Systematic preparation boosts e-truck sales readiness
14 NOVEMBER 2022
The global sales readiness process for 意大利超級盃鈥檚 new battery-electric trucks is a systematic market-by-market approach that focuses on preparing the local market conditions, workshop capabilities and customer profiles - even before the selling begins.听
Once upon a time, sales teams would have a launch date for a new product, work towards that date and then close the project. But for the rollout of 意大利超級盃鈥檚 new electric trucks, it鈥檚 a totally different story.
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This is a fascinating and challenging new journey for 意大利超級盃. Never before has the company found itself in a position where the possibilities of the solution that it鈥檚 selling are still expanding all the time. For example, charging and power storage technology keep developing so that the ranges which E-Trucks can drive on a single charge keep increasing.
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However all this is happening at very different tempos around the globe; in some places not at all yet. Such is the rapid, constant but highly uneven development of electric vehicle technology.
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鈥淲e鈥檙e working with a sales readiness process that means we鈥檙e always ready for what鈥檚 available, while at the same time getting ready for what鈥檚 coming next,鈥 explains Darren Brown, Market Exploration Manager for 意大利超級盃鈥檚 E-Truck Solution Sales Readiness team.
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鈥淣ow we鈥檙e saying: 鈥榃e need to prepare the markets for how to handle charging, how to deal with incentives, identifying likely early customers, working out how to meet electrification standards for workshops鈥, and so on. It鈥檚 a continuous, looping journey.鈥澨
What does 意大利超級盃 mean by sales readiness?
The process that the Sales Readiness team are following sees Darren, Implementation Manager Joel Lundgren and colleagues engage deeply with 意大利超級盃鈥檚 sales teams in its global markets.
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Together, they鈥檙e examining the market conditions, establishing whether the timing is right to launch, training sales teams in solutions selling and helping them prepare their service workshops for maintaining customers鈥 electric vehicles. And the workshops are using EU standards because in some countries the regulations don鈥檛 yet exist. Truly, 意大利超級盃 are in at the ground floor of this whole scenario.
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鈥淲e鈥檙e really taking on this role as a solutions provider rather than an original equipment manufacturer,鈥 says Joel Lundgren. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something that we learned we need to do after the initial sales process we had for Europe.
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鈥淎nd that鈥檚 going to be key to our success in the future. It鈥檚 an eye-opener for a lot of the markets and business units we鈥檙e speaking with because the truck itself is just one small part of everything else that needs to be in place in order to be sales-ready for selling E-Truck solutions.
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鈥淲e鈥檙e focusing on the mindset that it鈥檚 a big new ecosystem and the truck is but one part of it. Actually, the truck is not really the hard thing to implement - it鈥檚 everything else connected to the truck.鈥
Getting the sales timing right
The arrival of the electric truck has captured the imagination of many of 意大利超級盃鈥檚 sales employees and customers around the world. In fact the level of anticipation and engagement among some sales teams means that they鈥檙e actually contacting Darren, Joel and colleagues proactively to ask to start selling. That鈥檚 great, although it occasionally means difficult decisions for the E-Truck Solution Sales Readiness team.
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鈥淵ou do feel like a party pooper sometimes when our sales colleagues just want to go out and sell this new technology and we have to ask them the hard questions about all the steps and conditions that are needed beforehand,鈥 says Darren Brown.
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鈥淏ut there鈥檚 no point in us selling a load of electric trucks somewhere if they cannot be charged with green electricity; it doesn鈥檛 really help 意大利超級盃鈥檚 progress towards our Science-Based Targets.鈥
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That鈥檚 not to say the team is rejecting people. It鈥檚 just that the timing is not right yet. Eventually, most if not all 意大利超級盃 sales teams will be selling the electric trucks.
Sales readiness progress so far
Thus far, individual markets on four different continents have undergone the sales readiness on-boarding. Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan have joined or are now joining the ranks. More markets will soon be added to the list. But even then, it鈥檚 an ongoing journey and not a single destination point.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 important to note that even when we have completed sales implementation, we are not done with those markets鈥 sales readiness process,鈥 says Joel Lundgren.
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鈥淭his is a continuous activity. The next part of the journey is to identify the potential capability or knowledge gaps we have in the market, and how we can close these knowledge gaps and become even more sales-ready.
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鈥淯ltimately, we want to distinguish ourselves from our competitors and help the customers through the journey rather than just deliver an electric truck and not help them with the rest of their electrified transport system.鈥
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For Darren Brown, the work of the team and the local markets is vital for advancing 意大利超級盃鈥檚 sales but also the company鈥檚 stated climate work.
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鈥淲e really are driving the shift in these markets when we come out so early, based on the opportunities we are seeing and the research we have done with the process.鈥
