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Training Tuesday:Preparation Before the Sales Call

Posted 7 years ago

How many times have you been confronted by a salesperson that knows nothing about you or your business? Did they launch into a barrage of “situation” questions and expect you to answer all of them? Or, worse yet, the salesperson didn’t ask any questions, but instead jumped right into their presentation about something that you have no interest in. Unfortunately, that kind of sales technique is the norm, not the exception. Preparation before the sales call is critical.

Knowledge is power. You should know as much as you can about your service, your industry, your competitors, and your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. You should also learn as much as possible about your prospective client before you make contact with them.

Below are four basic elements of successful sales preparation:

  1. Know the industry. Technology and trends are rapidly changing and new services are being offered continuously. Read industry specific publications, websites, or periodicals. Extensive and up-to-date knowledge of the industry provides your customers with greater confidence in your recommendations and abilities.
  2. Know your company. Having a clear, thorough understanding of what we do, and how we do it, will allow you to field customer questions and objections more easily. Know what areas need improvement and what is unique and adds value to what we offer. Seek to learn as much as possible about the company history and path for the future. This will allow you to offer an honest and realistic picture of what you and your company bring to the table.
  3. Know your competition. Know the competition’s strengths and weaknesses, and ask your customers what they like and dislike about your competitors. Compare your services, features, equipment, billing process, service levels, dispatching methods, and then use that to determine differentiating factors you can feature in your sales presentation.
  4. Know your customer. Complete knowledge of your customer’s company will show interest, will always impress them, and will represent an important first step in earning a customer’s confidence and business. An understanding of the potential customer’s industry, requirements for service, and general information about the customer’s company and business speeds the vital relationship building process.

You must be mentally prepared before you make a sales call. The degree to which a salesperson can create rapport and build trust is in direct relationship to the amount of preparation that has taken place before the sales call is made. The result of every sales call reflects the amount of time the salesperson invested in getting ready for the meeting.

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LTL 101:BOL Basics

Posted 7 years ago

This week revisits educating our shippers in order to ensure our BOL is set up correctly and to avoid possible disputes with the carrier regarding our invoice.

Did you know LTL carriers employ “weight & inspection coordinators” whose sole responsibility is to catch the “bad guys” who list an inaccurate weight or class on their BOL?

  • They keep an eye out for any shipments whose description on the BOL doesn’t seem to match up with its appearance.
  • They will physically examine your freight, and if they deem it necessary to inspect the contents or check the weight, they’ll issue an inspection certificate.
  • You will foot the bill for the additional inspection.

It is for this reason we need to make sure our shippers understand the follow:

  • It is imperative to make sure the weight and class on the BOL are accurate.
  • Don’t just guess, and don’t try to be sneaky, either! You can’t classify furniture as lumber, even though it was once lumber… (Yes, believe it or not, people actually do this!)
  • Include the weight of your pallets in the total weight calculation of your shipment.
  • If you forget multiple pallets, they could add up to an additional 500 pounds or more; that’s not just a few pounds off.
  • Most LTL carriers have scales installed right on their forklifts that double-check the weight listed on the BOL automatically.
  • Make sure you are measuring the freight with extreme accuracy (to the nearest inch)
  • Some LTL carriers make it mandatory for drivers to carry a tape measure and measure the freight at the time of pick up.
  • A couple of inches can add up to hundreds of dollars when classifying freight.
  • Shippers who misrepresent freight need to understand carriers are not taking any more chances and the time to do the right thing is now!
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Training Tuesday:Building to the Sale

Posted 7 years ago

A good initial approach to a prospective customer is a crucial part of the sales presentation. All the selling skills in the world won’t matter if you don’t get your foot in the door.

A lot of salespeople tend to beat around the bush, differentiate yourself by stating your name, the company you represent, and the particular transportation services you’re there to sell, right away. Capitalize on this introduction by beginning concept selling. Tell the prospect “I’d like to share an idea with you. I’m in the transportation business. I’m assuming you’re always looking for ideas that will make your company’s shipping and receiving processes more efficient and profitable.”

This statement opens the door to your sell and informs the customer that you’re there to add value. It creates interest and you have to substantiate the statement in your presentation.

Early in your initial meeting be sure to mention the names of several satisfied customers, to establish credibility. It lets the prospect know that your shipping solutions have benefited other leading logistics decision makers, and that they can trust you and your ideas. It’s best to mention your other customers that are working in similar environments in their industry. When you can speak about familiar customers that have found solutions to similar shipping problems, you’ll get the prospect’s immediate attention. Using a prospect’s competition as an example piques their interest, because you can bet the prospect is interested in all solutions that are available to their competition.

Breaking the ice, gaining credibility and earning trust are essential to ensuring the prospective client will listen to the benefits of doing business with you. These are the cornerstones to building a long-term, profitable relationship with a new customer.

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Training Tuesday:Mentors and Joint Sales

Posted 7 years ago

Mentors are an important part of becoming a successful salesperson. A mentor or helper could be a co-worker, manager, or someone in a similar field. Find a mentor who can offer advice, tips, experience and suggestions for improving your sales skills.

Here’s a short list of our tips for getting the most from a relationship with a mentor:

Brainstorm. Sometimes you get so immersed in a sale that you can’t see the forest for the trees. Some of the best ideas and proven sales techniques come from a simple conversation. Open the conversation with a simple comment like, “Tell me about your best sales call,” or, “What do you say on a sales call that always seems to work?”

Have a game plan. Based on your personal styles, or the nature of a particular sale, determine in advance the roles that you and your partner will play in each sales call you make together, whether in person or not. You can have your mentor/helper make a follow-up phone call to your customer and ask how you did, if you asked the right questions, and if you provided a real solution. Team selling is one of the most effective ways to approach customers and a great way to close more sales.

Learn. When you go on a sales call with a proven sales professional, be sure to keep your eyes and ears open. Study their selling techniques. Pick out things they say that fit your style, and then use them on your next sales call.

Be selective. Use your sales mentor to your best advantage on difficult sales calls or for negotiations where you are at a stalemate. For some reason, you may not click with a particular customer, but your mentor may be the key you need.

Try making a joint sales call with your mentor today!

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LTL 101:Reconsignment

Posted 7 years ago

Reconsignment – Here’s a shipping term that you might be familiar with if you’ve ever had a change of plans with your freight. A reconsignment happens when freight that is already in transit is re-directed from one delivery location to another. The charges associated with this can vary based on how far apart the delivery locations are. For instance, if the new location is just down the street, the charge will probably be minimal. However, if freight was heading to California and is being reconsigned to Florida, you will be in for a hefty reconsignment fee.

We get a lot of groans when we have to quote people for the cost of a reconsignment so we wanted to highlight the process so you can educate your customers as well:

1.We have to send written authorization to make the change to the carrier. A Bill of Lading is a legal contract, so any changes made must be in writing. Authorization must always be made by the shipper or paying party.

2.The carrier will enter the information into their online system and image your authorization.

3.A rating analyst reviews the request, verifies that we have authorization to make the change, and completes the request.

4. Notification is sent to the terminal who currently has, or if it is in transit, will have the freight.

5.New labels have to be generated and put on the freight.

Typically, your charges end up being broken down into the cost from origin to reconsignment point, and reconsignment point to new destination, and fees for marking and tagging of the freight. If your freight has to backtrack, you will pay for every mile it has traveled.

GREAT EXAMPLE: If it was originally to go from NY to CA, but then once it reached Chicago you turned it back around to PA, you are paying NY to Chicago and Chicago to PA, not just NY to PA.

Important points to note as well:

  • If you are not the shipper or paying party, you cannot use your authorization to make changes to the BOL.
  • If your name doesn’t appear anywhere on the BOL, see #1 above.
  • If the driver arrives and you say that it needs to go to a different address across town, this constitutes both reconsignment AND redelivery. And it can’t be done without authorization, as above.

This process actually represents a significant amount of labor time and fuel. Even a local reconsignment (change in address within a local terminal service area) requires these steps.

All carriers want to make money on this deal. Nothing is done at cost. But time is money, and the cheapest option is to always do it right the first time.

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LTL 101:Drop Trailers

Posted 7 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 manufacturers 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– Silence and Sales Listening

Posted 7 years ago

Often the most important part of your sales pitch is when you are completely silent. We often rush through all the great benefits of why a customer would buy, without really listening to them tell us what they need…why they might buy from us. Silence is often uncomfortable and we feel the need to fill the space, but silence is often one of the most important pieces of the sales puzzle.

It’s not what we say that makes the sale, it’s what we can get the prospect to say.

Begin with Questions

Think about how many times you launch right into your presentation thinking you know what the prospect wants. Sometime later, often too much later, you find you’re on the wrong track. The prospect has an entirely different need – one you might have uncovered by asking open-ended questions that required more than a yes or no response. Then you could have focused on what the customer wanted instead of what you had to sell. Stop thinking so much about what you are going to say and concentrate on what the prospect is telling you.

It’s a paradox: the more we try to tell the prospect up front, the more barriers we create to the purchase. The more we listen to why he or she wants to buy, the more we can tailor our delivery to providing very specific information concerning how our product or service fits his or her needs.

Ask More Questions

The opening question is merely the first in a series of questions that guide the dialogue. If we want to involve someone – the first step in convincing that someone – every comment should end with a question that solicits more information. After you ask a question, let the prospect answer, don’t be too anxious to fill the silence.

Don’t Rush in with Answers

Break yourself of the habit of jumping in too quickly after the prospect finishes. Instead, train yourself to wait several seconds after the customer has stopped talking before they begin. That gives you ample time to think about your response and answer in a way that reflects the customer’s concerns.

Get in a habit of paraphrasing what the prospect has said. This reduces the likelihood of misunderstanding what was said, and it boosts the prospect’s ego.

Learn to Listen

You need to learn to listen with your eyes, ears, and entire body. Use body language that shows you are paying close attention and your listening habits will automatically improve.

And finally, listen for buying signals. You’ll never remember a buying signal from the customer when you’re doing all the talking.

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LTL 101:Shipping Hazardous Materials

Posted 7 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:Questions for the Sales Call

Posted 7 years ago

Knowing the questions you’re going to ask before you arrive at the customer’s desk or get them on the phone is essential to a productive sales call. The information you can collect from the customer through asking targeted questions with increase your chances of putting together a winning proposal after you’ve made your consultative sales call. You won’t have the opportunity to ask all of the questions outlined below, but over time the information you secure will allow you to earn more and more of your customer’s business.

Some of our best questions are below:

What does your company specialize in? Manufacturing? Distribution?

What do you ship? In what quantities? Expedited? Truckload? LTL? Intermodal?

In what lanes do you ship, and how often?

What is the average value of each shipment? Would you be interested in our ability to purchase affordable shipper’s insurance?

What service level is required? To where?

How is your product packaged? Palletized? Shrink wrapped? What is the average weight of each shipment?

What is the normal pick up time? Do you have any unusual pickup requirements?

What is the frequency of your shipments?

What is your average monthly cost for freight transportation?

How do you feel about your current freight transportation service? Pricing? Efficiency?

Would you benefit from adding shipping services that are not available with your current broker, carrier, or 3PL?

What services would you most like to add? What is the benefit?

What is most important to you: service, stability, technology, or something else? Why?

What would cause you to begin using a different carrier or broker?

 

After asking some of the above questions, be sure to wrap up the appointment by asking for the next appointment and initiating a trial close. The trial close, something like “I’d like to prepare a customized program for your company. Would you be able to commit to giving us a shot to prove that we can offer the kind of service you need?” lets the prospect know that your next call will include more of a sales push. It prepares them to say “yes” when you come back later and ask them to buy.

Good questions lead to profitable answers!

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Training Tuesday– Tips for Phone Calls & Voicemail

Posted 7 years ago

You can use the same tools when leaving a message as you do when speaking with a live gatekeeper: be aggressive, assume control, sound important, and be confident.

Here are some tips that will help you be an effective communicator on the phone or through voicemail:

  • Be clear and clever. Make sure you sound enthusiastic and authoritative on your business and theirs.
  • Being an effective communicator on the phone or in a voicemail is a skill that takes practice. Be sure to speak slowly and distinctly enough to be clearly understood.
  • Make your message short. Time is valuable. Give the prospect the headlines instead of the entire story, until you’ve grabbed their attention.
  • Smile with your voice. A friendly voice will hold your prospect’s interest. Prospects like to buy from people they’re comfortable with so be sure to project your friendliness over the phone.
  • Be an energetic speaker. This expresses your enthusiasm for your job and your product.
  • Make it clear that you’re not calling to make an immediate sale, rather to make a scheduled time for the call because you understand that their time is valuable. This also implies that you are busy helping other clients, which in turn translates to a perception that you’re successful.
  • Listen attentively. No one appreciates being interrupted. Sometimes the prospect will give you useful information that you can use during a face-to-face appointment, or a follow up phone call. Be sure to take notes.

Connecting with a prospect over the phone or through their voicemail can be frustrating, but it is also a very effective way to start the sales process. With the tips above, you’ll be on your way to being a better phone communicator.

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