Category: Working With The Best

Successful Salespeople: 15 Common Characteristics

A successful salesperson has a special set of characteristics that are used to make sales. Some people have natural talent; however, these characteristics can be learned for anyone to be successful.  According to The 15 Characteristics of People Who Succeed at Sales, a successful salesperson has the following traits:

1. Conscientiousness

The majority of successful salespeople are conscientious. They take a lot of pride in their job, they are organized and they are efficient. They will continue to do their best at their job no matter what happens.

2. Initiative

Successful salespeople do not wait to be told what to do, they are go-getters. They will constantly strive to keep doing what is necessary to sell a product.

3. Respect

Top salespeople respect the customers. It is extremely important that the customers are treated with respect at all times, regardless of the situation. Even if the sale is unsuccessful at the time, treating the customer with respect may turn them into a future prospect.

4. Good Listening Skills

The best salespeople have great listening skills. They listen to what the customers’ needs are to help them figure navigate their options and provide the most effective solution.

5. Persistency

Salespeople must be persistent and confident, yet not overly pushy. If a customer says no, a persistent salesperson has more chance of making them change their mind down-the-line.

6. Trainable

Previous sales experience is not as important for a successful salesperson as their ability to be trained to do well in your company. They must be able to adapt to your company culture, processes, customers and sales goals.

7. Positive Attitude

A customer would rather make a purchase with a salesperson who has a positive attitude then someone who is negative or down. Positivity is contagious – it is easier to approach a customer when their positive attitude exudes from them.

8. Passion

Successful salespeople need to be passionate about their job. When they enjoy their job, they can easily share the company vision with your customers and potential customers, and this will be conveyed in a genuine manner.

9. Resourcefulness

It is important for a salesperson to be able to shift gears when a potential sale is not going the way they want. They need to be resourceful and change the approach quickly and creatively.

10. Independent

In general, most salespeople work on a commission basis, so they must be independent in order for them to meet their sales goals. They must be self-motivators and do whatever it takes to achieve their own success.

11. They Ask Lots Of Questions

High performing salespeople ask a lot of questions when they talk to potential customers. They not only what to find out what the customer needs, they want to make the customer comfortable, feel valued and build a long-term relationship.

12. Time Management Skills

Top salespeople are able to effectively manage their time, so they have the most opportunities to secure sales. They don’t rush opportunities and they do not miss deadlines.

13. Personable

Great salespeople get along with everyone and enjoy dealing with people. That is why many salespeople are involved with many organizations and local events.

14. Overachievers

Most salespeople are natural overachievers. They go above and beyond what is expected from them, and they are generally pushing for more of everything – more clients, more people, more money, more work, etc.

15. Always Prepared

A salesperson must always be prepared for any situation that could occur when they meet a customer or potential customer. Every customer, every situation is different and salespeople will need to creatively navigate every unique situation that arises.

Innovation is changing the entire transportation industry. Uber has disrupted the way we move in a city. Google and some OEMs are actively developing autonomous vehicles that will take us from one place to another without human interaction. Amazon has patented an algorithm that predicts which products are going to be requested, so delivery vans can carry them to their destination before the order is even placed. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications and other Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are being designed for the exchange of safety critical information in real time to avoid collisions.

Transportation is becoming faster, more efficient, safer, and easy to use. One day the roads will be accident-free. But unfortunately, that time has not yet arrived and nowadays companies using vehicles (which is virtually every company) need to protect their most valuable assets — their drivers.

The article below reviews legislation related to duty of care and outlines five specific ways that GoFleet and Geotab help managers keep drivers safe while also complying with the law.

Legislation Governing Drivers At Work

Companies with drivers on the road are conscious of the negative consequences of accidents and try to reduce the related risks. The improvement of driver behavior reduces injuries and saves lives, but also has an impact on company profitability by lowering insurance premiums, vehicle repairs, and tickets. Due to the serious impact of traffic fatalities worldwide, some countries are proactively approving laws to enforce companies to take the right measures. These measures typically limit windshield time, foster vehicle inspections, and enforce compliance with road signals.

In the U.S., Hours of Service (HOS) regulations are issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and govern the working hours of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The FMCSA recently released the final rule on electronic logging devices (ELDs) in all commercial trucks, currently under revision by the White House.

In the European Union, Regulation (EC) 561/2006 provides rules for driving time, breaks and rest periods required for drivers of goods (vehicles with more than 3.5 tonnes) or passenger vehicles (more than 8 passenger seats) within the EU.

One of the countries with more advanced initiatives in this field is the UK. Companies with fleets have a duty of care which is regulated by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act of 2007. Employers have a legal obligation towards their workers in minimizing risk. Companies must comply with duty of care obligations to make sure their drivers are safe on the roads; if a driver causes an accident that could have been avoided by certain enforced policies, the company could be prosecuted and subject to possibly unlimited fines.

Managing HOS or Duty of Care Obligations with GPS Fleet Management

There are multiple ways a company can address their duty of care obligations, including risk assessments, disciplinary measures and extra training for drivers. These measures can have a positive effect, but employers who want to bring safety to the highest quotes promote the use of the most-advanced telematics systems. We offer a unique solution designed with safety features at its core and proven results drastically reducing the number of accidents.

Traditional telematics solutions record location, patterns and routes, driving times, and provide a logging system to ensure timetables are met. This was also the starting point for Geotab when the company began 15 years ago in this industry. Continuous effort in innovation and R&D has enabled Geotab and GoFleet to take duty of care compliance to the next level.

Five Reasons to Use GoFleet and Geotab for Duty of Care Compliance:

1. Mobile App for Monitoring Accurate Driving Times.
   It is not enough to simply measure and report drive times. A fleet management solution should be able to inform your drivers about their hours and alert them when they are about to break driving hours rules. The Geotab Drive app for iOS and Android tablets and phones help drivers take full control of their time and schedule their stops accordingly.
   Figure 1. Geotab Drive Mobile App.

• Advanced Driving Behavior Monitoring.
  The motor insurance industry has demonstrated that there are driving patterns that have a high impact on risk beyond overspeeding and mileage. We help to identify bad driving habits, so they can be directly addressed with the driver before they become a problem.
  a. Harsh acceleration/cornering/braking.
  This indicates a dangerous driving style and usually indicates that the driver is not keeping an appropriate distance away from the vehicle in front. We provide scientific values for triggering those events, taking into account if the vehicle is a car, truck, or van.b. Reversing at the beginning of the trip.
  Safety associations estimate that almost 25% of accidents can be blamed on poor reversing techniques.c. Seatbelt usage.
  The severity of an accident is much higher if drivers fail to wear seatbelts. Although a difficult undertaking, Geotab invests a lot in getting seat belt buckled information from a vast variety of makes to ensure this information is accurate.

• In-Cab Verbal Coaching.
  Fleet managers can work with their drivers to improve driver behavior by discussing bad habits using the reports from the system. However, using verbal feedback to coach drivers while they’re on the road is even more powerful. The GO TALK accessory can relay predefined and customizable messages when drivers are performing poorly in any of the variables discussed above.

• Vehicle Inspection, Maintenance, and Proactive Alerts on Engine Faults.
  The status of the vehicle parts, especially brakes, tires, and safety elements, is an important factor in driver safety and compliance. We offer a complete and flexible maintenance system including service reminders and proactive alerts of engine faults and maintenance issues like battery drain, oil level, engine warning light on, coolant temperature, and more.

• Expandability.
  We now offer a wide variety of solutions from different partners allowing Fleet Managers to add even more safety features to our core solution. For example, the Mobileye collision avoidance system warns drivers of impending collisions, following too close, or unsafe lane changes with audible and visual alerts.

Keep your drivers safe and simplify compliance at the same time; our fleet management software platform has been designed to give full control to customers while keeping the user experience simple and intuitive.

Need more information? Contact one of our fleet consultants today: [email protected].

References:
Original Blog From Geotab, By Ivan Lequerica, European Solutions Engineering Director
https://www.geotab.com/blog/duty-of-care/

Professional Services & Fleet Consultants Are What Differentiates A GPS Fleet Management Company From its Competitors.

The objective to help manage a fleet is to have a consultant based mind which can help provide customers with the appropriate solutions; this will not only satisfy the customer, but will also start the process of tailoring the solution to their needs.

Cookie Cutter Approach

One of the most successful approaches, which we often use at the early stage of the process, is known as the “Cookie Cutter Approach”. It’s used to help customers focus on small metrics instead of taking on all data at once. This helps them to manage and organize data more efficiently. Also, only the required data should be discussed with the customer, as they require. Too much data and reports should be refrained from.

Pillar System

Another alternative approach we use is the “Pillar System”. It’s very similar to the Cookie Cutter Approach but the difference is that the Pillar System is a step-by-step overview of which metrics should take place before the other. This helps create a timeline in regards to how data and reports can be implemented as needed.

Once a system is established and in place, we start incorporating new data and reports along with the management process. Groups and rules will be categorized to help organize and manage a customer’s fleet. For bigger fleets, Security Clearances will be taken into consideration, as this should become a mandatory requirement.

Our fleet consultants understand the importance of how a fleet looks at their data once they are set up within the system. It is also important for them to understand how fleets manage their prospect levels and level of acceptance within their organization. Each fleet is managed differently, so it is important to understand how they currently manage and which data and information would be most suitable for each fleet. Our consultants often recommend different types of Risk Reports that should be used. Reports are also customized and designed to help factor towards fleet motivation compared to using default reports; data is tailored according to fleet.

Understanding fleet violations as a company is also an important factor. Relevant data can be used to develop a management system to incorporate an escalation process in regards to fleet violations. If an enforcement policy is not implemented, it is important for a fleet to create and implement an enforcement policy. This will help drivers within a fleet to have the decision of making the right choice. Areas for further review should be identified, as this is important to help further understand a fleet.

Once areas that require further review are identified, simple reports will be created to begin assessing these areas. Reports should be set-up to be sent to the correct user in order to improve productivity. We explain the data that is collected and help identify the following targets.

As a consultant, being professional is not a label, but a view.
Our fleet consultants have the drive to give exceptional service
and save our customers money.

Written by: Nitin Mehta, Account Management & Support Specialist

Finding the Right Geotab Partner

Geotab relies on a partner ecosystem to allow the technology they develop to be successfully represented, rolled out, and grow with ongoing customer needs. So how does a fleet choose which telematics provider is the best fit for their needs in the short AND long term?

Here is Geotab’s view of how to find out with a quick quiz:

Question 1
Will the information that is collected for your business be used by more than one department (fleet maintenance, fleet management, sales CRM, field force dispatch, risk management, claims management, government compliance, finance)?

Question 2
Is your IT team looking to standardize the various software programs needed to run a business today (payroll, CRM) along with some industry specific programs (route scheduling, IFTA)?

Question 3
Does your company have the in-house resources to watch the overall health of all deployed data collection telematics devices – ensuring uptime of all installed units?

Question 4
Does your company have the in-house analysts to inject your collected data into your company’s evolving business objectives?

If you answered yes to ANY of the 4 questions, Geotab may well be your best choice of a technology solution to rely on. If you answered yes and have already deployed with a different telematics provider, we would be happy to talk with you about making the switch. As a business, your freedom to operate and evolve is essential and that’s what the Geotab telematics operating system with GoFleet’s partnership approach is all about.

As a Geotab partner we resell their technology with additional applications and services; while also offering a business partnership approach and working with you on a regular basis. We take pride on never once having a customer who has not saved more money than our solution cost them and work closely with all our clients to ensure this high level of return on investment is maintained.

As an Authorized Geotab Reseller, we receive routine weekly training on best practices in deploying Geotab technology, business case studies, new features, and upcoming developments on the horizon. Geotab works with us daily to ensure our high level product knowledge and performance is maintained.

For businesses, there is a fog of telematics companies who on the surface appear to offer the same features and functions. But focus on the 4 questions and think of how together we will provide new business intelligence for you to use to grow and increase revenue.

Contact us to learn more about the partnership approach we take with each of our customers, and how we can generate the return on investment you are looking for.

Original Article By: Colin Sutherland, VP Sales & Marketing at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/finding-right-geotab-partner/

Because of the wide acceptance by consumers of telematics devices, our industry has been rapidly growing. In 2014 160,000 subscriptions were added by Geotab alone, and the 100,000 unit goal of previous years has now been upgraded to a goal of 1,000,000. Of course, with great success along comes big responsibility. Our competitors will remain the key to increasing customer value and innovation, but in order to minimize risk and maximize potential, the cooperation between leading players will become equally as important.

Here are three examples that help explain that point:

1. Product Safety: Telematics solutions save lives and advance safety through promoting better driving habits and generally improving the awareness of road safety. Therefore, it’s no surprise that telematics solutions are not only embraced by fleet operators and businesses but also by emergency response units, police forces and insurance companies. Promoting product safety through design, production and installation processes with safety in mind is extremely important to enhance and protect the industry’s reputation and address critics. Some of whom unfortunately have their own plan. The more providers can learn from one another and develop strong standard, the better.
2. Patent Litigation Involving Non-Practising Entities (NPEs): Patent lawsuits from non-practising entities, notably in the USA, have become a part of life in the telematics industry. While there has been a lot of talk of patent reforms NPEs are still going strong. The most recent verdict against cyber security from Symantec is just one example. Patent litigation is expensive and the more providers of telematics that can pool their resources to ward off patent enforcement outfits the better for everyone.
3. Cyber Security: The digitization of nearly every element of society and the rapid adoption of the “internet of things” (IoT) has brought up major concern of data and cyber security to the forefront. It seems a day cannot go by without reports of a big hacking incident. Some of these issues can have complex implications as competing interests such as privacy vs. national security, create irritating dilemmas. Others, like acts of ultra-sophisticated acts of state sponsored cyber warfare, may cause people to throw up their hands in distress. Neither are reasons to do nothing. Non-controversial security practices are very effective in minimizing the overwhelming majority of threats. And there is no question that: in the interest of better security, cooperation will help all players just the same as a bad headline will harm everyone.

Geotab and GoFleet are committed to growth through competition and innovation. But, at the same time, Geotab is proactively engaging in issues related to product safety, patent litigation, and cyber security with the strong belief that these issues require solutions industry-wide to be able to better position the industry and instil confidence in our end customer base as a whole.

Original Article By: Dirk Schlimm, Advisory Board Member at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/better-together-competing-cooperating-way-future/