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AGENTS AND THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE.

22nd July 1919, Page 16
22nd July 1919
Page 16
Page 17
Page 16, 22nd July 1919 — AGENTS AND THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

How to Handle the Lorry. —Securing Business. By Henry Sturmey.

AS STATED in my first article in last week's issue, the agent who aims at selling commercial motor vehicles must especially, in the first place, go out after the business and not wait for it to fall like a ripe plum into his lap. That will come later, when he has worked up his connection andestablished himself as a motor vehicle man and established the motor itself in the position of -a. recognized commercial acquisition amongst his local business community.

Before making any move 'whatever in the matter, be must, however, furnish himself with the needful information required for the purpose and, if the agent is not fortunate enough to be able to secure an experienced man with some practical knowledge of this branch of the business, he must make himself thoroughly acquainted with its rudiments, so as to be able to deal with his customer in a convincing man'tier,This may take him a few years, involving study, inquiry, and close reading, but it is work which cannot be seamped. In doing this, he must throw overboard his preconceived notions on the point of salesmanship, so far as they relate to the sale of cars. He must study the subject with a, view to assimilating in his own mind, C30 as far as possible, the point of view of his possible customer and must arm himself with facts in relation to the different branches of industry for which the vehicles he is proposing to handle are best suited.

Knowledge Concerning Running Costs.

He must be prepared to answer intelligent questions as to running costs apart from fuel consumption and also as regards mileage per day and mileage per gallon, with cost per running mile, and, if he is 'handling vehicles of several tons capacity, he must be,prepared to give figures on cost of transportation per ton-mile.

This will need a little careful calculation on his part, in going into which it must be remembered that the mileage of a motor per day cannot be estimated by its possible rate of speed per hour, whilst the mileage per gallon of a car run in commercial service will be different from that of a. car running on towing work or making long journeys. The lorry which is engaged solely in point-to-point journeys over considerable distances may be dealt with more nearly on touring car lines as regards calculation, both as to daily and gallon mileage; but, with the retail delivery trades generally, there is a. Very large proportion of starting, stopping andidle running to be allowed for and a very large proportion, as a rule, of traffic work, and the agent's experience with his touring cars will teach hint. that, under such conditions, mileage,both per gallon and per hour, are materially decreased. Before approaching any business house, an endeavourehould be made, se far as possible, to ascertain the conditions pertaining to the work in the trade in question, or relating to the particular work for which the vehicle is required, and, if this cannot be done, the salesman should endeavour to ascertain the facts from the intending customer himself and go into them carefully for later submission.

Again—and this is import-ant--some study should be made of a matter which will be, as a rule, quite outside the experience of the, average motor agent. I refer to the cost of working with horses. The intending agent should inform– himself as fully as possible on all points connected with this aspect of the question;' number of horses required and the mileage and loads they generally accomplish and the. part to be dealt with, together with costs of stabling, wages, fodder, repairs and other upkeep and i running charges, as, n most cases1 the first work which the salesman will have to do will be to convince his prospective customer that his work can be done not only more quickly but more cheaply by motor lorry than he is aleady doing it with horses..

The Customer Familiar With His Own Costs.

Above, everything, in presenting any figures to his customer on either point, the agent must be scrupulously careful to avoid exaggeration in either direction. He must remember, in the first place, that he is dealing with a man who knows his business and will expect the salesman who offers him an article to know something of it as well. It will be useless, therefore, to over-estimate the cost, or to under-rate the ability • of horsed equipment. The prospective customer will know better. It will be better to err in the direction of favour to the horse.

The customer then, knowing costs and capacity by his own experience, will feel that the agent is not trying, to deceive him, and, if his estimate is under rather than over the mark, he will appreciate his disinterestedness, or rather his commercial honesty, bettor, and it will be equallyimportant for the agent not toexaggerate the capacity of thelorry, or to claim -anduly law figures for the cost of work done by its aid. If he does, it is probable his customer will not believe. him, and, if he does ;believe him and eventually purchases and the machine does not bear out expectations on the figures given, the agent will have made an enemy rather than a friend. His first effort in dealing with his prospective customer should be to establish a feeling that he is giving a square deal and is not "talking through his hat, whilst he must 'remember the fact that a sale effected.. if the machine bears out in practice the claims. made for it as to service by its

vendor, will be far more likely to bring other orders from the same customer later than where the latter has been disappointed in results and feels more or less that he has been deceived.

Approching the Potential Users.

,Then, as to getting in touch with customers. Here the commercial motor agent is at a distinct advantage as compared with the touring car agent, because every present user of a horse and wagon is a possible user of a motor 3liiele of some kind or other ; whereas, except that a man may live in a large house and may not have a oar, the-touring ear agent has little idea as to where he is to find his new customers. Constant experience shows that the most

unlikely people, on the face of things, are often car buyers and, without wasting a lot of time and a lot of 'money in approaching people *ha may or may not be possible buyers, the agent cannot get his customers unless they are brought tcr him by advertising or by his own repute.

With the commercial vehicle agent, as already said; every horse user for commercial. ;purposes is a possible commercial motor buyer and; apart from general advertising in the local Press and the advertisements of his own vans running about, the salesman can go straight to the most likely people and get into touch with them on the subject, and, here, it may be pointed out that the far-seeing agent will not only circularize . such possible -customers, but make personal calls on the nioSt, likely and, before doing so, he will, if he be wise, post himself especially on the trade of each potential purchaser.

One note of warning here may be uttered, and that is as to demonstrations. As already stated, it is essential that the agent should have one or two vehicles for the purpose of demonstration work. But he must not do his demonstration work for nothing. He must chargea, fair price for a day's work. If he finds, for 'example, that his customer wants to see how a lorry would serve him in his own business for a week, an offer should be made to hire a vehicle for the period required. But the agent mast beware of people ;vho only want to get the use of a motor vehicle for. a fetv-days' special rush. In the early days of commercial motor work there was much abuse•-of this system. Manufacturers were only too ready to offer likely purchasers—especially large concerns—the free use of their lorries for a month-, and I remember that,. a decade ago, one very large firm of wholesale grocers was rePuted to have had every lorry on the market for a month of free use, without at that time having the slightest idea or intention of ever buying one t

Securing Payment for Demonstration Work.

A very good way to clinch an argument With. a customer who is wanting demonstration work done, if it is only a, special journey, or for one or two days' work, is to specify a price for the work to be done, which must be paid if the vehicle is not purchased. As to whether the agent does the work for nothing in the event of a purchase is amatter for hint to decide, but this arrangement will upset the claims of the mean " business " man who merely wants his work done for nothing.

As with the touring car, sales should always be for cash on delivery, and the agent should not undertake deferred payment him.self? Or he will be landing himself in trouble. If a sale is to he secured by deferred payments, there are plenty of financial houses ready to take this business off the agents' hands, pay him cash—less their commission, of -course-----for the van and carry the financial portion of the business on their own.

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