[IMAGE]Coach-2.jpg[/IMAGE]For this article, METRO talked with executives at motorcoach companies to learn about best practices for landing and managing contracts.

Have economic conditions had any impact on the contract side of business? "Very slightly," says Dale Moser, president and chief operating officer at Coach USA. "There's been some belt-tightening, more in the corporate end. The corporations that have used our shuttle services have to look for methods to reduce their operating costs, so they may have cut back some of the service, but it wasn't very significant. We've been pretty fortunate in this down economy that the contract businesses have maintained their levels."

Where the recession has caused other business segments to do poorly, Seattle's Starline Luxury Coaches has seen contracts as a good way to keep revenues afloat. The company provided transportation under a state Department of Transportation contract in May 2009 during construction that disabled the Hood Canal Bridge. The bridge connects mainland Washington to the Olympic Peninsula. Starline was one of the original bidders on the contract, which eventually went to a transit agency, but later fell through, President Becky Pritchett says. "They called us about 45 days before the bridge construction was to begin and we quoted them full rate. We did it with 25 motorcoaches, four minibuses and a couple of ADA buses. The contract lasted for about 35 days, so that was great utilization, especially going into what I call the 'Great Recession.'"

Since then, Starline has gotten involved in sports transportation contracts, including the "Civil War Game" between Oregon State University and University of Oregon's football teams.

1. Connect with colleges, universities

Peter Pan Bus contracts with government agencies, including the Connecticut Department of Transportation, for which the company provides commuter services into Hartford along with other carriers in the region.

The company says "a big and growing part" of its contract services is for area universities, including Boston University, University of Massachusetts, University of Connecticut, Harvard University and Boston College. Peter Pan provides shuttle services on campuses or between a university's various locations, as well as transporting athletic teams or other groups to their events. "We've been operating a service for Boston University, between their main campus and their medical school, for a few years now and [are] just about to pick up the option in that contract," says Michael Sharff, director of planning. "And, we're just about to start a new shuttle service for St. John's University in New York City, between different locations that they have."

2. Compile schedules for local, college sports

At the beginning of each school year, Pritchett gets the schedules for local university, pro and semi-pro sports teams to make a master calendar for Starline's marketing efforts. "We know well in advance. We don't wait until a month ahead of time and they give us a call and say, 'can you help?'" she says.

Using their schedules, Pritchett goes after the business, marketing Starline's services to the various teams. Based on the number of buses needed, Starline may plan to use a consortium of companies to fulfill those types of contracts.

3. Team with regional associations

Starline's CEO Gladys Gillis says she's seen a trend of college football games moving from weekends to weeknights in order to get television airtime. "Historically, the transit agencies have provided football transportation, at least in our region. But the transit agencies are busy, as you may imagine, on weekdays doing their normal stated work," she explains. "These colleges need a high volume of equipment at a time when they cannot turn to transit agencies or school buses. So, we've been given the opportunity, via the Civil War Game, to provide that service."

Because transportation for that game required a total of 80 buses, Starline teamed with the Northwest Motorcoach Association to get the job done.

4. Understand customers' needs, make recommendations

Coach USA's Moser says that with his company's cumulative years of experience, they have a significant knowledge base to advise customers. "We've seen all the different cycles in business, and bringing that forward to the customer solidifies the relationship," he explains.

With that in mind, he urges motorcoach operators to actively nurture that relationship - understanding the needs of the customer, monitoring those needs and going to the customer with recommendations. "You're more than just a supplier of a transportation service, you're actually a partner with them. Going to them proactively with recommendations on how to enhance services, control costs, anything that will increase the value, as opposed to allowing the customer to be the one thinking about how they should be doing things better or differently," is the best approach, he says.

[PAGEBREAK]5. Pump up 'green' credentials

"Going green" is a growing focus for many corporations, government agencies and universities. For Peter Pan, this focus has meant emphasizing the operator's environmentally friendly efforts in bid documents and in discussions with prospective clients.

"A lot of the universities, especially, want something 'green' so we put a lot of emphasis on trying to polish our green credentials," Sharff says. He makes sure to explain that the newest buses with the latest engine technology and exhaust catalysts have made great strides in running clean. And although the universities may be looking for use of alternative fuels, Sharff says "we show them that with the latest engines and the ultra-low sulfur fuel, it's as clean as anything."

Environmentally-friendly maintenance practices, low energy and water usage at facilities, and recycling office materials also make a good impression.

6. Partner with event organizers, sponsors

Starline recently began partnering with sponsors of local events that occur annually, such as music festivals, to try to increase the number of room nights the event generates. The coach company reaches out to surrounding cities and creates transportation and hotel stay packages for the event, Gillis says. "A great performance metric for how well you are doing is how many room nights the city saw because of the event," she says.

7. Create expertise in a market niche

Since providing cross-country transportation for the Clinton presidential campaign of 1992, Peter Pan has maintained a reputation for transporting high-level government officials and serving national conventions for the political parties. Developing this niche expertise has made them the go-to company for these types of clients, President Robert Schwarz says.

"To drive these high-level folks, you have to have a cadre of bus drivers that are cleared by the FBI, CIA and Secret Service," he explains. "We have a pretty good pedigree of experience to suggest to people that this is a company that has outstanding talent, outstanding drivers, an outstanding safety record and great equipment."

Not only does a successful contract lead to name recognition in the field, but a client who has a good experience is likely to recommend you to those he associates with. For example, a coach company that carries employees of a local biotech firm to and from work under contract could become the major biotech transporter in the region as other companies seek to add a similar service and begin to ask around for a referral.

8. Keep FMCSA ratings in good standing

"In our proposals, we encourage customers or potential customers to go to the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) site, do [their] homework and look us up," Sharff says. "It's really important to maintain your good ratings with that organization and make sure all your filings are in place."

He also suggests coach operators try to find other ways to go above and beyond the technical requirements of a contract opportunity. "When we get a project to make a proposal on and it requires $5 or $10 million of insurance, we say, 'we do this for ourselves but also for our customers — we have $75 million of insurance.' So, we give them more than what they ask for."

9. Follow local news outlets

Starline's Pritchett keeps an eye on announcements published in the Puget Sound Business Journal in order to follow up on potential opportunities. "We find that following the business journal is a great lead generator, because the business journal will discuss projects long before they actually hit the street," Gillis says. "It gives us the opportunity to identify planners and potential customers and develop services that may help them."

For example, a regional business journal may publish an announcement about a shareholder meeting coming up, with investors traveling into the city from across the country. Motorcoach operators can contact the corporation in advance to offer a transportation package to and from meetings and other events. "Getting a jump on the leads works really well for us," Gillis explains.

For similar leads, check local events Websites, blogs and newspapers. If your area has a convention center, keep an eye on its events calendar or build a relationship with its events coordinators to get early word of upcoming opportunities.

10. Consider consolidation

A coach company that has established commuter service out of a particular train or bus terminal may be able to secure additional commuter contracts at the same terminal and take advantage of economies of scale, such as shared dispatchers, facilities or even vehicles.

"Hypothetically, if we're running four or five different corporate customers out of the same train station and just branching it to different parts of the city, we can share somebody on the street that helps dispatch the bus and get the people to the right bus. We can comingle routes if the customers agree to it in a format to be able to save money," Moser says. "When there's scale and volume, there's always opportunity to look at things like that if the customers are flexible."

11. Exceed customer expectations

Peter Pan's Sharff says that colleges and universities are particularly meticulous about service, and for good reason. "They're very concerned about who they're turning their students and athletes over to," he explains.

In addition, coaches sometimes have pre-game superstitions and can be particularly exacting before a big game.

"The coaches are very finicky and very specialized in what they demand," Schwarz says. "They want on-time departure, they expect the buses to be a certain temperature, and they expect the drivers to show a certain type of behavior and decorum."

In the end, the name of the game is exceeding customer expectations, Schwarz says. As Sharff puts it, all aspects of the operation must be in top form, from dispatchers and mechanics to drivers and bus cleaning staff. "When we come to a pick-up location for a university athletic team, it's important the buses are clean and the drivers know where they're going," he says.

12. Create a true partnership

When it comes to long-standing relationships between coach operators and their contract clients, it's important to look at it as more than just fulfilling a contract, Sharff says, and make a true partnership out of the arrangement.

"The universities are all under similar pressures that corporations are, that governments are," he says. "Even though we try to put in our proposals that we think offer a great value, it's still in many cases the bottom line, so we need to be very competitive."

In addition to looking for ways to save clients on the cost of transportation services, Sharff says Peter Pan is happy to give back.

"Their endowment and annual income is not what it used to be. We're finding a lot of schools are interested in what we can do as far as sponsorship of activities goes, taking ads out in the team yearbooks, signage in the facilities where they're playing. They are trying to get from us a little return on the business that we perform as far as sponsorship, and we're happy to do that when we can and to the extent that we can."

In the case of corporate clients, this could mean sponsoring the company's team in a race to support cancer research or contributing to a holiday food drive or other charitable activity.

13. Don't be daunted by paperwork

Lastly, Peter Pan's Sharff advises coach operators not to be daunted by the extensive paperwork and administrative requirements that go into preparing a bid. "It's part of the process and you just have to plow through it," he says. "Don't be too overwhelmed."