Freight Sales Pro Tip #1: How to Qualify the Best Freight Leads

Freight sales is part of the business-to-business repeat service space. Successful sales in this sector require a unique methodology. Sales and marketing professionals with experience in other sectors are often unaware of the distinct approaches, cadences, and messaging required to achieve the best freight sales results.

It is important to understand the “Why” before learning about the “What” and “How.” If interested, please read on.

The Competitive Landscape

The freight, logistics, and transportation industry is saturated and highly competitive. Decision-makers (referred to as traffic managers from this point forward) are engaged by 6 to 10 new sales reps every week.

Traffic managers do not need to search for new service providers; sales reps are continuously reaching out to them. This is why many marketing managers become frustrated when sales reps fail to follow up on leads generated from websites and social media.

Most people searching online for freight service providers fall into three categories:

1. Shippers with bad credit whose service providers have cut them off.

2. Startups with no volume or established credit.

3. Individuals looking to move personal effects once or twice.

Sales reps seeking repeat shippers will not waste time on these types of leads.

Challenges with Data Lists

Traffic managers often wear multiple hats — managing docks, warehouses, or facilities — meaning they are already overwhelmed and difficult to reach.

Sales reps frequently purchase data lists or subscribe to websites that compile and display contact information for lead generation. While these lists make searching easy, the reality is the information can be:

• Incorrect

• Outdated

• Purposely deceiving

• Sold to most or all competitors

Executives and key contacts often list email addresses that direct to spam folders and phone numbers that route to unmonitored voicemails. Managers reserve their direct contact information for people who earn their trust.

Ineffective Prospecting

Many sales reps take the path of least resistance by sending unsolicited emails (SPAM) to the addresses provided. Though the emails may appear "opened," this often just means the server scanned and routed them to the trash folder. Worse, the sender can be flagged as a spammer, blocking future emails automatically.

How to Qualify the Best Freight Leads

Best Lead Sources

If you have access to past shipping data, you have a significant advantage. This data is typically stored in a company’s Transportation Management System (TMS), which logs:

• Shippers

• Receivers

• Occasionally, third-party brokers

The best leads are former paying parties — shippers, consignees, or brokers — who have not recently booked a shipment.

Best practice:Agree with leadership on the definition of a “lost customer” (e.g., no shipments in the past six months). Download these contacts and prioritize them as warm leads.

Once these are exhausted:

1. Move to non-paying parties in the database — still warmer than purchased leads.

2. Join industry-specific organizations and attend trade shows. Membership lists are an excellent resource and typically deliver a stronger ROI than generic data lists.

Cold Calling Like a Pro

Successful sales reps cold call company phone numbers directly, not the direct lines listed on purchased lists. They expect:

• Rejection

• Wrong numbers

• Defensive gatekeepers

But these are just parts of the process. The key is persistence and using setbacks as motivation.

Cold calling, like sports, is a skill honed through repetition. Top athletes practice daily — the same applies to elite freight sales reps. Decades of trial, error, and refinement have created best practices and winning strategies.

The successful freight sales rep is well-compensated, highly respected, and critical to the success of any logistics company.