My first month as part of the Southeast Petro team has been very exciting and busy.  The response from customers to my introduction letter was remarkable! The welcoming and encouragement I received was all that I needed to hit the ground running… and within a few days I had received several leads from valued customers, Brand Reps, and Southeast Petro staffers. 

I’ve accumulated a significant number of leads by canvasing the areas around your sites and speaking with station employees. 

Communication is key, and because one business owner took the time forward the name of some decision makers at local businesses, it allowed me the opportunity to speak to the potential fleet customers with a more personalized touch; not just as a cold-caller.

When asked their initial reaction to being contacted about Fleet Fuel Services, the business owner responded “Knowing Ashley had received my name from the station made me much more comfortable.   I felt that the station wanted my business.”

One lead in particular proved to be beneficial. With 7 vehicles and an average $1200.00 in fuel expenses per month, the fleet application was submitted and approved! Thanks to that dedicated customer in Holly Hill for taking the time to forward the leads to our office, as that Lead is now a loyal customer at his station!

A snapshot of the progress made this month:

Business Type

# Vehicles

Avg Monthly $ Gained

Trucking

2

$5500

Landscaping

7

$1200

 
Fleet business is often underestimated on our industry, and a lot of gas station business owners do not take the time to get to know these customers and provide value offerings to bring their business back time and again. The potential financial impact that these customers can have on one station is incredible. 

With everything from credit card fee savings, to a fleet customer’s higher probability of c-store spend (1.2X more likely to come inside and spend), it is worth taking the time to focus on these customers and entice them to come to your store and your brand exclusively.

For example, once a fleet employee stops to fuel up, they often take that opportunity to buy refreshments, snacks, and other necessities to get through their day. Many times, fuel stops are the only time the workers have a chance to grab what they want for themselves.

In comparison, regular customers tend to stop at stations that are conveniently located based on their route of travel. Florida is also full of tourists and migratory residents, so station allegiance may not come naturally to them.

There are things we can do as convenience store operators to drive loyal consumers back to our stations, and that is where consistency and cleanliness comes into play. But that is another article for another day.  

Branded fleet customers on the other hand – those fleets that are holding your branded station card – they are going to be a constant revenue source. Why? Because they reside in our own communities. They actually like consistency in where they stop. They get a discount from the branded card that they use. They sometimes also get additional benefits from the stations they stop at for being branded fleet card holders! The list goes on and on.

In short, if you are not focusing on fleets, you are missing opportunities to grow your business, reduce credit card fees, and gain loyal customers.

As your dedicated fleet representative at Southeast Petro, I am doing my best to obtain leads and get approved accounts that will directly benefit your stores.

Please take a few minutes to review your customer base. If you have fleets customers that are fueling at your station but not using a branded card, let me know! If you have house accounts your would like to convert to a branded card, let me know! If you know of fleet businesses that use your competition’s station across the street, let me know! If you just have businesses in the area you would like to do business with, again, let me know!

All it takes is a simple email or phone call with the name of a business.

Even better, if you can provide any of the following information to help me get through to this lead faster, these help a lot:

  • Decision maker’s name
  • Current form of payment
  • How many vehicles are in the fleet

A few minutes out of your day could be worth more than you know…

Thank you all again for the outpouring of support I have already received. I hope to hear from more of you, and meet you in person as I dig my heels in deeper to the business.

Ashley Werda is Southeast Petro’s Branded Fleet Representative. Ashley works with Southeast Petro customers directly to drive additional fleet business for their stations. She has extensive experience in running her own businesses and involving herself in the community to gain loyal customers, so she has an incredible passion for this type of work. Contact her today to allow her to help you drive additional gallons to your store!

321-631-0245 x 129

AWerda@Southeastpetro.com