As a freight broker, you are always looking for ways to improve your business. One way to do this is by refining your cold calling methods and scripts. Cold calling can be an excellent way to grow your freight brokerage business and it can be a great way to build relationships with new clients.
With a clearly road-mapped script, you can be sure that you are making the most effective use of your time when prospecting for new clients.
Table of Contents
Tips For Cold Calling As A Freight Broker (Before You Begin)
Expect your potential customers to try and get you off the phone as fast as possible. Not because they dislike you, but because they most likely already get the same sort of phone calls every day from other freight brokers/companies as well. The one true and tested way to separate yourself from everyone else that calls is persistence & aggressiveness towards completing the call.
As a freight broker, you’re in a very competitive and dog-eat-dog industry. You need to be very clear about what you’re offering and how it’s different from the competition.
If you know your service is great and better than the competition, they NEED to hear what you have to say, not want or should have to hear what you say.
As such – there’s no need for “rapport-building” by talking about useless things like the weather/hobbies, etc. All of that is complete nonsense at the beginning of your call, especially on a cold call. At the end of the day, they will only care about how you can help their business.
Scripts For Getting Past The Gatekeeper As A Freight Broker
You should avoid selling or pitching your services to the gatekeeper if one exists. You should never allow the gatekeeper to reject your services with “we’re not interested.” All of this should be saved for the decision-maker/contact. Keep it simple, informal, and direct.
Gatekeeper Script
Gatekeeper: Hi, this is XYZ Company.
You: Hi! This is [Your Name] from [Freight Broker Comapny]. Is [Prospect] in?
(That’s it.)
Gatekeeper Rebuttals & Objections
While I wish it would always be that simple, the reality is that most gatekeepers will start digging around to find out your intentions. Here are some possible objections they might give you and how to handle them:
Gatekeeper: What is this call about?
You: We help handle freight arrangements/logistics for companies just like yours – I was just looking to introduce myself and my company to the owner/person who runs logistics. Is [contact first name] available? Thanks! (Don’t wait for a response after the question, close a bit more assumptively by ending your question with a ‘thanks’, then wait for them to transfer/get a response.)
Gatekeeper: We already have someone that does that, thanks!
You: I totally get that! This is why I’m just looking to introduce myself, and I promise I’ll make it quick. Is he/she in today?
Gatekeeper: We’re not interested.
You: I hear you, and I know you guys get lots of sales calls – Thankfully, this isn’t one of them. I’m just looking to introduce myself and my company, and I’ll be quick. Is he/she available? Thanks!
Gatekeeper: We’re not looking to do anything or make any changes, we’re very happy with how things are.
You: That’s great! I wasn’t calling to sell anything – I just wanted to quickly say hi and introduce myself and my company. Is he/she available?
The common theme throughout is that you make a quick acknowledgment, and continue to push the script forward.
Part 1: Intro
Hi [Prospect], it’s [Your Name] calling from [Freight Broker Company], how are you? (You can omit the ‘How are you?’ and jump right into the next part if you’d like. Either way, you shouldn’t get TOO much resistance here.) Great! Reason for my call today, we help companies just like yours save, and make more money by cost-effectively managing their shipping & transportation.
All I’d like to do today is share a few details about what we do and if you like what you hear today, I’d just like to get back to you to in the future share some more details. Sound fair enough?
Okay, great! And so I don’t waste your time: (get into qualification stage)
Part 2: Qualification(Questioning) Stage
- Are you currently working with a freight broker/transportation partner right now?
- How long have you been working with them?
- When it comes to moving your freight, would you say your main priority is price, time, something else altogether, or a bit of all?
- Do you have any lanes that you’re shipping right now? How’s that going for you? What’s that costing you?
- Lastly, how do you know when your shipping partner/freight brokers are doing a good job?
Okay Great! [Prospect] at the end of the day: [Mention a few of your most important features] so I know we can be of value. More importantly, we’ve helped companies just like yours to cut costs, make more money, and most importantly, feel happier and better about their shipping and transportation operations. I know for a fact, that if I could show you more cost savings and better service, you’d be open to working with us, right?
(If they say no here, reiterate your closing points. “You mean to tell me, that if you could operate at a cheaper cost, make more money, and loved our service at that, YOU WOULDN’T be happy to work with us?!? Of COURSE you would!”
Note about qualifying: Ask any other questions that would be useful for you, and the type of client you want to take. If they start talking about certain points where YOU KNOW you can help, quickly address it with one or two sentences and move on to the next question.
You don’t wanna regurgitate a ton of info to them on what you do, but rather find out as much as possible about them so when it comes time to CLOSE a deal, you know exactly how to handle it.
Lastly, when getting answers to your questions, make sure you acknowledge their response with either an “Okay, Great!” or any other positive/affirmative words. If they tell you that you’re taking too long, or say they don’t have time to continue throughout the questions/qualify part, a simple “A few quick questions, and I’ll get you right off the line” should work.
Part 3: Wrap-Up Stage
Okay Great. And what’s the best email/fax I can send our info out to? And is this usually the best number to reach you, or do you have a cell/another number that works better?
Fantastic. Take a look out for that email, I’ll call back in a few days to touch base with some more details. Thanks!
Note about wrapping up: When setting the appointment, you will always be better off setting a time to call back sooner than later. If you don’t set an exact appointment/date, then let them know that you’ll be calling them in a few days to review or go over things in more detail. The more time that goes by from the qualification phone call, the more and more they lose interest in you – plus, you are giving an opportunity for a competitor to swoop in and “steal” the prospect from under your nose.
Final Tips On The Script
You won’t typically ask for a sale/get an order on the first phone call – although it sometimes happens if the customer is actively looking for someone new and willing to go. The purpose of this call/script is simply to qualify the lead, make sure they are a good fit for you and them, and get as many of these calls off as possible to build your lead base.
The way the script is structured is to get to the point as soon as possible. For the introduction, you only need one sentence about your Freight Brokerage, that includes one key benefit.
The most important part of the lead generation script is to get your way down to the Qualification Stage, no matter what they say in the beginning. You might be absolutely perfect for them, but you’ll both have NO IDEA unless you get to the qualify/questioning stage to get some answers on how they operate right now.
So the “not interested”, “no time”, and “already work with someone” do not really mean anything during this call. The best way to handle these objections is to address them, empathize, and move on to the next part of the script.
(Example: “I hear you. I know you get a lot of calls, I’ll keep it brief and won’t waste your time, I promise. Like I was saying… ”)
If you don’t already, I would suggest preparing an email with a brief on your company and your services/main selling points. It goes a long way in closing some of these potential prospects – and part of the script utilizes that fact. However, we will reiterate the closing points that would be on the email at the end of the call, regardless.
After You Get The Lead
The next call will be to close/sell them on your product or service. We always recommend leading and selling with ONE product/service specifically instead of offering an entire suite of services. As a matter of fact, I would never recommend selling multiple services/products at once, in any circumstance. Maybe a specific lane/load that you discussed.
During your next call, touch base on your previous conversation in the beginning so they know it’s not another “cold” call. A portion of prospects will be so inundated with calls that they WILL FORGET that you guys spoke, even if it was just 3-4 days prior.
A good qualifying phone call/lead makes the closing process that much easier. Over time, as you start practicing and using this script, you’ll be able to drill down and figure out exactly what questions need to be asked for the type of client that you want. However, nothing else needs to be changed much. The general structure/format can always stay the same.
Best Rebuttals For Freight Brokers
“I already have freight arrangements/freight is already taken care of/not looking to make any changes/etc.”
No worries! I’m not looking to step on anyone’s toes, I just wanted to introduce myself and quickly share some info on what we can do differently. Like I said, if you like what you see/hear, great! Maybe we can talk some more in the future, if not, I won’t bug you again. Sound fair? (go to next part of the script)
“I don’t have time/Busy, right now, call back later/etc.”
No problem! Like I said, I just wanted to quickly introduce myself to you and share a bit of info. I’ll have you right off the phone in no time. But just so I don’t waste your time… (go to next part of the script)
“Not interested.”
No problem! Like I said, I just wanted to quickly introduce myself to you and share a bit of info. All I ask is, take a look at our info., if you like what you see, great! Maybe we can talk a bit more down the road, if not, I won’t bug you again. Sound fair? (go to next part of the script)
“Don’t have any money for anything new.”
No problem, it’s not a sales call. Like I said, I just wanted to quickly introduce myself to you and share a bit of info. I’ll have you right off the phone in no time. But just so I don’t waste your time… (go to next part of the script)
“Do you guys do this? Or that? (Industry-Specific Question)”
Answer truthfully, and quickly. Then move on to the next part of the script. Do not go on and on, and lose sight of the most important part of the script, which is the qualification stage.
