2020 has been the year of video in sales. Freight brokers have had to quickly switch from expense accounts to cameras. Those that embraced this change are experiencing the successes of signing huge deals in their home offices, rather than spending a full day traveling to a 30-minute meeting.
Here are five freight broker prospecting tips from the TV production crew at FreightWaves to help you out with looking and sounding your best on video sales calls.
Why are lights first on the list in the famous lights, cameras and action phrase? Well, because your camera is only as good as your lights. For most freight brokers there is a simple solution to create studio lighting at home. It is called a ring light and it provides enough front light to eliminate any shadows that happen when you only use your normal indoor lighting.
You can purchase a ring light for as little as $30. It is well worth the investment because there’s nothing worse than presenting to your customers with half your face hidden by a shadow.
If you have an older laptop, then you probably do not have a great webcam. Having the right light setup will help with a low quality webcam, but it only goes so far.
It’s always best to use your smartphone when you can. The camera quality of most smartphones is far superior than any laptop or aftermarket webcams you can buy. Plus, the $30 ring light mentioned above includes a mount for your smartphone. You can insert your smartphone into the holder and sit back knowing you have the lights and camera quality to look like a true freight sales pro following this second of these five freight broker prospecting tips.
If you do need to present a demo, PowerPoint, or other material on a call, then you will need to use your laptop. If this is the case then you don’t want to look down into the camera. Doing this only gives the camera a great angle for an “up your nose” shot. It’s an unflattering angle all around. As with most things, in these freight broker prospecting tips, it’s all about giving your best face forward.
You need to move your camera up to eye level or just above. The best way to do this is by grabbing a few books or an empty box to place under your laptop. Once you see how much better angle this is you’ll never get on another video call with your laptop sitting directly on your desk.
Even though 95% of all communication is non-verbal, it’s hard to make sales when your customers can’t understand what you are saying. Investing in a good microphone becomes important. There are a wide variety of USB broadcast microphones for under $50 on the market. In addition to these there are headphones with microphones available that you can use to make sure your sound quality is clear and consistent.
We’ve probably all seen enough bare white walls to last us a lifetime. If this is you, then it’s time to hang some art behind you. This could be as simple as finally hanging those framed posters that have been sitting on the ground for years. Or you can always raid other rooms. Whatever the case, it’s time to stand out from the competition with an interesting home studio.
Believe me, of all of these freight broker prospecting tips, here’s where you can really build rapport with the prospect as there’s nothing better than a conversation that starts with a customer taking an interest in something that’s hanging on the wall behind you.
FreightWaves SONAR provides the fastest freight market data in the world across all major modes of traffic – guiding those who are seeking how to be a successful freight broker or to use in executing these freight broker prospecting tips. The SONAR platform is the only freight forecasting and analytics platform that offers real-time freight market intelligence driven off actual freight contract tenders.
SONAR contains proprietary data that comes from actual load tenders, electronic logging devices and transportation management systems, along with dozens of third-party global freight and logistics-related index providers like TCA Benchmarking, Freightos, ACT, Drewry and DTN.
Whether you’re working from the office or from home, SONAR can provide you the data and intelligence you need to stay ahead of your competitors.
Find out more about FreightWaves SONAR for brokers.
You can find more information on freight brokerage and carrier sales tips on the popular FreightWaves sales show, Put That Coffee Down.
