This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Sales & Marketing Summit on Wednesday.
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Working with drivers and customers to boost perishables sales.
DETAILS: A freight contractor from the heart of America’s “Salad Bowl” explains how truck brokers are keeping fruits and vegetables from perishing before they get to consumers during the supply chain crisis.
SPEAKER: Colby Varley is a sales associate with Advanced Transportation Services Inc.
BIO: Born and raised in Salinas, California, Varley started in the produce business at 18 as he worked his way through California State University, Fresno. He joined ATS in 2017.
KEY QUOTES FROM VARLEY:
“Prospecting is almost an addiction for me. If I’m driving and I see a truck I haven’t seen before, I may write down their [DOT] MC number. Or if I’m talking to a prospect, I’ll also try to get a referral from them. Most of the time people are pretty helpful.”
“I think we’ll see a shorter supply of perishables in the next couple of weeks, which is typical going into the ‘diet’ season [directly following the holidays]. But the water story here in California, especially in the Central Valley, is a whole other animal. We’ve had some rain, but we could use more.”
“I can’t control if someone is going to get loaded or unloaded, but I try to be up-front and communicate. I’m always trying to let the customers know what I’m hearing from the carrier side: what are they experiencing that might be impacting the rate or why we can’t get to the pickup on time or to the delivery on time when there’s an issue. I also communicate with the carrier so that they can be successful in getting [loads] out. Let everyone know what’s going on.”