It is hard to believe that 2012 will soon be history and 2013 is within sight. This time of year is very important to your future success and growth for the New Year. 
While it’s a great time to spend with family and friends – and hopefully relax from the hectic year that is passing – now is the time when you need to work the hardest in order for your customers to be prepared for the New Year, as well. Taking the time to implement all the programs that you have been discussing with your accounts will definitely build a solid base for long-term growth.
Winter is a good time to inspect the OTR tires on your customers’ equipment, plus what is in the scrap and spare tire pile. By doing a complete tire survey, you can then decide what needs to be pulled for retreading, repair and rotation, or for replacing or changing out the rim area compounds that have been damaged.
Step 1: Meet With the Customer
Many customers are looking to save money, especially since business generally has been slow and many tire budgets have been trimmed. They know good tires are critical for production and maximizing the life of their tires is a sure way to help them stay within their annual tire budgets.
Before you start the survey, meet with the customer to find out what their business outlooks are for 2013. This will help you to understand the potential demand that will be put on the equipment and tires. For example, if they have a new project that requires the equipment to travel longer distances with good underfoot conditions, you may want to recommend a shallower tread (E/L3) vs. a more expensive, deeper tread (E/L4), especially if they are running articulated dumps. This will help to make their tire budget last longer.
Step 2: Tire & Wheel Inspection
The next step is to complete a thorough tire and wheel inspection. Start your inspection in the same location (generally left front) for each truck/loader and inspect each wheel position in the same order for each truck. Always have a tire marker (yellow or white) to write your findings on the tire. This will help you to know that each tire was completed and the information recorded is correct.
Checking the tires and wheels should include, but not be limited to:
• Tire size, new or retread, brand name, type, compound and serial number by wheel position
• Record the tread depth for each tire
• Check both inside and outside tread depth in three places around the tire
• Current tire pressure and condition of the valve stem, including cap
• Overall tire condition (cuts, tread wear, mismatched duals, etc.), along with pictures of your findings
• Inspection of the wheels and hardware; make notes as to what needs to be replaced
If you’re using a tire recordkeeping program, print off the survey forms in advance of your inspection for the equipment to be surveyed. This way, you will be able to double-check that the tires shown on the report match what is on the equipment, plus this allows you to easily update the information.
If you have not yet started with a tire-tracking program, use a fleet inspection form to help keep your findings organized. The information gathered could then be entered in a tire program you have selected that can help better prepare your recommendations to the customer. There are many different tire-tracking programs in the market that are excellent and easy to work with. Check with your tire supplier(s) or talk with other OTR tire dealers to determine what might be the best program to fit your needs.
Once you have a program set up, maintaining and updating the information will be much easier. The information available will provide your customer and you with a very clear picture of the tires in the fleet. The reports available can show what is working regarding the tires being purchased – whether they are new or retreads – the best rotation procedure and what your customer will need to spend on tires and tire service in order for their equipment to deliver maximum uptime. After all, the bottom line is not the upfront cost, but what the total cost is to the customer when the tire is finally removed from service.
Step 3: Analyze Information
After completing the site inspection and inputting the findings, now comes the next important step – analyzing the data. With the inspection information gathered and knowing what the equipment will be doing in the future, you should be able to make some decisions and recommendations. My suggestion is to take a couple of good options to your customer. After all, you do not want to give them “sticker shock” with just one option of what needs to be done. It always is best to outline what needs to be addressed now to mitigate higher costs later. Having an organized monthly step-by-step plan will ensure minimal downtime – and costs – for your customer.
Pulling your thoughts together also should involve your tire and retread suppliers and anyone else directly involved in servicing that OTR fleet.
• Work with your new tire supplier to put together the best tire for each piece of equipment. It is important not to oversell what is required, but offer what is needed to match up their actual requirements now.
• Talk to your OTR retreader just like you would the new tire supplier to select the proper tread design. Get commitments on turn-around time in case a piece of equipment will need to be on blocks while the casings are being retreaded or tires repaired. If a casing cannot be retreaded, be sure there is another alternative (along with the cost), so you can include that in your proposal.
• Put together a timeline – with pricing – to implement your recommendations. Organizing different options will allow your customers to choose which program would be best for them based on their situation and forecasted requirements.
• Prepare your presentation in a professional format. This will take time, but it is time well spent. Use PowerPoint or a similar program to help you walk through your findings and suggested recommendations.
• Start with an overview of what the customer would want to achieve based on the information gathered from the customer and the tire survey. Include actual pictures of issues discovered with the tires.
• Offer an action plan (along with costs) as to how you are going to address their tire requirements for the next year.
• Outline training suggestions based on what you found or information that should be shared with the operators to help maximize tire performance.
• With the final slide, ask for the order with a firm start and finish date.
Step 4: Present Findings & Recommendations
Being prepared is important in making a solid OTR tire and service presentation. Do not over sell or focus on one issue for too long. Keep the presentation moving and to the point, knowing that you are trying to get approval to proceed with one of your recommendations. If required, ask for support from your new tire manufacturer and/or retreader; having another person with you can help to address specific questions that may be asked by the customer.
We all like to be sold, and an OTR tire customer is no different. If the presentation clearly shows need and solid recommendations, it will be easier for the customer to choose the best program for their requirements.
Remember – your customers are limited on time, so knowing what they require, giving them the facts and pricing, and a detailed process to complete the project will make their decision easier and faster. Good luck and good selling in the New Year.
