Essential prospecting process steps for Shipping

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will be discussing the often dreaded task of cold calling and how having a structured approach and strategy can turn the most avoided task into something interesting and engaging [Music] i'm benjamin kowalski with freight 360 where we provide the latest transportation sales tips and training videos to help you reach your goals faster if you're new here make sure you go ahead and hit the subscribe button and all of the links and details will be found in the description box below and for more information we've recently covered this topic in much greater detail on our podcast freight 360. let's jump into it prospecting new business is the make or break activity for freight brokers it's the task most commonly avoided and it's the number one reason why a new or a 10-year broker actually drop out of the industry we've identified why the random approach to prospecting is the number one reason why nobody really enjoys this no one ever won a nobel prize by doing a job they hate the reason people reach new heights in any field or industry isn't usually god-given ability it's due to the fact that they have a passion or interest that drives them to seek those heights we also remember things that interest us and we're far more likely to be able to recall a fact or detail in an area that we're passionate about that is things that interest us tend to stick right now what if you took those two very powerful attributes and applied them to the most dreaded tasks you have every day do you think it might spark some interest or dare i say excitement that's what i'll outline next we all have interest in our lives whether it's a hobby like woodworking or a passion for quilting in lsu football prospecting provides an avenue to fulfill that passion with profit and opportunity think about how many shippers in this country either provide the raw materials manufacturing or distribution involved in those three random things i picked right hundreds if not thousands of opportunities are literally at your fingertips right think back remember that fascination and wonder you had as an elementary school student and you were on a field trip to learn how they make potato chips that curiosity and desire to learn is still inside of you it's still inside me and everyone else it's whether or not we're going to be intentional about actually feeding that desire we're suggesting you reignite that spark of curiosity around what you're actually passionate about then start by searching the top 100 shippers in that area that's step one you need to start somewhere now where do you go from here right well almost everything that nate and all of us have learned in shipping we've learned by actually shipping products obviously but not everything there's quite a bit that we've learned from our conversations we've had with shippers many of which never became customers they were just prospecting calls with people willing to talk with us about what they're passionate about shipping widgets the widget industry and who their widget competitors are right use this to your benefit prospect by asking questions about the industry instead of only asking freight specific questions remember that people do business with those they know like and trust and in order to achieve those things it's best to start with questions you'll likely receive a passionate response to and it just so happens that where your curiosity will lead you is the exact same place your prospect's interests lie human beings love talking about two things themselves and what they spend the majority of their lives doing and if you're asking deliberate questions to learn more about what they do and why they do it they'll be ten times as likely to actually engage in a real conversation and the likelihood they'll be willing to do business with you will increase all the same so start by brainstorming what really interests you then start calling with the purpose of learning and engaging not just selling and closing and watch as those slam doors turn into welcome gestures and smiles for more information on prospecting with a purpose check out our recent episode 77 please share any questions you have in the comments and remember whether you believe you can or believe you can't you're right