Successful Thermo King Salespeople Understand Their Clients' Businesses

Price Richardson, fleet maintenance manager of Howell's Motor Freight, knows that he can rely on the transport refrigeration advice from Thermo King of Roanoke (Virginia) Branch Manager Tom Lane.

Lane after all has been in the industry for about 40 years. He epitomizes the successful Thermo King salespeople who are able to "fully understand their client's businesses and to address clients' special needs" – a characterization that comes right out of the Degrees of Excellence handbook.

In the case of Howell's, which operates a 100 percent Thermo King fleet of more than 300 units, the need is related to a specialized market niche. The Cloverdate, Va.-based company is primarily a distributor of candy and cosmetics.

The most recent system of choice for such cargo has been the Super II MAX+, the ideal system for today's high cube, long or short haul distribution trailers. Thermo King of Roanoke delivered 30 new Super II's to Howell's over the past year, and the customer has ordered 20 more systems for the first quarter, 1999.

The fleet runs primarily on the East Coast, with an average length of haul being under 500 miles. The Thermo King systems operate only about 700 to 800 hours per year, "which is one reason why Howell's has some units that are more than 15 years old," said Lane.

In spite of his substantial experience in the industry, Lane has found the Degree of Excellence training "quite helpful" in maintaining long-standing relationships with customers such as Howell's Motor Freight.

"Sometimes in sales you tend to forget some things," he said. "The trailer sales certification program made me stop and think and got me back to sales fundamentals. It helps even a long-time salesperson to meet specific customer needs."

That of course applies to a specialized commodities carrier such as Howell's and to the working relationship between Price Richardson and Tom Lane.