For a company that provides dealerships with insights to customer connections, inventory management, and ways to increase profits, Work Truck Solutions understands that relationships and knowing your customers goes a long way. Tony Solano, vice president of sales at Work Truck Solutions, shares what makes Work Truck Solutions an invaluable tool for dealers in the work truck industry.
MWS:
IN YOUR ROLE AS VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AT WORK TRUCK SOLUTIONS, YOU LEAD SALES MANAGERS AND FIELD REPRESENTATIVES IN BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH DEALERSHIPS, OEMS, BODY MANUFACTURERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AND OTHER INDUSTRY CONTACTS. WHAT MAKES THESE RELATIONSHIPS SO IMPORTANT IN OUR INDUSTRY?
SOLANO:
Every level of the commercial truck industry runs on relationships. Dealerships build long-term relationships with their buyers to anticipate their needs and provide the right trucks. Body manufacturers and distributors need to build strong relationships with dealerships so they can supply the right upfits. Dealerships also need to have good relationships with their OEMs.
If we didn’t invest in building genuine, mutually beneficial relationships with everyone in the industry, we wouldn’t be here. The fact that our network is still growing fast after nearly six years is proof of the strong partnerships we’ve built.
MWS:
HOW HAVE POSITIONS YOU’VE HELD IN THE PAST PREPARED YOU FOR YOUR ROLE WITH WORK TRUCK SOLUTIONS?
SOLANO:
I’ve built and lead many sales teams before, domestically and internationally, and this will be my fifth startup. My most significant success in a startup so far was in the insurance industry. I was the first employee and saw the start-up through a merger with a multi-national company. We completely revolutionized the automotive insurance industry at the point of sales. I pioneered my own sales management approach, developing the skills to build a strong team that works well together, communicates, and upholds our company culture—all skills I bring into Work Truck Solutions. What makes this opportunity different is the nature of what we offer. There is nothing like Work Truck Solutions, and I’m attracted to the potential of modernizing an entire industry.
MWS:
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STRATEGIES YOU’VE IMPLEMENTED WITHIN WORK TRUCK SOLUTIONS TO COMMUNICATE THE BENEFITS OF YOUR SERVICE TO DEALERSHIPS, OEMS, BODY MANUFACTURERS, AND BODY DISTRIBUTORS?
SOLANO:
We do our best to speak to the specific values we bring to each dealership or business. There are some features of our core service that are more valuable for larger dealerships and some more valuable to smaller dealerships. The same applies for different body manufacturers, distributors, and OEMs.
In implementing a “Value Selling Process,” we focus how our features increase our dealerships’ profitability. One of the first steps I took as vice president of sales was visiting our dealers. I wanted to know from their perspective how we’ve helped them the most. They told me that on average, we help them sell between one to five additional trucks per month. In the commercial industry, that translates into huge financial benefit.
Providing targeted, audience-specific messaging shows respect. We’ve done the research first, we looked into their business, and we know what we can offer. While all of our tools and features are beneficial, we want to make the most of our partners’ time and speak to the ones that are going to make the biggest difference. My team understands that we sell value, and we need to understand our customers’ needs before we can do anything.
MWS:
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT DEALERSHIPS RELY ON WORK TRUCK SOLUTIONS FOR THEIR INVENTORY SOLUTION?
SOLANO:
There’s nothing like it out there. There’s no other service that makes looking for your commercial inventory as simple or quick. When online customers can search for what they want easily, they stay on your site longer and more of them convert into leads. We know that because we have the data.
We also provide tools to simplify a lot of the most time-consuming processes at dealerships. This includes prospecting, recording buyer information, locating vehicles, and a lot more. The short answer is that we help dealerships save time, and we make their online customers happier.
MWS:
IF WORK TRUCK SOLUTIONS PROVIDES A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR BUYERS, WHERE CAN BUYERS GO TO FIND DEALERSHIPS WHO USE WORK TRUCK SOLUTIONS?
SOLANO:
If a buyer doesn’t already have a good relationship with a dealer who uses Work Truck Solutions, they can go to www.worktruckfinder.com. Using the same intuitive shopping tools, end-users can search through the commercial inventory of all the dealerships on our platform. Once they find and click on a vehicle they’re interested in, we hand them off to the stocking dealer’s site. This way we can introduce new buyers to Work Truck Solutions dealerships and foster long-lasting relationships.
MWS:
WHAT’S AHEAD FOR WORK TRUCK SOLUTIONS AND ITS SALES TEAM UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP?
SOLANO:
A lot. Work Truck Solutions has so much news to announce, from new services to new partnerships that are already bringing value to our dealerships, body manufacturers, and body distributors. We always have new features and updates coming out, but this is an especially exciting time for our company. Readers should keep their eyes and ears open! What we reveal next is sure to help them build better connections with new customers and sell more trucks.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Work Truck Solutions is a platform that helps commercial dealers connect with buyers, manage inventory, and increase profits. Find out more, visit www.worktrucksolutions.com.
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MODERN WORKTRUCK SOLUTIONS: OCTOBER 2018 ISSUE
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