By Dave Millhouser

We had a load of skiers on board, heading from Dallas to the Colorado slopes, when my boss, Joe, found me (I can't remember how he was able to track me down in those pre-cell-phone days, but he was a gifted tracker).

Joe said we had an empty Eagle sitting on the shoulder near Guymon, Okla. Guymon is ground zero on the barren Oklahoma panhandle.

The Eagle had run out of fuel and would we grab that puppy on our way through . . . and bring it home?

Darn right it had run out of fuel. And in the middle of a blizzard.

The driver had sucked the battery dry in a futile attempt to start it, before slinking home, cushioning in another coach.

Hed pumped diesel into it, so all I had to do was prime and jump start it.

Yeah . . . right.

As far as I know that bus is still there because I didn't have the proper tools to get it going. After trying to fill filters, blow fuel into lines, and sucking on the return line, all I got was cold and a bad case of diesel breath.

Its nice to improvise when the right equipment isnt available, but consistent success comes when you have good people and tools (clearly poor Joe had neither).

For years, the motorcoach business hasnt done well selling itself. Thats at least part of the reason we cant command the kind of revenue we deserve, and overall the industry still appears to be shrinking.

There are clearly exceptions -- companies that have mastered the art of earning good margins by identifying and serving discreet markets.

But we all suffer from the publics poor perception of buses. We have good people but may not be using the right tools.

A friend who runs a scuba operation once told me "I dont sell equipment or even dive trips; I sell adventure." He's right on two counts, he knows what his customers actually want, and he knows how to express it in how he offers his services.

We too often think were in the transportation business, but for the most part we are selling ourselves short.

Lest you think I suddenly grew a brain, let me admit that these juices started stirring after I met a really bright young guy representing the Motorcoach Marketing Council at a manufacturers open house.

Chris Riddell made the same point my scuba friend had stumbled onto. Communicate what you're really capable of, the big picture, but tailor it to fit the specific customers actual needs.

As you may have noticed, Chris now writes a monthly column that appears in Bus & Motorcoach News. Called "Marketing Minute," the first two installments appeared in the Sept. 15 and Aug. 15 issues.

One of Chris concepts (which Im shamelessly stealing) is that even gifted and motivated sales people need the right tools to win business.

The Motorcoach Marketing Councils signature program, announced earlier this year at major industry expositions, has divided the market into distinct segments and identified what each is looking for, and how to let them know you can supply it.

Few are looking for a bus but lots of folks want to do things that a coach can make possible or better.

Citing a company whose inside sales person turned down a request for a "party bus" because "we don't run that kind of bus," he pointed out that the vast majority of "party" requests really do want a regular coach.

What they want is a vehicle that will get them safely and efficiently to an event. You probably DO operate what they want, but only get the business when your people are educated to recognize it.

Among other concepts, Chris mentioned the fact that sales people need to understand the specific desires and needs of the group they are approaching, and he went on to name a number of unique markets that you can "specialize" in.

The motorcoach itself may be a minor part of the service package you're providing (at least in the eyes of the customer).

There was a ton more to be learned, tools to be acquired and used, but I became buffet boy and waddled off to the open house chow line. I'm retired, but you might want to see the whole range of what he, and folks like him, have to offer.

Simply go to www.motorcoachcouncil.org.

Our varied skills may be camouflaged in ways that professionals can expose and help us use. Whether you acquire the expertise from the Motorcoach Marketing Council, or other marketing professionals, successfully selling the variety of services our industry can provide requires tools.

Years after I abandoned that Eagle in Guymon, a friend mentioned that you can trim the end off a ketchup squirt bottle and cram it against an opening on the fuel filter. Fill it full of diesel fuel and squeeze repeatedly until you've forced fuel through the heads of an 8V-71 and voila -- the engine is primed and ready to start.

A tool as simple as a vintage plastic ketchup squeeze bottle would have made me a hero that wintry day. Instead, my career spiraled downhill and I became a bus salesman.

Dave Millhouser is a bus industry marketing consultant and freelance writer. Contact him by email at Davemillhouser@gmail.com.