There are a lot of transportation salesmen (and women) who have become invisible. These people are not really invisible, but they blend in with their competition so they seem invisible to prospective customers.
We are all exposed to an enormous amount of stimulus everyday – our brains ignore the boring and mundane.
On the other hand, we tend to notice the things that are novel, unusual and interesting. I never notice the walls of my house, unless there is a spider crawling across one of them. The spider always catches my eye.
So it is no surprise that the average transportation salesman becomes invisible – he is not novel or interesting. He doesn’t stand out.
Becoming Invisible
It is surprisingly easy to become invisible. Just do what everyone else is doing – blend in.
Many of the invisible transportation salesmen work for non-asset based brokers and 3PLs – lots of LTL and truckload guys.
I’ve noticed that most 3PLs and brokers haven’t figured out a way to differentiate their service offering, so they use the same messaging as the company down the street. Nothing new or interesting to sell. No new insights.
It seems like half the industry have convinced themselves that their rates, carrier network, software and service makes them different and better. These are the basics – the bare minimum to be in the game.
So the sales guy taking his cues from management delivers the bland message. If you sell the same services, using the same messaging that the competition uses your job becomes very tough. No wonder over the road transportation is a commodity sale.
The first rule of commodity sales is stop selling a commodity! Stop being invisible, stop the boring and bland.
Three Ways to Become Visible
It is tough to stand out and be visible, but it is worth the effort. Below are 3 ways to become visible:
#1 – Create a Better Service
The best way to stand out and be seen is to sell a better product or service. In our connected world, people with a better mousetrap get noticed. If you have a better service to sell, something the completion doesn’t have, messaging and sales becomes much easier.
Of course, developing a better service is not easy. First, you need to find out what would make the service better for your customers. Unless you are the owner or part of management, you most likely won’t be able to change the service.
#2 – Specialize
If your company does a great job with industrial distributors, why not specialize in that niche. Figure out the things that really bug industrial distributors that you can help fix. Learn everything you can about industrial distributors, read the magazines they read, go to their conferences. Above all ask them questions and build your service around them. A superficial effort and words won’t work – walk a thousand miles in your customer’s shoes.
#3 – Build a 3PL Sales Platform
A sales platform is a great way to cut through the clutter and become more visible to your prospective customers.
A sales platform is a combination of strategies that includes web presence, content marketing, content distribution and lead capture / nurture.
People with sales platforms are more visible, more credible and can connect with prospects a lot easier than the invisible salesmen they compete against.
Work With Me
I work with transportation and logistics companies who want more sales. I teach them to get more leads, better leads and ultimately more sales. The first step is becoming more visible and standing out in the market.
Connect with me at [email protected] or 517.375.0631.