the service.
Of course, it’s not a good idea to go to the traffic manager and pitch yourself as a supplier who wants to take over his job. You’ll have a much better chance of succeeding if you approach a senior person in the organization whose interest is finance, such as the CFO.
“You may go in and try to eliminate the traffic manager’s job,” says Indianapolis-based Chuck Andrews. “[Try to] convince the vice president of finance or the president of the company that by using your service, he can do away with one person. If [you are talking about] a traffic manager who is wearing multiple hats, [your sales position is that] you are there to assist him and make his job easier.”
Professional associations offer a variety of networking and educational opportunities. If you’re serious about being a freight broker, you’ll want to join several organizations, some industry-exclusive and others more general.
Some of the associations you may consider include (see the Appendix for contact information):
• Transportation Intermediaries Association
• Delta Nu Alpha
• National Association of Small Trucking Companies
• National Association of Women Business Owners (for women-owned brokerage firms)
• Local transportation and traffic clubs
• Your local chamber of commerce
• A lead exchange or small local networking group
It’s a good idea to belong to the local transportation clubs in all the cities in which you do business. For example, Andrews belongs to three transportation associations in Indianapolis where his company has its headquarters, plus clubs in Chicago, Cincinnati, and other major areas where he does business. He doesn’t attend every single meeting, but he goes to the ones he can, and his name and company are listed on the membership rosters. “We get phone calls out of the blue from people who see our name on those rosters,” he says.
Done correctly, marketing can really give your business a boost—especially in the beginning, when you need it most. Keep in mind, marketing and sales are two different tasks that require different skill sets. The goal of marketing is to find and attract interest among perspective customers and clients (in your case, shippers). The goal of sales is to take the leads generated by your company’s marketing efforts and transform them into long-term paying customers.
The freight industry involves the buying and selling of an intangible service, which makes it a strong “relationship” business. Success as a freight broker requires that you do a tremendous amount of both face-to-face and telephone sales. In other words, your written and verbal communication skills need to be top-notch, and you need to have an outgoing and social personality.
Don’t let the word “selling” scare you. Most of the world’s top sales professionals will tell you they hate “selling.” What they mean is, they hate the vision of the slick, fast-talking character on the used car lot or the door-to-door peddler who wedges a foot in the door and won’t leave until you buy. But that’s not “selling” in the professional sense of the word.
When you sell as a freight broker, you convince shippers that you have the capability to help them with their shipping needs better than anyone else—and if you don’t believe that, then you need to be in another business. You are not going to browbeat them into using you, nor are you going to manipulate them into buying a service they don’t need. You’re going to provide the best professional service that meets their needs at a competitive rate, and communicating that is a major part of the sales process.
Your goal when it comes to sales is to identify the need of the customer for what you’re offering, and then quickly, concisely, and in the friendliest way possible, clearly demonstrate how working with your freight brokerage can save the customer time, money, and aggravation. Focus on how what you’re offering will directly benefit the prospective customer and solve one or more of their problems while filling one or more of their immediate and/or long-term needs. Pinpoint problems and offer proven and money-saving solutions.
Telephone, Online, or Face-to-Face Sales
You might hate the telemarketers who call your home at precisely the moment you are sitting down to dinner, but when it comes to selling your own service, a telephone call can be a very powerful tool.
RJW Logistics has a sales rep who generates $2 million a year in gross revenue just by calling people on the phone. The transportation industry used to be very much a “good old boy” system of casual, drop-in sales calls. It consisted primarily of telling a few jokes, leaving behind some promotional swag, and asking for a shipment by saying something like “Got anything going my way?”
Today’s transportation professionals don’t have time for unexpected visitors with no clear agenda. Collectively, they’re spending billions of dollars each year to move materials, and they need those goods to arrive on time, in good condition, at a reasonable and competitive price.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t be friendly and personable. In fact, your personality plays an important role in the growth of your business. But each sales contact should have a clear purpose that ultimately provides a benefit to your customer. Most customers appreciate a systematic, sophisticated approach that doesn’t waste their time.
In today’s intensely competitive environment, the majority of brokers mix telephone, online communication (emails), and face-to-face sales, using the phone to pre-qualify and set appointments, making a personal call, and then following up on the phone and by email. Once someone voluntarily provides you with their email address, this is often the ideal way to communicate with them after a business relationship has been established. Most people can access their email from their computer(s), smartphone, and/or tablet—at work, at home, and while on-the-go. A growing number of people prefer to communicate via email because it’s more efficient.
Of course, when using email, be clear, concise, and professional within your messages. Focus on correct spelling and avoid punctuation mistakes. Use complete sentences and always stay on point. Use business language and avoid including emojis or internet shorthand, like TTYL (talk to you later), BRB (be right back), or LOL (laugh out loud), within your messages.
The first step of the sales process is qualifying the prospect, which is sales training jargon for determining how much business the potential customer has and who makes the decision as to who is going to get it.
warning
Be careful that you don’t patronize or insult the support staff of your customers or prospective customers. Keep in mind that these people may not only influence the decision-making process, they also may eventually be promoted to decision-making positions—either with that company or another one. So treat them with respect, be concerned about their needs, and nurture a professional relationship with them.
This is not as hard as it seems. It really involves asking a few simple questions.