The 1 Simple Email that saved Mike $759.00 & 1 Hr Yesterday
Below is an email I received yesterday from my good long-time customer, Mike, who reached out about an oddball shipment. He needed to return six 10’ racks to his manufacturer in OH. He’s a really busy guy (the business owner) and on any given day he’s involved in client meetings, site visits, managing his staff of 9 people and overseeing transportation, payroll, etc. He doesn’t have an extra hour to chase down quotes, make calls and think about the best way to move racks from his warehouse in MA back to the manufacturer in OH. Here’s how Mike removed a stressful hour from his day while also knocking $759.00 off his LTL freight bill by sending a simple 2 minute email...
(Mike’s simple 2 minute email that saved him an hour and $759.00.)
What Happened in the Background While Mike Continued Working on the Big Picture:
Comparing quotes and footage allowances from 12 LTL carriers, 7 Volume carriers and our Partial Truckload board options I was able to determine Mike’s cost for shipping these back would be $759 less than LTL (his usual mode) by using a much slower volume service. (Volume services utilize low capacity in LTL carriers’ networks to fix lane imbalances - more simply, cheaper rates in lanes they have too much freight moving in one direction and not enough coming back).
I then analyzed the best options for both transit time and liability coverage and put everything in an email back to Mike. Opening my reply email, he had the best options from all modes that would work for his shipment along with the liability coverages and expected transit times. Mike was then able to make a decision in about 1 minute based on his shipment value and transit time needs and pull the trigger.
A picture of the racks: How would you ship these?
Mike’s 10’ racks that he needed to return to the manufacturer.
Mike’s system: Trust, Knowledge & Seeing the Big Picture
There are a few key ideas working behind this setup that allows Mike to delegate and outsource his shipping legwork which saves him time and energy (and in this case a boatload of money).
Trust: Mike trusts us. He knows we understand what he is trying to accomplish and have a working knowledge of his business and what’s important to him. He also has another transportation provider with specialized equipment that he likes and trusts and he is also reaching out to them to spot check both rates to make sure he is getting the best deal. By taking 3-4 minutes to send those two emails he can move on with his day to accomplish the more important things that require his unique expertise.
Knowledge: Mike is a really smart guy. He’s running a multi-million dollar business with multiple employees and at any given time he could be operating at a number of different install locations. But, he doesn’t need to know everything about transportation because he can tap an industry professional and outsource any complex transportation questions (and leg work) to me and his other provider. That allows him to stay focused on his jobs, his clients and his business.
Seeing the Big Picture: Mike knows he could probably save a few bucks here and there by developing relationships with 5 other freight brokers and checking with each one on every shipment. But, that takes time and time for a busy guy like Mike is at a premium. Instead, his system allows for small losses and gains that even out over time and his focus remains on the high level, important things that drive growth and profitability for his company. For example, he might focus on key client relationships or a big job worth tens of thousands of dollars instead of saving $12 on this shipment.
Processes like these are what makes Mike a smart and effective business owner.
Questions to ask yourself:
Do you sometimes spend 20 minutes, an hour or an afternoon working on a shipping problem?
Is it more important for you right now to get the absolute rock bottom shipping price OR to be able to delegate the legwork and focus on the big picture for sustainable growth?
With your shipping legwork off your plate, what could you accomplish with the extra hours?
Is it worth 20 minutes of your time up front to save 3-5 hours a week indefinitely?
If the answer is yes, we should definitely have a conversation!
This system is not for everyone. It might be more important for you to get the lowest price on every single shipment because you have slim margins. Or maybe you are just starting out and every dollar counts and you have a lot of spare time. If that’s the case, by all means you should be getting as many quotes as you can and I promise you will save some money.
But, if your time is more valuable right now being spent on big picture while allowing for some small losses on some shipments, this system will work for you! It’s easy to setup and I can show you how…
Just hit the button below to send me your contact info and we’ll get started!