Auction Sell Rate Strategy and Script to Boost Sell Rate to 75%
Here is a scenario I see play out every Saturday at public auctions across the country:
The Setup: You run 40 cars in your marketplace.
The Result: You sell 20 of them.
The Metric: You hit a 50% Sell Rate.
Most dealers high-five, pack up the 20 unsold cars, and wait for next week.
This is a massive mistake.
If you had 80 registered bidders and only 20 bought a car, that means 60 people left your lot with money in their pocket.
These aren’t cold leads; they are people who took the time to register, show ID, and wave their hand to try and give you money.
You don’t need better inventory to hit a 75% sell rate. You just need to work the Underbidders.
The Psychology of the “Runner-Up”
The person who came in second place on a vehicle is the hottest lead in the automotive industry.
They are qualified: They registered.
They are motivated: They actively bid.
They are frustrated: They just lost the car they wanted.
This is the perfect psychological moment to offer them a “Second Chance.”
The Script that Converts
Your sales team should be calling every runner-up bidder within 60 minutes of the auction ending.
Do NOT say: “Hi, do you want to buy a different car?” (Too salesy). DO say: “I think I can get you a deal on a similar unit.” (Helpful insider).
Here is the exact script we see successful dealers using to move unsold inventory to underbidders:
THE SCRIPT
Sales Rep: “Hi [Name], this is [Name] with the auction. I saw you were the runner-up bidder on that Silver Honda Accord (Lot #4) today. Tough break, you just missed it by $200.”
Bidder: “Yeah, I really wanted that one.”
Sales Rep: “I figured. The reason I’m calling is that we had another unit—Lot #12, the Blue Nissan Altima—that didn’t meet reserve on the block. It’s got similar miles to the Honda you wanted. Since you missed out on the first one, my manager authorized me to offer you a ‘Second Chance Buy-It-Now’ on the Nissan for [Price].”
Bidder: “Oh? I didn’t see that one.”
Sales Rep: “It’s clean. I can send you a direct link to the inspection report right now. If you want it, we can bypass the auction fees and wrap it up today. Want me to text you the link?”
Why This Works
Validation: You acknowledge they were a serious bidder (“I saw you were the runner-up”).
Scarcity: You frame the unsold car not as a “reject,” but as an “exclusive opportunity” that didn’t meet reserve.
Speed: You catch them while their wallet is still mentally open.
The Math: 50% to 75%
Let’s look at the numbers again.
Inventory: 40 Cars.
Hammer Sold: 20 Cars (50% Sell Rate).
Unsold:20 Cars.
If you have your team run this script on the underbidders, and you convert just 10 of those remaining 20 cars, your total sold units go from 20 to 30. (one heck of an auction result)
You just turned a 50% day into a 75% day without a single extra marketing dollar.
How Selling Lane Makes It Easy (hint: Auction CRM built in)
You can’t make these calls if you don’t know who the underbidders were.
Legacy auction software makes this data hard to find. Selling Lane puts it front and center.
Real-Time Dashboard: See exactly who bid on every car, even the ones that didn’t sell.
Bidder History: Click on “Lot #12” and see a list of every person who placed a bid.
Instant Export: Export your bidder list to your CRM instantly to start the call campaign.
Stop letting 60 potential buyers walk off your lot. Give them a second chance to pay you.
