Always on the road.
As BusStore Area Manager, Danny Schaller practices customer contact on a daily basis.
Customer contact happens wherever the customer is. That’s why Danny Schaller is constantly on the road visiting the northern and eastern BusStore territories for used buses and touring coaches. He personifies the new, regional BusStore sales concept. Complementing the Neu-Ulm BusStore site in Germany, the recent addition of regional sales representatives will help develop areas further afield and establish personal contact with the customer.
Petrol head from a young age.
At just 30 years old, Schaller has gone from zero to hero at Daimler, even though he comes from a different automotive background, his father’s car dealership, selling mainly French brands. “I sold my first car here at the age of eleven,” says Schaller proudly. "My father was busy at the time and I was hanging around the car dealership. I simply explained the details of a car to an interested couple, and by the time my father had come over and joined us, the decision to buy had already been made." Instead of a hefty commission, unfortunately the little boy only got an ice cream – “but with caramel sauce,” as Schaller laughs.
Daimler training stations.
An apprenticeship at his father’s company after school was out of the question for the car enthusiast from northern Germany with very clear career plans: “I wanted to earn my own spurs.” No sooner said than done: in 2013, he started an on-the-job degree program at Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Magdeburg branch. The next step was a one-year trainee programme in the Van division at the Duisburg branch, where Schaller also took care of the Mercedes-Benz Vito “Marco Polo” conversion in addition to fully fledged vans – in a way, his personal hobby. “I also enjoyed trying out the vehicles myself while camping, so I was able to advise customers almost first-hand,” says the busy salesperson. He then worked in Wuppertal for five years as a Van area salesperson covering two neighbouring towns in the Ruhr region and neighbouring Bergisches Land.
“Professional coffee drinker”.
His career change to buses and touring coaches was a very personally motivated one and by no means a frivolous decision. "My current boss, Steffen Germ, well-connected in both Group divisions, had espied me and wanted to recruit me for the buses and coaches division. The new role involves being responsible for a very large sales area and that appealed to me. I also value the appreciation that you get in the bus/touring coach sector.
For Schaller, direct customer contact, which has increased significantly in the new job, is particularly valuable. "Sometimes I spend so much time with customers that, by the evening, I can't even remember how many cups of coffee I drank during the day. That’s why I like to describe myself as a professional coffee drinker," Schaller says, describing his everyday life, which largely takes place on the road, with no permanent office.
“In a way, I’m developing Germany's far north and the entire east for the used vehicles brand, BusStore.” A BusStore colleague of Schaller's has already established a similar concept in North Rhine-Westphalia, and a third sales rep will take over the entire south-west in early summer. “We want to be as close to our customers as possible,” says Schaller. “BusStore business can only be as successful as our customers.”
„We want to be as close to our customers as possible.”
- Danny Schaller, Area Manager North and East at BusStore
Regional sales concept.
The new, regional sales concept was also a strategic response to the overburdened used bus/touring coach market after the COVID-19 pandemic. “In 2021 and 2022, we had up to 500 used buses in Neu-Ulm at times, but today vehicles leave almost as soon as they come in,” Schaller explains.
The BusStore salesperson is also not worried about the future sales of electric buses: “after all, we are in the pole position in terms of electromobility thanks to the Daimler Buses Service Centers, boasting a great deal of experience!” And the first used Mercedes-Benz eCitaro demo vehicles are already as good as in stock. Especially in the north, Schaller reckons his customers are on the front foot in terms of electromobility.
“Thanks to the regional approach, we can simply develop a much better feel for our customers' needs,” explains Schaller. On the way to the canteen, he bumps into a sales colleague from the new vehicle unit accompanied by a customer. And in no time, they start talking about the new touring coach and what to do with the vehicle it is replacing. Practising customer focus sometimes happens in passing.
„It is simply very important to me to identify personally with the products.“
- Danny Schaller, Area Manager North and East at BusStore