Features vs Benefits

What is a Feature?

Simply put, a feature is something that is included in your vehicle or something that your vehicle can do. Features add substance to your presentation efforts and can be useful to customers when a customer is looking for a specific vehicle.

What is a Benefit?

A benefit is how your vehicle will improve or add value to a customer’s life. Benefits are how your vehicle will improve your customer’s current situation or solve their problems. Both of which tend to be more of a reason to purchase than a feature alone. Benefits answer the question that EVERY customer asks themselves, “What will this vehicle do for me?” Benefit focus on the results of the customer purchasing from you.

The difference between Features & Benefits

In order to create an effective PRESENTATION/DEMONSTRATION you must understand the difference between features & benefits. Even though these often get confused or inter-mingled, they are two completely different things. The easiest way for me to explain this is:

Features = Expense

vs

Benefits = Value

The importance of explain ONLY the benefits of the features important to the customer

Features only provide facts about the vehicle and don’t do anything towards creating an emotional response from your customer. However, every time you present a benefit that is important to the customer you are generating an emotional commitment to owning the vehicle that you are presenting and demonstrating. It is important to remember, that people typically decide to purchase (or not) based upon their emotions and then use those emotions to justify the purchase logically.

Another way to look at this is, if you continually rattle of features AND even benefits that are not important to the customer you are raising the expense in the customers’ mind. Imagine this, if 50% of the features and benefits that you present and demonstrate to the customer have no actual value to them, then in their mind they are being asked to pay for 50% of a vehicle that has no value to them, and in essence, the car should be half the asking price. Half off is pretty difficult to overcome, even for the best salesperson.

Now, if you focus your presentation and demonstration only on the benefits that are important to the customer, everything about the vehicle is value, therefore making it a bargain at your asking price because the customer wants and needs everything they saw.

Here are some examples of Features and Benefits:

Feature	Benefit
Traction Control System	This system optimizes grip and stability of the car on the road during acceleration by measuring wheel rotation. It stops wheel spin by reducing engine power or temporarily applying the brakes to that wheel, allowing the car to accelerate smoothly, even on slippery surfaces.
Intelligent Brake Assist	This laser radar sensor detects the distance to a preceding vehicle and the relative velocity. If necessary, the system activates the brakes. So, imagine you are driving down the freeway and you are distracted by one of your kids for just a second. At that same instance the traffic in front of you suddenly stops.
Intelligent Key	This system allows you to keep your keys in your pocket or purse and still lock and unlock the doors.
Automatic Lift Gate	With a touch of a button or a swipe of your foot you can open or close the lift gate no matter how many bags you are carrying.

DIT Tip: Each time that you present or demonstrate a feature and a benefit you should tie it into a trial close. This will ensure that the customer is seeing the valuing that you are building, and that you are making those deposits in the piggy bank. For more information about trial closes read the following article. What is a ‘Trial Close’ Anyway?