Does anyone in here have a defined sales process/system they follow consistently? If you do, would you mind sharing the basic workflow? (ex. Sales call/conversation, quote creation/reservation, follow-up, reactivation etc)

Had a good conversation this morning with another operator in the community. We’re both dealing with the same external reality: A large national rental company (recent IPO) has dropped two locations into our local market. Close proximity. Aggressive pricing. A lot of iron hitting the street. Some rentals are being lost. Local market dynamics are changing. No denying any of that. Where the conversation got interesting was how differently we view what comes next. One approach is to chase price i.e. lower rates to protect utilization, keep machines turning, and “stay competitive.” The other approach is to hold pricing, double down on differentiation, and make it painfully clear why someone should rent from us instead. That difference isn’t about optimism vs pessimism. It’s about how we define the threat. I do see the national chains affecting the market. I just don’t see them as an existential threat unless my only lever is price. If the only way I can win a rental is by being cheaper than a company with: - cheaper capital - national buying power - shareholder pressure to chase utilization …then I’ve already lost. I just haven’t admitted it yet. Their pockets are too deep for me to win that fight. To be clear: I’m not saying price never matters. It does. But racing to the bottom tends to solve one short-term problem by creating several long-term ones: - thinner margins - higher wear and abuse - worse customers - less cash to reinvest - more stress, not less - a slow and excruciating death by 1000 cuts (or 1000 less than profitable rentals) From my seat, the better question isn’t “How do I match their price?” It’s “What problem do I solve that they can’t or simply won’t?” Reliability. Speed. Local knowledge. Trust. Flexibility. Relationships. The stuff that doesn’t show up on a rate sheet but provides huge value to the right customers. This path is definitely not as easy as adjusting prices. There will need to be a lot of intentional actions taken for a long time. There will be continued missed rentals and lost customers. But the reward, when successful, will be a moat that lower rates can't cross, and a customer base that values us as more than a commodity rental yard.

How did everyone finish the year?

If 80% of my revenue comes from 20% of my rental items should I get rid of 80% of my fleet?

What have you guys found to be most effective when writing ad copy that actually moves customers to take action? I ran two different promotions in October side by side and tracked everything I could think to track. When I reviewed the data, one thing stood out. More than half of all engagement happened during the last 30 percent of the promotion periods. Those spikes in activity lined up perfectly with the messages that said the deal was about to expire, both by email and text. After a long conversation with ChatGPT and some reflection on basic consumer psychology, I realized something interesting about my market. They weren’t motivated by scarcity or limited availability, and they didn’t respond to free value, even a $2,500 giveaway. What finally got them to move was a simple deadline, the “use it or lose it” factor. Now my challenge is figuring out how to use that insight, how to tap into that urgency and decisiveness, without having to constantly run a new deal or special promotion. Curious what approaches you’ve found that create urgency or inspire action in your market without discounting or giveaways.