Are you interested in finding the right transportation sales job? While the declining economy has made many trades and industries tough to be successful in, transportation brokers are here to stay. No matter what the economy is doing, 70% of our goods are transported by trucking companies. Since the demand for professional truck driver jobs is higher than ever, finding the right transportation sales job is a good way to get a piece of the transportation industry if you aren’t actually made for transportation.
The key to finding the right transportation sales job is recognizing the qualities it takes to be successful and making sure they align with your skill set. If you think finding the right transportation sales job is a direction you want to go in, focus on these tips for becoming successful:
- Become a service matter expert on transportation services. Even if you yourself won’t be doing the transporting, you need to sound like you do to your potential clients. Understand the transportation challenges that your clients face, and how you can best fill those needs through your transportation brokerage company.
- Become a good sales person. This might sound obvious, but first and foremost, you need to be able to sell a product (not just transport services). When considering if transportation sales is for you, invest in training and learn the skill of sales. If you don’t have that mastered, you’ll never be good at your job.
- Look for a mentor. There are many specifics of transportation sales that you can only pick up through years and years of experience in the business. While you’ll gain much of this through your own time in the business, you can give yourself a head start by getting a transportation sales mentor who is successful. Watch how they do what they do. Ask questions. Learn for them.
- Study your competitors. Almost every business in the world needs transportation services. Your challenge isn’t going to be convincing clients that they need your service, it’s going to be convincing them that they need your service over a competitor’s. You should not only deeply understand the services that your company offers, you should understand what your competitors offer, and why you are better.
- Become a listener instead of a teller. You won’t be successful if you just regurgitate your sales pitch over and over. Every client is different and all of their needs are unique and important. Listen to your clients and understand their specific challenges, so that you can tailor your offerings to meet their needs.
- Care about your clients. They say that 50% of being successful in sales is learning how to sell yourself. If you build a genuine relationship with your clients, you’ll make them loyal and repeat customers. We aren’t talking about giving off a fake used car salesman vibe. We’re talking about asking, listening, and remembering what they say. We’re talking about building real rapport with your clients.
One easy way to build client loyalty is to always follow-up with your clients after they’ve received the service you sold them and ask about their experience. If there was an issue, make sure it’s addressed. They’ll be your client for life. - Take a tag team approach. They say there’s no “I” in team. This is particularly true in the transportation sales industry. Transportation sales involve multi-faceted coordination and partnering with other sales professionals at your company is an excellent way to sell more services to your clients, and to get them more invested in using your company.
- Recognize your shortcomings, and make them your strengths. No one is perfect. Every transport salesman is a human who is a dynamic compilation of personality, character, and emotions. There’s no perfect answer in transport sales. If you recognize your own shortcomings, you can find a way to turn it into a strength. For example, perhaps your struggle with being forward enough to ask for the sale. Use that weakness to show your clients that you care more about their business than your own commission paycheck. You’re not salesy, you’re genuine.
If you interested in the stable and growing transportation industry, but aren’t made for transportation itself, transportation sales might be perfect for you. Following these tips will make you successful!
