S
elling a quality product
to a skeptical customer
is as authentic as any
problem in sales. No matter
how benefi cial the product,
there's always someone out
there to question it.
The commercial tire in-
dustry has faced this problem
for years in promoting its
wide selection of retread
tires.
Despite tests, educational
studies and on-highway
performance showing today's
retreads are as effective as new
tires, some fl eets and owner-
operators remain skeptical
about the product quality.
"The retreading we are
doing today is so far superior
to anything we used to do
in the past, you would think
everyone would jump on the
bandwagon. But they don't,"
says Guy Walenga, director,
engineering, commercial
products and technologies
at Bridgestone. "[Skepticism
about retreading] is a lot
more common than you'd
think."
That's something the tire
industry is trying to change.
Walenga says "you can't
sell everyone" on retreading,
but if a customer is willing to
listen, there are excellent sell-
ing points to convince them
to give it a try.
"There is no reason to not
at least give it a shot," he says.
"It dramatically reduces tire
costs."
Below are tips from indus-
try experts to help sell a skep-
tical customer on a retreading
program.
18
Service Bay
T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 4
By Lucas Deal, Editor
lucasdeal@randallreilly.com
Selling
the Skeptic
Retread tires are worth promoting to your
customer base
