If I called a store & they wouldn't give me a price over the phone- Would I be happy? Would I say to myself, "This guy knows his stuff! I can't wait to drive to his store so I can be privy to his secret price. His price is soooo good, he can't even tell anyone. Wow, let me get my coat!"? The only place that will happen is in your dreams. Has a customer ever come into your store & said "Boy, am I glad you wouldn't give me that price over the phone. Driving here is sooo much more convenient"? Have you ever called a retail store anywhere, at any time, in any industry, & have them refuse to give you a price on a specific product? If they refused, did you still go there? Does refusing to give a price over the phone build your business? create confidence in the customers mind? cause a customer to refer others to you? No. What does refusing to give a price over the phone do? It makes us feel like we're in control. It makes for a good story to tell our buddies. "Man, that jerk will have to come in if they want me to give them a price!" What do the Large dealers do? The ones who are growing, do? They tell the price, then ask a few questions, offer any advice they can over the phone & invite the customer into the store. Does that work every time? Nope. But refusing to give a price over the phone almost never works. I know-I know. You have a story about a time it worked. Why do you remember it? Because it works so rarely. "But wait! we give the customer a great reason they can't get a price over the phone." No, you don't. The customer isn't interested in your story. They want the price. And strangely enough, they will call the next store, to get a price rather than drive to see you. The "refusing to give a price over the phone" crowd does it for one reason- That's the way they were taught. This is not discovered through experience. You'll never read this in a sales book. It is passed on, generation after generation, as a "technique". It is a technique. It has a name. It's called a beginner technique.