ADTS: In The News

Taking It To The Streets

Phil Moser, ADTS, Inc.
Sales And Marketing Strategies & News
August 2000

Today's sales representatives set out on the road armed with an arsenal of tools designed to help them to succeed. Their employers provide laptops, Internet access, pagers, cell phones, and a company car. Then they offer training on a wide range of subjects from product knowledge, to computer skills, to sales techniques and corporate policies and procedures. The goal is to help sales reps work effectively and productively and ultimately to boost sales.

But many organizations fail to take another critical step one that can reduce operational costs, while protecting the company's sales force. That step is fleet driver safety training.

According to the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA), an estimated 20 percent of all corporate fleet drivers in any given year are involved in a motor vehicle accident. Those accidents average $10,000 per incident in direct costs such as property damage and worker's compensation claims and another $4,000 in lost productivity and other soft costs. Many companies self-insure their vehicles, therefore the cost of an accident has a direct and often substantial impact on profitability.

A proactive fleet driver safety training program can significantly reduce a sales rep's risks behind the wheel, as well as the associated costs. In fact, organizations that implement fleet safety initiatives see their accident rates drop by as much as 40 to 50 percent in initial years and even 20 to 30 percent on an ongoing basis. At an average of $14,000 per accident, even a relatively small fleet will see substantial cost savings as a result. To realize those gains, it's first necessary to assess first the fleet and pinpoint areas in greatest need of safety improvements. The majority of fleet accidents result from drivers in two categories: new hires and high risk. By targeting each group with appropriate interventions, you can drive down accident rates and the resulting costs.

New Hire Issues

In some companies, new hires account for as many as 30 to 40 percent of all accidents with most incidents occurring within the first 18 months on the job. A number of factors place new hires at increased risk. First, they're still learning about the company's products, services, and policies, as well as their customers, territories, and area traffic patterns. They're often driving cars that are very different and much larger than the cars they've driven in the past. Or they may be driving under much different conditions than they're accustomed to, such as when a rep has grown up in a rural area and is assigned to an urban territory or vice versa. New hires also tend to be eager to succeed, leading them to overextend themselves and to rush from one appointment to the next, a problem that's exacerbated by the Type A personality of most sales reps.

By implementing a driver safety program for new reps, you will greatly reduce these risks and keep accident costs under control. For maximum results, consider these proven strategies.

* Take action early. Many companies require new reps to participate in training within their first 90 days; others require the training before a rep is assigned a company car. * Make it practical. Provide a full-day training program that combines classroom lecture with behind-the-wheel instruction. This will enable your reps to begin practicing their new skills immediately, which increases retention. * Schedule efficiently. Maximize the return on your investment by scheduling driver safety sessions during the training that is already planned for new reps. By adding another day to the agenda, you'll reduce reps’ time out of territory and avoid additional travel costs, while emphasizing the importance of driver safety. * Ride along. Train sales managers to conduct “commentary drives” for new hires. Since many managers already use ride-along visits to observe selling skills, the only incremental investment might be a training session on how to evaluate driving skills.

High-Risk Help

A second segment of your fleet that will need attention is high-risk drivers those with a history of repeated accidents or moving violations. To identify these individuals, you should obtain an annual motor vehicle report for all fleet drivers' a step that should already be part of your corporate policy. Once you've identified high-risk reps, you should group them based on their level of risk and then develop a training program suitable for each group. To categorize drivers objectively, many organizations use a system of points based on the nature of each accident or violation.

For those drivers with the fewest points, a videotape or manual, combined with a test, may make a sufficient impact. For drivers at slightly higher risk, a behind-the-wheel training program may be needed to erase bad habits. Reps who demonstrate the greatest risk will likely need the individualized attention of a full-day, one-to-one program. Such sessions tend to be highly effective, because they demonstrate the serious nature of the problem and the company's efforts to correct it. The tailored approach also allows the trainer to focus on precisely those driving issues most pertinent to a particular rep.

Keep It Going

Once the accident rates drop after initiating a fleet safety program, a company may be tempted to halt the efforts. But doing so will cause accident rates and costs to creep back up, as many companies can attest. The key to long-term gains is to implement a maintenance program that is both effective and efficient.

One particularly good strategy is to reinforce driver safety skills via the Web. Fleet safety content delivered online can include periodic reminders about timely driving issues, seasonal travel tips, driver safety tests, and forms for reporting accidents and violations. Other effective tools for maintaining a driver safety focus include videotapes, which are ideal for regional sales meetings; newsletters; and periodic seminars on special topics, from using a cell phone safely to keeping out of danger while traveling for business.

Phil Moser is National Sales Manager for Advanced Driver Training Services, Inc. (ADTS), a leading provider of fleet safety training products and services for over 17 years. He can be reached at 1-800-486-ADTS, phil.adts@dclink.com or www.adtsweb.com.

Reprinted with permission of Sales And Marketing Strategies & News - www.SalesAndMarketingMag.com