Sales and Logistics: Proven Tips for Boosting Revenue Growth

1. Have a Multichannel Sales Approach

A multichannel sales approach is a strategy to reach potential customers and generate sales for your logistics business. It involves using calls and emails to attract new customers. You can also use websites and social media platforms to open up new opportunities. Hence, you don't need to be everywhere, but you can strategically show up before your potential customers.

If you have a sales goal and only use one way to sell, don't expect higher sales just by sticking to that one way. Instead, you can explore multiple channels to increase your chances of meeting your sales target.

Adopting a multichannel sales approach can be highly advantageous for businesses. There are several reasons that make it a strategic move for companies aiming to boost their logistics sales and revenue.

• It increases your visibility. With regular communication, your name and company become more familiar. Throughout the week, you can stay on their radar with scheduled events, such as virtual or in-person meetings, and unscheduled communication through email and phone calls.
• Your leads have varied communication styles. Customers have diverse preferences for how they interact with businesses. It would help if you began by communicating in various ways before you find what is most effective with each potential customer. For example, email may be efficient for some, while others easily overlook an email in their cluttered inbox. Some potential customers value face-to-face interaction, while others prefer the time-saving nature of a phone call. You significantly increase your potential for success when you employ different means of communication.

If you want to increase sales in your logistics business, then you have to offer your customers different ways they can interact with your audience.

2. Pitch the Right Message

Your customers have specific logistics challenges and requirements. Aside from having multiple channels to engage with them, ensure you pitch the right message. With that, you need to evaluate the content of your sales pitch.

If you want to be successful in logistics sales, you have to tailor your message to ensure that you are directly solving the problems your customers have. Your conversion rate will be low if you aren't pitching the right message.

When preparing a logistics sales pitch, put yourself in your lead's shoes. Research their company and learn their pain points so that you can tailor your pitch to the benefits that are most important to them. Share real-world examples and case studies to build credibility and underline the value of your services. Finally, remember to include a call to action that gives your lead a concrete next step.

Related: 5 Logistics Sales Tips to Secure More Shipments Easily

3. Standardize Your Sales Process

A defined sales process provides a clear framework for your sales team to follow, ensuring that each interaction with potential clients is conducted efficiently and consistently.

If you want to be successful in sales and logistics, ensure that no potential opportunity is overlooked and that each lead is effectively pursued and nurtured through the sales pipeline. Furthermore, not all leads are suitable for your logistics services. With a standardized logistics sales process, you can identify ways to qualify leads. You can also prioritize prospects who can benefit from your business and will provide you with opportunities to increase your sales.

With a standard sales process, measuring your sales metrics will be easier. It will be easier to track the progress of your sales team and identify areas for improvement in sales.

4. Be Responsive

Responding to customer inquiries immediately can help you win their trust and loyalty. Research shows that when you provide a quote immediately after a client requests it, there's a higher chance of winning it. More than that, if a lead reaches out with a question or an existing client, provide excellent logistics customer service by addressing the concern immediately.

When you respond quickly, you build your reputation as a reliable logistics partner. You can also increase customer retention when you prioritize sending quotes. You can send quotes in less than a minute using a logistics CRM designed for logistics sales.

5. Use Logistics Technology

While success in sales and logistics may take some time, tools are available to make the process more efficient. Juggling a list of leads and multiple means of communication can get confusing. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software helps organize your interactions with leads in a single application that your whole team can access. Better yet, you can invest in a CRM specifically designed for logistics. You don't have to customize a logistics CRM to suit your needs because it comes with logistics-specific features that other CRMs don't have.

For example, a CRM built for logistics can help you with the following:

• Track Logistics Sales PerformanceA dashboard for logistics sales helps you visualize all your logistics sales data. Most CRMs have dashboards that track sales data, but a logistics CRM incorporates industry-specific data, like lanes won, profit margin by lane type, lanes win ratio, and shipment frequency. Monitoring this data enables you to create sales reports, analyze areas of improvement, and set more relevant goals.
• Manage Leads and Customers You can manage all your leads and customers in one place so no one gets forgotten. You can easily access all of their details, your history of communication, and any past quotes. Consistent communication and routine follow-ups are crucial to success in logistics sales, and a logistics CRM enables you to provide the best customer service experience possible. You can also track your success with clients by specific markers, like shipment frequency or lanes won by mode of transportation.
• Create Competitive Logistics Quotes Quickly Instead of taking the time to research and create every quote from scratch, you can create detailed and accurate quotes using a logistics quoting tool. What used to take hours will now take mere minutes.

Many CRMs have a built-in quoting tool, but a logistics CRM incorporates features relevant to logistics. You can create a customized quote with multiple services and lanes for FTL, LTL, IM, FCL, LCL, air, etc. The quoting tool provides real-time market conditions to make the most accurate quote possible without going to another website or application. It also allows you to add a breakdown of all relevant details for every lane, including cargo details, routing, accessorial, charges, and comments. All these features are then formatted into a detailed, professional quote or a summarized version for clients that prefer that.

6. Measure Results

To be successful in logistics sales and determine if your strategies are effective, you must measure your results. A CRM can help you track results and see which salespeople are meeting expectations and what strategies have been most successful. Gather data on your sales team and each team member to determine what strategies are most effective and what needs improvement.

7. Have Great Resiliency

Figuring out how to be successful in logistics sales can feel like a maze. The key to success is to keep going simply. Many modern technologies train us to expect instant gratification, but sales can take time and effort. That is not necessarily a sign that something is wrong! Approximately 54% of initial meetings required more than five touchpoints, and another 10% of salespeople reported that it took them ten or more touches. Cultivate a resilient logistics sales team that can bounce back, adapt, and persevere.

Conclusion

Now, you have read some of the effective ways to be successful in logistics sales. If you know what is and isn't working for your logistics sales team, you significantly increase your likelihood for success. With this awareness, you can address the aspects of the sales process that genuinely need your attention and enjoy the fruit of your labor. Start by employing a multichannel sales approach, utilizing logistics-specific technology tools, and pitching the right message. Throughout the process, be resilient and responsive. Once you begin achieving success, standardize your sales process and continue to measure results so you can target new areas for growth.

If you're looking for a way to measure data and create professional quotes, choose a CRM built for logistics.

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