Truckers and Travelers

Hello, Fellow Truckers!

To survive as a successful trucking business, you must be willing to adapt and change.  You must think like the CEO of Microsoft, in other words think outside the box.  You will only be as successful as you see yourself being.  Below are three of the six essential ways to grow.  Tomorrow we will finish this blog with the last three ways to grow your trucking business.

1)  Spend money.  You know the old adage: You have to spend money to make money.  Starting a trucking business or sustaining an active one entails expansion.  Anyone that tells you that you don’t have to get out and meet and greet potential customers is not doing well and wants to rain on your parade if you do so.  Think of ways to network with concrete companies, construction companies, grocery store companies, etc.  Whatever your line of trucking, get in front of the people that own the businesses you will deliver products to.  Go to meetings that these potential customers attend or get involved in the organizations that they are involved in.  If you want something bad enough, you will find the time to get in front of the customers that will make your trucking business prosperous.

2) Find your niche.  Let’s face it, the trucking business is very competitive.  Because of that, you must create ways to get your trucking business to stand out.  The best way to do this is to improve your customer service.  How can you go beyond your customers’ expectations of your trucking business?  Do you go out of your way to find out personal information about your customers such as how many kids they have and what their names and ages are?  Do you ask them how their week is going and genuinely take time to listen and respond?  Don’t those things make someone stand out to you?  Well, they are made of the same cloth.  You remember the golden rule?  It’s in the Bible, by the way and was coined by Jesus.  He said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Matthew 7:12. 

3) Generate referrals.  Two types of people focus on referrals to build their trucking business.  The first type has a successful trucking company and has earned the referrals.  The second type is not confident enough in themselves to SPEND MONEY so they ask, beg and plead with people they know for referrals.  Ask yourself;  when was the last time you got a referral without asking?  The true test of your merit is when others feel that your value is compelling enough to tell others about you.  If it’s been several months since your last referral, I encourage you to refine your niche.

Stay tuned and check out Part Two of this blog.  Be safe out there!