How to grow your Logistics business

Logistics in India, is a huge market. But a lot of companies in this industry are still struggling to grow. In most cases, the reason is lack of sales. Companies struggle with sales predictability, and low conversion rates (from leads to customers).

So we bring you a few tips to help you boost your sales figures and grow your business:

• Amplify sales predictability
  It is very critical to have a sales strategy in place. This not only helps you improve your sales, but also increases accountability across sales representatives and executives. An essential quality of a good sales strategy is that it should be repeatable, scalable and measurable. One of the ways you can achieve this is by having the funnel approach explained below.
  
  
• Keep the leads coming
  Look for ways to collect information about your potential customers. You could gather their name, email Id, phone number and even company name. You can do this either through:
  
  • Inbound marketing—where you attract customers to your website through SEO or ask people to call you by sharing your visiting card or
    
  • Outbound marketing—where you acquire leads through emails, SMSes, trade magazine ads, event sponsorships, cold calling, etc.
    
    
• Manage your leads/customers better
  Filter the leads generated from the above methods and see if they match your customer profile. Check if they are willing to buy, ready to buy and if they can influence the buying decisions of their company/stakeholders. Once you have done that, qualify your leads, and while you are serving your customers, make sure to prioritize. For instance, on one hand, a vendor giving you monthly business may need/demand urgent delivery, whereas on the other hand, you may have a new order, which is huge and can potentially be a big returning customer. This may seem like a catch 22 situation, but you must try to work your way around. You could try talking to your existing client to buy more time basis your relationship with them; or you could buy time from the new customer and offer him some added value like a discounted price or so. There is also the option to outsource the smaller order for once. Managing your leads and customers well is the most essential and basic need of any venture.
  
  
• Offer what the customer needs
  Every customer is different, and it is your responsibility to make sure that your consumers' needs are met. Look at hiring good sales representatives, who can assess the needs of your customer and present them with a product that is useful to them, and/or solves their problem. For Instance, if you offer a plethora of storage options for a customer who's only looking for chemical storage (which requires specific storage facilities), the customer may not be keen. Whereas, if you give him what he really needs, you can then up sell the transport of the chemicals too. He might only be interested once his primary needs are met. So always put in efforts to understand your customer's needs, pitch your offering formally and close the deal.
  
  
• Build your brand
  Most of the marketing in logistics, especially in India, is done through word of mouth. So having a good brand reputation is imperative. Keep socializing and keep your brand name buzzing.
  While building your brand, take time to identify the USP of your brand, and then promote it enough. Say if quick turnaround time is your USP, then make sure your brand is known for that, and no one promotes it better. Be it quality or great work ethics, the day your USP is synonymous to your brand, you have succeeded.
  
  
• Open a new location/platform
  Leveraging the digital platform might seem like a task at first, but do keep an eye on potential growth opportunities. Look out for opportunities to expand to a different location and/or product. An advantage of the logistics business is that even during recession times, there will always be some or the other industry that is doing well and using logistics services. In logistics, there is also the possibility of huge opportunities springing up suddenly. So always stay prepared to put the pedal to the metal. If you need a quick loan to fulfill a particular order, you can consider opting for a credit letter from the bank. 
  
  Any business is an ongoing process. Keep planning your next step, anticipating risks and opportunities that could arise, and keep working smart towards the goals you have set for yourself. Once you are doing what needs to be done, relax and be patient, and stay ready to relish the 'fruits'