BY: Dave Benson

The key to an effective sales presentation and demonstration, and therefore how much value you build in the benefits of the vehicle you are selling, comes right down to the exact questions you ask at the beginning of your meeting. This is often referred to as the “needs analysis”.

So which are the questions I must be asking to have the right info to present and demonstrate the vehicle to this customers needs and wants without interrogating them or sounding like a salesman?

I was working at the Sydney Motor Show a few years ago working with sales staff on one of the stands. I was observing this one sales guy, Thomas, who gravitated to anyone who went anywhere near one of the performance cars. He would go over and begin to rattle off all the power specs of the vehicle, how quick it went 0-100km/h, and anything else to do with racing this car on a track. Now, while Thomas was very knowledgeable, the thing that kept ringing in my ears while I was listening to him was, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care…”

Some customers would have loved his presentation and been really interested to find out how to race this car on a track. But unfortunately for Thomas, most people didn’t. In fact, any time you do a presentation and demonstration of a vehicle without asking these 6 questions among others, you will be missing the mark more times than not. Because its not how much you know, it’s how much you care for the needs and wants of your customers.

Depending on the situation, and how the conversation starts, you may need to ask the customer..

“In order to best ensure I show you the vehicle and features that you will be interested in, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?” 

Many times you won’t need to say this, as you can ask questions conversationally, but in order to make the customer feel you aren’t interrogating them, but asking questions to help them, this is a great start.

So what are the questions I must be asking?

The best questions to ask, can be broken down to the 6 W’s.

 The WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE, WHEN AND WILL QUESTIONS

I’m going to give you 1 question for each W that you must ask. The key here is to remember them word for word, to ensure you understand your clients their needs and wants without sounding like a salesman who just wants to ask “Are you here to buy a car today?

WHO

“Who will be the main driver of the vehicle and will anyone else be driving?” 

This finds out who you need to be tailoring most of your presentation to, and if there is anyone else that should be here.

WHAT

“What things are most important to you in your next new car?” or

“What do you like and dislike about your current vehicle?”

People buy a new car because the one they have, doesn’t either have want they want or serve the needs they have. Here you can find out exactly their needs and wants.

WHY

“Why did you choose this vehicle to be on your shopping list?” 

Most people do extensive research on the internet before they ever inquire at a dealership. In this question you find out why they put your car at the top of the very extensive list of cars available?

WHERE

“Where do you mainly drive the vehicle?”

This is a great question to ask as you will better understand the customers driving patterns so you can tailor your test drive.

WHEN

“When did you decide it was time for a change?”

This is a great question because it finds out what exactly put this customer in the market. Your job will be to reinforce these reasons later. Please never ask, “When will you be buying one…” If you do a good enough job of selling the features, they will buy!

WILL

“Will you be looking to arrange finance for the vehicle or have you got that organised already?”

This is a great open ended question because you find out exactly where they are up to in the buying process without ever asking that question.

Which is your favorite?

I encourage you, write these out and keep them with you to ensure you ask these every time, to ensure you get success every time!

Great selling!