Getting to know your customers is key to any business, but particularly in sales. For some of us, it’s even important to get to know our customer’s customers and their needs.Railroading is a relationship business. Always has been and probably always will be, in my opinion. In that context, I was pleased to see that one of the first agenda items for the new president of the
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association was sending out a note to the membership introducing herself (yes, the new president is a woman), outlining her reasons for taking the job and seeking feedback on ways the association can help its members.“As we begin our leadership transition, I didn’t want to let my first week on the job pass without communicating with you,” incoming ASLRRA President Linda Bauer Darr wrote. She said that she and Rich Timmons are working closely to ensure a smooth leadership transition at the association. (Rich officially retires at the end of this year).She most recently served as president and CEO of the American Moving and Storage Association and previously held senior posts at the American Bus Association and the American Trucking Associations. Transportation has been the focus of her entire career and, in her new role at ASLRRA she likes the idea of representing “the small business workhorses of the railroad world. It appeals to me enormously that so many of you are local, family-run enterprises rooted in your communities. Together we have established a formidable and proven grassroots network capable of mobilizing quickly to produce lasting results,” she said.She talked about a focus for future activities that she termed AIM, short for advocacy, image and money. “It’s time to get down to work. We need to do things that help with your bottom line, and we need you to help with our bottom line if we are to be an effective organization on your behalf,” she wrote.In addition to meetings with stakeholders, staff and other decision-makers, she kicked off a listening process that will help shape how ASLRRA moves forward. In her letter to members, she asked four questions: Why are you a member of ASLRRA? What have we done for you lately? What are we doing right? What should we add or change?Based on my experience as a long-time ASLRRA member and person who interacts frequently with their membership, I’m sure she’ll find out quickly that the members she now represents are salt-of-the-earth type people and they aren’t shy about sharing their opinions. Welcome aboard.
---By Kathy Keeney
Kathy Keeney is Publisher of the Rail Group. The granddaughter of a railroader, she has been writing about railroads for nearly 30 years. She is a past president of The League of Railway Industry Women and served on the board of directors for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and for the Washington Chapter of WTS.
Kathy Keeney is Publisher of the Rail Group. The granddaughter of a railroader, she has been writing about railroads for nearly 30 years. She is a past president of The League of Railway Industry Women and served on the board of directors for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and for the Washington Chapter of WTS.