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Dealer Spotlight: North Central Bus & Equipment

Dealer Spotlight: North Central Bus & Equipment

Interviewee: Paul Fiereck

Title: Sales Representative

Q. How are propane bus sales going in South Dakota?

A. Actually, South Dakota is one of the three states where we don’t have any propane buses right now. That’s why they are such a good target market.

Q.What are you doing at North Central Bus & Equipment to change this?

A. I teamed up with Ryan Zic with ROUSH CleanTech and did a sales blitz in South Dakota to see if we could shake out some sales.

Q. How did you accomplish this?

A. We reached out to CHS, the local propane company, to put together an event with the idea of gathering influencers in one place. We thought, “Why not have the fuel provider bring in potential customers?”

CHS invited customers on the fuel side or in their local depot areas that CHS felt were the folks who would have the most influence over school district decision makers.

We developed an itinerary which included a product presentation from ROUSH CleanTech and Blue Bird and a ride and drive event. The fuel providers sat through the presentation, so we were selling to both the district and the fuel provider at the same time. CHS presented on the infrastructure side. Of the 10 people from CHS who attended, we now feel like they are salespeople helping to sell both propane and propane buses. Plus, this event solidified my relationship with the propane provider, and they’ll know who to go to with propane bus questions—and hopefully leads!

Q. Did this event lead to any solid leads or sales of propane buses?

A. I’m happy to say that we have a few school districts that are very interested in buying our propane buses. I feel like that without the event, South Dakota would still be unaware of this clean-operating, low-NOx propane technology.

Mustang Contest Encourages Propane Bus Sales

Blue Bird and ROUSH CleanTech are upping the ante in 2018 to further motivate propane bus sales. The grand prize is a ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang valued at more than $60,000.

For every propane bus you sell starting on November 20, 2017, you automatically earn one entry to win. So far this fiscal year, almost 500 propane school buses have been sold. Great job!

Remember that the more propane buses you sell, the more entries you gain, increasing your odds to take home this iconic muscle car. One salesperson entry will be chosen at random at the end of Blue Bird’s fiscal year 2018, and the lucky winner will take delivery of the Mustang at the 2018 annual dealer meeting.

We’re also offering giveaways throughout the year to reward your propane bus sales efforts. We’ll pick four winners each quarter to receive a $250 gift card.

Good luck, and let’s sell propane buses!

If you have any questions about the contest, please contact Ryan Zic at Ryan.Zic@roush.com.

New Marketing Tool: Knock Out NOx Video

We recently created a three-minute video called “Knock Out NOx in School Buses.” It’s written in easy-to-understand language with animated visuals that explain what nitrogen oxide (NOx) is, how it pertains to the Volkswagen settlement and why propane school buses are a viable solution for the funding.

We’ve posted the video to ROUSH CleanTech’s website and our  YouTube channel.

We’re encouraging you to use it. Here’s how:

• Contact your local school board representative. Ask them for three minutes of their time to watch the video so they can understand how safe, clean, low NOx propane buses are ideal for their school district and community.

• Share it with your state beneficiary. Reach out to schedule a meeting to discuss why they should assign some of the VW’s Environmental Mitigation Fund to school buses. Propane school buses will substantially reduce NOx and can benefit communities throughout your entire state. This short video drives that point home. You can find your state beneficiary at vwclearinghouse.org/#settlement_info.

• Use it in your marketing. Add it to your customer presentations, loop it on a screen during an event or expo, email it to prospects and link it to your website.

• Post it on your social media accounts. Here are sample posts to consider:

• According to the Environmental Protection Agency, asthma is a leading cause of school absenteeism. It’s time to stop compromising our children’s education and health. Knock Out NOx in School Buses #BetterOurBuses #PropaneAutogas

• Part of the Volkswagen settlement requires the automotive manufacturer to pay $2.9 billion to fund actions that reduce NOx emissions. That’s a lot of funding that could be used for low NOx propane school buses. Learn more at Knock Out NOx in School Buses #BetterOurBuses #PropaneAutogas

• What are NOx and why should you care? Hint: They affect your health, your children’s health and the environment. It’s time to clear the air around our school buses and knock out NOx. Knock Out NOx in School Buses #FuelforFleets

Do you have other ideas on how to use and share the video to reach your customers, prospects and state beneficiary office? Let us know!

Volkswagen Update: December 2017

Your state’s Environmental Mitigation Trust beneficiary should have been selected at the beginning of this month. We know who most of them are for each state, but the final agencies are still being determined.

Although the process is moving along, we still need you to reach out to your state’s beneficiary to schedule meetings and learn what your state plans to do with the money. There is still time to make the case for propane school buses.

If you have not reached out to your state’s beneficiary to discuss propane school buses, please contact Chelsea Jenkins. She can work with you to develop an outreach plan.

To make your outreach easier, we’ve created a tool that you can to use to “speak the language” of the beneficiary. This one-page flyer is attached here, which we can tailor to your state. The main message of this document is that in a dollar for dollar comparison to reduce NOx:

• Propane is 35 percent more cost-effective than diesel school buses.
• Propane is 65 percent more cost-effective than electric school buses.

Now is the time to schedule meetings with your beneficiary to discuss why propane is the best value based on NOx reduction. If you have any questions about the Volkswagen settlement or the Environmental Mitigation Trust, please contact Chelsea Jenkins at Chelsea.Jenkins@roush.com. You can also visit ROUSHcleantech.com/volkswagen-settlement for regularly updated information.