FB

Speed controllers are the heart and brains of any electric golf cart. They’re also a good way of keeping a conversation about customizing a golf cart going with a potential customer. Most customers will have an idea of what the speed controller is, but try to gauge their education on it. Some customers will be well versed, while others will have a number of assumptions built on top of a basic understanding.

Breaking Speed Controllers Down

This is OK. It gives you an opportunity to invite the customer to talk about how they intend to use the golf cart. What will it be needed to do? You can talk about a part as a way to calm down or redirect a sales conversation that’s veering off-course. Remember to break down the following basics into two categories that are easy to communicate: active and passive responsibilities.

Active responsibilities are elements the speed controller gives to the driver in terms of information or performance. In other words, the driver can tell the difference in how these responsibilities are handled by a speed controller. Passive responsibilities have more to do with safety features or features that extend the lifespan of the motor and battery. Customers will usually be more interested in the active responsibilities of a speed controller.

Active Responsibilities

Battery Monitoring: This gives a driver two basic pieces of information: the battery’s health, and its charge.

Acceleration Rate: This gives a golf cart its “feel” when accelerated. Essentially, it will change the rate of acceleration when the throttle is quickly applied vs. slowly applied.

Throttle Mapping: This essentially dictates precision of control at speed. By fine tuning it, more precise control can be directed to certain speeds. Therefore, if it’s a golf cart that’s mostly going to be used at low speed, there are controllers that lend themselves to very precise movement at low speeds. If it’s going to be used at mid or high speed, a controller that leans toward performance is better. Of course, this map can be changed, but it’s more advisable for most users to stay with a controller’s profile than to start tinkering around with throttle mapping themselves.

Passive Responsibilities

Thermal Guard: This protects the controller itself from overheating or becoming damaged when it’s overworked or conditions are bad. By protecting the controller, it in turn helps the speed controller continue protecting the motor and battery.

Motor Current Limiting: This is necessary to protect the motor if it becomes stalled, or overloads.

Battery Current Limiting: This guards against discharge that can cause damage. It also softens current in the case of the battery becoming depleted. This graduates the amount of power being directed so that when the battery drains, permanent damage is avoided.

Using Golf Cart Part Choice to Keep a Sale Alive

That’s all pretty wordy. You don’t need to dive into this much detail, but you need to understand it well enough to simplify it for a customer. Figure out how to break it down in your own words. Developing metaphors to describe responsibilities can be a good way of engaging customers and drawing out positive responses. Why focus on the speed controller at all?

A customer can understand that a speed controller is the element that controls both the capabilities of the golf cart and the driving experience they’ll have. Don’t open the conversation by jumping in with a speed controller discussion, but as you get into customizing a golf cart, it’s a good way of regaining your place in the conversation. If they appear to be losing interest or they’re barraging you, it’s an ace up your sleeve to re-align the conversation.

By talking about different speed controller traits, you need them to tell you about how they’ll use the golf cart, and how they want it to feel. Use speed controller choice as a way of getting them to envision how they want to use the golf cart and what it will be like to have it.

Use a golf cart customization app to go through a range of different speed controllers. Have a few that you like and know in depth so that you always have that information to fall back on. You won’t hook a customer with a speed controller, but you can keep a conversation and a sale alive. You’re just asking about what kind of part they’d like, but they have to respond by telling you what kind of experience they’d like. Introducing a golf cart customization app at this point encourages them to sit beside you and work with you on achieving that experience.