Shipper Directories
Shipper Directories are probably the most misunderstood if not the most misused tool in a freight broker’s arsenal. Not a week goes by that we don't receive the highest praise from individuals concerning our Shippers Directory... and at least one letter of contempt.
It amazes me that each letter of contempt carries a common theme of the directory being just a list of companies with contact information and no more. A Shippers Directory, be it ours or anyone else's is just that... a list of companies with contact information. By no means are the directories a guaranteed source of accounts, they are only ONE tool for generating leads.
The nice thing about the directories is that you don't just use them once, they should be used and re-used. Our directory is designed so that you may add notes as you are speaking with a prospect. This allows the user to know, without having to find the legal pad they used that day while prospecting, what was discussed during the prospect call. To know when to call back, to have the name of the contact or any other information that may assist in converting the prospect into a customer.
It should be used daily if only to refresh yourself on the notes you have taken so that you don't miss something. Have 5 different directories? Then you should have 5 to review daily. If you’re not, you’re missing sales! Your losing money!
As a freight broker you should be prospecting every day. Not just looking up companies to call but actually contacting them. No one likes to prospect or cold call for that matter, but it's a fact of our business. If your not prospecting new accounts you're already out of business, you just don't know it yet.
Our clients are advised to make 10 prospect calls per day. One of the reasons is to get them in the habit of prospecting. I read in a research study a while back that it takes approximately 2 weeks of doing something to make it a habit, part of your routine. It's so crucial that a freight broker prospects that it needs to become habit, part of their routine.
Here's why...
Meet Joe, he's a new freight broker ready to set the world on fire. He prospects, makes the calls and does everything exactly like he's suppose to...then he starts making $1,000.00 a week and decides that instead of prospecting today he's going to play a round of golf. Tomorrow he figures that he's making enough money, he'll prospect next week.
Joe has four accounts that earn him commissions of $1,000.00 per week. To keep this simple let's say that each account is responsible for 25% of Joe's income. It took Joe about 90 days to develop each client. Today Joe calls one of his accounts to find out that his contact isn't there anymore. They have been terminated. There's someone new and they have their own people they deal with and Joe ain't one of them.
In one fleeting moment, one that Joe had absolutely no control over, he lost 25% of his income. With nothing to replace it because he hadn't been prospecting, he must start now. Joe knows that it could take him as long as 90 days to replace the income he lost.
You get the picture. Things can go south quickly! As such you must prospect daily. A shipper directory is a tool designed to help you save time prospecting by providing names, numbers and other information about shippers. You must provide the skills and techniques needed to convert the prospect into an account... these skills & techniques can be learned.
It amazes me that each letter of contempt carries a common theme of the directory being just a list of companies with contact information and no more. A Shippers Directory, be it ours or anyone else's is just that... a list of companies with contact information. By no means are the directories a guaranteed source of accounts, they are only ONE tool for generating leads.
The nice thing about the directories is that you don't just use them once, they should be used and re-used. Our directory is designed so that you may add notes as you are speaking with a prospect. This allows the user to know, without having to find the legal pad they used that day while prospecting, what was discussed during the prospect call. To know when to call back, to have the name of the contact or any other information that may assist in converting the prospect into a customer.
It should be used daily if only to refresh yourself on the notes you have taken so that you don't miss something. Have 5 different directories? Then you should have 5 to review daily. If you’re not, you’re missing sales! Your losing money!
As a freight broker you should be prospecting every day. Not just looking up companies to call but actually contacting them. No one likes to prospect or cold call for that matter, but it's a fact of our business. If your not prospecting new accounts you're already out of business, you just don't know it yet.
Our clients are advised to make 10 prospect calls per day. One of the reasons is to get them in the habit of prospecting. I read in a research study a while back that it takes approximately 2 weeks of doing something to make it a habit, part of your routine. It's so crucial that a freight broker prospects that it needs to become habit, part of their routine.
Here's why...
Meet Joe, he's a new freight broker ready to set the world on fire. He prospects, makes the calls and does everything exactly like he's suppose to...then he starts making $1,000.00 a week and decides that instead of prospecting today he's going to play a round of golf. Tomorrow he figures that he's making enough money, he'll prospect next week.
Joe has four accounts that earn him commissions of $1,000.00 per week. To keep this simple let's say that each account is responsible for 25% of Joe's income. It took Joe about 90 days to develop each client. Today Joe calls one of his accounts to find out that his contact isn't there anymore. They have been terminated. There's someone new and they have their own people they deal with and Joe ain't one of them.
In one fleeting moment, one that Joe had absolutely no control over, he lost 25% of his income. With nothing to replace it because he hadn't been prospecting, he must start now. Joe knows that it could take him as long as 90 days to replace the income he lost.
You get the picture. Things can go south quickly! As such you must prospect daily. A shipper directory is a tool designed to help you save time prospecting by providing names, numbers and other information about shippers. You must provide the skills and techniques needed to convert the prospect into an account... these skills & techniques can be learned.
Labels: feight broker training, finding new accounts, shipper directory, transportation consulting, trucking company
posted by TALTOA at
9:48 AM
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