Logistics & transport

Cold calling in logistics & transport

Freight moves on relationships and reliability. A well-timed call the week a shipper's carrier fails can win a lane for years.

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Why cold calling works here

Logistics is a low-margin, high-frequency business where the decision-maker — a shipping or supply-chain manager — is measured on cost per shipment and on-time delivery. Cold calling works because pain is concrete and recurring: a late truck, a peak-season capacity crunch, or a rate hike creates an immediate opening. Whoever can quote a specific lane credibly, and answer at 6am when a load is stuck, displaces the incumbent.

Pains you can lever

Carriers who no-show or run late during peak season
Opaque rates and surprise accessorial charges
No capacity on specific lanes when volume spikes
Poor tracking visibility and slow claims handling
Over-reliance on one carrier with no fallback

How to open the call

Name a lane and a season: 'You ship out of [region] — how are you covered on capacity for peak? I ask because rates on that lane just moved and I want to see if we can beat your current number.'

Objections you'll hear (and how to handle them)

We already have carriers.

Everyone does — I'm not asking you to fire anyone. Keep us as your overflow on one tough lane; the day your main carrier can't cover, you'll be glad you have a number to call.

Send me your rate sheet.

Rates are lane-specific, so a generic sheet would waste your time. Give me your two busiest lanes and volumes and I'll come back with real numbers by tomorrow.

We're locked in a contract.

Understood — when's it up for review? And on the spot volume that falls outside the contract, is anyone quoting you competitively there?

What Tepio's AI brief surfaces here

Tepio's AI brief reads the company's site to flag what they ship, their likely lanes and facilities, and whether they're a shipper or a competing broker — so you quote the right lane instead of guessing.

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