Course 1
Building Trust with the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor
Introducing the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor training series. This first course will help you build trust with your customers by spending more time understanding what they want and less time on price.
Let’s Get Started
Section 
Building Customer Trust
“People don’t care how much you know
until they know how much you care”
– Theodore Roosevelt
At Kelley Blue Book, we care by giving you the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor, just like you care by basing your vehicle pricing on the Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range. Our job is to deliver neutral, market reflective auto values information to bring consumers and dealers together through mutual realistic expectations. It’s all about building trust.
The Kelley Blue Book Fair Market Range visually shows what a customer might expect to pay for a vehicle in their local market based on recent transactions for comparably equipped vehicles.
Kelley Blue Book Fair Market Range is Kelley Blue Book’s estimate of what a consumer can reasonably expect to pay this week in this vehicle’s area for a vehicle of the same year, make, model and MSRP.
This course will help you build trust with your customers by spending more time understanding what they want and less time on price. For many customers, buying a car is one of the biggest financial decisions they may make in a year.
Their decision often comes down to building trust with you, the dealer.
Good Feelings + Being well-treated + Transparent information = TRUST
How Customers Make Decisions
People make decisions based on how good they feel, how well they are being treated, how much they are understood, and how much they understand – and this equals trust.
All of these factors are influenced by what they want to achieve with their purchase. These could be safety, social status, reliability, appearance, efficiency, or comfort.
Les Kelley was so successful at selling cars that he constantly needed more cars for his lot; he began distributing a list of automobiles he wanted to purchase with the prices he was willing to pay for them to dealers and banks.
Soon, the automotive community trusted his judgment as a good reflection of current values. Other dealers and banks requested the list for their own use and the Kelley name became the most trusted for car values. This list later became known as the Kelley Blue Book.
1900
Kelley Kar company founded
In 1918, a young man named Les Kelley parked three Model T Fords in an open lot, put $450 in the till and started the Kelley Kar Company. It was to become the largest dealership in the world and, along the way, spawn a need for placing values on used and even new cars, known as Blue Book® values.
1918
Kelley Blue Book® published in 1926
Banks and dealers have now become so dependent on Kelley’s values that he decides to begin publishing them in book form. The Blue Book of automotive values is born.
1936
The Government Uses Blue Book Values to Set Price Ceilings on Used Cars
World War II brought with it a shortage of cars. Used car prices got so high the government decided to put a ceiling on prices and used the Blue Book as the ceiling for both wholesale and retail values.
1947
Kelley Blue Book introduces another innovation
Kelley Blue Book continues innovating by being the first publication to use mileage to determine a vehicle’s value.
1967
Kelley Blue Book launches KBB.com
A game-changing innovation, Kelley Blue Book launches KBB.com. New-car prices introduced first, then used car values in 1996. 20,000 visitors a month used KBB.com. KBB.com becomes the most visited automotive website in 1997.
1978
Kelley Blue Book Mobile
Kelley Blue Book launches the Kelley Blue Book Mobile App helping customers determine their current vehicle’s worth, check prices for their next one, or find a local dealer.
Today
Technology. Statistics. Analytics.
Today, Kelley Blue Book uses a wide range of value data analysts, statisticians, state of the art technology and field analysts to help ensure market reflective pricing.
We analyze weekly market data from across the country to come up with the Kelley Blue Book Fair Market Range for 101 regions.
For demonstration purposes only. Not available for distribution
Touching The Full Vehicle Lifecycle
Kelley Blue Book provides the values below as a guide for dealers as they determine what the final price will be. However, each dealer sets and controls their own pricing.
Kelley Blue Book® Trade-In Range
Kelley Blue Book’s estimate of what a consumer can reasonably expect to receive this week based on the style, condition, mileage and options of the vehicle when they trade it in to a dealer. However, every dealer is different and values are not guaranteed.
Kelley Blue Book® Auction Value
Kelley Blue Book’s estimate of what a vehicle is expected to sell for at a wholesale auction. It assumes the seller has properly disclosed the condition of the vehicle. It does not include buyer’s fees or the buyer’s transportation costs and assumes the vehicle has not yet been fully reconditioned, inspected, and prepared for retail sale.
Kelley Blue Book® Lending Value
Kelley Blue Book’s benchmark value for wholesale and retail lenders. Based on the Kelley Blue® Book Auction Value, the Kelley Blue Book® Lending Value assumes that the vehicle is in good to excellent condition, fully reconditioned, inspected, and prepared for retail sale.
Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range (Used Car)
Kelley Blue Book’s estimate of what a consumer can reasonably expect to pay this week in their area for this year, make and model used vehicle with typical miles and configured with their selected options, excluding taxes, title and fees, when buying from a dealer. Each dealer sets and controls its own pricing.
Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range (Certified Pre-owned)
Based on dealers’ asking prices, the Fair Market Range is Kelley Blue Book’s estimate of what a consumer can reasonably expect to pay this week for this year, make and model Certified Pre-Owned vehicle with typical mileage and configured with their selected options, excluding taxes, title and fees. Each dealer sets and controls its own pricing.
Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range (New Car)
Kelley Blue Book’s estimate of what a consumer can reasonably expect to pay this week in their area for a vehicle configured with their selected options, excluding taxes, title, fees and any available rebates or incentives. Each dealer sets and controls its own pricing.
Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)
The MSRP, or Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, is the price set by the manufacturer. MSRP includes destination charges and minimum required equipment, but excludes service and handling fees and state and local tax, title and license fees. MSRP is a reference point for negotiations, however dealers can choose to sell a vehicle above or below its listed MSRP.
Section 
Information Overload
Today customers are spending more and more time researching cars online – often finding conflicting information.
0
hrs
Customers spend an average of
12.5 hours online researching vehicles1
1J.D.Power 2014 New Car Autoshopper Study
CUSTOMERS ARE GETTING
BURIED UNDER INFORMATION
It is easy for a customer’s car choice and pricing expectations to get buried under information overload. Let the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor help you cut through the clutter.
What Really Matters to Customers
What matters is connecting with and listening to the customer’s research experience. For some, it may be an easy journey finding what they want, but for others it can be confusing and frustrating. Customers may not realize how confusing their experience has been until they actually come into the dealership.
Customers get bombarded online with different terms for the same ideas and different ways of sharing the pricing of cars.
Sometimes you, as a sales associate or product consultant, may find yourself tasked with unwinding information that was erroneous or misunderstood by the customer during research, then you can help them get a better view of what they really want or expect.
What most customers say they want is to receive a fair price2, so they don’t have to worry about buyer’s remorse. You can help the customer learn about and understand the Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range through the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor.
2KBB Valuations Survey May-June 2012
Section 
The Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor
Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor is a good way to cut through the internet information chaos and Build Customer Trust around Fair Pricing.
White zone represents pricing below Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range
Green zone is the Kelley Blue Book Fair Market Range
Red Zone represents pricing above the Kelley Blue Book Fair Market Range
The guiding principles for vehicle valuations of Kelley Blue Book are to remain neutral to the transaction by providing timely and local values to help remove friction from the sales process by easing the online to dealership experience.
Below are the categories for each vehicle value type, followed by examples of marketplace data points that inform the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor
Kelley Blue Book® Trade-In Range
Kelley Blue Book® Auction Value
Kelley Blue Book® Lending Value
Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range (Used Car)
Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range (Certified Pre-owned)
Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range (New Car)
Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)
Retail new car transactions
- Retail new car transactions
Retail used car transactions
- Retail used car transactions
Vehicle Listings
- New and used vehicle data
Auction Transactions
- Auction Transactions
Macro Economic factors / C&I
- Fuel prices
- Interest rates
- Incentives
- Rebates
- Special Offers
MSRP
- Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price
Base Vehicle Data
- Year, make, model trim
- Major equipment
- Options
Consumer behavior
- Website activity showing demand for vehicle segments and models
Vehicle registrations
- Includes transaction price
Vehicle Appraisals
- Daily feed from dealers
Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offers
- 9500 offers weekly since 1/16
Section 
The Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor in Action
A real-world pricing example
A Real-World Pricing Example
Let’s say you’re looking for a fully-loaded 2016 Chevrolet Equinox LT SUV and you want to know a fair price to pay. Enter the make, model and year and any additional features including color and accessories.
The Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor takes the vehicle information you input and uses a model based on a number of different factors including; actual recent sales transactions of fully configured vehicles, local geographic data and on used vehicles includes consideration of mileage, color, age, and demand to determines the Kelly Blue Book Fair Market Range.
Section 
Welcoming Your Customer
One of the most important steps is to welcome your customer to set the tone of the relationship.
Play Video
The Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor Helps Remove Pricing Concerns
Recognizing that most customers are ‘price sensitive’, immediately introducing the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor goes a long way to remove any price concerns and sets the tone for a more relaxed conversation.
By letting your customer know that your prices are based on the Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range, it helps to remove any ‘price anxiety’. Using this approach encourages customers to see you as a product consultant demonstrating your knowledge about fair pricing and that you are customer focused.
How to be a great Product Specialist
The Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor gives you the advantage of sharing recent transaction data with your customers and demonstrating just how easy it is to discover and understand the Kelley Blue Book® Fair Market Range.
Becoming a great Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor Product Specialist enables you to learn what matters to your customers by showing them that price doesn’t need to be a central part of the conversation. You become the trusted advisor for your customers to rely upon.
Customers want to know that your primary goal is to satisfy their wants and needs in buying a car.
Section 
The Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor Success
“The past three months have been months to remember in many special ways. With our exciting new pricing [based on the] Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor, our sales volume has increased…, transactions are going faster and smoother and our client’s buying experience is positively memorable.”
– Joe Langhans, DGDG
Trust matters. At Kelley Blue Book, we are committed to being The Trusted Resource® on the internet for consumers and dealers by offering unbiased information that reflects actual market conditions.
Kelley Blue Book has been around for 90 years, and today Kelley Blue Book is known as The Trusted Resource®, a third party helping consumers and dealers connect and better understand each other. It all starts with trying to understand what customers want in a purchase experience.
I hope this short program has been a helpful introduction to the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor and that you have seen a few useful tips about establishing trust and dealing with a customer’s number one issue – Price Anxiety.
At Kelley Blue Book® We Are Here To Help
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