By: Joseph M. Rubino, Owner, JMRubino Transit Consulting
When speaking to clients about growing the contracting side of their business, I often state: “Stop telling potential clients what you have to offer and start asking them what they actually want.” Business development has not just been a difficult concept for many TTA members to grasp but, in the bigger picture, it may be one of our industry’s greatest shortcomings.
In reality, there has never been a shortage of business opportunities in passenger transportation, but there has always been a shortage of companies who have had either the vision, or the desire, to recognize those opportunities. Ask a fellow TTA member where they identify new business, and their answer will likely be that they respond to every RFP, RFQ, RFI, etc. they hear about. They might state that they are on every bid list in their region, they respond to all solicitations, perhaps they win their share, and maybe they supplement that by being a provider for NEMT brokers. Nothing wrong with all that, but the fact that is that none of that activity constitutes “business development,” it’s just participating in marketplace competition. Certainly, you need to be a pretty good operation to consistently win your share of those offerings, but even if you won everything that came your way, you are not really “developing” anything. In fact, while getting and keeping that work involves good management, it requires little in terms of imagination.
One of the biggest shortcomings in our industry is lack of imagination. Many otherwise solid companies are not able 1) to identify prospects’ needs and then 2) to explain to them how they can fill that need. I often tell my clients: Some of your best future clients are companies that have yet to realize they even need a transportation contractor! The world is changing, and though “Change is good” the fact is that too many transportation operators are resistant to change. I am often astonished by companies who, when I ask a simple question about their service offerings will respond “Uh, we don’t do that.” They often will respond rather tentatively, as if not sure they are giving me the right answer. And of course, they are not.
The reason this is important is that if you don’t figure out what your client wants, someone else will. National NEMT broker ModivCare (formerly LogistiCare, formerly Automated Data Solutions- Yes, that was their original name, and I was there at the beginning in 1989) was one of the first to figure this out. ModivCare/LogistiCare became a major player in our industry though it has never owned a vehicle nor employed many transportation executives at the top of their organization chart. They simply recognized an industry need and filled it.
We all know that Via has rapidly grown their national market share. How did they do it? Much of their growth was NOT responding to RFPs. They simply went to a transit agency, suggested a service which was a form of Micro Transit. The suggested service was then started as a pilot project. When the service got good reviews, it was put out for an RFP. Guess who won the RFP? Bingo!
Former TTA President Bill Scalzi of M7 in Connecticut had great success with this same strategy. He approached a transit distinct back in 2019 and suggested a Micro Transit service that might be funded by a federal grant. The transit agency liked the idea, they jointly applied and won the grant, and now the service is flourishing so much so that another city in the state has joined the fun. Talk about business development!!
If you want to duplicate these successes, go back and read the title of this article: Find Out What They Want! And remember, if YOU don't, somebody else will. And not just a national transportation company like Via. It could be an outfit that is not even a transportation company. Don't believe me? It's already happening. Companies like Aramark and Towne Park have begun to dip their feet into passenger transportation. Why? They see the need. They are companies that already supply non-core support services to institutions, and as far as they are concerned, transportation is just another service. Plus, since they are already embedded inside their clients' location, they are likely to be the first to hear about an emerging need.
What new services do YOUR clients want? You may not know. In fact, when was the last time you asked? We all need to get outside our comfort zones and figure out what appeals to our potential customers. Besides local municipalities and transit agencies, here are some possible targets:
Hospitals- As our population ages, just about all institutional medical care has required some form of privately contracted transportation. Outpatient clinics need transportation after same-day surgery, Case Managers need to discharge in-patients, blood and x-rays need to be delivered, emergency rooms need to help injured people back home, main lobbies need parking and valet services, parking lots often need shuttles, volunteers (often retired people) require courtesy transport, and so on. Has our industry been there to fill these needs? If so, then why is it that so many hospitals and medical centers own their own vehicles?
Hotels- When a new hotel includes a restaurant, management often signs a deal with an outside company, usually, a national chain. The hotel may hire a security company to monitor the grounds. The cleaning service is often contracted out, as are the vending machines, exercise room equipment, and everything in the game room. At the front door, the valet service and parking concession are often run by outside companies. In other words, just about every non-core service the hotel operates is OUTSOURCED to a company who specializes in that product or service. Except for the vans or mini-buses parked near the lobby. They belong to the hotel.
There are huge opportunities in outsourcing. Just like the van parked in front of the hospital is owned by the hospital, and the courtesy bus taking you from the airport terminal to the rental car site is owned by Enterprise and the shuttle van at the off-site parking belongs to a private parking company, and the ambulette in front of the retirement center belongs to the retirement center, as does the courtesy bus at the country club, or the private school, or the shopping mall…..stop me whenever you’ve heard enough. Or, better yet, stop me when you realize what they want.
Outsourcing is an arrangement where one company provides services for another company that might usually have been provided in-house. Outsourcers are abundant in almost every industry, with our industry being a notable exception. In fact, there is a huge void when identifying companies who manage passenger transportation. Think about it. Why is it that, in your own city, so many colleges, private schools, hotels, rental car companies, car dealers, hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes, non-profit organizations (the list is endless) operate their own vans or buses? The answer is simple: they have no choice. What company in your city has let these businesses know they are available to operate their existing service? Have you?
Joe Rubino’s expertise covers all modalities of ground passenger transportation. He has worked on transit projects in 47 states over the past 50 years. Contact him at jmrubino@aol.com, or at www.jmrubinoconsulting.com.
Comments