Did you know that taking the time to fully understand your customer’s needs is important even if the customer states they know what they want? Studies show that customer satisfaction is doubled when customers note their sales consultant asked questions to understand their needs.

Kia has significant growth opportunities. More important than understanding your customer’s needs is that the customer feels that the dealership completely understands their needs. The following Summarizing/Confirming questions, such as "I want to completely understand your needs..." or "I'm going to ask you a lot of questions..." demonstrates your commitment. This is true whether interacting with the customer in-person, socially distanced, or online/virtually.

There are three types of questions that can help you build rapport and learn more about your customer and their interests, as well as help your customer understand the time involved in the Sales process:

1. Tell the customer what you are doing: Tell the customer you will be asking a lot of questions to completely understand their needs.

2. Introductory questions: These are usually open-ended questions to begin exploring new topics – so you can truly start to understand your customer’s needs.

3. Follow-up questions: These can be either open-ended or closed-ended questions to obtain additional information and/or clarification about a topic – these are great questions to begin building rapport.

4. Summarizing/Confirming questions (paraphrases): These are used to check your understanding - and demonstrates to the customer that you are listening.

So, be sure to ask some of the introductory and follow-up questions below to begin building rapport and to determine what is most important to the customer - then paraphrase the customer’s response to confirm your understanding. This will ensure that your customer knows you have their best interests in mind and want to provide a superior customer experience. Please see below for more detailed tips and verbiage that can help with understanding your customer’s needs in various situations:

Introductory Questions and Follow-up Questions:

• Where are you in your buying process?
• How did you find out about Kia?
• Share the Kia Story if the customer is unfamiliar with Kia.
• What do you want to accomplish during your visit today? What’s your goal?
• How much time do you have for your visit today? I want to make sure I meet your expectations.
• Which Kia trim level(s) are you most interested in?
• How did you find out about the Kia [vehicle and trim level]?
• What interests you most about the Kia [vehicle and trim level]?
• What research have you already done? What else would you like to learn?
• Tell me about your current vehicle.
• What do you like about your current vehicle – what is your favorite feature?
• What do you want your new vehicle to provide that your current vehicle does not?
• What is prompting you to consider make a change?
• How will you use your new vehicle?
• Who will be the primary driver of the vehicle and who else will drive the vehicle?
• What type of driving will be done with the vehicle (e.g., city/highway, work/leisure)?
• How long do you intend to keep your new vehicle?
• How do you want your new vehicle to be equipped? (As necessary, confirm choices that need to be made.)
• What type of powertrain (Type of transmission/FWD vs. AWD) are you interested in?
• What Driver Assist/Convenience technologies are you looking for?
• Is there any other available equipment you are interested in?
• What other vehicles are you considering?
• What do you like about the vehicle?
• What would you change about the vehicle if you could?
• What’s your most important consideration in selecting the vehicle you are going to buy?
• Find out why that consideration is of particular importance to the customer: “Tell me more about that.”
• It sounds like there is a story behind that.”
• (Make note of the specific “trigger” words the customer uses.)

It’s important to balance your goal (which is to uncover as much information as possible) without seeming overly intrusive. You may not have to ask each question, depending on how much information the customer volunteers - this is not a linear process. Each customer will be at different points in their buying and decision-making process when you first meet them, so you may need to ask the questions in a different order. For example, with a customer who “just wants a test drive,” you may begin by asking about the desired vehicle and equipment while you prepare for the drive.

Things to Try with Various Types of Customers

• “I’m just looking” customer
• Inform the customer he/she is welcome to look as much as desired.
• Ask, “What would you like to see?” (This demonstrates that the customer is in control of the interaction and helps the customer feel safe.)
• Chatty customer
• Ask open-ended questions to keep the conversation on track. The customer will tell you everything you need to know!
• Early in the conversation, ask the customer what they want to accomplish during the visit and how much time they have for their visit. That way, you can help the customer stay on track. For example, you can say, “I know you have a limited amount of time, and I want to make sure you are able to receive all the information you need so I have a few more questions.”
• Know-it-all customer
• Smile and show respect for the customer’s knowledge. (Approach the situation as a collaboration and an opportunity to understand the customer’s point of view.)
• Engage the customer by asking for his or her opinions. For example, you can say, “Based on your research/experience, is this what you expected?”
• “I would like to hear your opinion about the pros and cons of the All-Wheel Drive (AWD) within our market.”
• “What were your impressions of the [competitive vehicle] when you looked at the vehicle and drove it?”
• “In your opinion, how does the Kia [trim] compare with the ‘[competitive vehicle]?”
• “I only want to drive” customer
• “I’d be happy to take you for a test drive. Would it be okay if I asked you a few questions to make sure I’m getting the right vehicle for you to test drive?”
• “Which trim would you like to test drive?”
• “What equipment do you want to have on the vehicle you test drive?”
• Antagonistic/Angry customer
• “Thank you for allowing me to help you find your next vehicle! This is a very exciting time for you, so please tell me what I can do to ensure you have a positive experience with us.”
• “Buying a new car should be fun, so I’ll do my best to make sure you have a pleasant experience at our dealership!”

Each customer is unique. Your role in fully understanding your customers’ needs is to ask a lot of open-ended and follow-up questions to uncover their unique needs and expectations and to put them into the right Kia vehicle. Doing this can help to win repeat and referral business from their family and friends.

Sincerely,

Sales and Field Operations Team
Kia America, Inc.

It’s nice to feel appreciated.

Think of the last time you might have picked up your favorite takeout food. The manager probably smiled warmly and greeted you as they brought you your order. They ensured you had everything you needed, thanked you for supporting their restaurant, and might even have provided dessert on the house. This interaction made the experience exceptional and unforgettable. Checking on your customer is a relatively low-effort, high-impact way to show care and appreciation for their business.

Your Sales Manager plays a critical role in building rapport, trust, and credibility with your customers. Your customers will feel confident that the Kia Team is committed to helping them select the Kia vehicle that best suits their needs. Your digital presence is also critical to the customer experience. Here are a few ways you and your Sales Manager can provide a positive online environment:

• Smile and greet the customer warmly whether in-person, while video chatting with them, or speaking to them on the phone.
• Be knowledgeable about the video chat technology available.
• Utilize the web chat function of your website if available.
• Make sure the pricing and information on your website is up-to-date, transparent, and accurate.

Start by introducing your Sales Manager to customers early in the sales process, either after the meet and greet or before the demo drive. Implementing this low-effort, high-impact best practice creates the ‘restaurant manager’ check-in appeal.

So, invite your Sales Manager to the vehicle of interest and allow him or her to greet the customer. Specifically, the manager should:

• Extend a sincere greeting while ensuring customers are comfortable with the greeting method (socially distanced gesture, elbow bump, handshake, etc.). This will help build trust and confidence in the sales process while showing the customer that the dealership always has the customer’s health and safety in mind.
• Welcome the customer to the dealership and thank him or her for their interest and time
• Endorse you as the sales professional
• Quickly outline the sales process

Introducing the manager early helps build trust and rapport but empowering the Sales Consultant to negotiate instead of not having to get authorization further elevates the customer experience. Moreover, transparent pricing online will lead to less negotiating, which further improves the customer experience. Price transparency is even more important now because it enables digital retail. Also, with low inventories and high demand, some dealers are marking prices up and not being upfront with customers. A possible example of this would be advertising at one MSRP to get customers in but adding markups after they arrive in store. Second only to vehicle availability, high pricing, and non-transparent pricing account for the main reason why customers leave a dealership with 80% of them going to another brand.

These simple and effective steps separate you from other dealerships – building rapport, trust, and credibility with your customer.

Sincerely,

Sales and Field Operations Team
Kia America, Inc.