3 Simple Steps to Growing Your Hino Fleet

By: Brenden Somerville   |   29 Aug 2016
3 Simple Steps

As the owner of a small trucking business, it can be hard, and even intimidating to compete with the larger fleets out on the road. Corporations with more money tend to have an easier time building their fleets, and having more money means that they can offer aggressive pricing, get better discounts from suppliers, and hire drivers faster than the Average Joe can. But, there are four key strategies you can implement which are guaranteed to lead to better, more sustainable fleet growth. As fleet experts, Hino Canada has the ability to provide solid advice to ensure all your fleet requirements are tailored to meet your needs, expectations and budget. At Somerville Hino, we are committed to help serve you better as a fleet customer, and want to make it easier with these three simple solutions.

Stay On Top of Customer Service

It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how many larger fleet corporations skip out on good service. As an independent, small business, that means you’re more likely to interact with your customers at least once a week, and personally get to know them by name. You’re also more likely to remember the smaller details that a computer system wouldn’t. When you treat each customer with the respect they deserve, your profits will show it. People like to be treated like people, not numbers, and definitely not like sales numbers. The most important thing you can do is to create long-lasting relationships, not just a client. At the end of the day, there will always be a new customer, but it’s the clients who keep coming back that make an impact on your busines. At Somerville Hino, we’ve been in the business for over 60 years, and have built our business on the basis of solid customer relationships, where our goal is for every customer to experience the same unwavering commitment to excellence as our very first customer did.

Plan Your Growth

As a fleet owner, you should always have a break-even point, which is the number you must absolutely make in order to avoid a potential loss for the business. Calculate how much growth capital you will need to break even, and then calculate how much you’ll need to make a profit for the year. It’s important to be realistic in setting your goals, especially if you are just starting out. Somerville Hino offers customized leasing programs that help you build equity in your truck. We also provide our Hino customers with affordable financing options on all of our Hino’s, so that you can grow your business in an easy, affordable, barrier-free way.

Stabilize Your Cash Flow

Small-to-midsize fleets generally require cash up front to pay freight delivery bills, which can unfortunately run very high once the delivery is over and done with. Freight bills are usually expensed after the delivery, and not before and if you have to pay to have them delivered, these expenses can add up. When you’re a corporate fleet company, you can shrug this off, but small business owners don’t have that luxury. Freight factoring is a unique service that runs on a third-party basis, where your invoices are purchased for a small fee, and the collections are assumed so that you get your money faster. Freeing up your cash flow and getting faster access to your working capital with freight factoring gives you options to grow your business faster.

When you choose Hino trucks for your fleet, you are partnering with a leading global manufacturer of trucks, engineered and manufactured to the highest standards. Hino trucks are conceived, designed and engineered with three guiding values: quality, durability and reliability. Hino is also much more environmentally friendly than most fleets, and is a leader in advanced diesel engine and emissions technologies which includes the Hino Hybrid low emission range of trucks. This Hybrid diesel engine is designed exclusively for a commercial vehicle, delivering cleaner, more efficient transport solutions, giving you both business and environmental benefits.

At Somerville Hino, we have an impressive range of commercial trucks for sale to help you grow your fleet. Shop our inventory of new or pre-owned Hino’s and contact us today at 1-(877) 650-6296 to learn more!

 

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