ack in the 198os, Conservativ MP Norman Tebbit please some
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people and rattled other cages when he said that hi father "got on his bike" an found work. Powerful stuff an the phrase is still relevant toda In the ultra-competitive world of road haulag do you wait for the work to come to you? 0 do you get on your bike and go out and that all-important lucrative contract?
As CM discovered, hauliers do things in variety of ways. Some choose to sit back an let the work come to them; others go out the office—or employ a specialist salespe son—to promote the firm.
James Lawrence, partner at Erith-basedJ& Crane Hire, is content to sit back and let th work come to him. Exactly what sort of bus ness is the firm in? "Our main haulage accommodation units, which we carry throu out the country on our rigids," says Lawrenc The company is also involved in abnorrn loads, although only up to 38 tonnes. "It is vo ume rather than weight," he explains.
The fleet comprises two Daf 95 tractiv units, three rigids with lorry-mounte 0 cranes and two mobile cranes. Trailers include stepfrarnes, trombones and flatbeds. The work is plentiful, yet Lawrence does not have a single contract—instead, business is very much on an ad hoc basis. "This is something I am quite pleased about because we are not tied to anyone," he says, but there can be lulls; "Sometimes the telephone does not ring."
But usually it does, and the call invariably comes from one of Lawrence's customers, all of whom are located within io miles or so of the J&M Crane Hire base. "We are quite happy with our customers. The fleet is generally busy just with the customers we've got And I don't want to get any bigger—we have enough headaches as it is," he says.
Solid reputation
Lawrence certainly doesn't neglect his existing customers. "It is a very personal business here at J&M Crane Hire," he says. "I go out and meet the customers, say hello and have a cup of tea with them." But he doesn't go out in search of new customers either. Instead, he relies on a solid reputation. This, he argues, will guarantee business: "Word of mouth is very important in this industry. All the advertising in the world may not get any results—but a good reputation wilt" J&IN,4 trucks carry the slogan "Anything, anytime, anywhere". To fulfil this promise, Lawrence ensures that his mobile phone is switched on at all times. In fact, when we visited the firm's depot, Lawrence had been up all night, dealing with a broken-down truck. The fatigue was showing on his face, but this kind of dedication nurtures customer loyalty.
Lawrence's view is that if you provide the service you can hold on to your clients. "People are pleased with us so they call us," he says. And if you're happy with your lot why bother taking on the role of salesperson or indeed employing a paid-up sales employee?
J&M Crane Hire traces its roots back to 1956 when Lawrence's father, also named James, started out as a subbie. His efforts as a subcontractor got fames senior recognised, and that recognition developed over the years. Now in z000 the results are evident: a small, busy fleet with a solid customer base.
But Lawrence admits that if a haulage firm started from scratch, adopting a proactive stance would be the only way. "If you start out I think you would have to sell yourself. There is no other way of getting yourself known," he says. Although not interested in employing a salesman himself, he does not dispute the value of the marketing role. "A sales person can act as a troubleshooter for a haulage firm, and it is always 'better to be face to face than on the phone," says Lawrence.
Don Barclay, director of Fife firm Barclay Bros, believes that the salesman plays a decisive role in the industry. His firm is involved in coal transport as well as general haulage with a fleet of 16 tractive units and four rigids.
No salesman is employed directly; instead, Barclay takes on the job himself. He says: "I am the director as well as the salesperson. I knock on people's doors and we discuss their transport needs, and I visit existing customers." Barclay cannot stress enough the importance of the sales role. He says: "The work would start diminishing if did not go out and find it. I quote a rate to the customer—and of course other haulage firms are doing this as well."
With such inevitable activity from competitors, Barclay is a firm believer that adopting a proactive sales stance is a matter of course. He makes the point that sales in haulage are different from your typical sales pitch: "Transport is a service rather than a product, and there are different sectors and different customers." As a result, you've got to pick your targets carefully when trying to gain more business, he advises—there's no point in approaching a fish merchant if you're running tippers.
Heavy haulage
Accurate targeting is something which Hatfield-based Hallett Silbermann takes very seriously. The firm, which is involved in general and heavy haulage, employs a specialist team of five sales staff at its Hatfield depot, with three more based at Birmingham. Sales manager Jon Hugill has more than 18 years' experience of marketing the company's services. On a day-to-day basis he looks after the telesales team at Hatfield, but he regularly visits existing and potential customers throughout the UK.
"Primarily my role is canvassing new business and securing new leads," he says. "We do a study of a business to see what it would require; we do a lot of research beforehand." By "research" Hugill means examining the needs of a potential client, gauging the makeup of the company and coming up with a tailor-made transport package. "But word of mouth also accounts for much of our business," he adds. "It is about attention to detail—that is, from Hallett Silbermann. If people know your name it makes the job of selling much easier."
Hugill believes that salesmen are absolutely indispensable in haulage. So how would Hallett Silbermann get on without a sales team? He responds bluntly: "We would lose out to other competitors." There is no doubt that sales staff can benefit an operator. But that doesn't mean that every haulier in the country should rush out and recruit a slick salesperson. It's not that straightforward, because every haulier has his unique requirements.
Smaller haulier
Lawrence is fortunate to have a solid customer base close to home. Clients can therefore bank on service at the drop of a hat, and in that situation the likelihood is that they'll stick with you. Also, there is the salesman/productivity equation. For the smaller haulier, taking on another employee can be risky, especially when you can't predict exactly what new work will be gleaned.
Like many things in haulage, it all comes down to scale. The larger firms, such as Hallett Silbermann, can employ a specialist sales team. Across the board, is the salesman likely to enjoy an increasingly prominent role in road haulage? "Yes, it will go this way," Lawrence predicts.