Matching clients with cars fuels sales drive

Selling techniques

Matching clients with cars fuels sales drive

Agents urged to assess customers’ needs

THE new ‘How to Choose Your Car’ section in Hertz’s latest World on Wheels brochure highlights one of the main problems agents have selling car rental – how to match the car to the client.

The Hertz guide, with apicture of a typical car in each category and graphics to show how many people andhow much luggage each can hold, is similar to those printed by Budget, Holiday Autos, Suncars and other car-rental companies.

They are aimed at making sure clients do not just book the smallest, cheapest car.

Avis group marketing manager Oliver Rait said: “Selling the cheapest car group is not good customer service, just like selling the wrong size of clothes.”

The Avis Driving School training programme advises agents to ask questions, to find out how many people are travelling and how much luggage they will have and to assess the clients’ needs.

Suncars general manager John Briggs suggests agents ask clients what they drive at home. “If it is a Ford Mondeo, they will not be happy with Fiat Cinquecento for a week,” he said.

“We do get instances where people need to upgrade their car on arrival because they cannot fit into the car they have booked. It would have been cheaper to pre-book a bigger car in the UK.”

Holiday Autos managing director UK and Ireland Tony Seaman said agents should not be frightened to encourage clients to trade up. “The British mentality is to go for the cheapest but they need to be realistic.

“They can upgrade locally but it will cost more and there is a risk in busy resorts in peak season that there will not be another car,” he said.

Europcar manager international sales Yvonne Young said agents should find out what clients plan to do on holiday. “For couples on a touring holiday that will include high mileage, a smaller vehicle such as a Fiat Punto or Renault Twingo will keep fuel consumption to a minimum,” she added. “For holidays where much of the driving will be on motorways, a saloon car ensures a smooth comfortable drive.”

Seaman said people planning a lot of touring or sightseeing will need a car that is big enough to hold everyone comfortably. They should also consider air conditioning if it is a warm country.

Motoring on: Hertz’s new car guide aims to help agents book the right car for their customers, while Holiday Autos believes retailers should encourage clients to trade up

Rental recommendations

We asked three companies to tell us which car they recommend for the following holidays and why:

Holiday 1:

Mr and Mrs M, their two children and grandmother are going to Malaga for a week and want a car to drive around a lot. Budget: tight.

Holiday Autos: five-door Ford Focus with air conditioning. A reliable and safe family vehicle which is fairly economical and suitable for those wanting to get around in comfort. Cost:£169 all-inclusive.

Hertz: Ford Focus Estate or similar. Plenty of room for luggage, picnics and buckets and spades. Comfortable size for driving into the villages or to visit Marbella or even Gibraltar.

Cost: £199 inclusive from World on Wheels.

Budget: Renault Megane/Opel Astra with air conditioning. An economical choice with space for five people. Cost: £166 inclusive from Go!

Holiday 2

Mr and Mrs A are going to Australia for three weeks and plan to do a lot of driving while there. Budget: money no object.

Holiday Autos: Toyota Rav 4×4 five-door with air conditioning. A sporty, fun jeep for young travellers not scared to spend the cash on looking flash.

Cost: £449 all-inclusive.

Hertz: Ford Taurus or similar. Plenty of room for three weeks of luggage and high-spec model provides smooth ride for long journeys.

Cost: £682 from World on Wheels.

Budget: Ford Falcon 4-litre automatic with air conditioning. A comfortable cruiser with power to eat up the miles. Cost: £806.34 inclusive from Go!

Holiday 3

Mr and Mrs F and their two children are going to Florida for two weeks and need a car for a lot of touring. Budget: prepared to spend what it takes.

Holiday Autos: Chevrolet Cavalier four-door. Great runaround car for the family that doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on a flash car.

Cost: £173 all-inclusive.

Hertz: Ford Contour or similar. Air conditioned and plenty of space to accommodate four people and their luggage in comfort.

Cost: £402 inclusive from World on Wheels.

Budget: Ford Contour 2-litre automatic with air-conditioning. A nice comfortable car, the equivalent of the Ford Mondeo.

Cost: £409.20 inclusive from Go!

&#42 Holiday Autos rates include unlimited mileage, loss damage waiver, supplementary liability insurance, local taxes, airport fees, environmental taxes and handling fees.

&#42 World on Wheels rates include unlimited mileage, collision damage waiver, theft protection, airport service charges and local tax.

&#42 Go! Budget rates include unlimited mileage, CDW, TP, local tax and airport surcharges. In the US, they also include SCI.