A shift in the buying cycle means the sales representative is no longer an exclusive expert and the marketer is no longer the exclusive promoter. How are fleet service providers adapting to today’s buying cycle?

Ed Pierce, ITA Communications. Fleet

As we approach 2021, a shift in the traditional B2B buying cycle has created even more interdependency between sales reps and marketing. Today’s sales reps must have a higher level of discovery conversations with prospects. They need more tailored sales tools and content to map potential buyers’ needs and determine the best course of action at each stage of the buying cycle.

Only together can sales and marketing effectively fill the roles of Storytellers, Substantiators, and Derailleurs. We addressed storytellers in the last column. Let’s look at Substantiators.

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By Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder of eDriving

Today, data security and privacy compliance are among the most important considerations for practically every business.

For that reason, when reviewing Digital Driver Risk Management solutions, data security and privacy compliance are critical components of the assessment and planning phase, and can even be the deciding factor in whether a program is adopted or not.

In many countries across Europe, in Canada and parts of Australasia and Latin America, organizations must seek input and/or approval from employee representatives such as Works Councils or Unions for the introduction and application of new operational processes, technical equipment and software. The purpose of Works Councils and Unions is to protect employees’ rights.

How does this affect organizations looking to protect the safety of those driving for work purposes? It means that any company obliged to seek such approval for a new driver safety program, will need to justify the implementation of the program, and prove it complies with relevant data protection and privacy laws.

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New mobility solution for a changing corporate market

Fleet Logistics has launched its first mobility solution, MobilityBUDGET, as it begins the transition from pure fleet management provider to offering new Managed Mobility Solutions to its clients and prospects.

MobilityBUDGET provides employees with a tax optimized cash amount which can be used to cover personal multi-modal mobility needs, ranging from personal lease, through shared mobility including rental cars to public transport.

Both web and app-based, it is intended to provide a clear, transparent and automated process to optimize internal cash allowance processes or simply offer an alternative to meet employees’ need for alternative mobility.

CEO Steffen Schick explained the thinking behind the new solution. “The company car is no longer the most attractive option for every single user group, neither as source of mobility nor as benefit.”

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The Washington Post

Electric vehicles make up less than 2 percent of the 17 million or so new cars and SUVs sold each year in the United States. President-elect Joe Biden also wants the country to be all-in on electric vehicles. He has pitched them as a way to fight climate change and reinvigorate American manufacturing.

“I believe that we can own the 21st century market again by moving to electric vehicles,” Biden says while gripping the wheel of his 1967 Corvette Sting Ray. In a campaign video that used the rumble of the car’s engine as a soundtrack, Biden grins at the prospect of an electric version with a 200 mph top speed.

The incoming administration’s plans for electric vehicles underscore how its approach to transportation policy will be shaped by the battle against climate change, as it seeks to reshape the sector of the economy responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions.

Read the article at The Washington Post.

Car and Driver

While everyone has felt the impacts of the coronavirus in some way, one group of people might be about to get hit with another bout of bad news. More people will lose their jobs or will in some way suffer economic hardship. That will mean missed debt payments, which translates to a surge in auto repossessions.

Part of the problem moving forward is that government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are easing up or have already finished. Some states issued temporary repossession halts, but not all of them.

For people who may be facing a vehicle repossession, the FTC has a page of advice. One of the most important suggestions, in addition to getting in touch with your lender: contact your state attorney general and/or your local consumer protection agency to understand the law and your rights where you live.

Read the article at Car and Driver.

The Drive

In January 1914, Henry Ford said “Within a year, I hope, we shall begin the manufacture of an electric automobile. The problem so far has been to build a storage battery of light weight which would operate for long distances without recharging.” If he could see his company now, he would probably say “What took you so long?”

During the global F-150 launch in June of this year, Ford executive Mark LaNeve said that electric powertrains are a big part of the brand’s future. “Within two years, we’ll have a zero-emissions F-150,” he asserted.

The 2021 Ford F-150 is offered with PowerBoost, a 3.5 liter powertrain and and the ProPower onboard generator. The hybrid is the best of both worlds: 700 miles on one tank of gas with an assist from an efficient battery without stopping for a charge.

Read the article at The Drive.

Autoblog

Volkswagen is bringing forward the development of a small electric car for the mass market in anticipation of tougher climate regulations as it seeks to boost sales in a new green era.

Under the project dubbed “Small BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle)”, engineers are racing to develop a purely-battery powered car around the size of a Polo which will be available for between 20,000 and 25,000 euros ($24,000-30,000).

The carmaker has said the European Union’s more stringent emissions targets will force it to boost the proportion of hybrid and electric vehicles in its European car sales to 60% by 2030, up from a previous target of 40%.

Read the article at Autoblog.

McKinsey & Company

To increase the odds that a new operating model will be effective, managers must ensure that it addresses the problems of operating under highly uncertain conditions, such as the COVID-19 crisis presents today.

Rather than making periodic reviews of a static plan, managers need to meet for iterative decision-making sessions structured around three imperatives: discover, design, execute. To make informed decisions, managers need specialized knowledge and should actively seek expert advice. Experts can contribute to better decisions by filling gaps in existing management knowledge.

Managers must work together to diagnose the current situation, consider its practical implications, explore how it might evolve, and establish and execute appropriate actions. Leaders must be sensitive to the possibility that information they thought was clear and certain could turn out to be wrong.

Read the article at McKinsey & Company.

By Donald Dunphy, Contributing Editor

November 2020

This will make sense in a few – just go with me for a moment.

In what feels like a lifetime ago, 2008 to be exact, I was working for a lawn care company, not as a writer but as a literal on-the-road treatment provider. I and my co-worker Patricio were on a lawn along the New Jersey coast. It was mid-September, and one could feel the chill coming off of the ocean; over the miniature, personal cove below; up the hill; and onto the modest backyard. The actual house was small, but then again, this was the summer home and it was right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, so location, not size, was everything.

The cellphone buzzed in my pants pocket. I answered to hear the voice of the boss of the company. The property security system must have sent a message to its management team that we were there and they, in turn, must have notified the owner who, subsequently, told our boss to stop all treatments immediately. The back ramp of the truck comes down, the Z-Sprayer and spreader are loaded in, and we are gone.

You see, the home was owned by an individual who was a primary partner of a major banking company, and it was about to tumble into bankruptcy, like a Z-Sprayer that rolled too close to the coastline.

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Continuous license monitoring is a proactive way to correct risky behaviors of drivers before an accident occurs

By Adam Danielson, Director of Sales

November 2020

Employers can face astronomical costs when an employee is involved in a motor vehicle accident. 40% of all motor vehicle accidents are work related1 and 53% of those accidents cause employees to miss work, costing employers $56.7 billion in 2017²
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When a motor vehicle accident occurs in a company vehicle or on company time, the company must absorb costs that include wage replacement, medical expenses, and property damage; in some cases, these costs must be covered for all parties involved in the incident.

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