Send a thank you on delivery day, a short check in on day 3, one review request on day 7 to every customer, a first service introduction around day 21, and keep a direct line to a manager open the whole time. GoHighLevel starts the sequence from the Delivered stage in your pipeline. The bottom line: the first month decides whether the customer ever sees the service lane, and service and parts are about 13 percent of sales and roughly half of gross profit.
Why the first month matters
NADA's 2026 profile puts service and parts at 13.3 percent of total dealership sales dollars in 2025, and dealer benchmarking guides report that fixed operations produce about half of gross profit. A customer who has met the service advisor, knows the number to call, and has a first appointment in mind is the customer who comes back. Most of that happens before the first oil change is due.
The sequence
| Day | Message | Who sends it |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Thank you from the salesperson, the service department's number, and the manager's direct line | Workflow, signed by the salesperson |
| 3 | A check in: anything not working as expected? Reply and a person will answer | Workflow, replies go to the salesperson |
| 7 | One review request, the same link for every customer, and a separate way to reach a manager | Workflow |
| 14 | A call task for customers who have not replied to anything | BDC or salesperson |
| 21 | The service department introduction and a link to book the first visit when it is due | Workflow |
| 30 | A last check in, and the recall and warranty basics in one message | Workflow |
The review request has rules
The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, 16 CFR Part 465, took effect in October 2024. It bars review suppression and buying reviews or giving incentives conditioned on the sentiment of a review, and law firm summaries put civil penalties at up to $53,088 per violation. Send the same review link to every customer on the same day, do not screen out unhappy customers first, and offer nothing in return. The separate manager line is for customers who want to talk, not a filter on who gets the review link.
Build it in HighLevel
- Add a pipeline stage called Delivered and move each closed deal to it, or import deliveries daily.
- Start a workflow with the Opportunity Changed trigger for the Delivered stage.
- Add the day 0 text and email, then Wait steps of 3, 4, 7, and 9 days between the next messages.
- Use an If/Else on the tag Leased or Financed so the day 30 message names the right next step, and skip any message for a customer who has opted out.
- At day 14, check for any reply and create a call task for customers with none.
- At day 21, send the service introduction with a link to the service calendar, and use a Custom Date Reminder on the Next service due field to add the due date reminder from our service reminder guide.
- Turn on Stop on Response so every reply goes to a person.
Worked example
A dealership delivering 150 vehicles a month sends 150 thank you texts a month and 150 review requests a month. If 6 percent of customers post a review, that is 9 reviews a month (150 times 0.06), from all customers and not only the happy ones. The 6 percent is an assumption, and your rate will differ.
Consent and content
The thank you and check in messages are about the purchase the customer just made. A message that promotes service pricing or a special is marketing and needs written consent. Collect that consent in the deal paperwork, keep the record, and keep STOP working in every message.
What the day 0 message says
Sample: Congratulations, Priya, and thank you for choosing [Dealership]. I am Marcus, and I am your contact for anything about the Tahoe. The service department's number is [number] and our general manager's direct line is [number]. Reply here if you have any question. Reply STOP to stop messages. It carries no offer and no request, only the numbers a customer needs in the first week.
Customers who write back with a problem
Some replies will be complaints. Route any reply that contains a problem to the general manager the same day, using a keyword rule or a task for the salesperson to tag the reply. A dealership that fixes a problem in the first week has a customer, and one that ignores it has a review. Keep the review link and the manager line separate, and send the review link to everyone on day 7 regardless of what they said.
How this was handled before
The salesperson texted a thank you from a cell phone, if they remembered, and the first the service department heard of the customer was a mailed postcard months later. A workflow makes the sequence the same for every delivery and puts the replies in one inbox.
What to measure
Track customers who replied, problems raised in the first 30 days, reviews posted, first service appointments booked, and opt outs. Compare the first service booking rate for customers who received the sequence with those who did not once you have a few months of data.
Questions people ask
When should a dealership ask for a review after a sale?
A common choice is about 7 days after delivery, with the same link sent to every customer and no incentive tied to the review.
Can a dealership screen customers before sending a review link?
No. The FTC's 2024 rule covers review suppression, and review gating also conflicts with Google's policy. Send the same link to everyone.
What should the first message after delivery say?
Thank the customer, give the service department's number and a manager's direct line, and keep it free of offers.
To build the delivery sequence, start a GoHighLevel account here. The pipeline and workflow screens are in our capabilities demo.