Chapter 7 Quiz — The Meet and Greet

Test yourself before moving on. Answers and short explanations are hidden under each question — try to answer first, then check. Scoring guide at the end.

Part 1 — Multiple Choice

Q1. Roughly how long does it take a customer to form a first impression of you?

A. About five minutes B. Within seconds C. Only after you quote a price D. After the test drive

Answer**B.** People form a fast, durable first judgment within seconds, then spend the rest of the interaction looking for evidence that confirms it. That's why the first thirty seconds are so high-leverage.

Q2. Why does "Can I help you find something today?" fail as an opener?

A. It's too long B. It's a yes/no question that hands the customer an easy "no," AND it's the costume of every pushy salesperson they fear C. It mentions a specific car D. It's too friendly

Answer**B.** It does double damage: the closed question invites the reflexive "just looking," and it confirms the customer's worst expectation by sounding exactly like the pushy salesperson they walked in dreading.

Q3. What is the safest default energy to bring to a customer you haven't read yet?

A. Maximum enthusiasm B. Cool and detached, to seem non-pushy C. Warm and calm D. Whatever your natural setting is

Answer**C.** Warm and calm. You can always *add* enthusiasm if they're high-energy; it's much harder to un-spook someone you came in too hot on. Calm is also contagious and lowers a nervous customer's stress.

Q4. According to the chapter, "I'm just looking" is best understood as:

A. A polite rejection — the customer doesn't want to buy B. A lie meant to get a better price C. A defense mechanism — a request for space and safety, disguised as a rejection D. A sign the customer is only there to waste your time

Answer**C.** It's a shield. The customer drove to a car lot, which means they want a car; "just looking" is a reflexive defense against the pushy experience they fear — a request for room, not a "no."

Q5. What is the first thing you should do when a customer says "I'm just looking"?

A. Ask them what they're looking for B. Agree with it enthusiastically and genuinely, and remove pressure C. Walk away and leave them alone entirely D. Tell them they can't buy a car from the parking lot

Answer**B.** Agree with it ("Perfect, that's exactly what you should do"), add permission and your name, and reframe yourself as a resource. You make the shield unnecessary instead of pushing on it.

Q6. Why can customers usually tell when a salesperson's warmth is fake, even if they can't explain why?

A. They can't, actually — good acting always works B. Humans are wired to detect insincerity through tone, timing, micro-expressions, and mismatches between words and other signals C. Only experienced buyers can tell D. Because fake salespeople use longer sentences

Answer**B.** People detect the mismatch between warm words and the indifferent or hungry signals leaking underneath, even when they can only say "something felt off." That's why the fix is to *become* genuine, not to act better.

Q7. On an internet lead, the single most important factor in the first impression is:

A. The length of your message B. Whether you attach a photo C. Speed of response (speed-to-lead) D. Offering the lowest price

Answer**C.** The customer almost certainly inquired with several dealers at once; the one who responds first wins a hugely disproportionate share. Speed is the digital equivalent of being the first warm face a walk-in sees — but the first message still has to be warm and helpful, not a grab.

Q8. Carmen greets the spooked family by first:

A. Quoting a price on the SUV B. Asking the parents what their budget is C. Connecting with the kid and the stuffed dinosaur D. Handing them a brochure

Answer**C.** She talks to the child first ("What's the dinosaur's name?"), which instantly disarms the parents — you can't feel threatened by someone being kind to your child — and the mother then *volunteers* the real reason for the visit.

Q9. The "pounce" (jogging to customers before they're out of their car, hovering, too-fast approach) is a problem because:

A. It's against dealership policy everywhere B. It signals threat at a deep level and spooks a meaningful share of customers, even though it gets you there first C. It's illegal D. It only works on relationship buyers

Answer**B.** Coming straight at someone fast reads, at an animal level, like a threat. Rick "wins" the up by being first but loses an outsized share by spooking them. Be quick to *greet*, never quick to *pounce*.

Q10. Why does "Can I help you?" work fine on the phone but fail on the lot?

A. Phones don't transmit tone B. A person who called you has already lowered their shield by dialing; the defensive "just looking" reflex isn't triggered the way it is for a walk-in C. It doesn't work on the phone either D. Because phone customers don't have fears

Answer**B.** The caller reached out first, so the manipulation/pounce reflex isn't pre-loaded the way it is when a salesperson approaches a browsing walk-in. The phone caller wants information; give it warmly.

Q11. The "rapport bridge" should ideally happen:

A. After you've quoted a price B. Before you talk about cars at all — connecting as humans first C. Only with relationship buyers D. At delivery, not the greeting

Answer**B.** You build a genuine human connection before pivoting to business, because people buy from people they like and trust — and because the rapport conversation is already the gentle front door to the needs analysis (Ch 8).

Q12. What's the better approach geometry when a customer enters the showroom?

A. Beeline straight at them, fast, before they orient B. Let them take a few steps in, then approach unhurried on a gentle angle, stopping a comfortable distance away C. Wait by the door and never approach D. Approach from directly behind them

Answer**B.** The head-on charge feels like a confrontation; the angled, unhurried approach with a little space feels like a friend coming to say hello. You send a calming or alarming signal with your *path* before you say a word.

Part 2 — True / False (with one-line justification)

Q13. True or False: The customer who says "just looking" usually does not actually want to buy a car.

Answer**False.** They drove to a car lot — that's strong evidence they *do* want a car. "Just looking" is a defense against the experience they fear, not a statement of buying intent.

Q14. True or False: Bringing maximum enthusiasm to every customer is the best practice because energy is always good.

Answer**False.** Energy must *match* the customer; maximum enthusiasm spooks tense, subdued, or grieving customers. Default to warm-and-calm and calibrate from there.

Q15. True or False: The fix for a salesperson whose warmth reads as fake is to practice delivering their lines more smoothly.

Answer**False.** Smoother delivery won't fix the mismatch the customer's gut detects (Rick is already smooth). The only real fix is changing the underlying intention to genuinely helping — you can't act sincere, you can only become it.

Q16. True or False: You should respond to internet leads quickly even if you can only send a short message, because the customer is likely comparing your response time against several other dealers in real time.

Answer**True** (with a caveat). Speed-to-lead wins a disproportionate share — but the fast message still has to be warm and actually answer their question, not just say "when can you come in?"

Q17. True or False: Naming the customer's fear out loud ("I know the worst part of car shopping is feeling hounded — I won't do that") is always manipulative.

Answer**False.** Said sincerely, it's one of the most trust-building moves there is, because it shows you understand them. It only becomes manipulation when it's an insincere line you don't mean — same words, opposite intent.

Q18. True or False: Building rapport is a separate step you finish before you start the needs analysis.

Answer**False.** Rapport *is* the beginning of the needs analysis — while you chat about their day, family, and work, you're already learning what they need. The seam between the two should disappear.

Part 3 — Short Answer

Q19. State this chapter's threshold concept and explain, in two sentences, the "before" and "after" understanding it produces in a salesperson.

AnswerThreshold: *"Just looking" is a defense mechanism, not a rejection.* **Before:** the salesperson hears "just looking" as "this person doesn't want me/a car," and either gives up or pushes — and dreads the greeting. **After:** the salesperson hears a nervous person who *does* want a car asking for safety, relaxes, and works to make the shield unnecessary rather than overcoming it by force.

Q20. List the four classic mistakes salespeople make in response to "just looking," and name what all four have in common.

Answer(1) Arguing with it; (2) running a pressure-y comeback line; (3) giving up entirely; (4) the fake re-approach (hovering with extra steps). What they share: all four treat "just looking" as either a wall to break through or a door slammed shut, instead of what it is — a nervous person asking for room.

Q21. Explain why connecting with the child first instantly disarmed the parents in Carmen's redone greeting, and what important fact it led the mother to volunteer.

AnswerYou can't feel threatened by someone being kind to your child, so kindness to the kid lowered the parents' guard immediately. Relaxed, the mother volunteered that another baby was on the way and the sedan wouldn't work — the single most important fact in the sale — given freely because she'd started to feel safe, not because it was extracted.

Q22. Why does the chapter insist Rick Bauer is "not a cartoon villain"? What's the teaching value of making him skilled and likable?

AnswerBecause the temptation to pounce/over-pressure is real and *partly works* (Rick gets months out of it), and a monster would be easy to dismiss. Making him skilled and likable shows that the wrong model is genuinely tempting and the line between attentive and predatory is subtle — which is the actual challenge a new salesperson faces.

Part 4 — Applied Scenario

Q23. A guarded man enters alone, gives you a flat "just looking" before you've finished saying hello, and won't make eye contact. Walk through your full response: your immediate reply, what you do physically next, and how/when you re-engage. Name which "just looking" moves you're using.

Answer**Immediate reply (Move 1, agree + permission + reframe):** "Perfect — that's exactly what you should do, this is a big decision. Look around as much as you want, zero pressure from me. I'm [name]; I'll be right over here, and all I'll do is answer questions whenever you've got them." Optionally layer **Move 4 (name the fear)** if he's very guarded: "Honestly, the worst part of car shopping is feeling hounded — I won't do that to you." **Physically (Move 2, real space):** drift to a respectful distance, look occupied, stay in his peripheral vision — present and available, not hovering, not vanished. **Re-engage (Move 3, help as a low-stakes gift):** when he lingers on something, approach and offer a tiny, zero-commitment next step: "Noticed you keep coming back to that one — want me to pop it open so you can sit in it? No commitment, sometimes you just need to know if it *feels* right." You're using all four moves, in order, never pushing the shield, only making it unnecessary.

Q24. A web lead arrives: "Hi, do you still have the 2021 red pickup, stock #6612?" Write the good reply that does the meet-and-greet job, and underneath, list the four things that make it work.

Answer**Reply:** "Hi [Name], thanks for reaching out — I'm [name] at Summit! Good news: yes, stock #6612, the red pickup, is still here, and it's a sharp one. I just pulled the history report, happy to send it over. Quick question so I can be useful — are you after that exact truck, or open to a couple similar ones too? Either way, no pressure, I'm here to help however's easiest." **What makes it work:** (1) answers the actual question *first* (yes, it's available — never bury it); (2) warm and names a real person; (3) offers genuine value unprompted (the history report); (4) one easy low-stakes question + explicit no-pressure — the whole meet-and-greet philosophy compressed into a text. Bonus: it was sent *fast.*

Scoring Guide

  • 24 questions total. Count one point each (the two applied scenarios count as one each if you hit the main moves).
  • 22–24 (90%+): Excellent — you own the meet and greet. Build your word track and start getting reps on the floor.
  • 19–21 (80%+): Strong. Re-read §7.5 ("just looking") and §7.6 (genuine vs. fake) — the two highest-stakes sections — then proceed.
  • 17–18 (70%+): Passing. You've got the concepts but the application is shaky. Do Part C of the exercises (the word tracks) before moving to Chapter 8.
  • Below 17 (under 70%): Re-read the chapter, focusing on the threshold concept (§7.5) and the openers (§7.2). The meet and greet is the foundation for everything in Part II — don't rush past it.