Truckers and Travelers

Hello, Fellow Drivers!  In Part 1,(9/17/2009), I wrote about the first step in achieving success in the trucking business.  Today I want to write to you about Step 2, creating a questionnaire process.  If you expect to stand out in the trucking business, you must first develop a niche for yourself.  Think of a way to stand out.  That may be in your customer service, or the way you interact with your customers when you deliver their goods or the kind of product you haul and the way you haul and deliver it. 

The second strategy in achieving success in the trucking business is to create a questionnaire process.  Socrates was a wise philosopher who asked simple yet profound questions.  Similarly, landing a hauling contract is the logical conclusion of a four-step questioning process that includes identifying your client base with similar hauling needs, understanding their chief problems and objections, effectively handling their objections and providing solutions that solved their challenges or needs.

To facilitate this process, you can develop your own questionnaire to find out everything you can about your ideal customer.  It can quadruple your business simply by asking the right questions and listening effectively!  Asking the right questions will provide you with critical information, such as what keeps your ideal customer up at night and the three biggest problems you can solve for them.  You also can use this questionnaire to determine how persistent you need to be with your ideal customers.  Simple questions such as the following can give you remarkably valuable insights into this subject:

• How often do you like to be contacted by your transportation company?
• What information  or paperwork do you want to receive from your transportation company?
• How do you prefer to receive this information – postal mail, e-mail, fax or telephone?

After you develop your questionnaire, meet with centers of influence (COI) in your niche market, such as purchasing agents, dispatchers, or trucking company managers to get their ideas for working within your desired market.  Once you feel confident that this is the right niche for you, begin asking your COIs and other influential people for referrals from within your desired niche.  For instance, if you wanted to haul farming equipment, you may want to visit several tractor dealerships and talk to them about how their equipment is delivered and if they are satisfied with their service they are getting with the present transportation company.  In these cases, it is very important to explain that you just want to ask questions for market research purposes and that you will not solicit their business unless they ask about your services. 

With questionnaire in hand, interview as many of your ideal customers as you can and compile a spreadsheet or list with all your data.  This provides valuable information not only on the beest ways to reach new customers, but also how and when you should prepare your paln for persistent follow-up.  For instance, you may discover that several of your customers are hunters or fishermen.  You could then establish contacts within a certain hunting clubs or fishing tournaments.

Once you’ve completed your interviews and questionnaires, share your findings withe the COIs as well as the interviewees with whom you met.  Also ask them if they’d like to receive additional information from you as you obtain it.  If they say yes, provide it to them in whichever format they prefer.  If they say no, thank them for their time and don’t add them to your customer base.

So, for you go-getters this is an excellent way to drum up new business especially if you are just want to start a trucking business.  Next blog will cover steps 3 and 4.  Step 3 is automating your follow-up.  Step 4 is being persistent with yourself.  Be safe out there!