This is a great (sad) story, contributed by Mike Horsfall, a Great Demo! Workshop alumnus:
Recently we had a hail storm and there was so much damage to my car that the insurance company “totaled” it, thus I had to look for a replacement.
So we went to the same dealer and explained the situation, that we were looking for a newer model of the same car, we know what it is like “all the features, as they are on the web”; we just want to drive it.
So the sales person proceeded to leave us for 15 minutes while he got the demo ready and “car brought around”. He then proceeded to:
1. Open the hood and explain how the VVT Variable Valve Timing worked
2. The motor mounts are now break away so in the case of a front end collision the motor would break away and drop down and to the side to not impact the passenger compartment
3. The front quarter panels are designed to collapse and take the force of a collision so again to not impact the passenger compartment
4. The side walls of each door are equipped with 3, yes 3, not just 2 cross bars to protect the passengers
5. Opening the rear hatch, he explained that it was the same size as the previous model, but now the door swung up, rather than sideways as the spare tire was under the rear floor mat
6. Now on the rear roof, you will notice that the antenna is now about 6” inches tall not the typical 24” so it provides, less air turbulence and wind noise
7. On the passenger side you will notice a slight ridge beside the side mirror, this is to streamline the airflow and provide better flow down the side of the car and make it quieter
8. Opening the passenger compartment you will notice that we now have intermittent wipers, with not the typical 3 setting but 4 settings to allow much more flexibility to deal with rain
9. Did I mention that we now have 6 way driver seat adjustments
We are now 25 minutes into the demo – and I still don’t have an answer to my Critical Business Issue: “Does it have the power of my old car?”
Finally I got in the driver seat, drove off the lot, tromped on the gas pedal, came back to the dealer lot and said, “Nope I want a V6 instead of the V4, this doesn’t solve my need!”
Classic case of a dealer sales rep selling features instead of benefits, and neither listening to nor asking customers about needs. Customer-centric dealers know better, and they actively communicate with customers to understand their priorities: http://customerthink.com/how_auto_dealer_group_builds_trust/