 15,000+ leads). First call inside 5 minutes
converts at about 8 times the rate of calls placed later
(InsideSales, 2021). Meanwhile the average dealership's first response
is over 9 hours — and better than a quarter of dealer leads never
get answered at all. Being fast and being human is a competitive
weapon, not a nicety.
"So our rules: **customer contact runs 9 AM–7 PM Eastern, Monday–
Saturday. No Sunday sends. And the 5-minute rule**: a new inbound
waits at least 5 minutes before you reply — instant replies read
robotic — and then you answer it in the same work cycle. Fast, but
human. An appointment already in progress at 7 PM may be finished in
that same thread; no new topic after 7."
[SLIDE: "The phone call is an event" — TRACK frame]
"The phone. Every call is a close-able event — not a chat, not a
check-in — an event with one job: **an appointment, or a clear decision
step, on that call.** Control early: the first ten seconds decide who's
leading, and leading means pointing the conversation at the next step.
A pattern interrupt isn't rudeness; it's respect for his time and yours.
Credit worry on the phone gets one answer — the wall answer: the banks
decide, and we'll let them. Say it plainly and move back to the
appointment."
[SLIDE: "The thread standard" — message-bubble graphic]
"The thread. Same standard, different discipline: **short messages, one
purpose each, one to three sentences, ~160 characters as your guide.**
One easy question the buyer can answer with a single reply. Always a
next step — a message with no next step is a dead end, and a message
with two purposes is two messages. Read every message twice before it
goes: once for what it says, once for how it lands — in a thread, the
buyer can't hear your tone fix it. React to what the customer just said
before any business content. Never ask a question the thread already
answered. Never re-announce yourself over and over — on a store page,
speak as the store team; on a text to your own customer, speak as
yourself, by name, once: 'Hey {Name}, this is [your name] at your store.' Plain talk. No hype words. No em dashes. Say less — the nervous
seller over-speaks, and every extra sentence is a door the buyer can
leave through.
"Facebook threads have one more discipline: if an appointment isn't
set in about 10 messages, stop pushing — hand the thread to your
your manager and let a human voice change the angle. And on every
channel: whose voice? **Your customers, your name. Store pages, the
store. Never anyone else's name, never a character.**"
Word tracks (TRACK)
Call open:
"Thanks for calling your store — this is [your name]. I can help
you with that, and I'll keep this short. So I point you at the right
thing — what does this vehicle have to do for you?"
Call drive:
"Based on what you've told me, the next step is in person: you,
[the vehicle], and everything on the table where you can see it.
[Day] or [day]?"
Thread opener (as written):
"Hey {Name}, this is [your name] at your store. Quick question so
I point you at the right thing: what does this vehicle have to do
for you?"
Thread next-step (as written):
"Based on that, the next step is seeing [the vehicle] in person
against what you told me. [Day] or [day] — which suits you? One
reply is all it takes."
Confidence builder (banked — use when a buyer doubts approval):
"Your situation sounds just like my customer last week, and we got
them done."
Confidence builder (turned down elsewhere):
"Folks get turned down at other lots then come here and we get it
done. Happens all the time."
Photo job aid — desk card B5
EVERY CHANNEL, ONE STANDARD
- Window: 9 AM–7 PM ET, Mon–Sat. No Sunday sends.
- 5-minute rule: wait 5, then answer in the same cycle. (5 min vs. 30
= ~100× the contact odds.)
- Phone: open fast → discovery → appointment or decision step, on
that call.
- Text/thread: 1–3 sentences, ONE purpose, ONE easy question, always
a next step. Read it twice. ~10-message cap on FB → hand off.
- Voice: your customers = your name. Store pages = the store.
- Credit question, any channel: "The banks decide. We'll let them."
Floor drill — partner role-play
Two drills. (1) Phone: Partner B plays three scripted callers (a
price-shopper, a credit-worried buyer, a "just looking" caller). Partner
A runs open → discovery → drive; at least 2 of 3 must end in a set
appointment or a clear decision step. (2) Thread: partners text on
paper cards — a five-message simulated thread from first reply to
appointment set; no message over ~160 characters, no dead ends.
Trainer watches for: the 5-minute rule stated before the drill
starts; wall answer on credit, word-for-word substance; one purpose per
message; "decision step" means a named step at a named time — a warm,
vague ending has not passed.
Practice self-check (ungraded)
- 1. It's 6:52 PM and a brand-new lead texts a question. What do you do,
and by when must your reply land?
- 2. Rewrite this to standard: "Hey!!! Just wanted to reach out and see
if you're still interested in possibly coming in sometime to check
out our amazing inventory — we've got tons of great deals!!"
- 3. A caller asks, "Be honest — will I get approved?" Your exact answer.
- 4. Why 5 minutes — what does the research say it buys you?
Field assignment (same day)
Work your manager's cleared set of live inbound threads/calls inside
the window. Log each one: time in, time of your reply (prove the
5-minute rule), channel, outcome (appointment / decision step / handed
off). File the log to your record; your trainer reviews it at the 9:30
AM audit rhythm the next morning.
Institute media note: the narrated video for this module is in preparation (neutral-script re-render). The lesson above is the complete taught standard.
Module media & materials
Slide deck (PDF) · Job aid / desk card (PDF)
Narrated video: in preparation (neutral-script re-render). The full lesson text above is the taught standard.
Enrolled learners: record this unit on your learner record from your course page. Reading is open to everyone; progress, the end-of-course test (B10), and certificates live on the learner record.