An event was planned for 13 and 14 February 2003, and fleet prospects were invited to Excel in London where they were presented with the new Avensis and then took an extended test-drive to France where they stayed overnight.Being away from home overnight to attend a new car launch may have been difficult for fleet managers to explain to their partners.To make life easier, we delivered them a bouquet of flowers to pass onto their partner with a card apologising for their future absence, which featured tick box options of events they may have had to cancel.

909 cold prospects were invited and 150 of these responded (a response rate of 16.5% against the target of 5%). 50 fleet managers attended the event and 100 others were unable to attend the event but were booked in for a priority test drive instead. This delivered 150 new leads for the sales force to follow up, three times the target. What’s more 10% of respondents to the event are placing the new Avensis on their company car list.