After spending 15 years in Transportation & Logistics I’ve seen that the majority of companies just aren’t leveraging digital marketing technologies for their Sales and Marketing Teams the way they could be.
Sure, they invest fortunes in dispatch and freight management software and technology, but their sales and marketing departments are often left behind. Many sales teams are “old school” setting up in person appointments on a regular basis to prospect. They are not leveraging the wealth of sales leads they already have!
Every shipper and consignee is a potential new client. Failing to take advantage of these business connections that trucking and logistics company’s already have is leaving opportunities on the table. Plus, few have structured digital systems in place to market to and follow up with potential clients.
Here’s a summary of how Trucking and Logistics companies can leverage today’s technologies to automate both their sales and marketing functions.
Imagine, only having to call leads that were ready to buy. This is possible with today’s digital marketing automation. Plus, you’re sales team will never let a sales lead go cold again with a proper CRM in place.
Imagine, only having to call leads that were ready to buy.
Marketing Automation
There are easy to implement and cost effective marketing automation solutions available that fit perfectly into the transportation and logistics sales model. For example, you’re collecting the contact information for shippers and consignees and logistics managers every time you pick up or deliver a shipment. It’ easy to capture this information in Marketing Automation software where you set up a series of timed emails that both inform the lead about your company and also have a call to action that drives the lead to a request for quote or request for call form. Your potential client will let you know when it’s time for a sales call.
Your potential client will let you know when it’s time for a sales call.
In addition, you can use the same automated system to collect new leads from Google with Google Adwords and market to them through your automated marketing system. Again, when the client is ready to buy, they will let you know. This pretty much eliminates the need for prospecting.
This pretty much eliminates the need for prospecting.
Sales Automation
While many Transportation & Logistics companies have some kind of CRM, few are leveraging them to their fullest potential. For example, you can set up your CRM to not only automatically schedule follow up call, but also send out marketing materials for you. Once you define your sales process, anything is possible. For example, once a quote is sent you, you can schedule a follow up call for the same day. If a quote has not been closed for 7 days, you can schedule an email to go out to the client asking for feedback.
There are also many ways to use Sales Automation to make the Sales Manager’s job easier. An example of this would be to send the sales manager an email if a lead has not been followed up in more than 7 days. Another example would be to schedule an opportunity review meeting with the sales manager when an opportunity reaches the proposal stage. There are all kinds of rules you can set up in your CRM to make your sales team more organized and more effective and spend less time having to figure out what they have to do next.
make your sales team more organized and more effective and spend less time having to figure out what they have to do next.
Lead Generation
Many Transportation & Logistics companies are still using directories, surfing the web and cold calling to generate leads. These tired old techniques do still work, but on a cost per lead basis they are tremendously expensive.
“Back in the day” I had a team of telemarketers making 200 calls per day each. Out of 200 calls, you’d be lucky to get through to 20 people, the rest voice mail. Out of the 20, maybe 10 would spare the time to talk. Out of the 10 maybe 3-4 would qualify as a “lead” that had to be worked on and cultivated for months and re-called many times. Let’s say a $35,000/yr telerep (not even including vacations, benefits, payroll taxes and the like!) costs. Taking into account the number of calls to prospect, plus the number of re-calls and follow-ups required to close a new customer. Our cost per new client was around $1500. That’s terrible if you only get 1-2 shipments.
In contrast, you can get leads from Google Adwords search on a cost per click basis in the neighborhood of $70/lead. These are people who have freight and are looking for help. They contact you, not the other way around. You’re close rate is pretty high on these. Let’s say you close 1 in 3. That’s $210 per new client with zero prospecting!
That’s $210 per new client with zero prospecting!
Leveraging Your Website
Many Transportation and Logistics companies don’t look at their website as a lead funnel. Once you’ve set up pay per click advertising, you have to send the paid advertising traffic to a well designed sales funnel that drives the potential lead to self identify either through a phone call or a form fill. I find that like 80% of leads self identify by form fill, while 20 % call; having said that, few transportation and logistics company websites have proper calls to action paired with a contact device on their website.
few transportation and logistics company websites have proper calls to action paired with a contact device on their website.
iGo Sales and Marketing can Help
If you’d like a free review of your digital sales and marketing practices from a 15 year Transportation marketing veteran. Contact me, I’m happy to talk with you for FREE explore ways I can help you generate and close more leads from your digital channel.
