How to be a Successful Freight Agent

As a Freight Agent, you might think proof of your business growth is solely measured based on your revenue size. While that’s not totally inaccurate, there’s more to be seen behind the numbers.

Hitting more tangible goals like a certain revenue or office size can be very rewarding. They’re great scorecards to keep track of your business efforts. Yet growth also involves learning to be adaptable, fostering new and creative ideas, and being resilient in the face of adversity.

Choosing to look beyond the numbers for growth and instead embracing a growth mindset can revolutionize your approach as a Freight Agent. One of the best ways to get into that growth mindset is to get curious.

The Best Freight Agents Know The Power of Curiosity

At the heart of a growth mindset lies curiosity. It’s the insatiable “why” behind every question. Curiousness causes us to explore beyond the status quo. It pushes us to find the boundary and see if we can perhaps step over it.

A curious Freight Agent isn’t afraid to ask why certain routes may be preferred. They dive deeper into understanding a customer’s pain points and challenges while keeping an eye out for industry trends. Having that curiosity will help you grow to develop a deeper understanding of logistics and help you tailor your services so you can truly shine against those Average Joe’s.

Yet, to be truly curious, you must also embrace potential failure. You must learn to accept that you might just fail and that failure itself isn’t a bad thing. Failure only becomes a bad thing when lessons are not learned from it. By instead viewing setbacks as stepping stones, you’ll be able to truly be curious and grow. It opens the door to new and valuable learning experiences. You’ll be able to learn what went wrong and how you can improve and adapt for your next opportunity.

The most successful Freight Agents aren’t afraid to fail; they learn from their failures and come back stronger.

Fostering a Growth Mindset in Freight Organizations

Curiosity can only flourish if leadership fosters a supportive environment. This doesn’t mean simply offering words of encouragement. It’s not just about pats on the back. You must be able to provide your Team with the resources and tools they need to feel empowered to be curious and grow. Examples of this can include access to industry research, subscriptions to relevant publications, or budgeting for educational conferences. This way, growth will be fostered organically.

When Team Members feel empowered, they take ownership of their own growth. They may start taking calculated risks or experimenting with new approaches. With their curiosity supported by Leadership, you’ll see them begin to find and drive growth and success for both themselves and the business.  

Freight Agents Have an Individual Responsibility for a Growth Mindset

While Leadership should support their Team Members in their curiosity, it doesn’t mean a growth mindset is automatically bestowed upon them. Your Team Members must embrace it on their own. Part of this comes down to who you select to join your Team.

You want Team Members who actively seek out new knowledge and challenges. You want colleagues who are okay with stepping outside their comfort zones and looking to achieve more. They must be committed to continuous learning and improvement.

Growth is a continuous process. Ensure those you take along on your business journey don’t wait for you to tell them to try or learn something new. Even better, be the driver of your own personal development. Be the example and show them how you take on that initiative, and they will likely follow suit.

Growth is a Continuous Journey for Freight Agents

The thing about growth is that it’s not a destination; it’s a continuous journey. It’s not limited to a single, particular result or achievement. It’s not just about getting bigger but constantly striving to be better. That’s why you need to develop that growth mindset to reach your fullest potential.

A crucial part of developing a growth mindset is surrounding yourself with the right people. Here’s where partnering with a company like Trinity Logistics becomes invaluable.

Embrace a Growth Mindset with Trinity Logistics

At Trinity Logistics, continuous improvement is ingrained in our culture and we extend this commitment to growth to the Freight Agent businesses we partner with. That’s why many of our Freight Agents see a 50 percent increase in business within the first two years of joining our network.

Here are some of the key ways we support your growth every step of the way:

Easy Diversification

Let’s say you currently specialize in full truckload freight. However, the freight market is constantly evolving so you could use more logistics solutions to offer your customers. Trinity Logistics has you covered. We have full Operations Teams available that can assist our Freight Agents so you can offer more than just truckload to your customers. We offer multiple modes of transportation including less-than-truckload (LTL), drayage, international, and expedited, along with warehousing and transportation management solutions available. 

Continued Education

What if you don’t know much about the other transportation modes Trinity offers shippers? Don’t worry! Trinity has an in-house Education Team that provides you with many opportunities to continue your education and training. We hold monthly mode training classes so you can learn and be confident in what you sell, but there’s also education on sales skills, business strategy, leadership, and any other skill sets you may need.  

One-on-One Support

When you join Trinity’s Freight Agent network, you’ll immediately learn and meet your dedicated Agent Support Team. These Team Members work with you to learn about your goals, offer suggestions, encourage you, and help you stay on track. You’re sure to adapt and stick to a growth mindset with the support of your own Team!

Connect With Like-Minded Freight Agents at Our Freight Agent Conference

Trinity regularly holds their Freight Agent conference, giving you the chance to connect in person or virtually with other like-minded individuals. You’ll often hear from speakers including members of our own Trinity Leadership, Sales Directors, our Platinum Agents, and other industry professionals. There are also workshops on sales and operations processes, providing you the chance to hone your skills and understanding. Of course, there’s plenty of time to network included!

Take the First Step in Your Freight Agent Career Growth Today

While we can boast all day about our Freight Agent program, what really makes the difference are the people behind it. It’s our shared commitment and dedication to helping you grow and be as successful as you want to be.

Let us help you embrace growth in your Freight Agent business, in both culture and revenue.

Call 800-846-3400 X 1908 or click the button below to get started.

Successful goal-setting is a necessity for Freight Agents to run prosperous businesses. If you’re feeling stuck with your goal setting, the Fresh Start Effect could help you achieve what you want.

If you perform a web search on the “Fresh Start Effect”, you’ll find a lot of articles and studies on the impact that a Fresh Start Date has on goal setting.  

What is a Fresh Start Date? 

It’s a date that signifies a clear end and a new beginning. New Year’s Day is the epitome of a fresh start date because you’re ending one year and starting a new one. However, a Fresh Start Date doesn’t have to be as well known as New Year’s Day. It can be any day that signifies a new beginning such as your birthday, Mondays, the first day of a new month, etc. 

Why Is a Fresh Start Date Important in Goal-Setting?

Studies show that people are more likely to commit to their goals when centered around a Fresh Start Date. It gives a boost to let go of the past, whether it’s a behavior that you would like to let go of or a new behavior that you would like to start.  

Tips for Freight Agents to Achieve Their Goals

If you’re looking to really set yourself up for success when setting your goals, here are some tips you can put into place.

1. Set Your Fresh Start Date  

Choose your Fresh Start date to give yourself an extra chance at committing to your goal!

2. Make It S.M.A.R.T.  

Using this tried-and-true goal setting method can help you become specific in what you are trying to accomplish. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely, giving you a greater chance at seeing success. 

3. Know Your Why 

Make it personal. Why is this goal important to you? How will your life look different when it is accomplished? Goals that don’t have a personal why behind them can seem arbitrary and make it very easy to quit.

4. Write It Down and Share It!  

Writing down your goal in a place that you can see often, such as a daily planner, helps keep you focused on the goal. Having someone else aware of your goal also helps you stay accountable to yourself!

5. Plan Ahead 

This is the beauty of a Fresh Start Date. By knowing when you are going to start, you can put in the work ahead of time to close out your current chapter and begin the new one.  Whether it’s transitioning and delegating responsibilities or researching and learning so that you can hit the ground running on your fresh start date, having some pre-planning time will allow you to focus on the goal ahead.  

6. Celebrate! 

Having a significant reward or way to signify the achievement of a goal can help maintain motivation. For example, one goal that many of Trinity’s Independent Freight Agents have each year is to achieve Platinum status. This is a designation set aside for Agents that hit production goals in a calendar year. The reward for our Platinum Agents is an all-expense paid vacation for two! It’s a great way to recognize success, celebrate, and network with other Platinum agents so that you can start getting motivated for the next year!

One thing many people forget is that goals don’t just have to be professional; they can be personal, too. Whether you want to strengthen your relationships or learn a new skill, use these tips to get yourself there.  

How Trinity Helps Freight Agents Get a Fresh Start for Their Business

At Trinity, we plan our goals around our monthly periods. This gives us the opportunity to evaluate regularly to ensure that we are staying on track and adjust quickly if needed. With our Independent Freight Agents, we work with them based on their personal business needs. Depending on the particular goal of a Freight Agent office, we may review these monthly, quarterly, or annually.  

For instance, many of our Agents set the goal to achieve Platinum Agent status. Because of this, we have a Platinum Agent tracking tool that we can send out at any time to help them track their progress toward this important goal. 

A Fresh Start Date is just one tactic to setting your Freight Agent business up for success and always a great time to re-evaluate your current brokerage partner.  In fact, Freight Agents who partner with Trinity Logistics often see an average of 20 percent growth within their first two years of joining. 

Check out the details of Trinity’s Freight Agent program to see if making a change at your next Fresh Start Date may be right for your business. 

Find your Purpose to re-engage in your Freight Agent business. Then seek out Trinity Logistics to help you live your Purpose and grow to your fullest potential.

We recently held our Virtual Freight Agent Conference and had the pleasure of hosting Ken Coleman of the Ramsey Group as our featured keynote speaker. He customized his presentation specifically toward Trinity’s Freight Agents with great tips for small business owners on how to “Re-Engage In Your Freight Agent Business”.

His message focused on finding your passion and working within that area as much as possible. It’s all about fueling up on “the juice” – the enthusiasm that comes from doing what you were put on this planet to do!

In the spirit of development and continuous improvement, our Agent Support Team followed up by taking the “Get Clear! Career Assessment” by Ken Coleman to clarify our top talents, passions, and professional mission. From there we created a purpose statement to identify the work we most excel at and most enjoy.

Talent (what you do best) + Passions (work you love) + Mission (results you care about) = Your Purpose Statement

TALENT – WHAT YOU DO BEST

Every workplace skill is grouped into 12 categories of Talent. Those 12 are then segmented into three subgroups: Super Talents, Solid Talents, and Subpar Talents.

Super Talents

Think of your top three talents as high-performance tools. You want to spend the majority of your time on work that involves these talents!

Solid Talents 

Your six Solid Talents are valuable because they support your Super Talents and can be improved upon.

Subpar Talents 

Everybody has weaknesses! You want to be aware of your three Subpar Talents. These are talents that you can let someone else be super at so you don’t have to waste too much of your time trying to develop them.

PASSION – WORK YOU LOVE TO DO

All work can be grouped into 15 categories of Passion. This is work that excites you and makes two hours feel like 20 minutes.

I Love It!

You’ll be most fulfilled when you spend about 75 percent of your day working within your Top three passions. You’ll be engaged, enthusiastic, and effective!

I Like It!

Spending 20 percent of your day on this work is about the right mix. Too much of it will make you frustrated and unhappy.

I Could Take It or Leave It!

Let’s face it – there are some things you don’t like to do. No more than five percent of this work is the goal for the greatest satisfaction.

MISSION – RESULTS YOU CARE ABOUT

The results of work can be grouped into six categories of mission. Discover the contribution you want to make through your work and the “why” behind it. There are three possible feelings about the results of your work to consider.

I Care Deeply

It’s personal! You see the results of your work as a crusade that must be waged and won. Your work is providing a vital solution to a big problem that specific people have.

I Connect With It

It’s cool. You see the results of your work as an important and valuable solution to a problem some people have.

I Couldn’t Care Less

It’s whatever. You see the results of your work as the basic need to keep getting your paycheck.

TIME TO BRING IT ALL TOGETHER

The puzzle comes together when you align all these into your Purpose Statement.

Working with Talent only can make you successful.

Working with Talent and Passion can give you job satisfaction.

Working with Talent and Passion and Mission will lead you to your Purpose. This is where you can achieve success, experience satisfaction, and find significance in your work and in your life.

LET US TAKE THE HARD STUFF OFF YOUR PLATE

Once you know what these are, how can Trinity Logistics help you focus on what you’re best at and handle or help those subpar skills?

From our experience, we’ve found that most Freight Agents excel in skills like communication, building relationships, and managing many priorities. They love talking to others, learning about their needs, and finding solutions to meet those needs.

But what often slows them down or drains them are those non-revenue generating activities. These are the ones where they’re not really connecting with a person or fostering a relationship. Tasks like vetting carriers, handling invoices and bills of lading, or dealing with claims when they happen.

We understand that these tasks take you away from what you excel in and love and that’s why Trinity has full Teams ready to take those off your plate.

Now, what about those other skills that you want to grow in? Things like goal setting, prospecting, or strategy. Well, we take care of that too by giving you several opportunities to expand and grow your skills. Trinity has an in-house Education Team that provides you with many opportunities to continue your education and training in classes like sales skills, social media, industries, or modes. Virtual classes are held every month, giving you the same opportunities to learn and grow as our own Team Members receive. Additionally, we offer you access to our learning management platform offering classes that can be taken in your own time on an array of topics such as leadership, cybersecurity, and customer service.

You’ll also have the support of our Agent Support Team, who will work with you to learn about your goals, offer suggestions, encourage you, and help you stay on track. We also encourage you to spend time one-on-one for direct planning support and accountability reviews with our Agent Support Leadership Team Members.

So, if you’ve been looking for a 3PL partner that offers you more time to focus on what you love to do, take care of the rest, AND help you grow to be the best Freight Agent that you can be, then look no further. Trinity Logistics has over 30 years of experience aiding in the success of Freight Agent offices. We realize that Freight Agents are an integral part of Trinity’s business, which is why we aim to support and invest in them so they can grow their business to its fullest potential.

To start talking to one of our Freight Agent recruiters, call 800-846-3400 ext. 1908.

If you’d like to learn more about our Freight Agent Program, click the button below.

Make the best of your free time as a Freight Agent and learn how to connect with customers while on social media.

Has this ever happened to you? You have 5 minutes free – who am I kidding? You are a Freight Agent; you don’t have 5 minutes free! Let’s say you’re on hold or waiting at the doctor’s office. You decide to pass the time and scroll your Facebook feed for a minute. Twenty minutes later, your name is called, or the other person picks up the phone and you didn’t realize that you had spent that entire time on social media! 

It happens to everyone and if it happens to you, it’s happening with your colleagues, your customers, and potential customers. So, using that time to see what your neighbor had for dinner last night may not be beneficial to your Freight Agent business, but using that time to connect with customers can be amazing for your business.

As your Freight Agent Support at Trinity, anytime we find something that could be beneficial to our network of Freight Agents, we do everything we can to help educate them in that area. And we know more people are connecting with customers through social media. So, at our recent Agent Sales Conference, we invited a social media expert to talk to our Trinity Freight Agents about building their social media presence and how to connect with customers.

TIPS ON HOW TO CONNECT WITH CUSTOMERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA FROM AN EXPERT

Chances are, if you’ve consumed any logistics content online, you’ve heard of or seen the name, Blythe Brumleve. Blythe is the owner of Digital Dispatch and the Everything is Logistics website. She has a podcast by the same name, Everything is Logistics, and has been a regular content contributor to many sites outside of her own, like Freightwaves.

Blythe joined our Agent Sales Conference for an engaging, informational, and actionable session on building your personal brand through social media.

If you’d like to connect with customers and colleagues through social media, check out some of the takeaways that I got from her session.

Start With One Platform

There are so many social media platforms available! And each one has different algorithms and audiences. When starting to build your personal brand, it’s best to choose one platform to focus on first to grow your knowledge so that you can engage consistently. Among logistics professionals, LinkedIn is most often the platform that has the best organic reach.

Establish Your Why

The reason behind WHY you want to post and engage through social media is as important as WHAT you post. It drives everything you do! Posting for the sake of gaining followers isn’t going to drive your business forward. But posting to create value for your current and potential customers is a great way to drive your business forward!

Make a Great First Impression

Your profile is your first impression to the viewer. Take time to include a professional-looking headshot and banner photo. Also, let your customers know who you are and what you do through your tagline and information space! When they see a great post and follow it through to your profile, you want to establish yourself as someone they want to get to know.

Consistency is KEY

Like sales prospecting, being consistent with your social media outreach and follow-up is essential.  Build some time into your workday or week to focus on your LinkedIn page. Post consistently and engage with those that like or comment on your post. Also, make sure to follow others in your field to engage with them by commenting and asking questions. Just because you aren’t face-to-face doesn’t mean that it must be one-sided!

Provide Value to Your Connections

 People want to connect with people they trust. So, show your customers and colleagues that they can count on you for the information they need. Show up consistently with informative and relevant information to establish yourself as a subject matter expert! 

Be a Student Yourself 

This is one of the biggest lessons that I can give for so many areas of your life! But it applies to social media as well. Make sure to follow people and pages that will help you stay fresh and current with information in your field as well as information on how to stay current on social media and marketing trends. Following someone like Blythe Brumleve is a great place to start! She has an amazing podcast, and social posts, and is a great supporter of other content creators to help you build your list.

Keep Connecting with Customers Simple

It may seem complicated sometimes, but as Blythe highlighted during her session at our conference, the phrase “Keep It Simple Stupid” is the best motto to keep in mind. Keep it simple, consistent, and relevant. Don’t expect to go viral on day one, but if you maintain consistency and establish yourself as a subject matter expert in your field, you’ll see the value in connecting with customers through social media.

TRINITY LOGISTICS HELPS KEEP YOU ON TREND WITH HOW TO CONNECT WITH CUSTOMERS

At Trinity, we understand running your business is hard work, which is why we have an entire Support Team to help your Freight Agent business succeed. This includes assisting you with your personal brand building and marketing, as we consistently work to provide you with new marketing material and content to share on your social media.

Go ahead and choose to get in touch with a Trinity Freight Agent Representative today so you can start receiving world-class support and education to get ahead of your competition. Call 800-846-3400 x 1908 or click the button below to begin your conversation with Trinity.

Proper carrier selection may be one of the most important tasks for Freight Agents to keep their business safe.

I remember the first time I dispatched a driver to pick up a shipment thinking, “Wait, I just met this carrier for the first time. I’ve sent their driver to pick up a shipment for one of our top customers.”

Needless to say, I made about 10 calls to the driver, carrier, and shipper to verify everything was legit. It still boggles my mind to think that a shipper, whom I have never met, will entrust thousands of dollars in THEIR freight to a company that will then send a driver, whom they may have never met, to haul it away.

This scenario happens thousands of times daily across the U.S. and the world. Most of the time, everyone involved does what they say they will do correctly. But there are times, albeit very rarely, when one of the parties is involved for the wrong reason.

First, let me say Trinity Logistics and other logistics companies in our space get the chance to work with great carriers each day. Yet, there are still some bad actors out there. They want to involve themselves in our industry and do things the wrong way, often at the expense of hard-working and trustworthy carriers and Freight Agents.

So, Freight Agents, what can you do to protect your small business and the business of your customer, when arranging shipments with carriers? This is where having a carrier selection process is key to best serving your customer and mitigating any risk. Here are some items you should verify every time you arrange a shipment with a carrier to ensure its success.

CARRIER SELECTION PROCESS

Always Ask This Question

“What’s the name on the side of your truck?”

While this seems like a simple question, it’s the number one question that can identify a potential double-brokering situation. Now, there will be times when the name on the side of the truck doesn’t match the carrier with whom you booked the load. Leased-on drivers are a great example of this.

What do you do if the answer to this question is different from what you expected?

Well, it gives you the opportunity to ask follow-up questions to investigate. It’s far better to find out this information before versus after the shipment has been picked up. I‘ve also heard of some requiring the driver to text a picture of the side of the truck door for added assurance.

Does it Match?

Does the email and phone number match what is registered with FMCSA?

Again, there may be legitimate reasons for the phone number or email not matching the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website. Maybe the carrier’s contact information has recently changed for valid reasons. Perhaps it’s an owner-operator that registered with their home or office phone number but is on the road and calls from their cell phone.

In any event, it gives you a reason to pause and ask more questions to ensure you have confidence that this is the actual carrier with whom you trust to handle your customer’s freight.

Other Carrier Selection Vetting Freight Agents Should Consider

What about the stuff you can’t see by looking at the FMCSA website?

You can quickly see things like liability insurance coverage or a carrier’s operating authority history on the FMCSA website. But what about referrals – good or bad – from other logistics companies?

Luckily there are tools available to see beyond the information reported by the FMCSA. There are platforms like CarrierWatch, Carrier 411, or Highway that provide a glimpse into any skeletons that may be hiding in the closet. It’s important to note that these are pay-to-play platforms. Freight Agents that choose to partner with an experienced logistics company, like Trinity Logistics, have access to a Carrier Compliance Team that continuously monitors these comments to protect you and your customer’s best interests.

FREIGHT AGENTS, DON’T OVERLOOK YOUR CARRIER SELECTION

Carrier selection is important as you are placing your trust in them to meet your customer’s shipment needs. Doing a little bit of homework and, when necessary, trusting your gut with your carrier selection, will save you future headaches and, ultimately, protect your Freight Agent business.

TRUST OUR QUALIFIED CARRIER RELATIONSHIPS

We’re here to help your Freight Agent business succeed all around, and that includes your carrier selection. Safety and exceptional service are our highest priority, and so our Carrier Compliance Team takes care of our rigorous carrier vetting to verify that the carrier you select is qualified and experienced.

With our People-Centric Team and best-in-class technology applications at the ready, Freight Agents working with Trinity Logistics can spend less time on back-end tasks like carrier selection and more time growing their business.

Go ahead and choose to get in touch with a Trinity Freight Agent Representative today so you can start receiving world-class support to get ahead of your competition. Call 800-846-3400 x 1908 or click the button below to begin your conversation with Trinity.

We’ve recently covered ways you can find prospects and warm up your cold calls. You’ve got your eye set on a business you can help, so, how do you go from phone calls to closing a sale as a Freight Broker Agent?

A few weeks ago, we held our first educational and virtual Agent Conference of 2023. We had a great line-up of sessions hosted by members of Trinity’s Leadership Team as well as our featured guest Blythe Brumleve of Digital Dispatch, and Everything is Logistics podcast.

This conference focused on winning sales and growing strong customer relationships as a Freight Broker Agent. Sessions took us through the complete sales cycle – from winning your first shipment from freight leads to moving your customer towards dedicated freight, and then providing them with full freight management services.

Let’s start at the beginning; and share some smart, simple, and practical advice on closing a sale and winning that first shipment.

FROM PROSPECT TO CLOSING A SALE

First, develop your strategy for handling freight leads. Here are some suggestions from our top sales experts on how to effectively get your prospect’s attention, work your pipeline, and turn your freight lead into a new shipping customer.

Getting Your Prospect’s Attention as a Freight Broker Agent

When initially contacting your prospects, you often don’t have a lot of time with them. For that reason, you don’t want to be too generic. Just saying you’re with a third-party logistics (3PL) company with solutions and you want to talk about their shipping process won’t get you time on the phone with them.

You need to find ways to differentiate yourself and your services, so you stand out and get their attention. So, make sure you always have a reason for making that first call! Here are a couple of ideas to get you started.

Sell Your Capacity

Let’s say you have consistent capacity within a certain area. Try to find more prospects within that region and work with the same equipment. You can sell that capacity right away on your first phone call. Let them know who else you work with within that area, that you have capacity available that you’re looking to cover, and how you can help them.

It can be as simple as saying, “Hi new customer. I work with ABC Company in your area five days a week and have more trucks and equipment available that I think will help you.”

Sell Into Your Industry Expertise

Pick an industry to focus on that you are having success with or have specific knowledge of and target those prospects. Then, by having repeat conversations with similar prospects, you’ll develop a flow using industry-specific “lingo” and your knowledge of any unique scheduling requirements, equipment types, or loading/unloading procedures for those commodities.

You can say, “Hi, new customer. I work with this industry often, and I noticed you’re in a similar industry. I know the scheduling process or loading process needed within this industry well and I think I can help you.”

Both examples give your customer a specific reason why they should have a conversation and start building a connection with you right off the bat.

Remember, the goal of your initial call is to gather information and start a conversation. Most likely, you won’t get the decision-maker on the phone during your first call. That’s okay. If you can’t get on the phone with the decision-maker, try talking to someone in sales.

We know salespeople love to talk. They know their product and their customers and often have a relationship with the shipping manager. So, you’ll be able to learn more information about the company and its current process, and any objections they may have, that you can later leverage when you finally land a call with the decision-maker at the company.

Finding the Ideal Prospects Based on Strategy

So now we have some ideas on how to approach prospects but where do we find the folks we want to call? Here are a few proven tips.

1. Use Google Maps to find prospects geographically close to current customers when selling into capacity. Look at satellite and street images to get a good idea of what’s going on at their facility and on their docks.

2. Use Google Images when selling into industries. Search images by keywords (Ex: Industrial Generators) to find out who’s manufacturing or selling the commodity you are targeting.

3. Use LinkedIn & ZoomInfo to research the companies you identify and find contact information for the people you want to call.

Working the Freight Leads Pipeline

The most important thing is to keep it simple and establish a consistent rhythm. Quality over quantity is always the best approach and makes it easier to manage. Try focusing on a smaller group of qualified prospects with high intensity and a sense of urgency in your communication to gain quick momentum in turning over new shipping customers.

This means not holding onto stale leads. You’ll find not every prospect is the right fit and that’s okay. Let them go.

A good rule of thumb with mid-size companies is that if you aren’t talking to the decision-maker within two weeks, then move on. This helps you keep up the momentum in closing a sale by removing old leads for new potential prospects.

When you finally get connected with the decision-maker at the company, use your initial conversations as a point of reference to buy yourself a few minutes of their time. For example, “I recently spoke with Holly Cooper from your sales team and came up with some great ideas to help with your freight”.

Just like in your initial call, define your reason based on facts you uncovered and sell into your capacity or industry expertise. Too many Freight Broker Agents will get to the decision maker and go back to the general 3PL solutions selling. Remember your unique connection on why you can help them.

More Quick Tips for Closing a Sale

1. Choose discipline over motivation. The reality is you aren’t going to wake up every morning feeling ready to set the world on fire! Set daily goals for yourself (X number of cold calls, X number of follow-ups, X number of new prospects added to pipeline, etc.) and stick to them.

2. Be consistent and systematic in your prospecting efforts. Use a good CRM to organize your pipeline, log notes from conversations, and schedule follow-ups.

3. BE YOURSELF! People buy from people. Be confident in yourself and your services and let your personality shine through.

MAKE CLOSING A SALE AS A FREIGHT BROKER AGENT EVEN EASIER

As a Freight Broker Agent, running your own business can be hard work on top of winning over new customers. That’s why we have an entire Team here to help you.

Let us help you gain more time to focus on what you do best, building relationships with shipping customers and motor carriers, while we handle the rest. In fact, many of our new Freight Broker Agents see over a 50 percent increase in business growth within their first two years at Trinity Logistics.

Are you a Freight Agent that gets a stomach ache at just the thought of picking up the phone to make cold calls? Even with a great script at the ready, cold calling is a tough task to complete. However, with today’s technology, there are other systemized and predictable ways to prospect without making hundreds of cold calls. Don’t get me wrong, cold calling is still a part of developing new business, but it doesn’t have to be the only thing.

WARMING UP YOUR COLD CALLS

In the age of voicemail and caller ID, the success rate of cold calls is low, hovering around a two percent conversion rate, according to LinkedIn. So, before you pick up the phone to make call after call, you can help your chances of success by putting on your marketing hat. By using some form of creative marketing, you’ll find businesses who are looking for your solutions calling you for more information. I’m sure everyone would love to receive warm calls versus relying on cold calls for new business.

Many of our Freight Agents have found success by trading in cold calls for a combination of social media, emailing, and warm calling. 

TRADING COLD CALLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

According to LinkedIn, 75 percent of business-to-business (B2B) buyers use social media as part of their decision process. So, if you haven’t joined the professional social media network, LinkedIn, already, then now is the time. 

Make Sure You Look Professional

To get started warming up your calls, you need to have a LinkedIn profile that looks professional. Just as you’re finding probable prospects and looking at their profile pages, shipping managers don’t generally do business with someone they feel is not professional. Trust me; they will check out your profile. 

Creating a professional profile is a relatively easy thing to do. You can get ideas from other Freight Agent profiles on LinkedIn, but in the meantime, here are some quick tips for building a great profile so your prospects can get to know you.

1. Use a Professional Profile Photo

LinkedIn profiles with pictures are 14 times more likely to be viewed. Choose a photo showcasing you professionally, at your desk, in your office, or a simple friendly headshot. 

2. Craft a Headline That Shares Your Value

Have your headline answer these two questions so visitors know what you can offer them right from the start: Who do you help and how do you help them? For example, “I’ve helped X number of companies save X amount through outsourcing their logistics.”

3. Make Use of Your Cover Photo Too

Instead of keeping the generic blue gradient cover photo LinkedIn provides, consider adding your company’s logo, tagline, or even a family photo. The cover photo is your opportunity to give the viewer more insight into who you are as a person and freight agent. 

4. Include Your Contact Information

This may seem simple, but surprisingly, not everyone does this! It’s important that you include your email address, phone number, blog, or company website, so it’s easy for your prospects to gather more information and get in touch with you, setting you up for that warm call. 

5. Let People Learn More About You

Craft a summary to let your viewer learn more about you and your Freight Agent business. Get more specific about your work, projects you’ve completed, or results you’ve helped drive. Include keywords your buyers might be searching for to snag their attention and let them know you are a possible solution for them. And most importantly, include a clear call-to-action, communicating why and how your prospect should get in touch with you. 

6. Strategically Make Use of Your Time and Activity on LinkedIn

Your viewers can see your LinkedIn activity, like your most recent comments, likes, and shared content. This part of your profile can show your authenticity, so be sure to consider how you spend your time online. For example, are you offering advice or support to your connections? Congratulating them on a promotion? Sharing your knowledge with others in groups? All this can be seen on your profile so make sure you are showcasing how knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful you can be! 

On the LinkedIn Path to Warm Calls

Now that your profile LinkedIn is ready, here we go! Below is a basic outline for building a LinkedIn presence on a path to warm lead relationships and calls.

Making Connections

Utilizing LinkedIn messenger is essential when sending out your daily connection requests to shipping managers.

Shipping supervisors, logistics managers, and warehouse managers are the first people to start sending connection requests to and then continue with the many other titles for shippers that you want to search for.

Your first message should be simple and warm: 

“Hello, I’d like to connect with you.  Having a professional connection like you in my network will be a plus for me. Thanks, Your Name.”

If they respond back to your connection request, send them a message back & thank them for accepting the request. Remember, they’ve looked at your profile and approved you.

Making Use of Email

After you have thanked them, then the process of trying to find an email and or phone number begins.

Finding the shipping manager’s email or phone number is key to moving forward in the process. You can do this with a simple Chrome extension, like Get Prospect or UpLead, that connects to LinkedIn. If it doesn’t, this may slow you down.

Once you’ve obtained the email, ensure the first email you send is a simple introduction telling the shipping manager who you are and what you can do for their shipping needs.

You may find the benefit of incorporating a mass emailing system. They can save you time by sending several emails at once and give you insight into analytics, such as open and click rates. There are lots of applications to choose from. Some are free, like MailerLite or MailJet, and some require a small monthly fee, like Mailchimp. Any good mass email system should let you know if an email is invalid, blocked, or if the email has been opened. This is important because it will let you know they have read your email. 

It may take several emails for the shipping manager to like and trust you enough to get on a phone call with you. Remember, getting on a warm call versus a cold call generally gives you the upper hand because of the process the shipping manager has already been through in getting to know you. You have gained their trust at this point.

To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade?

While not necessary, some agents will choose to upgrade their LinkedIn services for prospecting. LinkedIn has other paid services you can investigate, such as LinkedIn Premium, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Both are fee-based services and can work very well.

Now that you know the basic process, you’re ready to start reaching out to shippers without the stress of making any cold calls. Work this process through. It could take a little time, but this method of prospecting has been tried and proven, and the payoff can be huge for your business. 

YOU DON’T HAVE TO PROSPECT FOR NEW CUSTOMERS ALONE

At Trinity, we understand running your business is hard work, so we have an entire Team to help you. This includes assisting with your marketing as we consistently work to provide you with new marketing material and content to share.  

Let us help you do what you do best, building relationships with your shipper customers and carriers while receiving world-class support to put you ahead of the competition.

Many of our Freight Agents see a 50 percent increase in their business over a two-year period from joining. Will you join them in their success? 

Building relationships in business is the number one way a freight agent can succeed.

Relationships are the key to success as a freight agent. You may think this concept is nothing new, but now COVID has changed the way we meet people and build those relationships. Gone are the days when you could walk into many companies and catch someone in the hallway or bring them lunch; many offices and buildings aren’t even open to visitors, and the person that you need to speak with works remotely. So, how do you genuinely build relationships to meet your customer’s goals and grow your business and network?

TIPS FOR BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS IN BUSINESS

Genuine Care

This can’t be faked. If you don’t genuinely care about helping someone meet their own needs or goals, there isn’t any other tip that will work. This also means that not every customer may be the right fit for your business, and you are not the right fit for them. That’s okay – because if you don’t genuinely care about the well-being and success of the other person, it just won’t work!

Learn About Your Business Relationship

I love asking new salespeople what it takes to build a relationship in business. I hear things like knowing birthdays, knowing what sports they like, or if they have kids. This is all great information to know, but when a customer is entertaining another broker, knowing their birthday won’t help very much! It’s all surface information.

Learning means knowing how you can help them. Find out other information, like what’s important to their business or what threats there are to their business. What are their company goals and values? What measures do they use to check performance? And most importantly, learn how their business works, from procurement to end user sales. This kind of information will prepare you to be the person they’re looking for when their business needs help.

Offer Help Before They Ask

Don’t you love it when someone goes out of the way to buy you lunch in advance, ultimately solving your unknown problem of figuring out what to have and making it? This same idea works for your customers and goes hand in hand with learning more about your customer. Spend time taking that knowledge to figure out how you can help your customer’s business succeed. By being proactive instead of reactive with your services, you can further strengthen your business relationship and show your commitment to your customer’s success. Solve those problems that they aren’t even thinking about solving yet.

Have Excellent Customer Service

Customer service is a top priority in building relationships in business. Perfecting your interactions with your customers so that they leave floored by your service will not only improve your relationship with that customer but open the door to new ones.

Be An Educational Resource

Learning about your customer’s business is key, but they also rely on you to be the subject matter expert on all things supply chain! You want to be a helpful and educational resource for your customers to rely on.

Keep Up With Your Contacts

You may not have the bandwidth to keep up with all your contacts, but routinely checking in or engaging with them is important. Of course, you don’t always have to call or email. There are many other ways to engage with them, such as commenting on something they shared on LinkedIn or sending them a congratulatory card for a career milestone – every small interaction shows them that you’re keeping them top of mind and making them feel valued.

Go Beyond One Load/One Truck

Learning about a company’s business gives you the opportunity to help their supply chain process. Find out their real needs instead of just serving the load in front of you. How can you partner with them to solve the needs and goals of their business? Is saving on freight costs the most important thing?

Work with them to provide dedicated shipments that can be serviced more efficiently and effectively. If on-time delivery is most important to your customer, then work with motor carriers to make sure that they understand the importance of delivery and become familiar with their freight so that the customer gets exactly what they’re looking for.

Ask for Feedback

Instead of assuming your business relationships are happy, ask for feedback. Having open and transparent communication is the basic factor in building relationships in business. When you take the time to ask your relationships how they feel, you promote a conversation to uncover areas of improvement and further prove your commitment to them.

Don’t Forget Motor Carriers

Having a strong relationship with the motor carriers that you work with is as important as the customer! Motor carriers are the heartbeat of the industry, and can teach us so much about what is happening day in and day out. By building great relationships here, you also gain great insight into their business and they into yours. This makes communication during the load process so much better for everyone.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU WITH BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS IN BUSINESS

Our tagline is People-Centric Freight Solutions® for a good reason. Our culture and services focus on people and building relationships in business. And we’re here to help you succeed. It’s important to us at Trinity to help our freight agents find ways to keep their businesses successful and growing.

Here at Trinity, we understand running your business is hard work, so we have an entire Team to help you. With over 30 years of experience aiding in the success of our freight agents, many of them see a 50 percent increase in their business over a two-year period from joining.

Let us help you do what you do best, building strong relationships with your shipper customers and carriers while receiving world-class support that puts you ahead of the competition.

Spend less time on those back-end tasks and more time learning about the people behind the sale and winning their business.

What does being an Independent Freight Agent with Trinity Logistics mean? We are so glad that you asked! Trinity Logistics is a leading name in the freight broker community, and a big part of our growth is due to successful partnerships with Independent Freight Agents.

what is an independent freight agent?

An Independent Freight Agent is someone who partners with a third-party logistics company (3PL) and uses their brokerage license so they can arrange transportation of freight and utilize the support services of that company. The Independent Freight Agent owns their own business and gets to focus on the part of the business that they do well (moving freight) while Trinity Logistics, in our case, supports them through back-office applications such as billing customers, paying carriers, and more.

Being an Independent Freight Agent is the best of both worlds for an entrepreneur! If you’re a freight broker, you’re certainly aware of the expenses that are associated with the business, not to mention one of your most valuable assets, your time, which oftentimes gets overwhelmed with handling non-revenue generating activities. This is a primary reason freight brokers look to partner with a 3PL like Trinity Logistics.

why work with trinity logistics?

There are a number of companies that an Independent Freight Agent could partner with, but what sets us apart from many others are all of the “extras” that come with being an Authorized Agent for Trinity. We take those “extras” very seriously!

Relationships

The first one has to be the relationship! The culture of Trinity is second to none and treats team members like family and that relationship extends to the Independent Freight Agent. There is a division in our corporate office that is set up for the sole support of the Independent Agent and becomes a liaison between the Agent and Corporate Services. Because of the close relationship with that group, our company is consistently celebrating the individual successes of the Agent office, celebrating new babies and milestones in the lives of the Agents, and serving as a sounding board when an Agent just needs to talk with someone.

Continuing Education

In addition to interactive training to get you comfortable with moving shipments as a Freight Agent with Trinity, our team continually offers training and education designed to assist you with your business. And we realize education can not be a one size fits all approach. For that reason, we not only offer training that is geared towards common mode, sales, or operations opportunities, but as needed, the team at Trinity will work alongside you to assist, educate and train for specific needs. One of Trinity’s Guiding Values is centered on continuous improvement. We don’t just put those words on a website, we offer the support to truly allow you to advance your skill set and knowledge to grow your business.

Operational Support

Part of the support that Trinity Logistics offers Independent Agents is not only administrative but operational as well. With corporate teams specializing in Less-than-Truckload, Intermodal, Warehousing, Drayage, International, and Managed Services, the Independent Agent can get the support of experts in these modes while maintaining full service to their customer. Additionally, as a company that has been an integral part of the transportation industry for more than 40 years, Trinity has a well-established relationship with the shipper and carrier community. ‘

Having the Trinity name behind you as a freight broker can be the difference when a shipper has a choice of where to tender their freight, not to mention the impact it has on carriers when they see multiple logistics companies with shipments that match their available equipment. Having that nationwide brand recognition and reputation gives a single-person office the power of a major player in the industry.

Reputation

Partnering with Trinity Logistics partners an Independent Freight Agent with one of the Top 3PLs, as named by Transport Topics and Inbound Logistics. We’re also under the Burris Logistics umbrella, further expanding our brand reach and the solutions we can offer shippers.

Additionally, Trinity has a great culture that’s been recognized for several years and you can feel that company pride any time you talk with someone at the corporate office. The biggest impact that Trinity’s reputation has for an Independent Freight Agent is the creditworthiness of the company. Trinity maintains a Five Diamond Broker rating on Internet Truckstop. Part of our entire strategic plan is to develop relationships with carriers and paying them on time is a huge part of that!

This Agent testimonial says it all:

“Whether training on new Trinity technology, answering a billing or claims question, or offering advice on a customer – they help handle it directly.  Each team member is a pleasure to work with and their positive outlook always leaves me smiling.” –  Lyn, Maryland

join our independent freight agent network

Independent Freight Agents are an integral part of Trinity’s business and we are consistently working to expand our program.

We realize you have a choice in who you’d like to partner with in your business. However, if what you’re looking for is a long-term partnership that is supportive of your growth, offers you continued education to remain competitive, and most of all, is made up of a Team of people who are passionate, dedicated, and striving for excellence, then Trinity Logistics may be the Independent Freight Agent program for you. 

If you want to learn more about our Independent Freight Agent Program, click the button below! 

Every day, all day, your life as a Freight Agent is a steady stream of fires that need to be extinguished. From negotiations to late deliveries, and the phone ringing off the hook, keeping your head above water is the only thing that you dream about at the end of each day.

Remember those dreams of growing your Freight Agent business into a large income-producing machine? You knew that one day you wanted to take your business to the next level, but now the idea of taking time away just to pick up lunch is a pipedream – let alone planning a full-scale growth strategy.

So, how do you do it? How does a Freight Agent know when it’s time to take the leap into growing his or her business? How do you know what to do next? Keep reading to find out the first steps in recognizing the time for growth and moving your numbers in the right direction….Up!

How TO RECOGNIZE WHEN IT’S TIME TO GROW YOUR FREIGHT AGENT BUSINESS

Know Where You Are

The first step to reaching your growth goals, or even deciding what those goals are, is first knowing where you are now. This step always seems like a no-brainer. Sure, you know how much the deposit into your bank account is every week, but do you really know how it got there and how much you possibly left on the table at the end of the week?

This is where you have to take some time and learn your numbers inside and out. How many shipments do you move in a week? What is your average margin per shipment? What is your net revenue? How many customers do you arrange shipping for every week? Then, how do these numbers compare to this time last month? Last quarter? Last year? Have you grown since last year? Are you moving more shipments, but your deposits are the same? These questions will help you decide what your next step is in planning your growth strategy as a Freight Agent.

Know How Much it Costs You to Run Your Freight Agent Business

Don’t forget that time equals money! Do you have fees associated with the company you broker through? How much goes into your pocket compared to how much goes to the company? What does it cost to use their operating system, load boards, or ancillary services?

So, now that you know where you stand, are you ready to take the leap? Growth can be a scary thing, so here are two areas to help determine how to jumpstart your growth:

JUMPSTARTING YOUR FREIGHT AGENT BUSINESS GROWTH

Determine the Need for Additional Help

Are you a one-person operation moving 100 shipments per month? Think about the time it takes you to cover one shipment, track it, handle any issues that arise, and keep your customer informed throughout the entire process. Now multiply that by the number of shipments you have waiting to be booked, or in transit, each day. Maybe, it’s time to bring in some help!

You will never be able to bring on new business and keep the service level you need to maintain with your current customers when you are managing 15-20 loads per day all on your own. This seems to be a “sweet spot” for many freight agents. You know, that “magic number” to let you know that it’s time to bring in the help!

Start looking for someone who shares the same values and work ethic that helped your business get where it is today. Then, have them slowly start taking on some of the day-to-day duties that keep your head submerged underwater so that you can do what you do best – build those customer relationships!

Analyze Your House

No, not your real house…your work house. What is the company you broker with costing you at the end of the day? What do they offer to help you grow? Here are some questions to start asking yourself to make sure that you are partnered with the right company:

Devoted Freight Agent Support Team

Are you just a number when you call and have to leave a message? Do you talk with an actual person who knows your business and cares about your success?

Reputable Corporate Presence

Does the corporate headquarters have executives that know the value of Independent Freight Agents? Do you have teams at the corporate level who are billing your customers and paying your carriers that understand the value of your customer? Does the corporate office consistently communicate its vision and company goals with its Independent Freight Agents?

Fees

Is it costing you to broker with your current company? Are you charged fees? Upfront costs? Do you understand any adjustments to your commission payments and are they justified?

Continuing Education

Does your current company offer consistent education opportunities to help you stay on top of the market? How about classes to help refresh your sales skills? Does your Agent Support team continually offer coaching opportunities to find areas of your business that have growth potential?

Taking a step back to analyze all of this information will help you realize when it’s time to take your business to the next level. Make sure that you know your numbers, that you are looking for the right person to help you, and that the company you are working with is dedicated to helping you grow. Taking the leap into growth can be scary, but the rewards are abundant. Go ahead, take that first step!

TAKE YOUR FREIGHT AGENT BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Trinity Logistics has over 30 years of experience aiding in the success of our freight agent businesses, with many of our newer businesses seeing a 50 percent increase over a two-year period from joining. Consider joining our Authorized Agent Network today so you can gain more time to focus on your customers, and generate more revenue. We’ll focus on everything else. 

To learn more about our Authorized Agent program and all the ways we can save you time and help you build a successful Freight Agent business, feel free to contact our Agent Team by phone at 800-846-3400 x 1908 or click the button below!