Sales Call Script

This is a battle map, not a script to read word-for-word. Open it on a second monitor, glance at the section header, remember the goal of the moment, and keep talking like a human. Quoted phrases in blockquotes are battle-tested transitions — pull them when you need to.

Two versions live here

This page is the prose battle-map. The Sales Script — Framework is the new structured P0–P5 / Pi1–Pi5 version (Discovery + Pitch, Hartsuff 5P pattern) — actively being iterated. Part 3 (close + objections) still lives in §4 + §5 of this page until the framework absorbs them.

🔗 This doc covers the call itself. Everything around the call (pre-call texts, follow-ups, no-shows, handoff, autopsy) lives in Setting Workflow.

🚨 The moment ANY objection fires, jump to the Objection Cheat Sheet. It’s the one-page card with the exact words. Don’t try to remember them — read them.

Frame (read before every call)

Before you pick up the phone, get into the right headspace. Read this list out loud if you have to.

• They paid you to be on this call. They opted in. They want help. You’re not asking for anything.
• You are the expert. You know more than they do about getting their phone to ring.
• You have more experience than they do at this. They’re a contractor; you’re a marketer.
• You are their superior on this topic. Not as a person — on this specific subject.
• You can improve their business. That’s your job and you’re good at it.
• Your clients are successful. Real results, real money.
• It’s your duty to sell them something that improves their life. If you back off and they don’t sign, they go back to the same problem. That’s failure. Helping them act IS helping them.

If you’re reading this and thinking “yeah but I’m not feeling it today” — read it again. Get there before you dial.

Battle Map (the whole call in one line)

Setup → Open → Discovery (Trigger → Stats → 6mo Goal → Current Marketing → Problem → Possibility → Channel Read → Recap) → Pitch + Price → Silence → Objection? → Close → Card → Kickoff scheduled

Channel call: You don’t know if this is a Google account or a Facebook account until you’ve done discovery. Section 2.7 is where you read the signals and decide. The pitch in section 3 branches accordingly.

Variables to fill in (do this once, then the doc is live)

• [GOOGLE_PRICE] — management fee for Google Ads engagements (e.g., $1,997/mo)
• [FB_PRICE] — management fee for Facebook Ads engagements (e.g., $2,497/mo)
• [SETUP_FEE] — onboarding/setup fee, or “no setup fee”
• [CONTRACT_LENGTH] — month-to-month or 90-day minimum (affects objection 4.5 language)
• [CLOSE_QUESTION] — your preferred close (e.g., "want to lock in your start date?")

Throughout the script, [PRICE] means “the channel-appropriate price” — use [GOOGLE_PRICE] or [FB_PRICE] based on the channel call you made in section 2.7.

If the call is going sideways — three reset moves

1. They’re rambling / off-topic → “Hey, real quick — let me make sure I’m getting what I need. You said you wanted [X]. Tell me more about that.” (refocus on goal)
2. They’ve gone quiet / disengaged → “Honestly, am I asking the right questions here? What’s actually on your mind?” (surface real concern)
3. You’ve lost the structure → drop to the recap: “All right, let me get this straight — you’re at X, you wanna get to Y, you tried Z. Did I get that right?” (Voss “that’s right” trigger; resets you both)

1. Setup & Open

Goal: Get them in the right headspace and lock the agenda.

Time: 2–3 min total.

1.1 Setup — pre-conversation checks (30–60 sec)

Before you launch into anything substantive:

• Are they in a good place to take the call? If they’re driving, in a noisy shop, with a customer — offer to reschedule.

  “Quick check — is now still a good time, or should we grab a better window?”

• Confirm location. “And you’re based in [city], right?” (verify intake details)
• Verify any pre-call detail. Anything they said in the lead-magnet form / opt-in — confirm it back to them.
• Brief small talk. Don’t skip; don’t dwell. 30 seconds max.

1.2 Agenda-Set (60–90 sec)

Goal: Get explicit permission to pitch and to reveal price by end of call. This is the upfront contract — you’ll reference it later when they try to “think about it.”

Open with the time-respect frame:

“We’ve got about 45 minutes, and I want to respect your time, so is it cool if we jump right in?”

Then the agenda:

“Awesome — what we’ll do today is first, do a deep dive on your business, so I can fully understand the situation you’re in. We’ll also spend a couple minutes going through the business metrics, just to make sure it’s a fit. And if I feel like one of our packages can help, I’d be happy to walk you through it. From there, if things make sense, we can get you all set up. Sound good?”

Watch-outs:

• Don’t soften “if things make sense, we can get you all set up.” That’s the price-and-close permission baked in. They just said yes to it.
• Don’t ask “any questions before we start?” — invites a price probe before discovery.
• Don’t oversell yourself in the open. They opted in already; they don’t need a credentials dump.

2. Discovery

Goal: Pull out (a) what triggered this call, (b) the numbers behind their business, (c) where they want to be, (d) their current marketing, (e) the pain of staying stuck, and (f) the upside of solving it. By the end you should know which channel to pitch and have the language ready for the recap.

Time: 15–20 min total.

Sequence: Trigger → Stats → 6-Month Goal → Current Marketing → Problem → Possibility → Channel Read → Recap. Always this order.

2.1 The Trigger (why now)

Goal: Find out what specifically pushed them to book this call. This is gold for the close.

Open with the floor:

“Great — well I’ll give you the floor for a second. I’d love to know what’s going on specifically that had you book this call?”

Then dig into the goal:

“What’s the ultimate goal you’re trying to achieve? What would that situation look like?”

What you need to walk away with:

• The trigger event (slow season, just hired a guy, lost a referral source, etc.)
• A directional sense of the ultimate goal (numbers come in 2.3)
• The emotion behind why now

Watch-outs:

• Don’t interrupt. This is their floor. Let them talk.
• Listen for the “why now.” That’s the phrase you’ll repeat back in the close.

2.2 Stats (rapid-fire current numbers)

Goal: Get the numbers you’ll need to math the price reveal later.

Setup — give them permission to be efficient:

“Ok, I’m gonna rapid-fire through a list of questions, just to better understand the business and see if it’s a fit. That work?”

The questions (in order):

“What’s your monthly revenue at?”

“What’s your average ticket per job?”

“What about LTV — what’s a customer worth over time?”

“And what’s your gross profit margin? Or even just roughly — for every dollar you bring in, what are you actually keeping after your direct costs?”

The recap (do this immediately — they need to hear you got it right):

“Ok, so you gross about [X] per job, and you’re doing about [Y] jobs per month. Does that sound right?”

What you need to walk away with:

• Monthly revenue (rough)
• Average ticket
• LTV (if they have it)
• Gross profit margin
• Implied: jobs per month (revenue ÷ ticket)

Watch-outs:

• The “rapid-fire” frame is doing real work — without it, this feels like an interrogation. With it, they expect short answers and you get them.
• Don’t dwell on any one number. Keep moving.
• If they don’t know a number, move on. “All good, we’ll work with what you’ve got.” Don’t make them feel bad.

2.3 The 6-Month Goal

Goal: Get a concrete future number. This is what you’ll math against in the price reveal.

Open:

“Where do you ultimately want revenue to be in 6 months?”

Then probe the why:

“Why that number specifically?”

Then convert to jobs:

“And how many jobs a month do you want to be at to hit that?”

What you need to walk away with:

• A specific revenue or job-volume number for 6 months out
• The why (capacity? hiring? mortgage? growth target?)

Watch-outs:

• Don’t accept “more” as an answer. Push for a number.
• The “why” matters more than the number. “Hiring two more guys” vs “covering my mortgage” changes how you frame the pitch.

2.4 Current Marketing (channel-by-channel)

Goal: Understand what’s working, what’s not, and what they’ve tried. Channel-by-channel — don’t let them generalize.

Open:

“Ok, so you’re currently getting [Y] jobs a month — how are you getting those customers?”

Make sure you cover ALL of these channels (don’t let them skip any):

• SEO — website rankings or Google Business Profile
• Google Ads — paid PPC search
• LSA — Google Local Service Ads / Google Guaranteed
• Facebook Ads — Meta
• Lead brokers — Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, Networx, etc.

Probe missing channels with:

“So you’re using [method] and [method]. What about [method]?”

For each channel they’re using, ask all four:

“How long have you been doing it?”

“Working with an agency or in-house?”

“Roughly what are you spending on it per month?”

“How are the results?”

If they say “good” on something:

“Why not just do more of that?”

(This is the test question — if “more of that” was easy, they wouldn’t be on this call. Their answer reveals a real constraint.)

Then probe past attempts:

“Anything in the past that you’ve tried that didn’t pan out?”

“What made you try that?”

“What happened with that?”

“Why do you think it didn’t work / stopped working?”

What you need to walk away with:

• Which channels they currently use
• What they’re spending on each (this replaces a separate “budget” question)
• What’s working vs not
• Past attempts and failure stories
• The story of why past attempts failed (this is your differentiator material)

Watch-outs:

• Don’t trash the previous agency. Even if they were terrible. Stay neutral: “Yeah, that’s a common pattern.” Trash-talking other agencies makes you look small.
• Listen for the projection. If they say “agencies always over-promise and under-deliver,” that’s the objection you’ll handle in 4.5 — note it.
• The “why not do more of that” question is a trap. Their answer is what they actually need help with. Listen.

2.5 Problem (pain amplification)

Goal: Make them say out loud how long this has been going on, what it’s cost them, and what happens if it doesn’t change. This creates urgency without you pushing.

The five questions (in order):

“So how long has this actually been going on? How long have you been in this spot?”

“Why is this something you’re looking to solve now, instead of 3 months from now?”

“Other than just revenue, has this affected other parts of the business too?”

“What about any impact to you personally?”

“If we’re still in the same spot 12 months from now, what does that actually look like for you?”

What you need to walk away with:

• How long they’ve been stuck
• The real reason they’re solving this now
• Spillover impact (operational, team morale, family, sleep, finances)
• Their own picture of the bad future

Watch-outs:

• Don’t soften these questions. They’re supposed to be uncomfortable. The discomfort IS the urgency.
• Don’t fill the silence after the 12-months-from-now question. Let them sit with it.
• Don’t sympathize too hard. “Yeah, that’s tough” once is fine. Three times feels patronizing.

2.6 Possibility (future-pace gain)

Goal: Flip the energy. After the pain, get them to picture the upside.

The two questions:

“And on the flip side — if we actually solve this, what does that open up for you?”

“And for you personally?”

What you need to walk away with:

• The business upside in their words
• The personal upside in their words (more time, less stress, ability to hire, vacation, etc.)

Watch-outs:

• The personal question matters more than you think. “More revenue” doesn’t motivate; “I could finally take my wife on a real vacation” does. Get the personal answer.
• Don’t move on too fast. Let them paint the picture. The picture sells.

2.7 Channel Read (Google or Facebook?)

Goal: This is YOUR moment, not theirs. You’re not asking new questions — you’re synthesizing the signals from 2.1–2.6 to decide which channel to pitch.

No new questions to ask — by now you’ve heard service type, current channel mix and performance, what they’re spending per channel, and what’s failed before. This is pure synthesis.

Signal 1 — Service type / urgency (strongest signal)

Why: Google captures demand (people actively searching). Facebook generates demand (interrupting people who weren’t searching but might be interested). Reactive services live on Google. Visual / longer-consideration services often need Facebook.

Signal 2 — Budget size

• Smaller budget (~$500–$1,500/mo ad spend): usually favors Google. High intent, less waste.
• Larger budget ($2k+/mo ad spend): Facebook becomes viable, especially for visual services. Google still works at scale; Facebook needs scale to learn.
• Very small budget (<$500): probably Google only. Facebook struggles to optimize at low spend.

Signal 3 — Past channel performance

• “Google never worked for me” → diagnose first. Was it the agency? Bad keywords? No call tracking? Don’t immediately concede. But if they’ve genuinely tried Google twice with different agencies and it failed, Facebook is probably the move.
• “Facebook worked great” → don’t try to migrate them off something working. Pitch Facebook.
• “I’ve never tried either” → use Signals 1 and 2.

The decision moment (in your head):

“Service type says X. Budget says Y. Past performance says Z. The call is [Google/Facebook] because [strongest signal].”

If signals conflict — service type is the tiebreaker. An emergency plumber with a $3kbudgetisstillGoogle.Aroofingcompanywitha$1k budget is probably still Facebook (just at smaller scale).

Watch-outs:

• Don’t pitch the channel YOU prefer — pitch the channel the signals point to.
• Don’t pitch both channels — one channel, one pitch, one price. Pitching both reads as confusion and they’ll pick neither.
• If genuinely unsure, default to the channel with stronger past performance — never fight a working channel.

2.8 Recap & Transition

Goal: Trigger a “that’s right,” name the channel call, give them one last chance to add anything, then ask permission to pitch.

Step 1 — The recap (Voss “that’s right” trigger):

“All right — let me get this straight. You’re at [current state numbers], you wanna get to [6-month goal], you’ve tried [past attempts] and it didn’t work because [reason]. The big constraint right now is [PROBLEM]. Did I get that right?”

Watch for: the words “that’s right” (high commitment) vs “you’re right” (low commitment, they want to move on). If you only get “you’re right,” ask one more clarifying question before pitching.

Step 2 — Anything-else check:

“Is there anything else we didn’t go over that you feel like I should know?”

Step 3 — The channel call + permission to pitch (this is your transition into the pitch):

“Based on everything you’ve told me, and given the fact that [PROBLEM] is your biggest constraint, I’m super confident we can get you to [GOAL]. The way I’d do it is with [Google Ads / Facebook Ads], because [strongest signal]. I’d be happy to walk you through what that actually looks like. Honestly — I think you’ll crush it with this. Want me to walk you through it?”

What you need to walk away with:

• A “that’s right” or equivalent strong agreement
• A verbal yes to walking through the offer
• Their permission, on record, that you said the channel call

Watch-outs:

• Don’t skip the anything-else question. It’s where they surface the thing they were hesitating to mention. If they bring up something big, address it before pitching.
• If they push back on the channel call (“but I want to do Google”): hear them out. “I hear you. Tell me why Google specifically — is it because your competitors are there, or something else?” Sometimes their reason is good (you missed a signal). Sometimes it’s a preference based on bad info. Decide on the merits.
• The “honestly, I think you’ll crush it” line is intentional. It’s confidence without arrogance — and it triggers reciprocity (they want to live up to your belief).

3. The Pitch + Price Reveal

Goal: Frame your offer as the plan to hit their stated goal, then reveal price tied to revenue math, then shut up.

Time: 5–7 min for the pitch, then silence.

3.1 The Pitch — frame (channel-agnostic, ~30 sec)

Pull up your visual aid:

“Great — let me pull up my presentation for you here… let me know when you can see it.”

Goal-tied opener — same regardless of channel:

“So to hit your [30 jobs / $500k / X], here’s what makes sense. Like I said in the recap, this is a [Google / Facebook] play because [strongest signal]. Here’s what we’d actually do…”

Then drop into the channel-specific section below.

3.2a Google Ads pitch path (5 min)

Use this when section 2.7 says Google.

What you need to cover (briefly — not a slide deck):

• Phase 1 (first 30 days): Maximize Clicks bidding, gather conversion data. Set realistic expectation — “You’re not gonna see Google’s algorithm work yet; we’re feeding it data.”
• Phase 2 (Day 30–90): Switch to Smart Bidding once we have conversion data. “This is where the algorithm starts learning and CPL drops.”
• Landing page (deployed on agency-owned domain, not their site)
• Call tracking (HighLevel or CallRail Direct Connect)
• Conversion tracking (so you actually know what’s working)
• Reporting cadence (weekly check-ins, monthly review)

Fallback phrasings:

• The honest 30/90 setup (this is your differentiator vs “guarantee in 30 days” agencies):

  “Pro tip — the first 30 days are not when the magic happens. Anyone who tells you that is lying. The first 30 days, we’re gathering data so the algorithm has something to learn from. Real performance kicks in around Day 60–90. You’ll see leads from Day 1, but the math gets dialed in over the first three months.”

• The intent frame (why Google for this buyer):

  “Your customers — when their pipe bursts, when their AC dies — they pull out their phone and search. Google is where you intercept that. We just need to make sure when they search, you show up first and the call actually rings.”

Watch-outs:

• Don’t list features. Frame everything as “this is the piece that gets you to your number.”
• Don’t oversell speed. The 30/90 phased approach IS the differentiator. Honesty about the curve makes you trustworthy.

3.2b Facebook Ads pitch path (5 min)

Use this when section 2.7 says Facebook.

⚠️ FB delivery is still being figured out. The frame below works; the operational specifics need filling in once you’ve nailed your FB process. Placeholders are intentional.

What you need to cover (briefly):

• The intent frame (why Facebook for this buyer):

  “Your customers aren’t searching for a roofer at 2pm on a Tuesday — they’re scrolling Facebook. We interrupt them with a before/after, a quote offer, something they can’t ignore. Then we capture them with a lead form right inside Facebook so they don’t have to leave the app.”

• Phase 1 — [FB_PHASE_1] (fill in: e.g., “broad audience + creative testing for 30 days to find what converts”)
• Phase 2 — [FB_PHASE_2] (fill in: e.g., “scale winning creative + retargeting + lookalikes”)
• Lead capture mechanism (fill in: lead form ad? landing page? quote calculator?)
• Call tracking / lead routing (HighLevel still applies — leads route into your CRM)
• Conversion tracking (Facebook pixel + offline conversion upload if calls/jobs aren’t web-tracked)
• Reporting cadence (weekly check-ins, monthly review — same as Google)

Fallback phrasings:

• Visual-service opener:

  “For something like roofing/fence/landscaping — honestly, no one wakes up and Googles ‘roofer near me.’ They see a neighbor’s new roof, they see a Facebook ad with a before/after, and that plants the seed. By the time they’re ready, you want to be the one they call.”

• The honest 30/90 setup (still applies — algorithms need to learn on FB too):

  “First 30 days we’re testing creative and audiences — finding what works for YOUR market. Days 30–90 is when we scale the winners. You’ll see leads early, but the math sharpens over three months.”

Watch-outs:

• Don’t fake operational confidence on FB if you don’t have it. Better to say “I’m running [X] right now and refining as we go” than to invent a process. Buyers smell BS.
• Don’t pitch FB if past performance shows it bombed for them unless you have a specific reason their last attempt failed (bad creative? bad targeting? wrong offer?).
• Same goal-tied frame as Google — everything maps to their stated outcome, not features.

3.3 The Price Reveal (PRIMARY MOVE — Tie-to-Goal + Drop-and-Shut-Up)

This is the moment you flagged as your weak spot. Trust the move.

Three steps:

1. Math their goal in revenue terms (out loud)
2. State ad spend + management fee as the inputs to that revenue
3. Go silent. 5–10 seconds. Do not fill the silence.

Fallback phrasing template:

“All right, so you said you want [30 more booked jobs] a month, and your average ticket is around [$800].Tha{t}^{\prime }sroughly[$24,000] in new revenue. To make that happen consistently we’d be spending around [$X]onads,andourpieceis[PRICE].Soyo{u}^{\prime }relookingatabout[$total] to drive [$24k] in new business. …”

If you charge [SETUP_FEE]: weave it in as a one-time line —

“…and there’s a one-time [SETUP_FEE] to get the account, landing page, and tracking built. After that it’s just the [PRICE] monthly.”

Say it once, flat, then keep going to the silence.

Then: silence. First to speak loses. Even if it’s brutal. Count to 10 in your head.

Watch-outs (this is where you blow it):

• Do NOT say “…does that work for you?” right after the price. That’s a yes/no trap that invites “let me think about it.”
• Do NOT say “I know that’s a lot of money.” That undermines your own anchor.
• Do NOT keep talking through the price. Drop it and stop. Their reaction is the data.
• Do NOT apologize for the price. Hedging here (“I know it might seem like a lot…”) signals you don’t believe in the value.

3.4 Fallback price moves (if Move #1 doesn’t fit the buyer)

Move #2 — Anchor-and-Position (use when goal math is fuzzy):

“Honestly, most agencies that touch home services charge $2,500–$4,000/month and lock you into 6-month contracts. We’re at [PRICE], [CONTRACT_LENGTH], because [reason — you’re more focused / more transparent / etc.]. …”

Move #3 — Assumptive Plan-Frame (use when buyer is highly engaged and stopped asking about price):

Google version: “So based on what you told me, here’s what I’d do. Phase 1, we run Maximize Clicks for 30 days. Phase 2, we move to Smart Bidding. Our piece is [GOOGLE_PRICE]. Want me to walk through how Phase 1 actually works?”

Facebook version: “So based on what you told me, here’s what I’d do. Phase 1, we test creative and audiences for 30 days. Phase 2, we scale the winners and layer retargeting. Our piece is [FB_PRICE]. Want me to walk through how Phase 1 actually works?”

(Re-routes attention from “the price” to “the plan.” Lower energy than a reveal.)

4. Objection Handling

Goal: Treat objections as questions, not rejections. Always start with the universal first response (4.1) — only then go to the specific handler (4.3–4.6).

Time: as long as it takes. Don’t rush this.

4.1 The Universal First Response (use this BEFORE any specific handler)

Whenever ANY objection comes up — start here. Don’t jump straight to a handler.

Step 1 — The belief reset (the most important move in this whole section):

“I completely hear you… do you mind if I ask you a question… do you think this process is something that can help you get closer to [GOAL]?”

• If they say YES → the objection isn’t about the offer, it’s about logistics or fear. Move to step 2.
• If they say NO → you missed something in the pitch. Go back: “What did I not explain well?” Re-pitch the weak part, then return here.

Step 2 — Surface the real concern:

“Super helpful. What’s the biggest thing holding you back? Tell me your main concern?”

Whatever they say next is the real objection. Now go to the specific handler (4.3–4.6).

4.2 The Loop Pattern (use repeatedly until objection breaks)

For every objection cycle, work through these three beats:

Beat 1 — Buy time (only if you need a second to think)

“Can you tell me more about that?”

“Can you give me an example?”

These keep them talking while you organize your response.

Beat 2 — Acknowledge / agree (NEVER use “but”)

Connect with “and” — never “but”:

“That makes sense… AND…”

“Super reasonable… AND…”

“I hear ya… AND…”

“I see what you mean… AND…”

Why “and” not “but”: “But” erases the agreement and triggers defensiveness. “And” stacks your point on top of theirs without invalidating them.

Beat 3 — Address (go to the specific handler below)

Then deploy the matching script from 4.3–4.6.

4.3 “Too expensive” / sticker shock

Pattern: ROI-reframe via cost-of-inaction.

Fallback phrasing:

“Yeah, I hear you. Quick question though — expensive compared to what? Because if you spend [PRICE] with us and it brings in [$20k] in jobs, that’s not expensive, that’s the best ROI you’ll ever get. If it brings in nothing, you’re right, it’s too expensive at any price. So the real question is: do you actually believe we can get the phone ringing? Let’s talk about that.”

Watch-outs:

• Don’t drop price to “save” the deal. They’ll lose respect for the offer and the next person who says “too expensive” gets the same discount.
• The redirect — “do you believe we can get the phone ringing?” — is the real question. Handle THAT.

4.4 “Let me think about it” / “I need to talk to my spouse”

Pattern: Surface the real concern — “think about it” almost always means there’s one specific objection they haven’t said out loud.

Fallback phrasing (first pass):

“Totally fair. Real quick though — when you say think about it, what’s the actual hesitation? Because nine times out of ten ‘think about it’ means there’s one specific thing that’s not sitting right, and I’d rather just address it now than have you sit with it all weekend. What’s the real concern?”

If they hold firm on the spouse:

“Cool — what specifically would [she/he] need to know to feel good about this? Let’s get that nailed down right now so the conversation goes well when you bring it up.”

Watch-outs:

• If after both passes they still want time, let them go. Pressuring past two attempts kills the deal AND kills the follow-up.
• Schedule the follow-up before you hang up:

  “Cool — let’s get a 15-min call on the books for [day] so we can either close this out or you can tell me it’s a no.”

4.5 “Show me proof first” / “Can you guarantee it?”

Pattern: Honesty-as-differentiator + 90-day fix-it-or-walk.

Fallback phrasing — Google version:

“Honestly, anyone who guarantees you Google Ads results in 30 days is lying. Here’s what’s real — first 30 days we’re gathering conversion data, that’s just how Google works. Real performance kicks in once Smart Bidding has data to learn from, usually 60–90 days. What I CAN promise is you’ll know exactly what’s happening every week, and if after 90 days you’re not seeing traction we’ll either fix it or you walk. That’s the deal.”

Fallback phrasing — Facebook version:

“Honestly, anyone who guarantees you Facebook results in 30 days is lying. Here’s what’s real — first 30 days we’re testing creative and audiences to find what actually converts in YOUR market. Real performance kicks in once we’ve found the winners and can scale them, usually 60–90 days. What I CAN promise is you’ll know exactly what’s happening every week, and if after 90 days you’re not seeing traction we’ll either fix it or you walk. That’s the deal.”

If you’re on month-to-month: lean on it as the actual risk-reversal —

“And we’re month-to-month, so if it’s not working at 90 days, you don’t owe me another month. That’s your guarantee.”

If you’re on 90-day minimum: soften with —

“I ask for 90 days because that’s how long it takes the algorithm to actually learn. If we did 30 days and stopped, you’d be paying for the data-gathering and missing the part that pays off.”

Watch-outs:

• Never promise a CPL or a lead count. That’s the kind of promise that ends agencies.
• Your honesty about the 30/90 curve IS the proof. Lean into it, don’t hedge.

4.6 “I already have someone doing this”

Pattern: Diagnose the current relationship → low-friction audit offer → only sell if there’s a real gap.

Fallback phrasing:

“Yeah, that’s great, glad you’re already running ads. Real quick — are they hitting the numbers you actually wanted, or are you on this call because something’s off?”

Listen. Don’t interrupt. Then:

“Tell you what — I’ll do a free 15-minute audit of their account next week, no pitch attached. I’ll tell you straight if they’re doing a good job or leaving money on the table. If they’re crushing it, stay with them. If not, we’ll talk. Sound fair?”

Watch-outs:

• Do not trash the current agency on this call. Even if the numbers are obviously bad. Stay neutral. They picked that agency; trashing it makes them defensive.
• The audit IS a sales tool, but treat it like it isn’t. If you go into the audit pitching, you lose them. Pure diagnosis.

5. Close

Goal: Get the verbal yes, get the card, schedule the kickoff before they hang up.

Time: 3–5 min.

What you need to walk away with:

• Verbal commitment (“yeah, let’s do it”)
• Credit card (collected during this call)
• Kickoff call scheduled (within 48 hours, per onboarding playbook)

5.1 The Close Question

Fallback phrasing:

[CLOSE_QUESTION]

(e.g., “All right — want to lock in your start date?” or “So you ready to get your ads rolling?” or “Cool, ready to move forward?“)

Then: silence. Same rule as the price reveal.

5.2 Card Collection

Use the onboarding playbook’s existing language verbatim — see new-client-google-ads-onboarding-playbook.md:81-84. The playbook handles the “card sits in your Google account, I don’t charge it” reassurance.

“Ok great, I’ll send the payment link over.”

5.3 Schedule the Kickoff

Goal: book the kickoff call before you hang up. Within 48 hours.

Fallback phrasing:

“All right, perfect. Last thing — let’s get the kickoff call on the calendar right now. I’ve got [day] at [time] or [day] at [time]. Which works?”

Watch-outs:

• Don’t end with “I’ll send you a calendar link.” Booking happens on this call or the deal cools.
• The kickoff is when the operational onboarding starts (intake form, account access, daily budget confirmation). See onboarding playbook Phase 0.

After the call

• Update sales pipeline / CRM with outcome (won, lost, follow-up)
• If “let me think about it” with a follow-up scheduled — log the follow-up date and the specific objection
• If lost — log why in your own words. You’ll spot patterns over time.