Describing Features

Features don’t add value by default.
Unless you sell the benefit, they just add to the price.

Another common problem that goes along with knowing all of the product stats is being able to explain what they mean, and then tying it in to how each of those features relates to each customer’s specific wants and needs.

I have a Silverado 2500 HD and a couple of SUVs because we tend to carry a lot of ‘stuff’ most of the time. So, ‘cargo space’ is a definite feature I’m interested in with any vehicle purchase. So I just went online to check the cargo space in two SUVs to see how cargo space was described.

• The first SUV had 16.1 cubic feet of space behind its 3rd row seating, 43 if that row is stowed, and a whopping 81.7 cubic feet if both rows are folded down.

Holy smokes, that sounds like a lot, but how much ‘stuff’ does 81.7 cubic feet hold?

It really beats me, because I don’t visualize anything in cubic feet and I don’t even have a cubic feet ruler that I know of. But I am able to see the things I have to carry in a vehicle, and if I can see that it will all fit, that’s great.

• The next vehicle I looked at online didn’t talk about cubic feet at all – I looked through the whole site and couldn’t find a reference anywhere. All it talked about and showed in the graphic was how many pieces of carry-on luggage you could fit in the storage space.

In the short version, it will hold 4 if the 3rd row is used, and 13 pieces in the extended version. With all the seats folded, that jumped to a whopping 34 pieces in the short one and 48 in the extended version.

Wow – I travel a lot and I do have a mental ‘carry-on ruler’ so I can visualize what I can fit into a space that will hold 48 pieces of luggage. And I can visualize the spaces, even if I’m just reading stats with no pictures.

So be the customer for a second, and imagine how most would feel if they call two dealerships and asked about the space in those models; one salesperson will fill their head with cubic feet while the other creates a visual image.

I’m not suggesting you use carry-on luggage for your example. If they have 2 kids who play soccer, talk about how much soccer gear it will hold. If they said they’re headed to Costco later to buy steaks and stuff for the big Labor Day weekend … talk about how easy it will all fit.

Make your stats matter!

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