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In Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind (2001), Al Ries & Jack Trout throw out an interesting proposition. Their message to anyone who”??s trying to market a product or service is that the easy way to get into a person”??s mind is to be first. They say: “??You just got to be first”??.

Here”??s the example they come up with. Ask anyone, “??What”??s the name of the first person to walk on the moon?”?? You”??re bound to get a few Neil Armstrong”??s, especially given that 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of this momentous event. Now ask anyone who answered correctly, “??What”??s the name of the second person to walk on the moon?”?? Let them squirm all you like; you”??re not going to get a second answer out of anyone.

Continue reading ‘The Easiest Way Is To Be First’ »

What’s the point of buying anything mechanical, electrical or computer-related used, if you end up having to pay a mint to get it into good-running condition? The whole point of not buying new in the first place is to save costs. Purchasing used or discount trucks is not the best option. Purchasing reconditioned trucks is.

I-80 Equipment understands that many companies don’t have the capital to buy new. And that’s why they offer like-new trucks at affordable prices. I-80 Equipment sells reconditioned used forestry trucks at pre-owned prices. Come again. What exactly does this mean? You’re getting the used truck, at a used truck price, but it’s reconditioned so that it’s as new as it can be. You can’t get rid of the mileage for example, but you can make sure that the brakes, electrical system, engine, steering suspension and power transmission meet or exceed federal inspection. And that’s not mentioning the body, cab, and tires. Continue reading ‘Buying Reconditioned Trucks’ »

Power linemen have a different vision of the world than most of us. That’s because they spend much of their time at elevations that most people don’t climb to on a regular basis. Power linemen are the servicemen working for local telephone or utilities companies, along roadsides and city streets. Every day, they’re lifted and lowered to places too tall for ladders so that they can fix some electrical or technical problem. And they see the world from their bucket truck.

Bucket trucks come in different shapes and sizes, but they all look pretty much alike. They have a bucket at the end of a hydraulic lifting system, which is mounted on the back of a large truck. The bucket can be made of metal, fibreglass, metal, wood or reinforced plastic. The bucket is designed so that the lineman can stand in and work from it, and he stores any tools or equipment needed in a storage bin. Some bucket trucks come with a duplicate set of controls so that the person in the bucket can manipulate the bucket’s position. Similarly, some bucket trucks are designed with a single or double-arm boom, which provides extra stability. Continue reading ‘The View From A Bucket Truck’ »

On their website, I 80-Equipment invite the online truck shopper to Just say FIND IT!(http://www.i80equipment.com/locator.html) and they promise to help you find whatever you’re looking for. It’s only a matter of time before twittering truckers adopt this on Twitter too.
Remember two months ago, when people asked what Twitter was. Now if you’re a business and you’re worth your salt, you want to be Twitterin

For any business though, it is a calculated decision to twitter. You don’t want to start Twittering until you’re sure that you’ll have followers. It’s probably a costly mistake in the business world, to be seen Twittering with only 5 followers in tow. You want to start twittering when you’ve got a solid client-base who would do repeat business with you, if the need arises, and who will happily follow you, if invited. Continue reading ‘Just Twitter Find It!’ »

The best way when making any purchase, is to talk to people like you. If you’re looking for a good vet, talk to another dog owner. If you’re looking to buy a new PC, talk to someone who’s just bought one. If you’re looking to rent a holiday home, talk to someone who’s got a tan and who’s just come back from their holidays. And if you’re looking to buy a new company truck, talk to other truck owners.
The idea is that recent buyers, who have just bought a truck themselves, have had to go through an intensive learning curve. The trucking market is constantly evolving and expanding at a speed, where, six months is the equivalent of many years of product knowledge.

Serious truck purchasers research the marketplace enough to shortlist 3 or 4 suppliers. And then, they comparison shop trucks on the market to shortlist 3 or 4 products. And then they’ve test-driven trucks galore, studied manual and made an informed decision.

The I-80 Equipment name is well known in the reconditioned truck market. In fact, with close to 20 years experience, I 80 Equipment (www.i80equipment.com) has been the #1 supplier of quality reconditioned trucks. Continue reading ‘When You're Looking To Buy A Truck, Talk To A Truck Driver’ »

There is no one particular right strategy for conquering a niche market. But you’d have to think that it makes sense to go local first. There’s something to be said for being the talk of your town, or state or even nation, before even venturing further afield. And then one day, ever so discretely, you just add a translator to your website, so that you become talk of the town in Chinese, French or Polish languages too.

I 80 Equipment (i80equipment.com), which has been serving the bucket truck niche market since 1992, is one of these companies which has done just this. I 80 Equipment takes pride in serving the American homeland and offering a reputable trucking service to Americans nationwide. Meanwhile, the number of international visitors to their website is definitely on the rise. Over 30% of the traffic to I 80equipment.com, as of 2009, now comes from overseas. This means I 80 Equipment have a earned themselves credibility in a today’s competitive the trucking marketplace. Not surprising really, after close to 30 years in the business. Companies need to be constantly adapting to new ways of doing business, and to be in constant growth, to stand a chance of keeping ahead of their game. And I 80 Equipment does just this.

Continue reading ‘Earn The Pride Of The Nation, And Then Go International’ »

Just ask around, and you’ll probably hear lots of buyers who have a bad purchase that they wish they hadn’t made, whether it’s a car, a computer or a house. When you’re looking to make a purchase, think about renting first. The bigger the purchase, and cost factor, the more this makes sense. For example, isn’t it actually a smart idea to live in the house you’re thinking about buying just to see if you actually hear the airplanes overhead, or if you like your neighbours or how bad your commute really is. And if you’re thinking about buying a car or a truck, doesn’t it make sense to test drive it in real road conditions?

I 80 Equipment (www.i80equipment.com) offer a full range of trucks for rental, with the option to purchase for this very reason. They want their clients to drive away contented, even if this means test driving several trucks, over a period of 3, or 6, or 8 months. They’ve understood the magnitude of your purchase. If you are a truck driver, your truck is literally a second home. It’s the equipment you use to do your work, it’s how you get to and from work, and it probably serves as your on-the-road office. Continue reading ‘Rent-to-own: A Viable Option’ »

Some might say that finding the right truck wheels for the road has gotten a lot easier with most trucking companies now online. But if you’re looking for a hassle-free purchase, nothing beats working with a family-run professional transport provider. The thing is that if you go online, you’ll quickly get inundated with what’s on the market. When you’re talking to a seller who hasn’t met you yet, they are bound to err on the side of too much information. Here’s a classic example of how having assess to the vehicle spec’s isn’t enough necessarily to get you what you want, unless you’re prepared to spend hours researching and calling and emailing. Imagine you’re selling a sports car. If you don’t know who you’re selling it to, you probably will need to cover everything from make to mileage to how fast it takes the corners. If you actually meet with the buyer, you might find that the only thing that interests them is the colour or that it”‘s a two-seater. You really can’t guess what your client’s like unless you meet with them and conduct a needs assessment of sorts.

I-80 Equipment Company (the www.i80equipment.com) is a trucking company which operates like a hands-on family-run approach, but one that is definitely in-touch its online niche market. This means, if you go on their website, you can view the whole gamut of trucks for sale and for rent, but if you want to bypass this, and pick up the phone and speak to one of their sales consultants, they’d be thrilled to hear from you. Some shoppers opt for a middle-of-the-road approach. And that means, they’re in front of their computer, in the comfort of their own home, when they call the 1-80 Equipment. This means the consultant can walk them through the spec, and the buyer can have a proper look online, as they are talking on the phone. Call it online sales consulting if you like. Continue reading ‘Finding The Right Truck Wheels For The Road…’ »

My Manager just loves to say to his staff, on a regular basis: “??You want to be making money or saving money, it”??s as simple as that “??. And in these economic times, where it”??s just that bit harder to turn a dime, it”??s the saving money option which seems more readily achievable.

Most employees, looking to keep their employment, want to send out a clear message to their employers that they are still the right person for the job. And this means, they want to demonstrate, that while they”??re pocketing their monthly salary, they are not making the hole in company”??s pocket any bigger. And this is particularly true, in the smaller companies, where Joe does everything from sales to procurement, and cost-cutting measures are welcomed. Continue reading ‘Cherry Picking I80 Equipments’ »

Fear Selling is all about getting to that dreaded question of “??What”??s it going to cost you if”???”??. Here”??s a classic example of fear selling in action. An IT Sales Rep. calls up the purchasing manager or CEO of a company and says, “??Mr Customer, I work for Anti-Virus Software Ltd. We”??ve got a great deal on at only $49.99 a month”??”??. If this is the approach he uses, the sales guy might not get any further than this. And that”??s simply because he”??s likely to be one of the ten other sales guys making the same kind of call that day. The CEO probably has his turn-away call down pat. Possibly he”??s even started to have fun, saying “??Thanks. But we”??d rather not”??. And maybe on a good day, he even asks the Sales Rep. to go into all the benefits, just to see how well he knows his stuff. Continue reading ‘Don't Make Feature-based Purchases, Without Facing The Fear Factor’ »