Where to Find the Best Freight Shipper 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.

Spoiler Alert! Inbound Leads rarely produce quality customers.

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 sales reps become frustrated when the marketing department forwards them leads generated by inbound marketing.

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.

Online Shipper Databases and Lists can do more harm than good.

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• Outdated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 are fatigued from spam that is generated from their email address being in a database or list that is sold to the masses. Thus, they often supply the list company with an email address that goes directly to spam folders. You risk having your email address or domain blocked forever by a company if you are labeled a spammer. Your time and money is better spend cold calling and making a solid first impression. Managers reserve their direct contact information for people who earn their trust and respect. 

Where to Find the Best Shipper Leads and Data

Best Shipper Lead and Data 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 the lost customer leads have been re-qualified:

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

2. Look to your best customer for the next shipper lead and data source. Ask your best customers if they belong to any industry-specific organizations or if they attend trade shows. Join those organizations as an affiliate member to gain access to their membership lists.

3. If your company needs to hire a team member, consider hiring someone who used to work in the same industry as your largest customers. These people can be a gold mine of insider data and can often make introductions to others in the industry.