sales Archives - Trinity Logistics, a Burris Logistics Company

Trinity Logistics, a leading logistics solutions provider, is proud to announce Bree Severn as the winner of the Ivy Sales Forum’s sales competition held in collaboration with Iowa State University. This competition is an integral part of Trinity’s commitment to fostering talent and contributing to the real-world education of future sales professionals.

Throughout the semester, Trinity Logistics actively participated in shaping the Ivy Sales Forum’s curriculum, ensuring that it provides students with a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical sales experience. The 50 students enrolled in the courses benefited from Trinity’s guidance, gaining insights that will shape their careers in sales.

The sales competition, a two-part challenge designed to provide hands-on experience, involved students engaging with members of Trinity’s Leadership in simulated scenarios. The first part required students to pitch the value of Trinity Logistics to a hypothetical “shipper” and secure a follow-up meeting. In the second part of the competition, students showcased their negotiation skills to close a deal during the follow-up. Students were judged by Trinity Logistics and Professor Raj Agnihotri.

“It has been such an amazing experience working with Dr. Raj and his students,” said Kelsey Brown, Director of Sales at Trinity Logistics’s Iowa Regional Service Center. “The commitment to excellence and excitement they bring to both the class and competition has helped me see our industry through new eyes again. A top-notch sales program!”

Professor Agnihotri and Kelsey Brown from Trinity Logistics.

Bree Severn was chosen as the winner of the sales competition for her tenacious sales disposition, warm and genuine approach, as well as overall preparedness. Bree is a junior pursuing a double major in Marketing and Management at Iowa State. Bree was awarded a prestigious trophy by Trinity Logistics to recognize her outstanding achievement and growth. Additionally, she was offered a summer internship with Trinity, however she has plans to study abroad in Greece during her break.

Bree Severn with Kelsey Brown of Trinity Logistics.

“I am beyond grateful for this experience with the Ivy Sales Forum and Trinity Logistics,” said Bree. “Through this sales competition, I learned more about the logistics industry, the sales process, and the value of relationship building. I want to thank Kelsey Brown, Raj Agnihotri, the Trinity Logistics Team, and my classmates for pushing me out of my comfort zone and believing in me along the way.”

Trinity Logistics continues to be an active participant in the Ivy Sales Forum, contributing to the development of future business professionals through experiential learning opportunities.

About Trinity Logistics

Trinity Logistics is a Burris Logistics Company, offering People-Centric Freight Solutions®. Our mission is to deliver creative logistics solutions through a mix of human ingenuity and innovative technology, enriching the lives of those we serve.

For the past 40 years, we’ve been arranging freight for businesses of all sizes in truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), warehousing, intermodal, drayage, expedited, international, and technology solutions.

We are currently recognized on Transport Topics’ Top 100 Freight Brokerage List, as a Top 100 3PL by Inbound Logistics, and as a Top Company for Women to Work for in Transportation by Women in Trucking.

Trinity Logistics, a leading logistics solutions provider, is proud to share its corporate partnership with Iowa State University and active participation in the Ivy Sales Forum at the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business. This strategic collaboration exemplifies Trinity Logistics’s dedication to fostering talent development and nurturing future professionals.

The Ivy Sales Forum, a dynamic educational initiative at Iowa State University, brings together students from various majors to engage in a unique and comprehensive sales curriculum, giving students the opportunity to pursue a Professional Sales Certificate. The sales certificate is comprised of seven courses and all required sales classes involve a semester-long experiential sales competition hosted by corporate partners, including Trinity Logistics.

While Trinity Logistics has been a corporate partner of the Ivy Sales Forum for over a year, the company plays an integral role in shaping this semester’s curriculum under the guidance of Professor Raj Agnihotri, ensuring it aligns with the rapidly evolving sales landscape. This involvement highlights Trinity’s commitment to real-world sales education and its willingness to share its industry expertise with the next generation of professionals.

“The Ivy Sales Forum is an amazing program that Trinity is thrilled to be a part of,” said Carlie Crouch, Director of Talent Management at Trinity Logistics. “Our Leadership Team genuinely enjoys interacting with the students, especially during their cumulative sales competition. We see great value in the real-world experience the students gain, which ultimately gives our Talent Acquisition Team a robust pipeline of potential future Trinity Team Members.”

The courses feature 50 students benefiting from Trinity Logistics’s guidance, shaping their sales careers and offering a unique blend of textbook knowledge and real-life application.

The sales competition, required for course completion, is a two-part challenge that provides students with hands-on sales experience. The first part entails an initial meeting, where students interact with a hypothetical “shipper”, played by members of Trinity’s Leadership. In this meeting, the students must identify the shipper’s needs and pitch the value of Trinity Logistics, with success earned by securing a follow-up meeting with the shipper.

The second part involves the students showcasing their pricing and negotiation skills to close a deal in their follow-up meeting. This immersive experience equips students with valuable experience and insights into a sales profession. Upon successful completion of the sales curriculum, students earn a prestigious sales certificate, comparable to a professional degree.

“We value our relationship with a great organization such as Trinity Logistics,” said Professor Raj Agnihotri. “Their support in providing future business professionals with experiential learning opportunities is much appreciated.”

The sales competition is currently underway with students having completed part one and currently undergoing part two of the process. The sales competition winners will be judged and determined by members of Trinity Logistics and Professor Agnihotri. Trinity Logistics will recognize those winners who demonstrate excellent sales skills, creativity, and ingenuity with an award in December.

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?

Join Our Freight Agent Network

Everyone dreams about what they want to be as a kid when they grow up. Whether it’s a doctor, a famous athlete, or even an astronaut, it’s safe to say we all dream about what our future holds. But one area people often turn a blind eye to is the logistics sector. When people hear, logistics, they often only thinks of truck drivers, dismissing a logistics career as a potential path. In reality, truck drivers are only one role in this industry.

The logistics field is one of the most important in the world. Everything depends on how the logistics sector is running during that period. Logistics is how the new iPhone gets to stores, food on the shelves and at restaurants, or amazon orders from the warehouse to your front doorstep. To say that logistics is critical to our everyday lives is an understatement.

Career Pathways

There are many options for a logistics career outside of driving a truck. While truck drivers are an integral role in the field, the logistics sector has many more career paths available.

Sales

There are several different departments that play their part in logistics with one of them being sales. Logistics companies need salespeople to attract, gain, and retain new business for continued growth. Salespeople are those individuals who current and potential customers interact with first, so it’s important for these people to be driven, and hardworking, but also have the soft skills to win over new customers.

Independent Freight Agents

Perhaps you want more flexibility in your logistics career. If you’re the type of person to enjoy running their own business, then a career as an independent freight agent could be for you. Independent freight agents work with third-party logistics companies (3PL), like Trinity, to work their own book of business while having back-end support available.

Dispatching

Working with carrier companies is very important aspect of logistics. Being able to recruit and grow carrier relationships is important to the success of a business. Jobs within this area often help with getting carriers to their preferred lanes while negotiating rates on those shipments.

But Wait, There’s More…

You may not know this but there’s more to logistics than just arranging freight shipments. There are many administrative support roles available in a logistics career. These can include finance, marketing, human resources, technology, education, customer service, and more. If you’re not a sales-driven individual, then these opportunities may make more sense to you.

What Benefits Can a Logistics Career Offer You?

Untapped Incentives

One huge benefit is the control an individual has when working within this sector, especially in many sales-driven roles. The untapped incentive opportunities are up to the individual to reach. It’s about the drive, pace and execution in the role to increase earnings through incentive programs and help the whole Team win in the market.

Career Growth

Career growth is another benefit to this industry’s potential. No matter which role you start at, you have many opportunities to grow your skills, your knowledge, or even change up your path while remaining in the logistics field.

A Logistics Career is for Everyone

Many careers have specific job requirements on education level, such as requiring a bachelor’s degree or more. But, the logistics field is one for everyone. Many can start at entry level and grow as much as they want along with making a great living too.

Stability

A logistics career is a stable one because the logistics industry is going nowhere. Logistics is one the fastest growing industries and currently employs 1.7 million people, which is only 5 percent of the workforce. Job opportunities are rising as this industry becomes more important for society and looks to improve with technology. With this stability, you’ll never have to worry about not having a job or not having the opportunity for career growth.

Never Be Bored

The supply chain is a swinging pendulum of change and always has different challenges waiting for everyone. We’ve seen this from the covid-19 pandemic, the labor shortages, product shortages, port congestion within the United States, and now Chinese ports being shut down as well. The logistics sector causes everyone to navigate these challenges and think creatively to get to the final destination, thus, you’ll never have a boring day at work! You’ll never have your head down falling asleep or be stuck doing the same thing repeatedly. Because you must adapt daily, you stay on your feet and await the next challenge to avoid.

Work With New Technologies

Because the logistics sector is one that is growing, that means innovation through technology as well. Whether it’s a payment system, booking loads, Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRMS), or new customer and carrier portals, it gives you the opportunity to learn new, innovative systems that will enhance your soft skills as well. This is far from stopping either, as the industry is always looking to find ways to easily streamline customers and create data systems that are user friendly and easy to use as well.

Fulfilling Work

Working in logistics takes a lot of responsibility. Don’t feel too overwhelmed though as high responsibility means high reward. No matter the role you choose, you’ll feel a sense of pride in seeing products you worked with on shelves, in stores, or knowing you helped assist in a FEMA shipment, helping those who faced a natural disaster. This all comes in addition to the satisfaction you’ll receive from those parties you helped.

Flexibility

Logistics is for everyone, meaning you’re not tied to one area of the United States or world. Every company whether big, small, domestic, or international uses logistics to get products from point A to B. You can move almost anywhere and be able to work remotely or for a logistics company in that area. Even the type of workplaces can differ as well. You could be working in a warehouse, factory floor, an open office area, or even from the comfort of your home. The possibilities are endless when it comes to the kind of place and location you could work from in logistics.

The Next Generation

Because the logistics industry is growing, there is major concern about recruiting. Many in the logistics industry are focused on expanding people’s interest into this sector, especially for the younger generations. More colleges offer logistics and supply chain classes and degrees, more logistics businesses are using social media applications like Instagram and TikTok, and new programs like the U21 Truck Driver Apprenticeship program are making huge steps forward in showcasing a logistics career as a good path.

Clearer Than Ever

One factor that spiked this industry’s popularity and knowledge was the covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic started the drastic market changes that we’re still experiencing today since everyone started online shopping more due to the social distancing that was put in place.

From there we’ve continued to see supply chains making headlines due to, delivery times being delayed, product shortages, increased prices, delays, and congestion at the ports, and more.

Now that everyone has seen experience the supply chain affecting them personally, people are more aware of logistics and have a better understanding of how society needs it to run efficiently.

Interested in a Logistics Career?

If you’re looking for a career in logistics at a growing company, Trinity Logistics could be for you. We’re a third-party logistics company (3PL), offering People-Centric Freight Solutions®. Our mission is to deliver creative logistics solutions through a dynamic mix of human ingenuity and innovative technology, enriching the lives of those we serve. To accomplish this, we start by enriching the lives of our Team Members.

We offer an ideal work environment with a causal dress code and an emphasis on Team Member appreciation. Our job opportunities offer you the job stability and more.