Are you a source of business intelligence?

One of the common themes you find in RAB training is the importance of being a source of business intelligence and a resource to your clients and prospects. If we aspire to be higher-level sellers, we must do things differently. This means providing something of value to our clients and prospects at every opportunity.

Recently, I had the privilege of spending the day in Altoona, Iowa for the Iowa Broadcasters convention. One of our presentations was deep dive into the automotive category, providing marketing professionals with research and insights. Automotive is one of those categories that has its own language. One of the developments in the automotive space is the increased attention for electric vehicles. Alex Millen from the Des Moines Radio Group (Saga) spent 20 years at a Toyota dealership and has extensive experience and knowledge of electric vehicles. With his help, we'd like to provide you with a very succinct, yet detailed list of "types" of electric vehicles. Having this information will help you have higher-level conversations with your dealers:

Internal combustion engine (ICE): gas, diesel or hydrogen powers the engine of the car. Put fuel in it and drive.

Hybrid: Uses two or more power sources to drive (gas/electric, sail/outboard).

Mild hybrid: Runs the gas engine all the time while driving. Uses electric to accelerate/boost. Example: Honda Civic Hybrid

Pure hybrid: Can run on each power source independently or together. Example: Toyota Prius

Plug-in hybrid: A pure hybrid you can also plug into the wall to charge. Example: Toyota Prius Prime

Battery electric vehicle (BEV): Runs on electric power only. Plug it in and drive. Doesn't use any gas. Example: All Tesla models.

I know I learned something from Alex's experience, and I'm sure you will too. Imagine how intelligent you will sound to your dealers now that you know the difference between electric/hybrid and gas vehicles.

Jeff Schmidt is SVP-Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can reach Jeff at jeff.Schmidt@Rab.com or follow him on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn.