You now know what the customer is looking for, what is important and what is essential to them.

You have found the car that best fi ts their needs. How do you present your product in a way that separates you from the crowd?
Great sales people do many things to turn a prospect into a buyer; however, it is the true professional who can present his or her product in such a creative and effective way as to fi t the customers’ needs and passions.

Using the feature, function and value system is the greatest way of marrying the customer’s wants and needs to your product. If a customer had told you they plan to use the car as a family vehicle and take trips several times a year, it is important that you build your presentation around these points, stressing, for instance, the safety features, gas mileage, roominess and versatility of your vehicle.

It is important to explain how they will benefi t from having such features and the ease of their use.

For example, if a customer showed an interest in the safety of a vehicle, how would you present the feature, function and value system? Let’s break it down.

What are the features? They may include, for instance, crumple zones and a drop-out engine. Open the hood and show the features to your customer. What are the functions? Explain that on impact, the crumple zones collapse the front end of the car to absorb the hit, and the engine is designed to drop under the car so it will not be pushed into the driver and passenger compartment.

What is the value to your customer? Educate your customer that, even in serious collisions, his/her family will be as safe as possible. In addition, these safety features lower insurance costs.

This system demonstrates the value of your product to your customer. Moreover, if the competition does not use this approach, you will clearly have the advantage of earning the sale.

Let’s say your customer is shopping for many different vehicles and they all have similar qualities. It is the sales person that finds this out and then clearly defines the benefi ts who will earn the sale. Remember one very important statistic that you will not find anywhere: The sharpest person along the way gets the deal. Whether you are the first or last stop, if you fulfi ll the customer’s emotional and technical needs, you will earn their business.

Most cars today have a power seat. This doesn’t sound like a very exciting feature, but it is how you explain the feature that will grab the customer.

Consider, is it just a power seat or “a six-way adjustable luxury feature that enables you to get comfortable with the touch of a button? Whether you travel around the block or take a day trip, these power seats will make it
more pleasurable.”

Sell, don’t tell.
A brochure gives dimensions and statistics. You give benefits.

It’s the end of the year and you have one car left. You have had it for many months; you know, the ugly one in the back that nobody wants. How do you describe it to the customer? If you say, “I have one left, let me show it to you,” or something of that ilk, then you are losing business.

Try telling the customer: “I think I saw one that just became available and I must checkto see if it still is. It probably isn’t, but let me check.” You then come back and say, “Great news, it’s still available and I am excited for
you because it’s one of the hottest colors this year. Let’s go take a look.” You make the difference in everything that happens. You cause the excitement and energy. Do you have to be a “bounce-offthe- wall” type of sales person to have this impact on a customer? No. You just need to create the environment that is conducive to emotion.

Is it a blue car or “the ‘new for this year’ pearl blue clear coat?” Is it beige or “platinum mist - a color you never need to wash because it hides the dirt so well?” Then you rub your hand across the hood to show the dirt they
couldn’t see on the car. This is real-world stuff and it works magic.

You have one car left and it is a popularequipment package car. It has power windows, locks, cruise tilt and a CD player. A customer walks in and says they want a basic car. They explain they have a limited budget and want to save money by staying with a bare car. Another customer walks in and wants a fully loaded car. A top sales person will be able to fulfi ll both customers’ wants and needs with the same car.

How?

To the base-car customer, this is the basic package with mostly standard equipment. To the other fully loaded customer, you rattle off all the equipment, even the basics such as power steering and brakes.

Remember, the sharpest sales person alongthe way gets the deal.