MEET THE EXPERTS

Howard Koffman, business development manager for fleets at Stonebriar Auto Services: Stonebriar is a Jiffy Lube franchise that began in 2019 and oversees 75 service centers in 16 states. Koffman is the resident fleet expert. Prior to joining Stonebriar, Koffman worked at the Shell and Jiffy Lube corporate level in national fleet work and business development support for Jiffy Lube franchisees.

Jordan Mosley, co-owner of Quik’s Oil Change + Car Care: Quik’s Oil Change + Car Care (formerly known as America’s Oil Change and Auto Repair) started around nine years ago and has three locations. The business portfolio of Mosley and his partner also includes fi ve Kwik Kar Lube and Tune locations and one car wash.

David Wade, national sales manager at Valvoline and Chad Snyder, director of commercial fl eet solutions at Valvoline: There are around 1,650 Valvoline locations in the United States. Wade has been with Valvoline for around six years and works with national customers. Snyder has been with Valvoline for 20 years and on the fleet side for around two.

months to nurture because not everybody gets an oil change or service every week,” Koffman says. “So, to really look at the success of a program they need to give it a good sixmonth investment and see how many accounts were open, what the profitability was, did they come back, and how many new customers?”

For Jordan Mosley, building rapport with fleet customers starts by cra ing a welcoming atmosphere in the shop. He says many fleet customers come in first thing in the morning, and it’s nice to leave a good impression on their day.

“So having fresh coffee, having things of that nature, having a clean facility, getting them in and out in a timely manner is super important,” Mosley says.

He says once you foster that relationship, fleet customers are more likely to return because they know they can count on reliable service and quality experience. But like Koffman, Mosley points to location as something to consider for fleet customer availability.

“We have some locations that only do like a few hundred dollars a month in national and local fleets and then we have others that do tens of thousands of dollars every month in national and local fleets,” Mosley says. “It just depends on the location honestly and what’s around it.”

The type of fleet comes into play as well. Mosley says his locations conduct more consistent business on the national fleet side.

“Once you get in pre y good with the national fleets and you’re starting to service them and they can trust you, they’ll actually refer other fleet companies to your store because they do rate you on the back end,” Mosley says.

Mosley says one challenge to working with local fleets is that they may not use your services as much as they initially claim they will, and price negotiations can be another factor. Mosley recommends working with a local fleet for a li le while to ensure that they are utilizing your services enough before you offer any discounts.

However, Mosley has been able to form some great friendships through the cultivation of local fleet accounts. He says the local approach can form organically.

“If a local fleet does come in, just (strike) up a conversation with them,” Mosley says. “(Ask) how many vehicles they have in their fleet, how o en they’re changing the oil … just ge ing that information for the decision maker and then passing it along to the manager or the district manager or owner to follow up and give them a call to see if they want to set up something.”

Once you have regular fleet accounts coming in, Mosley says you’ll get to know the services they routinely get done. He says this knowledge can provide an opportunity.

“So most fleets you'll know exactly what they want once you set everything up, you'll know, hey, they do oil change, air filter, and wiper blades … that’s it, they're easier to upsell on fleets, versus I would say the average customer,” Mosley says.

Mosley says fleets require some legwork upfront. He suggests ensuring that time is spent training team members on the different processes required. Mosley says he used to have a dedicated fleet employee, but for the size of his operation it didn’t make sense to keep this position. For outreach purposes, he recommends owners put in the effort to reach out to potential customers.

“The relationship with the fleet company is built by the store manager and its crew,” Mosley says. “You just have to nurture and cultivate each time the driver comes into the business to store for an oil change or service because they're the ones that are going to be coming back."