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Training Tuesday:Tips for Stress Management

Posted 5 years ago

Selling offers more highs and lows than most other professions. Most salespeople suffer through periods of stress that are direct results of their sales jobs, but salespeople who succeed in the long run never let disappointments get the best of them. They know rejection goes with the territory and learn not to take it personally and instead, they view mistakes and failures as lessons that will help them improve. On the other hand, some very promising sales careers have died premature deaths due to stress. Stress sometimes causes sales people to lose confidence and then fill their day with nonessential activities and hide from their customers or prospects. We’re also faced with lots of rejection on our daily search for success. If you dwell on the negatives, they’ll bury you. You have to lighten up and look for ways to lessen the stress caused by your job.

Below are our top 10 tips to reduce stress:

1.Focus. Focus on what’s truly stressful to you about a situation and why – the idea being that understanding the stress lessens it and gives you some control over it.

2.Put stressful situations in perspective. Is this situation going to matter in 1, 5, or 10 years? If not, try to worry about it in the current time. Don’t allow the problem to feel bigger than it is, and remember that at the end of the day, it is just work.

3. Establish boundaries. Postpone thinking about problems until an appropriate time. Successful people learn how to compartmentalize their thinking. It is important to establish healthy work-life boundaries and stick to them. Don’t allow a stressful moment at work to ruin your off time.

4. Take a deep breath. Size up stressful situations and decide which are worth worrying about. Techniques like meditation or other mindfulness exercises can have a powerful effect on stress levels and general mental health.

5. Take vacations and occasional time off. Having a break from the stresscan allow you to recharge and feel more emotionally or mentally ready to tackle the challenges at work.

6. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself. Your reaction to a situation is just as powerful as the situation itself, and your reaction and attitude have an enormous impact on your overall mental health and wellbeing.

7. Talk to others about job pressures.  Talking to others who have been in your situation can be cathartic and help you discover new techniques to manage the stress or can just provide a change in attitude that can help put the stress in perspective. It can also be helpful to talk to your supervisor, as they may be able to offer advice or help with a particularly stressful situation.

8. Expect the unexpected. Allow time and reserve energy to deal with the inevitable stressful events that occur daily.

9. Do something for yourself. Take a break from the constant push to be productive and take a walk or enjoy a cup of coffee without constantly refreshing your email. Make the effort to find something small that you can do each day to create a peaceful moment for yourself.

10. Volunteer or do something in the community that is rewarding to you.

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Training Tuesday:Handling Unhappy Customers

Posted 5 years ago

Even the best company, with the best service, will occasionally make mistakes. What matters most is how you handle the situation when issues arise. Your response to a crisis or to your customer’s unhappiness can make or break your relationship with that customer.  Below are some of our top tips to best help a dissatisfied customer.

1. If there’s a crisis, make sure you inform the customer as soon as you can – they’re going to find out one way or another – and no news travels as swiftly as bad news. Contacting them first allows you the opportunity to set the tone and break the bad news in the most productive way possible. This also allows you to maintain control of the situation and offer ways that you’re already willing to help fix their issue.

2. Listen first, react second. You can’t solve the problem if you don’t fully understand it. Listening to the customer also makes them feel understood, and that you care for them. If your customer approaches you with a complaint, don’t interrupt. Don’t become defensive or make judgements until you’ve heard all the facts as the customer sees them. Take them seriously, even if it seems trivial to you, and try to empathize with them.

3. Apologize sincerely. A sincere apology will go a long way with most customers. A simple, but genuine apology can prove that you’ve really listened to them, and you understand how frustrating or upsetting the situation is for them, and you’re going to try to remedy it.

4. Find a way to fix their problem that also works for you and your company. There’s no point in playing the “blame game,” because the customer has already decided to blame you and your company, which means it’s time to take responsibility for the problem and solve it. Let your customer suggest solutions or alternatives. Find out their expectations for a solution and follow that if it is reasonable.

5. After resolving the initial situation make sure to follow up. You should always follow up with the customer to make sure that they are truly satisfied with your efforts and the resolution. It can also be nice to do a little something extra for your customer. It shows that you recognized that they were inconvenienced and you’re acknowledging that with something tangible.

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LTL 101:Drop Trailers

Posted 5 years ago

From time to time you may run into a drop trailer with one of your LTL shipments.
 
A drop trailer is a trailer that is left at a location for an indeterminate amount of time. It’s “dropped,” and picked up later. Most of the time, a drop trailer is used at locations that ship or receive often enough to fill up or unload a full trailer in a week or even a day, depending on production. The location doesn’t matter as much as the amount of freight that is moving in or out of the specified location and the agreement in place with each LTL carrier.
 
Think about it like this: Let’s say you have a shipment going to a warehouse that multiple manufactures ship to as well. This warehouse has pre-established relationships with a handful of LTL carriers. In order to save time and money they will consolidate and reduce traffic flow to their receiving docks by collaborating with LTL carriers and advise them to only “drop” a trailer at their location when the LTL carrier has a full trailer. This could potentially delay your expected delivery date.
 
There are numerous ways in which the LTL carriers can handle a drop trailer situation, but the main thing to keep in mind is that your shipment may not deliver on time due to it being a drop trailer which may also change the way in which the PODs are received from the consignee. Due to the nature of drop trailers, PODs are usually handled differently and will almost always take longer to receive considering the consignee is unloading a full trailer of shipments from multiple shippers.      
 
Though the use of drop trailers isn’t exactly common, it’s not something to be afraid of when it comes to your LTL shipments. A little understanding goes a long way. Here are some things to keep in mind when dealing with drop trailers:

Drop trailers can sometimes lead to delays. Before you panic about delays, remember that the manufacturer is often very aware a drop trailer is being used, and so should the buyer. Don’t be afraid to ask if the shipper or consignee have any drop trailer processes in place so you can educate your customer as well. Most drop trailer situations do not revolve around freight that is time-sensitive. If your freight is on a tight schedule, make sure to use a different carrier.

Not all carriers do drop trailers. Just because one carrier uses a drop trailer at a certain location doesn’t mean that EVERY carrier uses a drop trailer there. Trailers belong to carriers, so if you can’t afford to have a drop trailer on a shipment, simply look at using a different carrier. It may not be the cheapest of the bunch, but there will always be options available.

Stay away from perishables. For obvious reasons, if you’re shipping perishable items, make sure you’re not dealing with drop trailers.

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Training Tuesday:Tips for Cold Calling

Posted 5 years ago

Cold calling can be intimidating, frustrating, and uncomfortable. It is important to remember that you aren’t trying to make a sale via this first cold call – your only objective on a cold call is to schedule an appointment.  Never attempt to sell at this stage.  The purpose of the initial call is to set up a time for the prospect to hear your presentation. Then when you have that official presentation, you can begin the sales process. It is important to remember that this cold call is your chance to make a great first impression with your prospect – and without it, you may not get the follow up appointment that you need. Below are some tips to make the cold calling process easier and more productive.

  1. Research, research, and more research. Know the decision maker’s information and how you obtained the lead. Never call a prospect without knowing his or her name in advance. Also make sure that you know enough about their company to be confident in your ability to help them. Research the best time to contact your prospects – this can help you ensure that your call will be answered and that the prospect will give you the proper amount of time and attention.
  2. Assume control of the conversation but remain polite and friendly. Practicing a script of sorts can be helpful with this as it allows you to have specific talking points and plans for redirecting the conversation where you want it to go.
  3. Speak with conviction. You have to believe that you and your company can help your customer. Be well prepared with answers to common questions and objections. Make sure that your tone of voice is confident, friendly, and engaging.
  4. Focus on your call. Many people are reluctant to dedicate the proper amount of time to cold calling, but setting aside time to practice what you will say on the call, and then designating distraction-free time for the calls themselves is a great way to improve your success with cold calling.
  5. Keep your goal in mind. The cold call is an unavoidable part of the sales process, but it is also a crucial tool for getting an appointment with a qualified prospect that will lead to a sale. When you are making calls, set goals for yourself for how many calls you’ll make in that time frame. Remember how this task contributes to your overall goals for the day, week, or year and use it to motivate you on each call.

It’s a matter of how you see and carry yourself.  You must always keep in mind that your objective is not to leave the decision in the hands of a third party screening the prospects’ calls.  Your prospect’s decision on who they trust to ship their goods is one of the most important decisions they make. Be persistent.  Make sure they get the opportunity to enjoy the benefits that only you can sell them.

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Training Tuesday:Defining and Providing Great Customer Service

Posted 5 years ago

Clients expect service, but agents, salespeople, and clients often have trouble defining “service”.

Driving across town to deliver donuts often gets listed as a service call.  Dropping in to see how things are going often appears on weekly call reports as service.  To some sales agents, service is what they do when they don’t feel like selling.  Service can be a way to put off more important activities.  Servicing your customer is very important.  Just be careful.  Don’t use service calls as a way to convince yourself that you’re selling.  A service call should have definable objectives.

One problem with service calls is that there’s very little short-term reward for doing it.  Few agents or sales managers greet returning salespeople at the end of the day with, “Did you provide great service to your clients today?”  Instead, managers ask, “Who did you sell today?” There’s more financial reward for, and more attention paid to selling than to servicing.

         Let’s define SERVICE as anything that builds trust and confidence in you, your company, and the services you provide to the customer. The following is a list of potential customer service and contact ideas that are specific and measurable. You can use this list to plan what you will do right after you make the sale.

  1. Write thank you notes.  I sometimes write as many as 10 thank you notes per day.  I’ve made sales calls where I’ve seen my handwritten notes on my clients’ desk months later.  Carry cards in your car and fill them out at the end of the call while still in the customer’s parking lot.
  2. Bring coffee and donuts.  It’s cheaper than buying lunch, and most of the time easier for your client.  Get stickers to put on the box with the logo and your agency’s telephone number.  This gives you a dozen chances to register name awareness.  It helps to be known by many people in the organization from the boardroom to the breakroom.
  3. Help clients with long-term planning and strategizing.  Offer to participate on a project planning team.
  4. Return all phone calls immediately.  The simple act of returning a phone call can differentiate you from the competition.
  5. Establish a follow-up schedule.  Remember that last month’s no may be this month’s yes.  Try to touch base with prospects regularly without being intrusive.  Also, group prospects according to when you expect them to buy (within 30 days, within 60 days, etc.).  Consider their unique shipping cycles.  Is their product seasonal?  Do they have a contract expiring soon with another carrier?  When will they accept bids?  The sooner you expect a prospect to buy, the more frequently you should stay in touch.  Design a follow-up contact calendar to help you keep track of your prospects and the contacts you make with them.
  6. Vary your modes of contact.  A call or email will have more impact if it’s reinforced with another form of contact.  Follow phone calls with an email outlining the highlights of your conversation and confirming any action steps your prospect approved.  Call your prospects and current customers within a week after you send an email to confirm receipt and offer to discuss any questions or issues they may have.  Personalize your method of contact and show your customers that you’re persistent in your desire to help them.
  7. Send literature sparingly.  Withholding literature selectively keeps your service information (late pick-ups, customized billing, early delivery, etc.) customized for each individual prospect.  Use your customers’ requests for information to gauge their level of interest in your service.
  8. Make buying fun.  Selling doesn’t have to be all serious business.  Relax; show them you’re at ease with what you’re doing.  Adopt an energized, off-the-wall approach to show your customers you’re a forward-thinking, innovative go-getter.  You don’t have to sacrifice professionalism to make buying an energizing, enjoyable experience that will keep your customers coming back.
  9. Most importantly, do what you promised, do it when you promised, and do it more often than the competition. Constant communication is the key to building a lasting relationship with customers and prospects.  You must stay in touch.
  10. Many customers are suspicious of freight salesmen.  They think that we’re there at the time of the sale but not when they need us if something goes wrong.  Many people get buyer’s remorse.  Soon after the sale they think, “Did I make the right decision?  Maybe I should have chosen someone else.” When they get that follow-up email or phone call, or they experience the other customer service techniques discussed here, it makes them think, “Yes, I made the right decision.”

So start today— Make service an integral part of your sales strategy.

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LTL 101:Hazards and DOT Guidelines

Posted 5 years ago

The U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has specific rules for shipping hazardous materials. SunteckTTS can help you determine the DOT hazardous class for your shipment and find contract freight carriers that meet DOT safety and transportation requirements. 

Hazardous materials are defined by the U. S. Department of Transportation in accordance with the Federal Hazardous Material Law regulations. A DOT hazardous material classification is applied if a material, in a particular amount and form, poses an unreasonable risk to health, safety or property. 

Below is the list of DOT hazard classes:

DOT Hazard Class 1: Explosives.

Division 1.1: Explosives with a mass explosion hazard
Division 1.2: Explosives with a projection hazard
Division 1.3: Explosives with predominantly a fire hazard
Division 1.4: Explosives with no significant blast hazard
Division 1.5: Very insensitive explosives
Division 1.6: Extremely insensitive explosive articles

DOT Hazard Class 2: Gases.

Division 2.1: Flammable gases
Division 2.2: Non-flammable gases
Division 2.3: Poison gases
Division 2.4: Corrosive gases

DOT Hazard Class 3: Flammable liquids.

Division 3.1: Flashpoint below -18°C(0°F)
Division 3.2: Flashpoint below -18°C and above, but less than 23°C(73°F)
Division 3.3: Flashpoint 23°C and up to 61°C(141°F)

DOT Hazard Class 4: Flammable solids, spontaneously combustible materials, and materials that are dangerous when wet.

Division 4.1: Flammable solids
Division 4.2: Spontaneously combustible materials
Division 4.3: Materials that are dangerous when wet

DOT Hazard Class 5: Oxidizers and organic peroxides.

Division 5.1: Oxidizers
Division 5.2: Organic peroxides

DOT Hazard Class 6: Poisons and etiologic materials.

Division 6.1: Poisonous materials
Division 6.2: Etiologic (infectious) materials

DOT Hazard Class 7: Radioactive material.

Any material, or combination of materials, that spontaneously gives off ionizing radiation. It has a specific activity greater than 0.002 microcopies per gram.

DOT Hazard Class 8: Corrosives.

A material, liquid or solid, that causes visible destruction or irreversible alteration to human skin or a liquid that has a severe corrosion rate on steel or aluminum.

DOT Hazard Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles.

A material that presents a hazard during transport, but which is not included in another hazardous freight classification.

ORM-D: Other regulated material.

A material that, although otherwise subjected to regulations, presents a limited hazard during transportation due to its form, quantity and packaging.

In order to avoid any issues while booking HAZMAT loads please contact your local SunteckTTS agent so that they can insure your BOL is set up correctly and you have classified your hazardous materials properly with the correct UN Number, Shipping Name, Description, Group, Class and Placard Type.  

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Training Tuesday:Managing Objections

Posted 5 years ago

If it weren’t for objections everybody would be in sales. While none of us likes objections, we must accept them as part of the business and make sure we know how to overcome them.

Your main goal when faced with an objection is to turn the objection around into a reason to purchase our service.

“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect.” – W. Clement Stone

People love to buy but hate to be sold. Objections are inevitable. Not only should you expect objections, you should welcome them. You should view an objection as a positive part of the sales process. A purchasing VP who gives you an objection is listening closely. They’re considering buying your service to solve their transportation problems. And most importantly, their objection gives you an opportunity to answer the objection and add one more good reason why they should buy from you now.

Expect objections, but never create them. Prepare a list of the top ten objections your customers and prospects have had with all their motor carriers in the past and then prepare two or three appropriate responses to answer each one.

When faced with an objection, first restate the question or statement.

  • “The rates are too high?”
  • “You feel your service is too slow?”
  • “You’re worried about damage?”
  • “You wish we offered next day service to Cleveland?”

Give the prospect an opportunity to confirm your understanding of his objection, and hopefully your prospective client will give additional reasons for his or her objection.

Clarify the objection.

  • “I’m curious why you feel that way?”
  • “Could you be more specific, please?”
  • “Do you need more information?”

Remember this is not a contest. Nobody should win or lose. This should be a conversation where two people are answering questions and gathering information.

After you’ve re-stated the question, and clarified the objection, and you’re sure you understand the objection fully, then answer it. Don’t just handle your customer’s objections, instead answer them. Answer the objection head on, honestly, simply, and succinctly. Handle objections early and often. A direct approach to handling objection guarantees greater sales results.

When possible, let prospects answer their own objections. Sometimes you can stop an objection in its tracks by asking, “Could you tell me why you feel that way?” If your prospect can’t answer, then you and the prospect know the objection has little or no validity. If your prospect does answer with a more specific objection, you have a chance to eliminate it and move one step closer to the close.

Buying decisions are risky for your prospects. Choosing the wrong carrier can be harmful to the prospect’s career. Objections are the only way they have to help make sure that risk will pay off for them. If you can eliminate those objections, you’ll help provide the reassurance they need to say yes.

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Training Tuesday:Value Added Selling

Posted 5 years ago

There are more and more salespeople who have adopted a value-added approach to sales as a means to differentiate themselves from competitors, but few of them put a real dollar value on the value-added benefits and services they provide.

Don’t forget, all benefits are claims, which means they are largely intangible and often difficult for your customer to grasp. When presenting value-added benefits, the proof of their value is even more intangible. The customer is usually not seeking it or paying for it and may not even realize that they exist. However, identifying value-added benefits often requires a number of resources or services. A salesperson must make the value-added benefit as concrete and tangible as possible, and then present it effectively, in a way that decision-makers both understand and appreciate it.

HOW TO QUANTIFY VALUE-ADDED BENEFITS

With a bit of creativity and some number-crunching, a salesperson should be able to quantify most value-added benefits. Also, while all value-added benefits should be presented and reinforced – including benefits that are difficult to quantify, like relationships and trust – quantified benefits are more visible and leave a positive and lasting impression with the customer. Here are some pointers on quantifying these benefits.

  • Start with the value of the benefit. If the benefit cannot be measured in specific terms, try to compute the cost of the service that provides the value-added benefit. For example, your company provides its customers with a customer portal (value-added service), and while the entire transportation department at the customer location can now easily access specific shipment information in one location (invoices, POD’s, other shipment related paperwork), instead of making multiple calls to carriers to check on the status of a particular shipment, there’s no way of measuring how much this has contributed to their bottom line. However, with research you can determine that the portal, based on the number of shipments and confirmation calls required prior to offering that service, will save the customer four hours per week.
  • Measure value in bottom-line dollars. Think in terms of profit increases, reduced overhead, increased productivity, and so on. As an example, it’s more effective to say, “If you follow my inventory suggestion, you’ll be able to generate a $10,000 annual return on the space saved,” than it is to use the less effective statement, “You’ll be able to find a more productive use for the 3,000 square feet saved by the inventory reduction.”
  • Link value-added services or benefits to make a more sizable benefit. Keep this in mind when quantifying the total value-added contribution. Measure values individually but link them to increase the total amount of the benefits accruing to the customer.
  • Project the values over a longer period of time. Obviously, if a value-added benefit has a life cycle of six months or isn’t enhanced over time, you’re limited. However, if you provide ongoing benefit to the customer, you have earned the right to value it over a longer period of time. Many salespeople project value over a period of one to three years. Use common sense to choose a time period appropriate to the specific value-added benefit. For example, it’s more effective to say, “We estimate that our just-in-time service will allow you to save $8,000 a year in inventory costs,” than it is to say, “Our JIT service might help you save up to $150 per week.”

Value-added summary

1. All value-added benefits provide value to the customer, and most values can be quantified.

2. When quantifying value, the ideal method is to measure the benefit. If this can’t be done, quantify the cost of providing the service (what it costs your company to provide this benefit).

3. If more than one value-added benefit, service, or resource is involved, link them by adding or multiplying as needed.

4. To maximize the value, project the benefits over the long term.

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LTL 101:Impact of Cubic Capacity

Posted 5 years ago

Do you know how Cubic Capacity can affect your shipments?

Almost every carrier we utilize through our LTL platforms has a cubic capacity rule in their rules tariff that may affect any of your shipments. LTL carriers impose minimum cubic capacity rules to effectively counter very light, fluffy shipments that take up more than their fair share of a trailer.  In most cases, LTL carriers state that if a shipment consumes 750 cubic ft. of space or more, AND the shipment has a density of less than 6 pounds per cubic foot (pcf), it’s not paying its fair share.  While the rule varies dramatically amongst carriers, most artificially adjust the weight to a minimum of 6 pcf, AND apply a class of 125 or 150 to the commodities being shipped with their associated tariff rates.  Most carriers use the 750 cubic feet as the threshold, but not all. 

This week we wanted to clarify what to watch for with Cubic Capacity by providing an example from XPO:


XPO is now enforcing their standard cubic capacity rules on all tariffs. What this means is that shipments requiring 350 cubic ft. or more of the trailer with an average density of less than 3 pcf will have the weight calculated differently then what the actual weight is.

Yes that is correct, the actual weight will not matter!

350 cubic ft. of the trailer equates to approximately 5.46 linear ft. of the trailer so you can see that we are severely limited on the amount of skids of LTL we can ship when the density is below 3 pcf.

As an example, for two pallets of LTL, cubic capacity would be calculated as follows.  Please note that the carrier uses the actual height (96”) of the trailer when they look at the cubic capacity of the shipment, not the actual height that the shipment might be:

One skid = (40” x 43” x 96”) / 1726 cubic inches per cubic ft. = 95.67 cubic ft. x two skids = 193.34 cubic ft.

You can see that this falls way under the 350 cubic ft. rule so we are safe to ship this with XPO.

However, if you want to ship 4 skids, the cube of the shipment is now double at 386.68 cubic ft. which is outside of the cubic capacity limit. The only way you could ship this as an LTL shipment is if the density of the shipment was greater than 3 pcf.

Four skids with a total weight of 500 lbs., the density would be the 500 lbs. / 386.68 cubic ft. = 1.3 pcf. 

If we shipped this LTL, we would be hit with the cubic capacity rule and our cost would skyrocket.

Four skids would have to have a total weight of 1161 lbs. or greater for us to be able to ship them as a standard LTL shipment with no problems. 1161 lbs./386.68 = 3.0 pcf.
 
Below is the actual excerpt from the XPO rules tariff:

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Training Tuesday:Tailoring Your Sales Presentation

Posted 5 years ago

Be sure to focus your presentation – but only after you spend a considerable amount of time on the fact-finding and consultative selling components of the sales process. Thorough research and questioning should give you an idea of your prospect’s logistic problems and the solutions you can provide. Tailor your presentation to suit each individual company and focus your presentation on the benefits—not features, that you can offer. Before making the presentation ask yourself: what kind of presentation will convince the prospect to buy (analytical? logical? emotional?), then model your presentation to match them.

Know your audience. Take the time to make sure that all the important decision-makers are in attendance. When possible, be sure to include the traffic manager, purchasing manager, maintenance supervisor, VP of sales, and anybody else involved in the final decision. Include the CEO or President of the company whenever possible. Be sure you know their level of expertise about the transportation industry, your company, and their company’s shipping needs. This allows you to use terminology appropriate to the attendees’ knowledge of the transportation industry.

If you’re using printed presentation materials, make sure you have a packet or folder for everyone who will be in attendance. A printed packet can be very helpful as a selling device because it gives some tangible representation of the intangible services you are selling.

Even in your sales presentation you must remember to be a good listener. Being a good listener generates confidence and demonstrates sincerity in your desire to understand the prospect’s needs. During the fact-finding session, let the prospect talk as long as they want. It’s simply a matter of respect for the other person to let him have his say. Unfortunately, too many transportation salespeople forget to extend this basic courtesy during their sales presentation. Listening can’t be emphasized enough.

Most salespeople who are successful in our industry are strong supporters of concept selling. Consequently, each devotes a major portion of their presentation to securing agreement on the need that their particular transportation solution fills before specifically focusing on the nuts and bolts of how they move the prospect’s freight. We sell an intangible service, so we can’t actually give a demonstration (you can’t physically take the prospect along with their shipment on a truck from their dock to the consignees dock – you can only describe what happens). The product we sell is nothing more than a promise – a commitment to the customer to move his or her freight when we said we would, at a reasonable price, with no damage.

Psychologically, the most memorable parts of sales presentations are the beginning and the end, so they deserve special attention. Engage the prospect from the beginning and get to the point quickly with an imaginative opening that showcases the most important benefits of using your services. Use your conclusion to summarize the key points of your presentation. As you plan it, ask yourself what lasting impressions you want to leave your prospect with when you finish.

“It’s not your customer’s job to remember you. It’s your responsibility to make sure they don’t forget you.”

– Patricia Fripp

Practice, practice, practice. Increase your odds of closing more sales by practicing your presentations. After you’ve made sales presentations, they become practice sessions for presentations you’ll give in the future.

Collect the ideas you’d like to suggest or selling points you want to make; then organize them according to your purpose and the needs of your prospect. Give your words greater credibility by backing them up with data or testimonials. Keep your words as simple and direct as possible; use active, not passive language; and vary your tone, volume and pitch to keep the prospect interested. Illustrate your words with examples and interesting stories to add color to your presentation.

Make sure the prospect realizes that you’re an expert. When you demonstrate how much you know about your industry, you’ll gain the respect of your customers and prospects. When people believe they’re dealing with an expert it’s a lot easier to close the sale. Most customers want you to advise them. When they realize that you have a great knowledge of the transportation industry and of available carriers, then they’re happy to let you take control. You become their consultant. It’s when a salesperson doesn’t know as much about the transportation industry as his or her prospect that people resent a strong sales presentation. However, there’s no doubt that traffic and purchasing people are better informed today than they’ve ever been.

The best way to make a compelling sales presentation is by demonstrating that you’re an expert in your business as well as his. When you exemplify excellence in your sales presentation, the customer is eager to find out what you can do to offer solutions to his or her particular transportation problems.

To make the best presentation possible, you must have conviction in the services you’re there to sell. A customer instinctively knows whether you believe in your service. If you do, they in turn will believe in you. Only then can you make a sales presentation that turns into a sale every time.

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