TEL
Capitalized on MATS’ Nationwide Audience to Grow Their Reach and Find New Clients
TEL is a premier truck leasing and sales company that has spent 15 years building a reputation for integrity and driver-centric support. Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company provides a comprehensive suite of solutions, including owner-operator leasing, fleet leasing, equipment finance, and used truck sales. While TEL has long enjoyed local success, its leadership recognized a critical need to transition from a regional “best-kept secret” to national market visibility. Central to this transformation is the company’s strategic partnership with the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), an event that TEL utilizes as a primary engine for brand repositioning, sales leads, and long-term relationship cultivation.
Luke LeMaster, Vice President of the Owner Operator Division, TEL
Challenge:
TEL faces the formidable hurdle of marketing to a highly diverse and fragmented audience across an intensely competitive landscape. With a product lineup that caters to individual owner-operators, large-scale fleet owners, and sophisticated financiers, the company struggled to deliver a unified message through digital channels. Furthermore, for fifteen years, TEL operated under a regional mindset that limited its national visibility. In an industry where each audience segment has a unique set of needs and challenges of their own, digital-only outreach failed to build the trust required to convert prospects into long-term clients, especially when those prospects are constantly on the road, “salt-of-the-earth” professionals who value integrity over algorithms.
Solution:
TEL utilized MATS to reach a range of audience segments to facilitate an aggressive brand awareness effort and a “face-to-face” sales generation push. By combining a massive booth presence with high-visibility strategic sponsorships, such as large-scale banners at the show entrance, TEL ensured its presence couldn’t be missed. TEL strategically staffed its exhibition booth with a team of professionals ready to navigate a diverse spectrum of high-value consultations, ranging from lease agreements to executing used truck sales. Beyond feeding leads into their sales pipeline, the team was prepared to cultivate deeper conversations with existing clients, supporting their long-term operational needs to secure a sustainable cycle of repeat business and high-yield word-of-mouth referrals.
Results:
The strategic investment at MATS has yielded a measurable acceleration in the sales cycle and a significant boost in brand equity. In just the first day and a half of the 2026 show, TEL’s larger booth presence and sponsor sign strategy generated “more productive conversations” in the first day and a half than the previous year. Tangible outcomes included immediate high-volume lead generation and on-site conversions, exemplified by prospects submitting credit applications within twenty-four hours of their initial booth interaction. Furthermore, the show provided invaluable qualitative R&D, allowing the team to capture insights from non-customers to refine their sales strategy and product offerings. This consistent ROI has secured internal buy-in to “go even bigger” for the upcoming 55th Anniversary of MATS.
Face-to-Face Relationship Marketing to Generate Leads & Retain Customers
At the core of TEL’s success is the understanding that equipment leasing is not a one-time transaction, but a long-term partnership. Luke LeMaster emphasizes that because their leases typically last thirty-three months, the initial interaction must be built on a foundation of absolute trust. He notes that while social media and digital presence are “the way of the world,” they cannot replicate the experience of meeting “people who are passionate about trucks and passionate about the industry” in person. By using MATS to “get out and get in front of people,” TEL facilitates a level of engagement that LeMaster describes as irreplaceable.
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The ability to “shake a hand, say hi,” and even have “customers come up and give them a hug” transforms a complex legal contract into a personal alliance. This human connection is vital for TEL’s value proposition, which includes a full internal maintenance department and a rating system for repair shops designed to take the “BS out of the back end” for the driver.
This “face-to-face” sales approach ensures that the relationship starts on honest terms. As LeMaster explains, “if I have no relationship with you, to me, that’s just kind of a weird concept to say, ‘Hey, you’re my customer for the next three years, I’m just not going to talk to you.’” By building that relationship on the front end at MATS, TEL ensures their customers know that when they call, they will receive an “honest answer,” a factor that significantly reduces churn and builds lifelong brand advocates.
Brand Awareness and the Strategic R&D Feedback Loop
MATS has served as the definitive platform for TEL to shed its “best-kept secret” label and assert itself as a national leader. LeMaster notes that the company is “trying to get out of that mindset” of regional anonymity by using MATS to “showcase who we are” and communicate their “values and why you should come lease through us.” This repositioning is supported by a “Super Bowl” level of sales velocity, where the show floor acts as a high-volume conversion engine. The lead generation is not just about quantity, but quality and referral power; LeMaster points out that even when an interaction doesn’t lead to an immediate lease, it often results in a “buddy or a friend” being referred to the brand. This “network effect” ensures that the leads captured in Louisville continue to bear fruit long after the team returns to the office on Monday.
Beyond lead generation, TEL utilizes the “diverse set of customers” at MATS as a real-time laboratory for strategic product evolution. By engaging with “salt of the earth” professionals who choose not to lease with them, the team gathers critical data on why certain offerings may not work for every niche. LeMaster highlights that they “learn a lot from the people who don’t come lease with us,” using that feedback to “adjust and reevaluate our offerings.” This qualitative data is funneled directly back to the executive team to “tweak” programs and make things “driver-centric.” This cycle of learning and evolving ensures that TEL’s presence at MATS is not just a marketing expense, but a strategic investment that allows them to “out-engineer the competition” and ensure their 2027 anniversary presence is their most productive yet.
Conclusion:
By leveraging MATS to humanize their brand and increased trust with their target segments, Luke LeMaster and his team have successfully transitioned TEL from a Chattanooga secret to a national authority. The ability to secure credit applications in twenty-four hours and capture “lost-deal” insights ensures that TEL remains agile and driver-focused. As the company prepares for the future, the “productive conversations” achieved in Louisville remain a cornerstone of their growth, proving that the strongest bond in trucking is still a face-to-face handshake.
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