The Future of Independent Truck Leasing Lies in Creative Customer Service

By LACY TEAGUE

Back when I was studying at Texas A&M with the serious intention of becoming a professional rodeo cowboy, I never envisioned a career path that would eventually see me evolving into a leader of one of the United States’ most respected truck leasing companies.  It may seem a long way from rodeo and steer wrestling to truck leasing, but the fact is I landed in a business that each day presents exciting challenges that spur my competitive spirit.

One of the greatest challenges young truck leasing executives face today is adding value to our offering as market forces – such as the price of fuel and equipment – continue to rise.  We at Salem NationaLease understand that while price hikes will be a reality that we will have to incorporate into our pricing, we can differentiate ourselves with our customers by offering something that global transportation conglomerates can’t – unequaled customer service.

As Salem’s Executive Vice President of Sales and winner of NationaLease’s Top Sales award, I have had considerable success selling new business.  I found that our new business didn’t come so much from more companies deciding to lease their trucks but rather from taking market share from the global competitors.  The basis of my success is a quality product that’s competitively priced, but more importantly it’s the unique personalized service we can provide.  I like to say we’re large enough to meet your needs but small enough to care.

In a nutshell, that’s why the independent truck leasing industry is alive and well and will continue to be in the years ahead, as the next generation of truck leasing leaders takes over.  People today aren’t much different than they‘ve ever been. Everyone wants to work with someone who actually knows them.  Our entire industry is based off of relationships and if you have a quality product and your customers like you, they will find a way to do business with you.  People want partners, not vendors.

Forging relationships is what the NationaLease Young Executive Club, of which I’m a member, is all about.  It’s important for those of us who are second- and third-generation executives (my father Tom Teague founded Salem in 1965 and my brother Ken helps lead the business as well.)  We’re enjoying success today because our fathers and grandfathers knew what they were doing and created a strong foundation for the future.  I find the other young executives I meet, even those who enter the business in other ways, have the same fire about truck leasing that our predecessors did.

While at college on a rodeo scholarship, I even had the chance to steer wrestle professionally and loved every minute of it.  Working in new business development at Salem, I have an equal passion for what I do.  Leading our effort in Texas, I still get the chance to share with my customers my love for hunting, rodeo, and the Dallas Cowboys, so it’s been the best of both worlds.  Life is all about enjoying what you do and being proud of it.  And for me, it’s been hard not to enjoy being in such a challenging industry.

About the Author:
Lacy Teague is Executive Vice President of Sales for Texas for Salem NationaLease, headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC.