How To Drive Sales In B2B Logistics - Logistics Lead Generation

If Commerce Were a League of Heroes, Logistics Would Be Its Superman

When it comes to driving growth in the logistics industry, logistics sales leads are the superpower every business needs. Companies like Amazon have showcased how an optimized logistics process can be a game-changer, but the real question is: how can B2B logistics providers harness the same principles to generate leads and boost sales?

Logistics, as an industry by itself, is the backbone of the economy. It facilitates trade, connects supply chain partners, and creates opportunities across industries. But for logistics companies, growth hinges on one vital factor: how to generate leads in logistics and convert them into actionable opportunities.

Let’s dive into how B2B logistics providers can unlock the potential of logistics leads and increase sales through focused strategies and effective lead generation techniques.

The Role of Logistics in Driving Sales

At its core, logistics is all about getting the right resources to the right place at the right time—and doing so in the best possible condition. It’s the glue that holds supply chains together, creating the seamless flow of goods from origin to customer—ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction.

A B2B and B2C basic supply chain illustration

This interconnectedness presents a huge opportunity for companies to tap into logistics sales leads that directly drive growth.

For example, Amazon has mastered the art of keeping customers happy by focusing on two essential elements:

Delivering exceptional customer service.
Minimizing shipping times through innovative technologies.

For B2B logistics companies, there’s a valuable lesson here. When you focus on customer satisfaction and efficiency, you’ll not only win business but also generate logistics leads that can grow your sales pipeline.

Types of Logistics

Logistics providers must identify the model that aligns with their operational goals. There are various logistics models and it is important to identify which one makes the most sense for your business and the fulfillment process. Here’s an overview of the key types:

1. Third-party Logistics (3PL)

3PL providers specialize in streamlining logistics processes through expertise and cost-efficiency. Services include freight handling across various transportation methods and cold storage solutions.

Effective lead generation for logistics companies often starts with showcasing the advantages of working with a 3PL provider. Highlighting faster delivery, reduced costs, and reliability can attract the right prospects. Learn how to find 3PL customers and boost your third party sales.

2. Fourth-party Logistics (4PL)

Also known as Lead Logistics Providers (LLP), 4PL providers manage the entire supply chain for their clients, offering services like inventory management, warehousing, and packaging.

3. Warehouse Providers

Focused solely on storage, warehouse providers manage inventory, maintain security, and track inbound and outbound shipments.

4. In-house Logistics

Enterprises that manage their own logistics operations often customize methods for storage and distribution.

5. Courier Shipping

Known as “last-mile delivery,” courier shipping ensures goods are transported from the nearest hub directly to the customer.

Reverse Logistics

This process manages product returns, repairs, or recycling, ensuring sustainability and customer satisfaction.

Looking to boost your freight lead generation strategy? Check out this freight lead generation strategy.

The Future of Logistics: Technology and Automation

Logistics, as the backbone of global trade, has always had great future potential if the industry wasn’t so fragmented and slow to adopt new technologies. A table from PwC’s Future In Sight Series demonstrates how these new developments would have enhanced logistic capabilities as well as the uncertainties when faced with customer acceptance.

The Technology	The Impact	The Uncertainties
Physical Internet (based on the IoT)	– Improved supply chain transparency, safety, and efficiency – Improved environmental sustainability (more efficient resource planning)	– Social expectations around data privacy and security may change – Regulation around data security and privacy may increase or be enforced more stringently – The sector’s willingness and ability to invest in collaboration
IT Standards	– Enabling collaboration horizontally – More efficiency and transparency	– Companies’ willingness to adopt is uncertain due to data security concerns
Data analytics	– Improvements in customer experience and operational efficiency in operations – Greater inventory visibility and management – Improved ‘predictive maintenance	– Rate of development of data processing capacity is unclear – Question marks around data security – Social expectations around data privacy and security may change – Regulation of data security and privacy may increase or be enforced more stringently
Cloud	– Enabling new platform-based business models and increasing efficiency	– Development of costs unclear (once a certain scale is reached physical data centers still tend to be cheaper)
Blockchain	– Enhanced supply chain security (reduction of fraud) – Reduction in bottlenecks (certification by 3rd parties) – Reduction of errors (no more paper-based documentation) – Increased efficiency	– Rate of adoption uncertain – Unclear whether one or two dominant solutions will emerge or multiple competing solutions
Robotics & automation	– Reduction in human workforce and increased efficiency in delivery and warehousing (including sorting and distribution centers) – Lower costs	– Speed of technology development unclear
Autonomous vehicles	– Reduction in human workforce – Increased efficiency in delivery processes	– Regulatory environments not currently in place in most countries – Liability issues are not yet clear – Ethical questions remain especially in relation to emergency situations
UAVs / Drones	– Increased cost efficiency (use cases: inventory, surveillance, delivery) – Workforce reduction	– Regulation in most countries is not sufficient for commercial use in public areas like delivery – Safety and privacy concerns may hamper market acceptance
3-d printing	– Lower transportation demand – Transported goods would mostly be raw materials	– Speed, scale, and scope of uptake by customer industries are still unclear

How to Generate Leads in Logistics

Logistics companies that create sales leads in-house miss out on chances that may drive their company ahead.

As logistics sales professionals, you know how challenging it may be to contact decision-makers with a logistics B2B lead generation marketing strategy.

Perhaps they are just too busy for a phone call, or perhaps you are not targeting the right prospects. So, if you want to reduce the sales cycle, whatever the case may be, you must learn who your ideal prospects are in order to replenish your pipeline with fresh logistic connections.

Here are actionable strategies for lead generation for logistics companies:

Leverage Electronic Logistics Marketplaces (ELMs)
Adopt a Targeted B2B Lead Generation Strategy
Learn How to Segment Your Market
Embrace Digital Marketing
Leverage Inbound Marketing
Invest in Outbound Strategies

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Leverage Electronic Logistics Marketplaces (ELMs)

ELMs provide a centralized hub for businesses to connect with potential clients and partners, making them an essential tool for lead generation for logistics companies. Here are the key types of ELMs and how they can help you generate leads:

Open Marketplaces:
- Accessible to any shipper or carrier.
- Useful for offering short-term vehicle leasing, equipment sharing, or backhauling services.

Pro Tip: “Use open marketplaces to showcase competitive pricing and reliable services to attract prospects actively searching for logistics solutions.”

Private Marketplaces:
- Exclusively created and managed by shippers for communication with hauliers.

Pro Tip: “Promote exclusivity and personalized services to attract businesses seeking controlled operations.”

Shared Marketplaces:
- Facilitate shared information between marketplaces, allowing hauliers to view loads from multiple shippers in one place.

Pro Tip: “Position your services as a flexible and multi-client logistics solution, appealing to businesses looking for efficiency and variety.”

Collaborative Marketplaces:
- Businesses collaborate to align distribution networks through a central hub.

Pro Tip: “Highlight your ability to optimize logistics through partnerships and collaborative efforts, targeting companies seeking cost and resource efficiency.”

Learn how to outperform your competitors with these lead generation strategies for electronic manufacturers.

Adopt a Targeted B2B Lead Generation Strategy

As a logistics sales professional, reaching decision-makers is one of the biggest challenges. To generate logistics sales leads effectively, you need to:

Understand your ideal customer profile (ICP): Identify businesses that align with your services and create targeted campaigns to connect with them.
Improve outreach tactics: Use a mix of cold calling, email marketing, and LinkedIn outreach to engage busy professionals.
Offer tailored solutions: Present personalized value propositions that solve specific supply chain pain points for prospects.

Discover Callbox lead generation for logistics firm boost US market presence.

Market Segmentation

There is no doubt that logistic enterprises have accelerated economic growth and productivity globally. Not only are the world’s countries have become economically competitive, but the transportation and logistics industry as well.

Market segmentation is a way to help them optimize their marketing programs and create a personalized customer experience. This method goes well with the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) which helps narrow down your marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) and sales-qualified leads (SQLs). As an added bonus, segmenting your market will help your supply chain partners allocate their resources more efficiently.

The Global Logistics Market is segmented by:

Embrace Digital Marketing

Content Marketing: Create valuable blogs, whitepapers, and guides focused on solving logistics challenges. For example, content on “how to increase sales in logistics business” can attract potential clients looking for growth solutions.
SEO: Optimize your website with keywords like “logistics sales leads” and “how to generate leads in logistics” to improve visibility in search results.
Social Media Marketing: Use platforms like LinkedIn to target logistics professionals and share engaging posts that position your company as an industry leader.

Leverage Inbound Marketing Tools

Email Campaigns: Use personalized email campaigns to nurture prospects with tailored solutions to their pain points.
CRM Platforms: Tools like Salesforce or HubSpot can streamline lead tracking and help you segment prospects effectively.

Invest in Outbound Strategies

Cold Calling: Though traditional, cold calling can still be effective when targeted towards the right audience.
Webinars and Virtual Events: These platforms offer a direct way to showcase your expertise and connect with potential leads.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Combine inbound and outbound strategies to target high-value prospects with personalized campaigns.

Want to close more deals with the right accounts?

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How to Increase Sales in Logistics Business

To grow your logistics business, generating leads is just the first step. The next critical task is to convert those leads into sales. Here’s how you can achieve that:

1. Build Customer-Centric Solutions

Developing goodwill strategies may depend on the organizations that are designed for them. But I have found that companies that are in the business of supply chain (and logistics) have these customer-centric characteristics in common:

Understanding the buyer’s purpose.

A lot of companies aren’t very clear on what their customers want and fail to realize that there are different responses in the supply chain for each buyer’s purpose. Understanding the buyer’s purpose ensures that production losses can be avoided and that the goods can be stored and transported safely.

Ease of doing business.

The company that is the easiest to do business with gets higher customer preference. Logistics management will want to make sure that there are no problems with the system. This means checking on operations on each link of the supply chain, to streamline the purchase process, punctual delivery of purchased goods, and establishing communication channels to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Take ownership of problems and improve outcomes.

Customer expectations are increasing in terms of getting the goods faster, easier, and at a lower cost. While there may not be a perfect solution for every disruption, it is important to have transparency and prompt delivery of customer promises.

Use Cost-To-Serve (CTS) data to create customer value.

Identify the specific actions to increase the bottom line without sacrificing customer satisfaction. But the real value of CTS becomes apparent when there is a loss-making customer and it helps you transform them from unprofitable to profitable. It’s a lot less expensive to sell to an existing customer than to acquire a new one.

Listen to customer feedback.

There are a lot of touchpoints in the logistics sector and feedback becomes a powerful source of information to compete in the market. The feedback should help you gain customer loyalty, understand their buyer’s journey, and will allow your representatives an opportunity to advise them on better purchases. Most importantly, they could help you figure out how to be more cost-effective!

Have an efficient cross-functional collaboration.

This will streamline the following flows and processes:

Distribution Network Configuration: Number and location of suppliers, production facilities, distribution centers, warehouses, and customers.
Distribution Strategy: Centralized versus decentralized, direct shipment, cross-docking, pull or push strategies, third-party logistics.
Information: Integrate systems and processes through the supply chain to share valuable information, including demand signals, forecasts, inventory, and transportation.

Map and measure performance.

Determine if the goals are met by mapping and measuring the performance. This will help logistics management quickly diagnose any potential issues and make course corrections. One way to do this is to create a Value Chain Analysis. Another way is to track your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which I will explain later.

The Logistics KPI Checklist

As I mentioned previously, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are another way to map and measure performance in order to reach that goal. Where Value Chain Analysis is used to quickly identify where something needs to be improved, the KPIs help you measure your progress in completing business objectives.

Shipping Time: Is the amount of time between customer purchase and order shipment taking too long?
Order Accuracy: How many orders are processed, shipped, and delivered without issues?
Picking Accuracy: How many orders are picked up from the warehouse or hub without errors?
Delivery Time: What is the average delivery time between the hub and the customer after the order was placed to be shipped?
Pick & Pack Cycle Time: How long does it take for the employee to locate the product and start the packing process?
Pick & Pack Costs: What are the costs for workforce, packaging materials, and/or equipment?
Equipment Utilization Rate: Is your equipment enough for your workforce?
Transportation Costs: What is the total of transportation and transportation-related costs per delivery?
Warehousing Costs: What is your warehouse cost distribution?
Use of Packing Material: What kind of packing material are you using and how many have been used?
Number of Shipments: How many orders were shipped out?
Inventory Accuracy: How accurate is your inventory database?
Inventory Turnover: How many times was your entire inventory sold in a specific period of time?
Inventory to Sales Ratio: How much inventory was stored compared to how many times it was sold? Did you overstock?

Tips To Increase Logistics Sales

Human-to-human interaction has always been the key to closing a deal. It hasn’t changed then, and it hasn’t changed now. However, our sales toolkits have. The world of logistics is full of spreadsheets and forms, and they used to be done manually. Now, we have smart applications that have made it easier to optimize the sales process, manage data, and save time.

Embrace the data revolution! Here are some amazing tips to enhance your logistic sales!

CRM tools such as HubSpot or Salesforce should help you assess your deal stages, and determine the revenue you generate from your prospects and customers. These tools should also allow you to store their contact information and profiles, and make it easier to segment them. Different CRMs have their own flows of automation but they generally look like this:

If I didn’t emphasize this enough before… Automation is the key! According to Aberdeen, automation boosts sales performance across a variety of metrics:

107% better lead conversion rate
40% greater average deal size
20% team higher attainment of quotas
17% better forecast accuracy

The online traffic is mostly on desktop. But as younger generations start entering the workforce, the mobile footprints start increasing. Google has also started tracking mobile performance with its Mobile-First Indexing (MFI). It’s essential to have a website that reads well on mobile.

The Bottom Line

Success in logistics doesn’t just come from moving goods; it comes from moving the right connections through your sales pipeline. By focusing on generating and nurturing logistics sales leads, leveraging technology, and adopting customer-centric strategies, logistics companies can achieve sustainable growth.

Invest in digital marketing, optimize your sales funnel, and embrace automation to stay ahead of the curve. In a fast-paced industry, those who prioritize lead generation for logistics companies will undoubtedly emerge as leaders in the field.