Our latest Employee Spotlight features Shaun Ravin, our Business Development Director for Southern territories, who joined Fleetondemand in April 2024. With over 20 years of B2B sales experience in the automotive sector, Shaun excels at building client relationships and developing profitable solutions. His consultative approach and industry expertise drive our business growth.
Outside of work, Shaun is a devoted father of two and husband, and (fun fact) during his university days, Shaun had a brief DJ career where he played at iconic London venues such as Ministry of Sound and Fabric!
Let’s get to know more about Shaun and his career so far.
Describe your current role and how long you’ve worked at Fleetondemand.
I am a Business Development Director for Fleetondemand covering new business in London and the South of England. My responsibility is to reach out to new potential customers who require corporate vehicle rental and potentially have a need to utilise our platform GT Suite to manage their vehicle hires.
Which projects are you currently working on?
I am currently working with a vaping manufacturer looking at their staff vehicles and ways to help them save money. By also understanding the demands that senior people in their business face, the aim is to help their fleet manager deliver solutions.
What made you want to pursue your current career path?
Since I left university, I realised that my strength lies in my ability to create relationships with people. I like to talk, and I like to converse and by asking questions you can help people open up. I also liked sales due to the objective decision making rather than subjective, and sales is all about the numbers that you produce.
What do you find most rewarding about your role?
By understanding a customer’s challenge and creating a suitable solution that helps them, you become a partner to their business and part of their organisation. By becoming the go-to person, you develop trust and credibility within your industry.
What have been your proudest moments at work to date?
Opportunities are everywhere; by engaging with someone who walked past our booth at an event whilst on their phone and not looking in our direction, I created a relationship with a business that may not have traditionally used our services. By understanding what they currently do, we have turned someone who hadn’t heard of Fleetondemand into a customer that is now looking to move their entire fleet rental requirements to us.
What’s one professional skill you’re working on?
Slowing down to ask more questions when dealing with internal challenges, rather than just running off to start doing something the way I think it needs to be done. Being collaborative is more important than just being first.
What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?
Consistency may not guarantee success, but by not being consistent, you guarantee that you won’t be successful.
Describe a challenge you’ve faced this year and how you overcame it?
In a post-COVID world, more people work from home so traditional business development techniques may not always work on the phone or in person. Identifying ways to leverage social media platforms to create demand is vital.
What do you hope to achieve over the next 12 months?
The growth of our car rental customer base, and working with fleet management companies as a car rental partner and operator platform.
How would your friends describe you?
Family focused, loyal and a talker.
Can you describe the top 3 items on your bucket list?
Personally, I would like to visit Tokyo, learn sign language and be able to play ‘Love Story’ by Indila on the piano.
If you could meet anyone famous past or present, who would it be and why?
Neil De Grasse Tyson. His understanding of physics, the universe and his ability to communicate complicated concepts is something we can all aim towards.
Share a random fact about yourself.
I was a DJ in London Nightclubs in my early 20s (I even used old school vinyl’s).
What are your top three favourite songs of all time?
Bruno Mars – Finesse
Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle with You (from Reservoir Dogs)
Common - The Light
What did you want to be when you grew up and why?
An astronaut. Space and how huge it is, always interested me.