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Rental Management 201: Intermediate Rental
Module 1: Staffing Rental - Part 5
Module 1: Staffing Rental - Part 5
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Video Transcription
Now let's take a look at the rental salesman, the roles and responsibilities of the rental salesman that's going to hopefully drive revenues towards the Rent2Rent department. Administratively, they need to be very organized and keep a weekly itinerary. I think it's really important that a salesman have some accountability as to what they're focusing on and what part of the region that they're going to be working in, so that they're not just out scattershot, that there's a real focus on who they're talking to every day, the job sites or the type of customers that they're pursuing. And they need to keep up with the notes along the way, so again, they can come back in the office periodically through the week or however it works at your dealership, so they can give updates on how they're progressing with either a prospective customer or nurturing relationships along. Every time they come in contact with a customer and they have to say no, I think it's very important that they record those missed rentals and let the rental manager know what type of demand there is in the marketplace, maybe for some equipment you don't have or maybe more of equipment that you've just got a few of and it might be beneficial to know that when you're adding fleet. This information also needs to get updated into the computer system of the company. Salesmen should not keep their own private stash of details about customers because it's really the company information and you need that, should that outside salesman ever move on and go to work for someone else, you need to have that information. So salesman needs to be well organized and manage their time well and then relative to any company or product brochures, any type of promotional items, they need to have those things readily available and use those as tools when they are out and about. As we think about the customer relations activities of a rental salesman, they really do need to be considered a problem solver, that someone that can look at something that a customer is trying to achieve and make a recommendation from one of our machines from the rental fleet and periodically check in with the rental manager and make sure that you're making the right recommendation. They need to be easily contacted by customers, so that's their job is to maintain relationships and maintain contact with customers as easy as possible and that might mean at 10 minutes to 7 in the morning and that might mean 5.30 at night when customers are trying to get a hold of them and they need to be able to be responsive and return the calls each day, make that a priority. Occasionally there may be something small or something that needs to be towed, maybe a small generator or light tower or something like that, that a customer might need and so the salesman may be involved in fulfilling that short term requirement. Being part of a local trade association should be part of the job and role and responsibility and going to those monthly meetings and networking with people, especially for trades like utility contractors and such, those can be very worthwhile trade groups. And again, being available for customers after hours if need be. That's really one of the hallmarks I think of a really good salesman is the relationship that they build with a customer and sometimes that means going the extra mile. From a technical standpoint, the rental salesman, they do need to understand construction phases, they need to understand job situations, project conditions, so that they can make practical suggestions. They need to know what the entire rental fleet is from A to Z and they need to be able to perform a demonstration for most every one of the machines in the fleet. So that means that sometime somebody in our organization has got to school them on the features and benefits of different machines and give them some seat time so that if they're ever pressed into that situation, they really do know how to sit in the seat, crank it up, work it safely and demonstrate the features and benefits of the machine. And just like the rental coordinator, the outside salesman also needs to have some basic understanding of troubleshooting and why things fail. And so I think it's advisable for an outside salesman to periodically talk shop with the service manager or if you've got a service writer at your company to better understand what's the most common things that are breaking down on an excavator, for instance, or a wheel loader or whatever the common rental item is in your rental fleet. They need to have an understanding of, in other words, build their own database of potential things that will solve a problem for a customer should they get called on. So now we are looking for that how to make the premier hire for an outside rental salesman for Rent2Rent. We clearly need to have somebody that is focused, not somebody that is real scattershot and somebody that is maybe a bit scatterbrained. We need someone that can really focus on a certain geography if that's the way you divide it up or maybe you've got them focused on a certain market segment or maybe you've got them focused on dormant accounts. But they just need to be able to stay focused all day long and not get distracted. They need to have high energy and be self-motivated. An outgoing personality. So this kind of gets back to if you had the choice of hiring somebody that is an introvert or an extrovert, the outgoing personality tends to be the extrovert. And so I would steer you in that direction. Good organizational skills, as we said, is a must. Good communication skills, especially when talking to customers. They need to be able to listen. So I don't know if you've had the opportunity to ride with an outside salesman before or not, but most salesmen come in contact with a customer and then they basically do a download on the customer and they spit out what we do and they name prices and this, that and the other and they hardly ever ask the customer things about their business or try to learn or understand what are the potential needs, what are the pain points. So oftentimes when I work with an outside salesman, we come away from a visit and I ask them what did you hear the customer say and they have a blank look on their face because they actually weren't listening. They were more focused on what they were saying personally. So listening is a key skill for rental salesmen. And the salesman's got to be able to deal with rejection and not take it personally. And they like to, a salesman needs to like variety. You know that each day in this industry is a little bit different and the needs for customers, it changes on a daily basis. And the salesman needs to be able to adapt well to different situations, meaning when they go out in a customer's job site or maybe in an office, they never know what they're going to walk into and they need to be able to read the situation and adapt to what's going on and either politely excuse themselves and move out if it's not the appropriate time or be able to figure out how to engage in the conversation. As we pointed out before, a service technician for the rent-to-rent fleet is probably not your typical repair tech. This guy is generally involved with the routine maintenance of the machine. So the administrative side of what they do, there's a quality control tag that should be put on every machine that comes back in from rent. And that person is involved with that tagging process and making sure that it flows all the way through to when they do the final inspection, they tear off the tag and everything that happened in between is recorded, basically. So they need to keep an accurate count. If they happen to replace a filter or hoses or any minor things like that, they need to keep a running list or maybe you have an open work order for the rental machines for a day. And that service tech is involved in keeping up with that kind of information. And they work closely with the rental manager and the rental coordinator and priorities change throughout the day. And so they've got to be able to figure out how to stay on task and keep up with the paperwork and push the equipment through so they can get it back out on rent. They don't come in contact with the customers that much, but maybe they do. Maybe they have to go out in the field and do something that's minor. They may have to go out and replace a battery in a machine or do something like that. When they are in the presence of a customer, then they need to have a good personal appearance and, of course, a good attitude. And they need to be able to articulate to a customer safe operation of the equipment. And then when they, let's say they go out for a service call on something, the customer can't get something cranked. We go out there, service tech, and they can't seem to get it going. So they contact the rental manager and say, here's our situation. The rental manager says, okay, I guess we'll go ahead and exchange it. So at that point, the service tech is actually on point with the customer, trying to explain to them what we're going to do to solve the problem. From a technical standpoint, the technician does need a basic working knowledge of gas and diesel engines. Beyond that, they don't really have to have been to any specific training school by product. It's helpful, any training that they can get. But honestly, a lot of what they do is redundant. And so if whatever brand of equipment you primarily carry, they're going to see that particular type of load or backhoe, for instance, each and every day. And so they can become pretty familiar with it pretty quickly. Technical is mostly on the preventive maintenance side, not necessarily how to repair anything. They do need to be able to do some troubleshooting if something won't crank. They need to have an understanding of the system and how it works. And they need to be able to do quality control checks on rental units. So the high achiever profile that we're looking for is somebody that's got strong mechanical aptitude, flexible. This is a really key piece for some mechanics. There are some mechanics that can get very, very focused on doing the repair of something. And then all of a sudden somebody comes along and says, look, I need you to work on something else. And this person kind of goes into a little meltdown or a panic because they were all focused and ready to do repair on one thing, and now they've been asked to do something else. So they spend 15 minutes complaining about why they don't want to be switched off of one task to another. And then it takes them a long time to get started on the other one. So I'll use the example of a firefighter. A service technician really needs to be like the guy that's holding the hose at the very end, somebody that can adapt to whatever's going on and wants to solve the problem. And if the priorities change every 30 minutes, they're absolutely on board with that because what they want to do is be successful and solve a problem. And it doesn't matter which machine they're working on to do that. They are gung ho about supporting the efforts of the rental department. So they need to be focused, attention to detail. We don't want anybody that's sloppy, leaving nuts and bolts off of things or forgetting to inspect certain aspects of the machine. All of that's a reflection on us.
Video Summary
The rental salesman is responsible for driving revenue in the Rent2Rent department. They need to be organized, keeping a weekly itinerary and focusing on specific regions or customers. They must keep notes and updates on their progress with customers and record missed rentals. Salesmen should not keep private customer information, as it belongs to the company. They need to have company brochures and promotional items readily available. The salesman should be a problem solver, making recommendations for machines based on customer needs. They need to maintain relationships and be easily contacted by customers. Salesmen also need technical knowledge of construction phases and machines in the rental fleet. They should be able to perform demonstrations and have a basic understanding of troubleshooting. The ideal hire for a rental salesman would be someone focused, organized, energetic, and outgoing. They should have good communication and listening skills, be able to deal with rejection, and adapt to different situations. The rental service technician is responsible for routine maintenance and quality control of machines. They work closely with the rental manager and coordinator, keeping track of repairs and prioritizing tasks. They may have minor contact with customers and must have a professional appearance and attitude. They should also be able to explain to customers how to safely operate equipment. Technically, the technician needs knowledge of gas and diesel engines, troubleshooting, and quality control checks on rental units. A successful technician needs strong mechanical aptitude, flexibility, attention to detail, and a focus on supporting the rental department.
Keywords
rental salesman
revenue
weekly itinerary
customer relationships
rental service technician
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