Are we lying to ourselves?

We’ve all said it at some point. It seems that not a day goes by where we aren’t approached by someone offering us their services. It has become so common that when we recognize this pattern, we respond unconsciously with a “we’re not interested”.

The trucking industry is no exception. Here is what a typical day for the majority of us looks like: We wake up, run our morning errands and, as soon as we hit the office, the phone starts ringing. Since the work just started, we don’t even think about it, but We automatically pick up. Right off the bat, we realize it is a sales call. Our brain goes into auto-pilot mode and cannot wait for a moment of silence, so we reject them and get off the phone politely.

But, how satisfied with our carriers are we, really? Is there anything, if it was in our power, we’d change about them? If the truthful answer is NO, then we are in a good shape. For those of us who differ, hanging up on prospective carriers can, potentially, be harmful.

THE PARADOX OF CHOICE

Our first challenge is our comfort zone. When we use a carrier that “does the job”, we often don’t realize we could find a better replacement for the same money. Now, finding an alternative sounds painful, especially if we are used to our carrier’s way of doing business. We must force ourselves to take a step back and look at the big picture. If we keep ignoring their shortcomings, how can we expect to provide exceptional service to our clients? Ignoring our carrier’s weak spots can result in losing potential business.

A common example is when we work with a carrier that lacks communication skills. They do the job and we have no issue with them, but in situations where a customer requests constant updates every few hours, we feel overwhelmed having to call our carrier constantly, instead of them sending us regular updates themselves, as part of our contractual agreement.

Where did all our hesitation towards replacing our current carriers, and seeing it as a big risk, come from? There must have been times where we gave a new carrier an opportunity and it turned out to be a bad decision. Perhaps, we didn’t do sufficient research to see whether the new carrier was a good fit? Did it address the weakness our existing carrier had? Could the carrier meet our current needs better?

On the other hand, though, those who are highly satisfied with who they use would not have been there if they haven’t given that carrier a chance.

Another challenge is that the majority of carriers who approach us, all sound the same. They all offer identical services and assure us they can fix what our current provider lacks. To some, finding a good carrier seems like finding a needle in a haystack!

WINDS OF CHANGE

So, the question is how do we make a change with as much certainty as possible? Here are three steps to follow:

Step 1: Get Honest

First, we need to sit down and evaluate carriers we work with and get all the cons on paper, by asking ourselves a few questions: What is it that our carriers are not doing well? What attributes could they improve on? If we were able to change something about them, what would that be? Before rushing to find a replacement, a fair thing to do would be to give them a second chance. In other words, point all those cons out to them first and see if they improve on them. If they do, it will save us the hassle of finding a replacement. If not, then their cons can serve as a direction we need to follow when choosing a new company.

Step 2: Create Filters For Screening New Carriers

Next, we need to learn to effectively choose carriers that suit us best. We can do so by first setting our own standards and requirements and if they fail to meet the majority of them, we cut them loose. Make a “checklist” of our desired attributes a carrier must have and follow it. Attributes such as: types of equipment and general availability, communication, technology, etc. We could also discuss our current challenges and have them share how they would address them.

This should be done in the negotiation phase, which will reduce the risk of making the wrong decision.

Step 3: Look For Areas of Expertise

Last, but certainly not least, when making sales calls and meetings with potential carriers, we must pay attention to their niches, if they have any. An example of this would be if we have been receiving mediocre service when it comes to communication from a current carrier, and we think we deserve better. When a prospective carrier approaches, we should listen to them and see if communication falls into their area of expertise. If it does, they will communicate it clearly, usually without us mentioning it. If this is the case and they have already met the standards in our first two steps, then we have most likely found an exceptional carrier that will serve us well.

Even though we may always have a feeling of being manipulated when someone approaches to sell us their services or a product, we should keep in mind that sometimes we do need a change. That change can be for the better, even though it bears a risk of failure. But, if handled well, we can reduce risk to a minimum. We all have to remember that:

“We must make a choice to take a chance, or our life will never change.”