Creating new value as a freight broker can be challenging, but during times of disruption, the opportunity for freight sales to secure new shipper-clients and expand carrier negotiations is vast. With all the interest in adding high-value shipper-clients, it’s important to know a few suggestions that will help improve freight sales and grow the brokerage. Let’s take a closer look at these five suggestions and how they help your company unlock limitless scalability through combined, collaborative freight finance, including transportation factoring.
1. Choose the Right CRM Software
The first suggestion and how to grow your freight broker business is the simplest; your organization needs to choose the right customer relationship management (CRM) software. The right CRM software is essential to ensuring your communications are intact and follow a natural progression through the sales funnel.
2. Get Real-Time Insights Into Freight Market Volatility
Another critical step in trying to figure out the best way how to grow a freight brokerage business rests with data. Brokerages need real-time data and analytics insights into freight market volatility. This allows brokerages to see where shippers and carriers alike are struggling the most. As a result, they will be better positioned to come into the relationship and be able to add value on both a shipper-and carrier-side. Furthermore, real-time data insights into freight market volatility naturally implies that brokers will be able to secure capacity at competitive rates without over or undervaluing transportation.
3. Centralize Communications With Your Team and Prospects
It is easy to assume that centralizing communications with your team and prospects should naturally fall under CRM software. However, in today’s world, centralized communications can be much more than meets the eye. For instance, the various transportation management systems (TMS) used by carriers and shippers need a unifying characteristic, such as a freight broker software that offers integrated freight payment management. By unifying the data streams and keeping communications in context and real-time, brokerages will be better equipped to improve freight sales and grow the business.
4. Take Advantage of Network Connections at Software Providers, and Train Your Team
Training is also vital to increasing sales and promoting growth in your brokerage. As reported by Supply Chain Game Changer, “Although industry experience is one staple of being a successful broker, those who are able to maintain a profitable business allocate some of their time toward continuing education. Freight broker training schools operate throughout the country as well as online, allowing brokers to gain deeper insights into the business, the industry, and best practices.” Efficient training is also widely available a customer’s resources, including carrier-or shipper-initiated training modules to ensure your team knows how to navigate differences between TMS platforms and even load boards. It is the combined network connections of services providers that can help you train your team and keep them ready for the next wave of disruption.
5. Streamline Freight Financing Processes
The final suggestion to improving the freight financing process is easier to imagine with keeping the above issues in mind. Unifies data, centralized communications, and collaboration naturally imply a need for streamlined freight financing. That is possible through an them that it, advanced program that can compile transportation and load data to effectively reduce the payment clock for carriers. After all, carriers that are paid in a timely manner are more likely to accept tenders from both brokers and shippers. Furthermore, improved freight financing will naturally lead to cash flow improvements within the brokerage, less confusion among carriers regarding pay dates, and an overarching ability to do more with less by reducing cash flow issues.
Grow Your Freight Broker Business With HaulPay in Your Tech Stack
There are many ways to grow your freight business, and technology is swooping in to save the day. It’s time to put the power of technology to work as you look for ways how to grow a freight brokerage business and increase freight sales. Reach more shipping prospects by eliminating the hassle of lengthy freight payment processes. Request a demo to see how the HaulPay platform works.
