Sales Consultants, now's the time to brush up on your basic technical knowledge!

From my own first-hand experience and ongoing experience within the automotive sector, I often come across basic technical knowledge gaps with Sales Consultants.

Now, one might argue that Sales Consultants don’t require technical aptitude and technical questions can be answered by the Service Department etc. I tend to disagree.

Having broader knowledge imparts confidence to the consumer; when a customer asks a question and can gain a truthful and accurate response at that moment, you’re building trust.

Sales Consultants, you are Problem Solvers. Identifying objections to the buying process and imparting knowledge and confidence to the customer.

TODAY'S TECHNICAL INSIGHT What is POWER (Kw) and TORQUE (Nm) ?

Commonly asked questions;

• “What size is the engine and how powerful is it?”
• “I like the feeling of more power”.
• "Why is it revving so much, my car doesn't do that"...

What I hear and see often, a Sales Consultants response is made-up or ill-informed. So back to basics 101, an engine will produce Power and Torque, metric measurements are;

• Kilowatt (Kw) = Power
• Newton Metre (Nm) = Torque (Force)

Torque is the capacity to do work, the total strength to move an object for example. Power is how quickly the task can be accomplished, the time to move the object for example. In other words, power is the rate of completing work (or applying torque) in a given amount of time.

Here's a basic understanding of what all this means, let's apply it to a Scenario at the GYM assuming this is their maximum;

Tom lifts 60 kg off the ground 10 times in 20 seconds. Jerry lifts 40 kg off the ground 10 times in 15 seconds.

Torque is the work to move the weight in Kg, and Power is the time taken to complete 10 repetitions.

Therefore (and without factoring distance - keeping this as simple as possible), Tom has greater Torque but less Power.

Jerry performs it quicker, greater Power, but has less overall capacity, less strength OR Torque.

• Higher Power (Kw) petrol engines will typically operate at higher rpm to achieve the same terminal speed as a diesel achieves at a lower rpm
• Higher Torque (Nm) diesel engines will typically feel more forceful off the line and cruise more easily whilst operating at lower RPM, generally more comfortable around town.

Here are some examples via the following charts, where the bottom text represents RPM (1000, 2000, ...etc.) , and the vertical axis represent torque and power.

So now we know;

-      Power is the speed at which a force (Torque) can be applied.

-      Torque is the force, the total working capacity

More Examples;

• A modern turbocharged diesel feels very powerful.

This is because the power and torque peaks typically intersect close to 3000 rpm (see graph above). As a driver this feels like an almost linear pulling sensation. Hence, diesels are great for towing and generally offer better fuel consumption (how they do this I won’t go to that level of detail!)

• A modern turbocharged petrol engine feels more energetic than the diesel but perhaps less forceful early in the rpm range.

This is because peak power and torque will intersect somewhere closer to 4500 to 5000 rpm (reference the top graph). Petrol engines are cleaner engines from an emissions perspective and generally more energetic, higher revving engines better suited to high speed & performance applications where they make power and torque higher in the rpm range.

Electric Vehicles (EV’s) are a marvel, they produce maximum Torque from 1 rpm, hence why they accelerate so quickly off the line and feel incredibly powerful.

Now you know the differences, not only can you answer questions more assertively, you can now help guide your customer to the right decision for their driving needs and preferences.

Scenario 1.

• “I enjoy driving a larger family vehicle, generally seating 4 passengers and I like good and easy acceleration and a relaxed drive”

This buyer will suit a larger capacity petrol or a diesel engine. They will typically not suit a small capacity petrol engine.

Scenario 2.

• “I drive mainly around town, prefer a lower purchase price, I like a small zippy feeling and enjoy putting my foot down”.

This buyer will prefer a petrol engine, generally cheaper and better suited to higher rpm driving.

Scenario 3.

• “I need an everyday family vehicle that can also tow a caravan or trailer regularly”.

This is a diesel buyer or large capacity Petrol engine over 3L and / or turbocharged. Definitely diesel is the best suited option on balance. Worth noting fuel economy will be far better than petrol when towing.

Scenario 4.

• “I love technology, I commute locally, I also have underground parking available and looking for a low emissions vehicle”.

If available in your product line-up and within price range, an Electric Vehicle (EV) will suit this buyer.

Remember, the pleasure and sell comes from many factors during the purchase, notably from the experience and enjoyment during the test drive. You can make a better connection with the customer by getting them to feel what you’ve shared with them.

I hope this has been helpful and not too much information to take in.

My next article will focus on Fuel Consumption and how modern turbocharging impacts this positively and sometimes negatively. 

Please feel free to ask me questions or provide any feedback, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I will continue to share with you some technical basics to help develop your technical knowledge as a Sales Professional or automotive enthusiast!