Solid Ground
by: Martin Onken
The RV rental business is one of the most enjoyable I can think of.
What other job can you find where your customers are in such a great
mood? Doctors? Lawyers? Dentists? It’s a pleasure to spend time
with your customers to help them explore all the great new options in
planning their vacations. It’s gratifying to help them select a
“home away from home,” knowing well beforehand, what an
important part of a vacation the motorhome really is. It’s a
personal “pat on the back” when your customers return as
friends, relaxed and happy for having trusted you in helping their trip
become such a fantastic, memorable event. As they depart, a final
comment includes something like, “We’ll be back!” or
“I’ll tell my friends about you!” It doesn’t get
any better than that. This is the way it’s supposed to go. This is
solid ground.
So, how do we get to solid ground? Here is some insight from
observations of other solidly grounded dealerships. Long ago, a good
friend, acknowledged by all to be an innovator and leader in his
industry once told me, “My secret is that I always first
appreciate, and then I appropriate.” I quickly looked up the
meaning of appropriate, the verb, and found it means: to copy, to
emulate, or to take from one source and use in another. Here is a great
guide as we seek to create solid ground for our rental operations.
PREPARATION
Solidly grounded dealers leave nothing to chance. They plan every action
before doing it. Practical, hands-on training is a weekly routine.
Accountability is regularly measured. Quality and performance standards
are part of the company culture.
PERSONALITY
Not having a personality, but being personal, and friendly, to each
person, each time, every time they have an opportunity. You say you do
this already? Ask your staff. Ask yourself: Do I ask about the family?
Do I ask about their health? Do I remember what’s going on in
their lives? Do I know their hobbies and interests? Do I ask their
opinion about how I can serve them better? Have I recently recommended
something that will encourage them to have a new experience? Do I send a
note, card, or even an e-mail on their birthday, or that of their
children?
PROFESSIONALISM
Professionalism translates into trust in a business relationship. It
translates into competence.When combined with being personal,
professionalism fosters a relationship that endures unforeseen
breakdowns, miscommunications, and mistakes. Very few people are
naturally professional. Most of us copy those that are easily
accessible, like our co-workers. However, those on solid ground, seek
out, and learn to be professional from real professionals. I observed
this in action recently while participating in the three-day MBA RV
Rental School. I saw rookies eagerly learning from the teachings of
professionals. I observed sophomores appreciating, appropriating, and
planning how to operate their rental operations with more competence
than before. And I saw professionals humble enough to accept from other
professionals’ techniques and practices that honor customer
relationships. It was a pleasure to be in such an environment, electric
with professionalism.
PRODUCTS
Our RVs are the linking tool between our customer’s expectations
and their eventual result.Without a reliable, properly selected RV, the
term RV will come to mean Ruined Vacation! It’s an overwhelming
responsibility when viewed in this light. Solid ground is appliances
that work, and brakes that stop. Solid ground is comfortable beds, leg
room around the toilet, and large holding tanks. Solid ground looks
clean, smells fresh, and has no extra eightlegged passengers. Solid
ground is a unit with no damage. Moreover, maybe most important, solid
ground may be a different selection than the one the customer originally
inquired about.
PREVENTION
Solid ground is also all about avoiding the swamp. You know,
when you’re ankle deep because the generator doesn’t work
for the renter in Death Valley. Or you’re sweating because your
customers must evacuate in the middle of the night because of a fire in
a national park, and their brakes are smoking and smelling. Load test
everything before hand. Complete all the paperwork and collect the
payments well before departure. Give yourself time to correct anything
you missed, before your renter’s leave on their trip. Though this
is obvious, it is also essential.
Sounds great, but can all this be created, taught, and implemented
this decade? It sure can. There’s a simple, common principle:
Appreciate and Appropriate. Or, as Ben Franklin put it,
“Don’t reinvent the wheel.” Here are three essential
steps to putting your business on solid ground:
-
Attend the RV Dealers International Convention/Expo every
year;
-
Attend and participate in the MBA RV Rental School, or similar
training class; and
-
Join an affordable peer mentoring group, like the RV Rental Success
20 Group, or hire a consultant who has done this for others.
Solid ground, it just might work. Maybe I should change the name of
my company to “Solid Ground RV Rentals.”We need to be solid
in these crazy times.
Martin Onken is the owner/operator of Expedition Motor Homes in
the Los Angeles, CA area. Martin is a member of an RV rental 20 Group,
and frequent speaker on various topics at the RVDA conventions. In
addition to managing the rental company, Martin often coaches new and
existing rental companies to higher profits and improved customer
relationships. Martin can be reached at (818) 225-8239, or e-mail
mronken@pacbell.net.
