How Motus Tracking Solutions grew its customer base 15x with the Zonar Partner Network

8-min read

Before partnering with Zonar, Motus Tracking Solutions’ growth had stalled. Nearly all of its business ran through a single enterprise account, and reaching smaller fleets meant asking them to absorb an upfront hardware cost many couldn’t easily justify.

Based in Indiana, Micah Reed, owner of Motus Tracking Solutions, is an authorized Zonar channel partner. He is selling and supporting Zonar hardware and software stack and giving fleets one platform for vehicle location, safety and compliance.

Many resellers reach the same customer acquisition stalling point that Motus Tracking Solutions experienced. It was with the partnership with Zonar, that they were able to diversify and grow.

One account with no room to grow

The first issue was lack of diversification. Motus Tracking Solutions’ original client base depended almost entirely on a single enterprise client. “I saw a huge red flag in our success,” Reed says. “We had one massive customer, but we didn’t have many other customers, and they held all the cards.” That one relationship carried the business, but it also meant Motus Tracking Solution’s ceiling was set by someone else’s decisions, not by how far the dealer could reach into new markets. When the client decided to go somewhere else, they lost 90% of their business.

The big blocker was the initial investment. Some of the big names in the industry had financing models that a small business could not offer directly. It was impossible to compete. To bring in new business, Motus Tracking Solutions had to go to extreme lengths. “I got to the point where I was bringing third-party financing into the room,” Reed says. “I’d tell the customer, meet Mr. Third-Party Financing. This is how you’re going to pay for this $10,000 worth of equipment.”

No customer wanted to hear that pitch, and Reed knew leaning on an outside lender wasn’t something he could build a lasting growth strategy around.

Motus Tracking Solutions needed a way to grow beyond one client and open the door to smaller fleets without leaning on outside financing to close the gap. But without a partner, the issues were piling up:

• Nearly all revenue tied to a single enterprise account, with no real path to diversify
• SMB and smaller fleets wanted the technology but couldn’t clear the upfront hardware cost
• Competing with major names who could absorb upfront costs was impossible to match
• Reed had started bringing third-party financiers into sales meetings to offer payment options, a stopgap he knew wasn’t the real fix
• The first is the model itself. Leasing and renting the hardware and software together erased the $10,000 conversation that ended deals before they started. Smaller fleets that wanted the technology finally had a way to buy it, and Motus Tracking Solutions opened a market that had been closed to it for years.
• The second is competitive footing. Reed walks into meetings with the same low-barrier terms the national vendors offer, backed by service they don't provide from three states away. Third-party financing stopped being part of the pitch. The offer stands on its own.
• The third is range. A single tracking device solves one problem for one type of buyer. The full stack covers location, inspections, compliance and driver safety, which puts Motus Tracking Solutions in front of field services, energy & utility and government fleets in the same week. More products means more doors, and more doors means less exposure to any one account.
• The fourth is what customers ask about now. Safety comes up in nearly every conversation, and Zonar gives Reed a reason to call fleets he sold to two years ago. Those conversations repeat. That's the difference between selling a device once and building a business that compounds.

Motus Tracking Solutions needed a partner that could open the door to smaller fleets without relying on outside financing to close the gap.

That partner became Zonar.

 

One product to a full platform.

Zonar offered Motus Tracking Solutions a bundled program that solved the exact problem that had been costing him deals. With Zonar, fleets could lease or rent the hardware and software together instead of buying it outright.

From day one, Zonar treated Motus Tracking Solutions as a true value-added reseller. “That was my problem.” Reed said. “I didn't know how to fix that problem. And Zonar did fix it. And not only did they fix it, but they set up the proper value-added reseller structure that I was looking for.” The new structure let Motus Tracking Solutions walk into a sales meeting with the same low-barrier offer as some of the largest names in the industry.

And Zonar didn’t just provide a solve to the financing issues, the partner program provided marketing guidance, sales strategy, deal support, and a trusted sounding board available whenever needed. It didn’t just provide products, it became an extension of Motus Tracking Solutions’ business

A competitive offer paired with Reed’s reputation in the community made Motus Tracking Solutions an easy choice for fleets deciding where to buy. “Zonar can be my big brother, and I can be the boots on the ground,” Reed says. “It’s a fantastic symbiotic relationship.”

Zonar can be my big brother, and I can be the boots on the ground.... It’s a fantastic symbiotic relationship.

-Micah Reed, Owner of Motus Tracking Solutions

Through that partnership, Motus Tracking Solutions sells the complete Zonar hardware and software stack, not a single tracking device. Zonar Ignition™ gives every customer a single source of truth for their vehicles and assets, with reporting, alerts and diagnostics in one dashboard.Zonar V4™ telematics control units stream real-time location, essential diagnostics and driver behavior data directly into Ignition. Zonar EVIR® adds electronic verified inspection reporting, replacing paper inspections with a mobile, time-stamped process that fleet managers review remotely through Ignition. Motus Tracking Solutions now walks into every sales conversation with a platform, not a product.

Instead of just selling a single product they are able offer GPS tracking, safety solutions, inspection management, compliance solutions, visibility management, and more. Whatever the client needs, and the means to how a partner can expand their business.

 

Cameras are the feature customers ask for most

Of everything in the stack, Zonar Coach™ draws the most interest from Motus Tracking Solutions' prospects, and Reed says that wasn’t always the case. “Four years ago, I’d go into a place and say, hey, have you heard about dash cameras? And they’d say, we’re never doing that. Our drivers would revolt.” Today, he says, that resistance has flipped, especially once a fleet passes about 20 vehicles. “If they have logos on the side of their trucks and they’re easily recognizable out on the road, dash cameras become pretty important. Now people are calling in and going, hey, your driver did this, this and this. Well, let’s find out for sure because we have visual proof of what’s going on.”

Cameras are now the easiest conversation starter and the strongest sales driver.

Coach detects unsafe driving events and alerts the driver in real time, so a driver can self-correct before an incident happens. The dashcam records and footage uploads automatically to Ignition™ for review. Fleet managers get objective video evidence in place of a driver's word against a customer complaint.

For Motus Tracking Solutions, cameras open the conversation and close the deal more often than any other product in the stack. Dash cameras have gone from the hardest sell in the lineup to the biggest push right now.

 

A partnership that results in explosive growth

Since deepening its partnership with Zonar, Motus Tracking Solutions' customer base has grown approximately 15x. Yes, you read that correctly.

Four changes sit behind that number, and each one changed how Motus Tracking Solutions does business.

A trusted partnership for the long haul

Asked to describe the relationship in a word or two, Reed settled on one answer: trusted partner. “Partner is in there because that’s what I feel like Zonar is for me,” he says. He talks to his Zonar team for more than expected. If he needs sales support, brainstorming sessions, ideation on new market opportunities... the Zonar partner team picks up the call. Reed says that support has meant more to Motus Tracking Solutions’ growth than any single product. “Being able to have somebody you feel like is in your corner has separated Zonar from probably anything else that I have experienced thus far,” he says. “I don’t think Motus Tracking Solutions would be here today if it wasn’t for Zonar and the way they structured it and the way they support me.”

Reed carries that same mentality into every customer relationship. “We’re a team. We’re in this together,” he says. “When you’re successful, I’m successful, we all win.” It’s the approach Motus Tracking Solutions plans to keep leading with as it keeps growing with the full Zonar stack.

For Motus Tracking Solutions, that trajectory started with a decision to stop selling software and hardware outright and work with a partner who made them competitive. Before partnering with Zonar, he was limited to one enterprise customer, one solution, and one way to make a sale. Now, he serves multiple verticals with a broad portfolio and a partner who helps him compete with the big names in the industry.

Reed's path is open to any reseller stuck selling a single device into a shrinking set of accounts. The Zonar Partner Network gives dealers the full hardware and software stack, a lease and rent model that removes the upfront cost objection, and a partner team that answers the phone during the deal and beyond.

If you're looking to grow beyond selling standalone tracking devices, the Zonar Partner Network gives resellers the technology, support and business model to compete for more opportunities.

Micah Reed summed up the partnership success perfectly when he ended on the note: “We weren't struggling, but we were not growing at all. And now we are.”

 

Looking to grow beyond selling hardware? Learn how the Zonar Partner Network helps resellers compete, differentiate, and build recurring revenue.

 

 

Frequently asked questions

What does it take to become an authorized Zonar dealer?

The Zonar channel partner program gives dealers access to the complete hardware and software stack, not just a single product. Partners receive sales and technical training, marketing support and a dedicated partner manager to help close and support deals.

Motus Tracking Solutions built its growth on this model, expanding from a single-product Zonar reseller into a full-platform Zonar dealer.

How do dashcams fit into a Zonar dealer's product lineup?

Zonar Coach™ pairs an AI-powered dashcam with fleetwide reporting through Ignition. The camera detects specific unsafe driving events and alerts the driver in real time, then uploads footage for the fleet to review. It records only when it detects an event, not continuously.

For dealers, Coach is frequently the single feature that generates the most customer interest across the entire stack.

How does Zonar support partners after onboarding?

Every partner works with a dedicated partner manager who stays involved past the sale. Support covers marketing guidance, sales strategy, deal-level help and market planning.

For Micah Reed at Motus Tracking Solutions, that access mattered more than any single product. "Being able to have somebody you feel like is in your corner has separated Zonar from probably anything else that I have experienced thus far."

What industries do partners serve?

Zonar partners sell into field services, energy & utility, government, freight and student transportation fleets. The same platform serves all of them, so a dealer opens conversations in several verticals without adding product lines.

Motus Tracking Solutions grew across field services, energy & utility and government fleets on one stack.

What resources are available to help close deals?

Partners receive sales and technical training, marketing materials, co-branding support and a partner manager who joins deals when needed. The lease and rent model removes the upfront hardware cost that stalls conversations with smaller fleets.

Reed replaced third-party financing in his sales meetings with terms he offers directly.