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Do you have to be a dyed-in-the-wool, time-served used truck
Page 53
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salesman to sell second-hand tractor units and rig ids successfully? European Vehicle Sales (EVS) managing director Anthony Wright suspects not.
He believes that the UK market is picking up a little and is looking to recruit a salesperson who will concentrate solely on opportunities in Britain. Based near Doncaster, independent dealership EVS is a well-known exporter, and Wright admits that the company may have taken its eye off the ball as far as the domestic market is concerned.
"So far we've had little interest from experienced truck salespeople but a lot of interest from outside the industry, including a few car sales staff who want to move over," he says.
"It shouldn't be too difficult for the right person to adapt." he contends. "Product knowledge can be taught, and once they've got that, the right individual can sell anything.
"Remember too that in our industry, salespeople are dealing with customers who generally know what they want," he says. "It's usually down to whoever is offering the best price, the best backup, and whether or not the customer likes the person they're dealing with."
However, Wright has no plans to neglect EVS's export activities.
"Despite the global recession there's still plenty of demand for trucks overseas and that side of the business is going quite well," he reports, "There are a lot of developing markets out there, especially in Africa and the Middle East.
"Sterling's weakness helps but unfortunately shipping costs are billed in dollars. That cancels out some of our currency advantage.
"On balance though, it's still a good deal for the buyer, and we've contributed to this by reducing our margins," he says.
It is, however, essential to keep a close eye on the rules governing the age of trucks that can be imported imposed by each country. Many governments bar entry to older vehicles and the age restrictions often change. The rates of duty on imports can change too.
One thing Wright does not do to any great extent is export trailers.
"Our feeling is that they're expensive things to ship, they can be built locally anyway using cheap labour by many of the countries we send trucks to, and Third World customers often prefer steel suspension because of the road conditions they have to contend with," he says.
Trailers sold in Britain invariably ride on air suspension, and airbags can suffer damage on heavily rutted highways.