Much to the chagrin of the rest of the McCarron tribe, my foray into social media began about a year ago when I started dabbling in the world of Facebook and LinkedIn. I had loads of fun catching up with pals from all over the world and even picked up some deals by rekindling old business relationships.

However, the real power of social media and its implications for the trucking industry didn’t hit me hit until this past Spring. I was blown away as I watched ordinary people armed with only the weapons of social media change the world. They accomplished in months what billions of dollars in military might failed to do in years—wipe out three Middle East tyrannies and protest regimes in a dozen more.

I don’t think Facebook and Twitter are fundamentally changing our business—we still move freight on trucks, and shippers still want good service and better prices. But it is revolutionizing how people talk—and hear—about our companies.

How to manage this change is a multi-million-dollar question at a lot of businesses. Not many have a good answer.
According to an Accenture study, only 8% of US companies “extensively” use social media even though 65% of marketing executives say social media is important to their companies’ future success. The survey, of 200 respondents from large ($1 billion-plus) companies, found that only 5% formally integrate social media with other customer and marketing initiatives. About 25% said they were only “slightly engaged” or “not engaged at all” with social media.

Age of Transparency
The days of companies controlling and even hoarding information are over. Now anyone can be Andy Rooney. If you mistreat a customer, he’ll take his complaint online where it will live forever.
What will you do when it happens to you? In a MarketTools study of 330 marketing executives, 95% of respondents said satisfied customers are very important or extremely important to their company, yet only 8% regularly respond to customer complaints online.

Maybe they don’t want to show their weaknesses or vulnerabilities. On the other hand, sharing a problem and how it was solved can build trust. And trust is still the key to a successful relationship, one of the few things Facebook hasn’t changed. If your five-day service was six days last month, you’d better tell people before they tell the world, and explain what you’re doing to get back on track.

Social Media and Sales
It isn't enough for trucking companies to just be on social media. You need to figure out why you’re on it and how it can help you sell freight.

A study by Gary Breininger & Associates found that supply chain professionals spend an average of 17 hours a week on the net. Not a huge surprise to me. What caught my attention is that 58% of respondents said the most important reason they use it is to source suppliers.

They’re visiting your web site, checking public records, and reading whatever else comes up with your name on it, including blog posts, Twitter feeds, and Facebook pages. Social media may not translate into a direct sale, but what customers read will influence their decision to call you up or skip on down to the next search result.

What Your Employees Say
The best way to attract and retain good employees these days is to embrace these changes and make them an integral part of your corporate culture. You can’t fight it or ban it any more. In fact, you need to use the available tools to empower your employees as a source of ideas to garner innovative ideas and improve your bottom line. I would wager that your top sales producers are using LinkedIn to build your business. It also means they have a permanent online resume for all your competitors to see.

As you plan for the year ahead, talk about how to monitor social media and which outlets are most important. Start with Facebook and Twitter and move on to Yelp, Yammer, Jive, or whatever platform is new as you’re reading this. Then go Google yourself and see what shows up. I bet your prospects and competitors already have, and in growing numbers.

Mike McCarron is the managing partner at MSM Transportation (www.shipmsm.com) in Bolton, Ont., which specializes in moving products from Canada to and from the rest of the world.

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Getting to know the customer starts with finding a “magic button” you can push to make a personal connection. That button is the one thing that ignites the guy’s interest. Maybe it’s kids. Or travel. Or sports. Something you both feel passionately about (it’s probably not freight) that can jump-start a conversation instead of a sales pitch.

I recently called on a prospect I’d never met before. Through Facebook and LinkedIn I found out he coaches a youth hockey team that won a regional tournament last season. When I met him I was able to say, “I read about your hockey team. Way to go. I know coaching takes a lot of time and dedication, but I tell you, it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

Magic button.

We talked hockey, kids, and coaching for the next 15 minutes and then comfortably eased into the business side of the meeting. Before I left, he asked how I knew about his team. And I told him, “When there’s someone I want to meet, I make an effort to get to know as much about him as I can.”

A Series of Little Closes
Still, whatever shared interest you have won’t be enough to close the deal. It’s just the start.

One of the big mistakes you can make is trying to force a sale when it’s not there. It’s easy to resort to discounts in order to make the sale happen, a strategy you’ll pay for many times over. From that point on, everything else you have to sell—everything that makes your company great—won’t matter. To your customer, you’re the low-price carrier, the one he calls when he needs a cheap rate.

In my experience, no customer worth having will give you all of his business on the first call. The best relationships start with a series of little closes—smaller deals that are more like solid singles and doubles than home runs. This takes the focus off price, or the pressure on the customer to make a big commitment. Picking up a load here or a lane there, and doing a great job, keeps the rally alive and sets the table for a big inning when your competitor drops the ball.

Like a batter in baseball, you want to come to the plate with a plan. What are you trying to accomplish on the sales call? Sure, you want the prospect’s business—every load, every lane. A grand slam. But if you think that’s realistic, you’re going to have big trouble making this a profitable, sustainable account.

Narrow it down. On every call, your goal should be a commitment to the next step in the sales process. It doesn’t have to be about business. Your goal could be to get the prospect to your terminal for a tour.

What are some next-action options?
* More Information: Can you send more information about a particular service? Ask what format works best—email, regular mail, a paper copy sent FedEx? Close by agreeing on what you’re going to send, when you’re going to send it, where to send it, and what you’re going to do to follow up.

* Another Meeting: Your best “next step” may be to simply keep the conversation going. Agree on a follow-up meeting, a lunch, a round of golf—whatever works. Get the date and time on the calendar before you leave.

* Incremental Business: Your goal may be to pick up a small piece of your customer’s business so you can start to prove yourself as a dependable carrier. Does the customer have a plan in place if his primary carrier can’t do a job or goes out of business? Is there a lane you can take on? If you agree to send a quote, explain when you’ll send it and then book a time to follow up.

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