By
I’ve spent most of my life in the truck sales business, and at this point, I’m comfortable calling myself a dinosaur. I’ve seen different cycles, different strategies, and different versions of what people thought was “the future” of this industry. But if I’m being honest, for a long stretch, things didn’t really change as much as we like to think they did. We just got very good at doing the same things over and over again. When I think back to my time as a Sales Manager at Metro Truck Centre, I remember how proud we were of our approach. We went outbound before it was a buzzword. Direct mail flyers, customer appreciation events, fleet planning documents — all of it was designed to stay in front of the customer. And it worked. It built relationships, drove business, and gave us an edge for years.
The problem is, when something works that well for that long, it becomes the default. And once it becomes the default, people stop questioning it. So the industry kept running the same plays. Maybe things got a little more polished, maybe the tools improved slightly, but the core approach stayed the same. Meanwhile, the customer didn’t. Expectations started to shift. People wanted faster responses, more transparency, less friction. They were getting used to speed and convenience everywhere else, and whether we realized it or not, they started expecting that here too. But as an industry, we didn’t fully adjust. Not right away.
Then about two years ago, something changed inside my own business. Two of my kids came into the company. Like most people in my position, I assumed I’d be the one doing the teaching — passing down experience, showing them how things work, helping them understand what took me decades to learn. And that did happen. But what I didn’t expect was how much they would challenge the way we were doing things. Not aggressively, just with simple questions. Why do we do it like this? Why does this take so long? Why are we reaching customers this way? Those questions forced a hard look at parts of the business where the only real answer was, “because that’s how I've always done it.”
From there, things started to shift. Not overnight, but in a series of small changes that added up quickly. Communication got faster. Marketing became more targeted and consistent. The way we handled opportunities became more efficient and aligned with how customers actually buy today. And over time, the business evolved to the point where, from the outside, it’s almost unrecognizable compared to where we were just a few years ago. Same values, same commitment to customers — but a completely different way of operating. The impact has been real. We move faster, respond quicker, and create a better experience for the customer. And in this business, where downtime costs money, that difference matters.
What’s really stood out to me is that this isn’t just happening inside my company. I’m seeing it across the industry. The younger generation coming into truck sales brings a different energy and a different mindset. They’re not tied to the old playbook. They’re more comfortable with technology, quicker to adapt, and more focused on efficiency and responsiveness. They’re not trying to tweak the old system — they’re building a new one alongside it. And that shift is raising the standard for everyone, whether they realize it or not.
For me personally, it’s been re-energizing. After being in this business for so long, things can start to feel predictable. But this doesn’t feel predictable. It feels like momentum. Like the industry is moving forward again in a meaningful way. I still believe experience matters — it always will — but it’s not enough on its own anymore. Not if you want to grow, and not if you want to stay relevant. The next generation isn’t coming, they’re already here. And from where I sit, that’s a good thing.
To the young professionals in truck sales across Canada and North America — I’m watching, and I’m genuinely excited to see what you do next.
- Phil
