Thirty Questions You Need To Ask Customers!

- By Ronald J. Reahard

Every successful F&I manager knows that customers prefer talking to listening. In my experience, I can say the best F&I managers talk the least. The more time you spend listening to the customer, the more they feel you care about them, and understand their situation. When a customer talks, you have an opportunity to discover their needs, concerns, or the problems they need help in solving. Customers buy an F&I product not because they understand it, but because they feel you understand them.

The whole idea of needs-based selling is to allow us to show a customer how a product will benefit them specifically, versus making a sales pitch. That means we have to discover a need each F&I product will fill, or a problem it will solve, before presenting any products, so there is basis for our discussion of those products with the customer. In order to do that, we have to utilize open-ended questions and engage the customer in a dialogue that will enable us and the customer to answer that all important question; “Why does this customer need this product?”

The key to needs discovery is to ask open-ended questions, not closed-end questions. Closed-ended questions can be answered by a “Yes” or “No.” They do not provide you with any new information on which to base your next question, and the conversation quickly deteriorates into an interrogation. “Did you buy your trade-in new?” “Yes.” “Has it been a good car?” “Yes.” “Did you have any problems with it?” “No.” “Have you ever had a breakdown away from home?” “No.” “Do you think you might have a breakdown with this car?” “No.” “Do you want a service contract?” “No.” “Are you sure?” “Yes.” The customer’s “Yes” or “No” response constantly requires you to come up with another question, and the experience becomes an exhausting ordeal for both you and the customer.

Open-ended questions, on the other hand, tend to relax customers, and encourage them to expand upon their answer. More importantly, open-ended questions provide you with the information you’ll need to sell your products. Open-ended questions almost always include one of the six magic words when it comes to needs discovery: who, what, when, where, how, and why? Open-ended questions allow the customer to answer in their own words and ways, and constantly provide new information on which to base you next question. Always remember, the person asking the questions is the one controlling the conversation.

Bringing the customer back to the F&I office immediately allows you to spend more time with them, and ask numerous needs discovery questions as you begin loading their information into the computer and printing documents. However, needs discovery should begin the moment you greet the customer on the showroom floor. The following questions will help you to discover the customer’s needs and position your products as a solution to those needs. The idea is not to interrogate the customer, but work these questions into the conversation, to allow you to determine their needs prior to presenting your products on a menu.

For example, when you first meet the customer at the salesperson’s desk, after introducing yourself, you might want to ask a few easy, softball questions like:

1. “So, who’s getting the new car?” It’s critical that we discover who the primary driver will be as soon as possible. The person who will be driving the vehicle must be able to picture themselves in a situation where our products would benefit them.

2. “Where are you going on your first trip in your new car?” This helps us determine where they might take their vehicle on a trip. Nobody wants to have a breakdown or away from home!

3. “What made you decide to get new car today?” Their transportation needs may have changed, they may have had problems with their previous vehicle, or it might have been stolen or declared a total loss!

4. “What other vehicles do you own?” We need to discover if this is their primary vehicle, their only vehicle, or if their other car is a company car.

As you begin review their information and inputting it into the computer, your needs discovery questions should also include:

5. “What percent of your vehicle use is for business?” If they use their car in their business, they’ll need substitute transportation, plus they may be able to write off the vehicle service agreement as a business expense!

6. “Do you have room in the garage for the new car?” followed by “Where do you normally park at night?” “What about during the day?” This can help discover the need for environmental protection, GAP or a theft deterrent product.

7. “How far is your commute to work?” followed by “What percent of your driving is freeway?” This will allow us to demonstrate the need for roadside assistance, tire and wheel road hazard protection.

8. “How many miles a year do you drive?” This will help us discover which VSA will best suit their needs. A great follow-up question is, “Wow, where do you go?” Now we can paint a picture of the vehicle broken down somewhere along the way.

9. “Do normally sell or trade your vehicles?” followed by “Why?” We need to know if what they’re doing today is normal, or abnormal, and their motivation for trading or selling their vehicle themselves.

10. I see your trade-in is five years old. “How long do you normally keep your vehicles?” We have to tailor our presentation of a VSA or environmental protection to their situation. This should be followed by immediately by the question we really need to know the answer to, “Really, why do you keep them that long?” This is what we need to know. There’s a big difference between someone who trades every 4-5 years “so they don’t have problems,” vs. a customer who trades because “they just want something new.”

11. “What type of repairs did you have to do on your old car?” Always assume they had some type of repairs. If they did have a repair, don’t forget to ask “What happened?” so they can re-live the hassle of that experience.

Many times, we need additional cash down to help reduce the amount of advance or offset the negative equity in their trade-in. But you gotta find the cash before you can get the cash. Some questions that can help you sniff out available cash include:

12. “What other cash assets do you have that you could use to repay this obligation?” We’re looking for cash value life insurance, stocks, bonds, savings accounts, etc., anything that we can tap to get the downpayment necessary for approval.

13. “What other cash assets do you have that would be available in an emergency?” (IRA, 401K, college fund, etc.) Even if they don’t have any cash, it demonstrates they need our products.

14. “What other assets do you currently own that could be readily converted into cash?” (2nd vehicle, ATV, jet ski, etc.)

15. “In the event we’re able to extend your first payment out 45 to 90 days, how much additional cash would that make available?” (Help the customer discover ways they might be able to free up additional cash for down payment.)

As you review the credit application and buyers order, other questions you should ask include:

16. “What all is involved in your job?” If you want to sell credit insurance, it’s your job to figure out what’s hazardous about their job. And every job has its hazards.

17. “When you’re not working, what do you do for recreation?” Maybe they like to ride four-wheelers, a.k.a. quadriplegic makers.

18. “I see we’re putting the loan in both names. Do you depend upon both incomes to meet your monthly obligations?” “Yes.” “And in the event one of those incomes were to cease, what other sources of income would you have available?” “None.” You’ve just discovered they need disability insurance.

19. “How soon are you expecting an increase in salary?” Insufficient capacity is the number one reason a deal is rejected by lenders!

20. “Has your income increased, decreased, or remained the same over the past five years?” “Really, how much was it five years ago?” This will allow you show them they can afford this higher payment.

21. “It shows here you have three dependants. How old are your kids?” Depending on their age, they may need fabric protection, or a VSA and GAP if they will soon be of driving age.

22. “What are their names?” We want to use the names of their children, not just “your kids” when we talk about the need for insurance, fabric protection, or roadside assistance.

To convert an outside bank or credit union customer to dealership financing, we must be capable of discovering why they might want or need another source of financing. Otherwise, we’re competing strictly on rate.

23. “What type of relationship do you have with Worst National?” “Oh, I do all my business with Worst National. I have checking, savings, another car loan, everything there.” You just discovered a need… with one of our sources they won’t have to be concerned with the right of offset!

24. “What other lending relationships do you have established?” “None.” Any financial advisor would recommend you have more than one finance source available.

25. “Who do you deal with there at last chance finance?” We need to discover whether or not they have a personal relationship with someone there at the bank or credit union.

26. “How long has it been since you financed a major purchase somewhere other than Deadbeat Federal Credit Union?” If they haven’t financed anywhere else for several years, they need another source of credit. “If you desperately, and I mean desperately needed to borrow money, and the credit union said “No” for whatever reason, where would you go?” “How much would it be worth to have another lender available that would say “Yes?”

While confirming and/or entering the insurance information into the computer, some additional questions you should always ask include:

27. “What are your insurance deductibles?” In most states, GAP would pay their deductible, in the event their vehicle is a total loss. If they have less than a $500 deductible, they may want to raise their deductible. The savings on their insurance will help pay for the GAP!

28. “Have you, or anyone in your family ever had an accident?” If so, ask them “What happened?” We want them to relive the experience, so they recognize it could happen again. If they’ve never had a claim, they sure wouldn’t want to file one for road hazard.

29. “Who else will be driving the new car?” They may have some teenage drivers who may drive the vehicle at some point. Teenagers don’t drive the way mom and dad drive.

30. “What type of theft deterrent system did you get on your vehicle?” This sets up the need for “layered” theft protection.

Needs discovery is the most important part of the entire F&I process. And you must be capable of discovering the customer’s needs before presenting your products. The key is to utilize as many open-ended questions as possible, so the customer doesn’t feel as though they’re being interrogated. If you ask your customers these 30 questions, you can use the information you discover as the reason why they need the product being discussed. Then you’re not selling customers… you’re helping customers!