Building long-term client relationships is at the top of any logistics organization’s priority list. To build your customer base and convert leads to clients, you must have an effective logistics sales pitch strategy for your company.
If your logistics sales pitch does not lead to the number of conversions you want, you may need to reconsider your method. Your pitch could go in several directions, so it is important to crystallize what makes an effective logistics sales pitch.
In this article, we will recommend five logistics sales pitch tips to secure more shipments. Keep reading below.
It is key that you are pitching to the right people. If you begin without knowing your target audience, you will waste time pitching to clients where there is no potential for a long-term relationship. It is crucial to find out who your target companies and clients are—and to shift the focus of your logistics company’s sales pitch in their direction
To know who the right people are, you first need to qualify leads. A qualified lead is a potential client who fits your typical client demographic, has a pain point your services can address, and has shown active interest in your company’s products, services, or content. When you speak only to qualified leads, you ensure that your logistics sales pitch resonates and that your time is used effectively.
Once you have qualified your leads, keeping up with multiple qualified leads can get hectic. Utilizing a CRM (customer relationship management) software can help you manage your communications with all your leads and easily identify where you are in the sales process. Additionally, using a 3PL-specific CRM provides logistics-specific features to help you better manage shippers.
Just as solidifying your target audience and pitching to the right people will save you time and energy, pitching the right message will generate more sales.
Here are four characteristics to refine the message of your logistics sales pitch:
You need to study your clients and address their pain points first. Have they expressed a specific problem or need? Ask them what their biggest challenges currently are. Rather than offering a long list of the benefits of your services, zero in on the benefits that are most applicable to them.
Take the time to research your client so that you know what they need. What are their shipping requirements, challenges, and goals? Use these details to customize your logistics sales pitch to their unique needs.
This can help you build credibility and highlight how your services have helped similar clients. Stories and testimonials offer proof and help your leads imagine the changes that could come from implementing your services.
This can be as simple as requesting a meeting, asking for a commitment, or setting a timeline for the next steps. The point is to leave the conversation with a concrete next step in place. Make it easy for your client to move forward in the sales process.
As you target new leads, it is important to track your conversations. You are likely communicating with your leads through a variety of means—email, calls, voicemails, and meetings. Don’t let the details of your conversations blur together. Offer consistent communication and know where you left off by tracking your conversations.
With SCRM, you can track all your conversations in one place. You can also track the progress of each lead as they move through your sales pipeline. You can manage your sales touches and receive automatic reminders to keep your leads engaged. All of this will help you close your sale.
Monitoring your sales analytics and conversion rates will help determine whether your logistics sales pitch works.
One of the conversion rates you can track is the qualified lead-to-prospect conversion rate. This measures how many of your qualified leads have requested a quote from you. If you track this across your sales pipeline and sales team, you can see who is converting the most leads and by what means. This lets your team study your top salespeople and see what makes their logistics sales pitch work.
Similarly, you can track the prospect-to-new customer conversion rate. This measures how many prospects accept your quotes and become customers. Zeroing in on this conversion rate can help you identify who is closing the most deals and how they are achieving that final—yet crucial—step.
By examining these factors, you can determine what is and is not working for moving leads through your sales pipeline. Learn more sales pipeline KPIs in this blog.
The freight industry is highly relationship-driven. Building rapport with your leads over the course of multiple conversations is crucial to your freight brokerage’s success. Connect with your client through calls, in-person meetings, virtual meetings, emails, and more. You must follow up consistently to turn leads into clients. In fact, “About 80 percent of new sales are made after the fifth contact, so persistence is critical in effective cold calling” and sales pitching in general (Tash Cole, Freight Broker with Care, 2018).
Crafting, delivering, and tracking an effective logistics sales pitch for your company will help you convert qualified leads to long-term clients. If you are looking to refine your sales pitch, verify if you are pitching the right message to the right people. Stay organized by tracking your conversations with clients and monitor the results of your efforts by measuring conversion rates. Finally, ensure you are following up consistently with potential clients so that you can lay the foundation for a long-term relationship.
A 3PL-specific CRM can help you effectively implement the logistics sales pitch tips mentioned above. You can request a free trial of a CRM built for 3PLs here.
Thank you for reading our article. For more educational content, you can explore all our blogs here. You can follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook to get supply chain industry trends and efficiency tips. If you have other inquiries or suggestions, do not hesitate to contact us through this link.