FreightWaves forecasts that 2023 will be a challenging year for freight sales as freight rates decline under softening demand. It’s time to update the freight recession sales playbook from 2019.
On Thursday, FreightWaves hosted its Sales and Marketing Summit, a one-day virtual event covering all of the top strategies and technological innovations to help you survive and thrive in 2023.
Sales and marketing leaders from across the freight world — those who have been on the front lines of cold-calling, customer acquisition, account management and more — shared their success stories and learning opportunities.
Here are some of the things we learned:
The evolution and new frontier of marketing
Mickey Cloud, executive director at The Sasha Group, joined us to talk about the evolving landscape of marketing. We looked at pandemic related trends, the rise in newer social media platforms and what companies and brands can do to navigate these various options.
Digital supply chain technologies — strategies and solutions
Michael Beelar, vice president of supply chain and logistics at Intellias, talked about the evolution of the TMS and digital supply chain technology, from visibility to real-time supply chain mapping. And we went over what the future might bring and how you can prepare for it.
10 virtual sales tips guaranteed to add faster revenue
Lauren Bailey, founder and president of Factor8, gave logistics sales representatives advice on how to build a positive customer experience from the very first call. Bailey also broke down sales statistics for managers to better understand the sales cycle and develop strategies for closing business whether the market is hot or not.
Sales superpowers: Unlocking the potential of LinkedIn
There are so many things to be aware of when it comes to social media that leaning on it as a main form of marketing seems like a big gamble. Lars Ward, vice president of business development at FreightVana, and Mary O’Connell talked about the all-in approach to going all in on LinkedIn and how it’s a platform for more than sharing a highlight reel.
How to keep messaging consistent when your brand is broad
Kaylee Nix sat down with Victoria Miklausich from Ryder to discuss how to streamline marketing messaging through a business that is as diverse as Ryder.
Building a marketing program in the mid-market space
A one-person marketing team is a huge job in a growing company. So is building a marketing campaign that lands a 3PL in the top 10. Kacey Schaffer, director of marketing at Sunset Transportation, shared how she grew a one-woman operation into a team that maintains the highest level of quality.
So you want to start a podcast?
FreightWaves’ Kaylee Nix sat down with Digital Dispatch founder Blythe Brumleve about the ins and outs of starting a podcast, growing an audience and turning words into profits.
Digital marketing in transportation
What lessons were learned in 2022 about sales and marketing and what does 2023 hold? Ed Burns of Burns Logistics talked about the generational shift in selling and the importance of marketing in the coming year.
Advice on selling into a deflationary market
Nick Dangles, co-founder of Kinetic, discussed the different aspects of sales in a down cycle. Dangles will also break down what type of structure and strategy is needed in the coming years.
Building and measuring analyst relationships
In this chat, Will Haraway, co-founder and chief content officer at LeadCoverage, explained the importance of building relationships with analysts to leverage the reach of industry research groups like Gartner, Sparks and others. He also described how to measure the success of those relationships over time.