B2B Selling Advice

Selling to Inter-Island Freight Businesses

Today's top inter-island freight businesses understand the value of every dollar. The challenging part is designing a sales plan that targets top-tier buyers.

There are no one-size-fits-all strategies for selling to inter-island freight businesses. The basis for success is the same as it is in many other industries.

New entries to the marketplace need to develop a comprehensive sales plan that leverages the lessons that have been learned by the most successful players in the industry.

Strategies for Selling to Inter-Island Freight Businesses

Although there are exceptions, inter-island freight businesses are always interested in products that help them improve the level of service to their customers.

Cost is a constant concern, but if inter-island freight businesses believe a new product or line of products will significantly enhance their customers' experience, the quality of your products may be more important than the price.

Businesses that sell to inter-island freight businesses need to also recognize the fact that inter-island freight businesses aren't necessarily the end-users, so strategies that focus on enhancing customer experiences are frequently well-received by buyers.

Marketing, Promotions & PR

Young B2B companies are often tempted to buy their way into the market. Rather than taking the time to develop relationships with inter-island freight business owners, these companies blanket the market with high-priced marketing content in hopes of scoring fast conversions from buyers.

Marketing is useful and necessary. But new businesses should channel their energy toward initiatives that support their value proposition. Although lead lists obtained from third-party vendors like Experian can dramatically increase the quality of your prospects, the effectiveness of your marketing efforts is limited to your team's ability to connect marketing, promotional and PR messaging with your company's unique product traits.

Sales Strategy Tips

Effective inter-island freight business sales strategies focus on selling fundamentals and ROI. Some sales techniques are more capable than others and the ones that maximize ROI need to be prioritized.

Also, it's important to avoid a silo approach to inter-island freight business sales. Companies that create firewalls around their sales units lag in the marketplace, especially when they face companies that encourage collaborative processes between sales, marketing and other units.

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