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It's a commercial jungle out there. Whether you are a haulage company with a fleet of vehicles, a freight forwarder, or someone with cargo that needs moving, there are a multiple options for agreements and negotiations; yet this can be frustration, confusing and infuriating. Which business relationship is best to pursue? How can you guarantee an effective relationship and value for money? While there are several expert skills and technical areas of advice you can draw upon in the transportation industry, there are also some basic skills you need to utilise to assure yourself the best business agreements. Communication From the beginning to the end, communication skills are at the heart of securing and maintaining an excellent transport contract. Whether or not you are contacting a prospective client, organising a phone conference, reading a draft contract, or checking on the progress of a delivery, the point of engagement between business partners is aided by quality communication. Reflective listening, supporting gestures, open posture and differentiating between aggression and assertiveness all go a long way. Cost Management Being able to manage your finances is a basic life skill, not just a skill for business. In the context of haulage, since there may well be a multitude of freelance agreements, any transport contract requires that the two parties signing have a solid sense of cost management. You must know exactly how each agreement and negotiation will affect your balance and profit-loss ratio, so as to make sure that small deals will serve the business as a whole, financially. Technology Nowadays, a transport contract has moved beyond mere words or pen and paper. The online marketplace and new technology have changed the game and if you wish to find the right business partners and keep in contact with them effectively, you will need to manage to some basic degree simple technology skills. Moreover, if you can utilise the software and online tools for the industry, such as online haulage exchanges, you can compete against the cutting edge of the competition. Multitasking This need for technological skills is concomitant with the need to multi-task. Any transport contract operates in the context of multifarious tasks and numerous clients and routes. This means the ability to be able to focus on more than one thing at a time, whether you are an individual or an office, is vital if you want to be working at maximum efficiency. There are several types of software and training courses that can help you better plan, prioritise and manage time. Rapport-Building Ultimately, the individual agreement may well be effective, but in the end you will need to continue to develop more agreements and grow your brand. The ability to build rapport by knowing when to call, how to make your brand visible with marketing, and spending time on making a social connection is vital in making a strong client list. Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day transport contract opportunities in the express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.
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