How to deal with Objections in the Sales Process

When dealing with objections it is important to respect the customers view points. Use comments like:

• I understand your viewpoint.
• I understand, that is a valid concern.

It is important to get to the real objection. Ask questions based on their replies. They might start with “we have a dedicated fleet” and the truth might be “they just do not believe we can do anything new to help them.” you have to determine the real issue before you can address it.

“Our freight is custom or customer routed” – This means you are not speaking to the person who handles the freight. In this case ask them if their customers ever have a problem getting trucks in. See if you can get their customers information from them and make contact with them. Go ahead and send our information to the prospect in case anything changes.

“We have a dedicated fleet” – If they run their own trucks or have a dedicated carrier, ask if they ever have any excess capacity? If they have any lanes they have a problem getting back hauls from (perhaps we can move those lanes or maybe we can encourage them to load back with SLC). Go ahead and send them our information just in case anything changes.

[The New Psychology of a Cold Call – Tips for Successful Cold Calls]

“We have dealt with brokers (or your company) in the past and they did a poor job” –  if you get this, try this approach:

I apologize for anything that has happened in the past. I am sure a lot of people have had poor service experiences in the transportation business. From what I have seen, most of the time it is from the traditional broker environment where one or two people are trying to complete the entire process. Under those circumstances it is no wonder service issues arise.

            We take an entirely different approach. We are not a typical broker, we are a logistics company. You will have a dedicated Account Manager assigned to your account and over 80 professional logistics specialists who will be working to satisfy your transportation needs. We are responsible for all aspects of your shipment including carrier qualification, dispatch, pickup and delivery appointments, check calls en route and a delivery confirmation.

“I am not interested” – This response is usually because you have either caught them at a bad time or they do not see any way you can benefit them. Be polite as you continue the conversation, they are probably looking to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. Attempt to get them give you some lanes to bid or ask them qualifying questions such as:

• May I ask who is your current primary transportation provider?
• Are there any lanes you are struggling with?
• Would reducing your transportation cost be of interest to you?
• Do you think you might have an interest at another time?

If all else fails, tell them you will send them our information just encase something changes in the future. Be sure to add them to your follow up list.

(If you are a broker) “I do not use brokers” or “I only use asset based carriers”– In this case you need to differentiate between us and a broker and give examples of why a logistics company is a good option for them:

I understand, however we are not a traditional broker we are a logistics company. Logistics companies can be much more efficient than an asset based carrier and more aligned with your goals of picking up and delivering on time at the most competitive price. Our first priority is servicing you, not making sure our trucks are full.

            The way we are set up we can eliminate many of your most frustrating issues when dealing with your transportation goals.

• We take care of carrier development. That is what we do, we do it throughout the country.
• We can take advantage of carriers with trucks already in our system looking for back-hauls out of your area. This can result in substantial savings for you.
• We dispatch the truck and give them directions.
• We make pickup and delivery appointments.
• We make en route check calls.
• We confirm shipment delivery.
• We are fully EDI capable.
• We have a $75,000.00 bond. (or whatever your company has)
• We do all of these things while working with you to keep your transportation costs down.

We certainly understand the need to keep your options open, we would just like the opportunity to give you another option that will save you money and reduce your workload.

“We have all the brokers we need right now” This either means that they are too busy to talk to you or truly have a large number of brokers.

“I understand, would it be possible for me to email you our information in case that should change.” If they allow you to keep talking after you get their email address, say “I noticed you said you had all the brokers you need right now, I wanted to point out that we are not a typical brokerage company, we are a logistics company.

Logistics companies can be much more efficient and provide more services a typical brokerage company and more aligned with your goals of picking up and delivering on time at the most competitive price. Our first priority is servicing you, not making sure our trucks are full.

            The way we are set up we can eliminate many of your most frustrating issues when dealing with your transportation goals.

• We take care of carrier development. That is what we do, we do it throughout the county.
• We can take advantage of carriers with trucks already in our system looking for back-hauls out of your area. This can result in substantial savings for you.
• We dispatch the truck and give them directions.
• We make pickup and delivery appointments.
• We make en route check calls.
• We confirm shipment delivery.
• We are fully EDI capable.
• We have a $75,000.00 bond (or whatever you company has)
• We do all of these things while working with you to keep your transportation costs down.

We certainly understand the need to keep your options open, we would just like the opportunity to give you another option that will save you money and reduce your workload.

If they do not allow you to keep talking, include this in your email.

“I am satisfied with my present carriers” This person is either not the right person to speak with, is very busy or does not see any value that we can provide. First try to identify if they are truly the correct person to speak with, after that try to inform them of how we can help them. Capacity, price, reduced workload, etc… If they just seem busy, ask if there is a better time to call back.

You probably will not be able to keep them on the phone long, so make an impact quickly.

We understand, however volumes and capacity are continually changing and as a logistics company we can help you protect your supply chain by giving you access additional carriers as well as potentially more competitive pricing levels and reducing the workload of  your transportation department.

Ideally try to get at least one lane to price, ask for a difficult lane or one they feel they are overpaying on. If all else fails, email them our information and put them on your follow up list. Even if they do not need anything today, things change.

“We are too busy to change carriers” Here you either have the wrong person or someone who is not interested in the extra work talking to you would cause. Try this: “I understand this is a very busy time, if you do not mind may I send you our information in case things change in the future. I believe we can make your transportation department more productive by absorbing some of your workload and save you money” If they want to hear how, use the information below, if not include it in your email.

Logistics companies can typically be more efficient and provide more services than an in house traffic department. The way we are set up we can eliminate many of your most frustrating issues when dealing with your transportation goals. The bottom line is we can save you time and money.

• We take care of carrier development. That is what we do, we do it throughout the county.
• We can take advantage of carriers with trucks already in our system looking for back-hauls out of your area. This can result in substantial savings for you.
• We dispatch the truck and give them directions.
• We make pickup and delivery appointments.
• We make en route check calls.
• We confirm shipment delivery.
• We are fully EDI capable.
• We have a $75,000.00 bond (or whatever your company has)
• We do all of these things while working with you to keep your transportation costs down.

We certainly understand the need to keep your options open, we would just like the opportunity to give you another option that will save you money and reduce your workload.

“We have had a problem with (your company) in the past” Apologize to the customer for an previous problems. Try to find out when the problem was and what happened. If it was some time ago, state: Our company has changed quite a bit since that happened. In many ways we are not the same company. We have transformed from a small brokerage company to a true logistics company with over 80 logistics professionals dedicated to servicing your needs.

• We take care of carrier development. That is what we do, we do it throughout the county.
• We can take advantage of carriers with trucks already in our system looking for back-hauls out of your area. This can result in substantial savings for you.
• We dispatch the truck and give them directions.
• We make pickup and delivery appointments.
• We make en route check calls.
• We confirm shipment delivery.
• We are fully EDI capable.
• We have a $75,000.00 bond or whatever your company has.
• We do all of these things while working with you to keep your transportation costs down.

We certainly understand the need to keep your options open, we would just like the opportunity to give you another option that will save you money and reduce your workload.

“I am only a small shipper” – Let them know that we represent all size shippers from Fortune 500 companies to shippers that only move a couple of loads per month. Regardless of their size we can find a solution to help them. We give all of our shippers the same level of customer service.

No matter what objection you get always try to get contact information so you can email or mail or information to the customer. Tailor the email/mail to address their objections. Remember custom presentations are more effective than a standardized one.

We hope that our article on handling objection will assist you as a freight agent in closing sales. It does not matter if you are a freight broker agent or a freight capacity agent, you need to know how to respectfully handle customer objections.

It is never easy to hear “no” and you will hear that a lot as a transportation agent.

If you are looking for trucking companies looking agents or transportation agents wanted the we can help you there also.

Being in the business we have a chance to review a number of agent programs. If you want to know a very good freight agent program, CLICK HERE, to see who we recommend.