April 21, 2025 • 34 mins
Today, we’re featuring Beagl’s founder, Eric Williams, to discuss focusing on daily execution by automating RFP processes!
Eric highlights the importance of brand reputation, sustainable business models in freight, winning RFPs through trust and network strengths, and why brokers need to understand their business execution capabilities, deliver ongoing value, and engage in strategic calls to build trust and filter viable prospects!
About Eric Williams
Eric is a logistics leader with over a decade of experience driving sales, pricing, sourcing, and technology strategy across top industry players. At Target, he managed $450M in annual freight spend and delivered over $120M in savings during his tenure. He’s held leadership roles at US Foods, DAT, and XPO, leading initiatives in consolidation, fleet optimization, pricing model development, and RFP centralization. Before logistics, Eric spent a decade as a member at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He holds a Political Science degree from the University of New Mexico and is a former West Point cadet.
Connect with Eric
- Website: https://www.beagl.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-w-a7826b6/
📊📉 Don’t miss out on the latest market trends by subscribing to your TOP Transportation Morning Show! 🌎
🎬🎯 #TheFreightCoach Morning Show is LIVE every weekday at 10:30 AM CST to break down transportation industry headlines! Mark your calendars!
🤝 Shoutout to my sponsors!👇
- Denim | https://info.denim.com/chrisjolly
- SPI Logistics | https://spi3pl.com/
- Greenscreens | https://brokers.greenscreens.ai/partnership/chris-jolly
- Revenova | https://revenova.com/freightcoach/
🚚 Ditch your carrier packet, drive more carrier sales, and get better load coverage with seamless digital onboarding, TMS integration, and smart load coverage by visiting https://brokercarrier.com/.
To donate and contribute to the Have a Heart’s purpose, visit https://www.haveaheartinc.org/donate.
🚀🔥 To sign up for my Newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/iNoHco, get in touch with me through the social media channels below, and subscribe to my YouTube Channel!👇
▶️ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjrL70IEnCfDkNaiYMar3jw
📷 https://www.instagram.com/thefreightcoach/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Came back with a bank window down yelling now money anything hey oh Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when I'm getting to the back hey Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey Let them all cross if they hate then let them hate them Make a bigger balls hey.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
What is up, ladies and gentlemen? We are back. We are live. It is the Freight Coach Podcast, the top podcast in transportation, coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central, to break down some industry headlines. But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen. And I say that before every single show.
(00:48):
And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve, so you can take that information, apply it, utilize it, and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life. Happy Monday, everybody. I hope you guys all had a great Easter weekend out there with your family. We're going to dive right into it today, you guys. The RFP might be one of the more overestimated, nuanced part of transportation and what to actually expect from it. But most importantly, what does it actually mean? Like, why do shippers even have an RFP and stuff like that?
(01:26):
And there is nobody more qualified to talk about this than my friend, Eric Williams. Eric, thank you so much for taking the time to join me today.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Hey, Chris, I love that you have walk in music. When it gets on, it gets. Get you going. How are you today?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I'm doing well, man. And you have to, like, it took me a long time to finally get the good opening song. I've been searching for it, man, because it's like, I don't have the. The budget to contact, like, Dr. Dre and pay for his. So it's like, it's taken me a while, but I, you know, with my marketing team behind the scenes, when went to kind of redo everything right, like, we redid all of our branding and we're like, the last piece was the intro song and it took a while and I, when I heard that one, I'm like, yep, that's the one. We're going with that.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
It's on point, dude.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
I love it. So, Eric, what's. What's new man, you've kind of been building some stuff behind the scenes here. But you know, before we get up to that, man, I think a good lead in is like what brought you into transportation, man? How'd you get your start in freight?
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Accident. Complete accident. So I, I started my career in financial markets. I worked on the floor of the Mercantile Exchange in Chicago for. Right out of college. And you know, we had to be the great financial crisis and Dodd Frank and liquidity kind of draw dried up when they changed legislation. So I went upstairs to. To trade. Did that for about three years. And high frequency trading really came into the marketplace and replaced the need for human market makers which is what I was doing to the prop firm. We were spreading press fund futures against your dollars and the writing was on the wall that like this was not something you could do as a human long term. And I met a guy named Eric Malcolm who was actually trying to get into trading. He'd been at C.H. Robinson for a decade or so.
(03:25):
So I started having a conversation with him. He introduced me to Marie Fields at xpo. I met David Radham and they brought me on board.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Nice. And then from there, dude, you, because like you've, you know, you have a unique experience that in the fact that you've been on multiple sides of the industry, right? And you know, you've spent the better part of a few years here at a large shipper, large retailer and everything. So you have a different perspective than most people, especially when it comes to the rfp. Like, you know, you've bid on it as a broker, but like you've also been a part of it on the shipper side as well. And it's, there's not a lot of people out there who have that understanding of the why behind, you know, the way that things are. And then especially you know, seeing. Because it's like, dude, I filled out some RFPs, Eric, where I'm just like, this could be so much easier.
(04:19):
Like you guys are making this so much harder on yourself than we need. And you know, because it's like, I look at it as, you know, when we're going into certain regions, right, like if it's law, if it's greater Los Angeles, like there's not that big of a difference between a load delivering in Ontario and a load delivering in like Los. Los Angeles or like down in Anaheim, right? But it's like, it's different lanes and stuff like that now. But then on the flip side, there are Some shippers who are like, hey, Southern California is into three regions, right? You got the Central Valley, Southern Cal, and NorCal. And it's the same rate per mile going in. And that's the way that they like it. And I, I like it from that perspective.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
No, and that helps until, until you have a shipper in Elantia, it's in the Fresno market, and you go. Got to go all the way around the mountain. When it snows, you can't do that. So, yeah, like, I think. I think the industry's done a really good job of trying to create geographies, but I've been banging on this stuff for a really long time. So if you're having issues like filling them out, I would say kind of start with strategy first. But I don't think you asked a question. I think I just jumped in and started talking.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
No, no, it's all good. Let's talk about what you got going with your venture here. Right? Because, like, you recently. What was it, Eric, that you were like? Man, I got to get out there on my own, and I just got to push all chips in the center on me.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, well, I mean, I've always wanted to do it. And the product that we've been able to build, I think there are people. When I was working at a transportation one, certainly at dat, there's. There's whiteboards where I sat down and said, you know, like, this is the appropriate way to think through these. And, and essentially it all kind of starts with data and then how that flows so that you're actually bidding around your core competencies. So the reason I really got going with this is I met two really talented people. I could get most of the way there in spreadsheets, and I've done a lot of things in spreadsheets, but I couldn't build software. And I met an incredible talented data scientist and a very talented developer who could take some of these ideas that I had and put them in software.
(06:36):
And once I saw that, like, that was possible, then I started to go out in the market, try to get signals. Is this something that the people are interested in doing? And the feedback overwhelmingly was, yes. Got some news on my health journey that, you know, like, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Decided, you know, like, let's. Let's get this going and see where it takes us.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, man, there. There is no better time than the present. Right? Like, I, I Can't stress that enough. And you know, I, I really, you know, a lot of my content is based around the fundamentals of everything because like, at the end of the day, I feel like people try and over complicate what they're actually trying to do every single day, which leads to paralysis analysis and then more whiteboards and spreadsheets and more thought. Right? Like, action is always the best recipe for your anxiety out there. Just get out there. You're gonna get doors slammed in your face. There's, there is no perfect plan, but you gotta do it.
(07:36):
But then most importantly, like when you're starting out with everything and you've probably come to realize this is, man, it's like, dude, you just really got to focus on your day, especially when you're building out anything. And I try and focus on that in my businesses, you know, with the media side and the freight brokerage as well that we're building, where it's like I spend, I spent a lot of my time overwhelmed about where I'm not, and I was overlooking what I actually needed to do. And that's why it's like, dude, I just preach cold calls, site visits. I preach that all the time because like, that's the only way I know and that's the only way that has effectively worked for me to generate revenue.
(08:13):
Yes, it might work for other people to do other modes, but like, for me it's cold calls, it's site visits. I would rather get the instant rejection to my face than the passive aggressive non response to an email and a DM for years on end. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yeah. So, Chris, what I love about you and the, and the Freight Coach podcast is you're always talking about like the things that we should be doing or could be doing in terms of business, but then you always add in this layer of the mental game and the psychology of it and how to kind of stay in that sweet spot so that you can not only plan, but then actually like start to execute on it. And that's the part where I think you do a really good job and it's great for your viewers to hear that once you move from planning into execution, it's literally about staying in that same spot and just executing and executing and that should be the entire focus of your day.
(09:08):
And I think you do a really good job of making sure that like, you build in time to plan and strategize and look forward. But then you're always coming Back to. Okay, now I've done that. It's time to actually take some, some action. So yeah, kudos to you.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
I, I appreciate that, man. And a lot of this stuff is like, this is just stuff that I've realized over, you know, because I've been self employed now for like five years and I, I, it you like, you know, again, there's no playbook to any of this stuff as you know already. And what you're going to come to realize is I think a lot of people overlook how sustainability in their business because they want to get to the end result, right? They like, they want to get to the finish line. And you know, I've just come like, dude, there is no finish line for me, right? Like, I want to do this for the rest of my life, right?
(09:58):
Like, I, I have a lot of purpose and love in building something and there is not going to be a point in my life, at least for the foreseeable future. You know, again, things can change. But I, I realized that I'm like, man, I, I need to focus on building, I need to focus on selling. And most importantly, if I'm going to lead a team of people one day. I truly believe in leading from the front, Eric. Right. Like, nothing pisses me off more as an employee than a boss telling me to do something that they won't do or they've never done. You know, like I'm a lead from the front. Am I always going to be able to make cold calls?
Speaker 1 (10:35):
No.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
My role will eventually grow and materialize, but I will never be afraid to walk on the floor and get in the trenches with the team and start making dials and then start covering freight if we need to. I want to do that and deliver that. And for me, what I'm finding a lot, like a kind of a love for that. I didn't realize this is like systemizing all of this stuff, right? Like, how do I replicate me and put it on paper to where people are going to be able to come in and fit inside of that system. Because as you probably realized on the shipper side as well, man, brand recognition is like, it's, it's very important. And your reputation out there in the market will literally follow you where all of your contacts eventually go.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, you said a lot there. I want to go back to one point you made. There's no finish line. I love sports metaphors, but in business and life, the game never ends. So there's not like this fourth quarter Comeback or anything like that. It's just next day go out and do what you're supposed to do. But in terms of like leaning from the front, what I've learned and I'm out there on my own right now. So I've got my developer, my data scientist. They both have full time jobs. So beagle is me. If it gets done, it's because I did it. And I think that a lot of times the, you know, kind of the entrepreneur and I, it's hard for me to call myself that because I'm six weeks out.
(12:02):
But when you start kind of going through and like, okay, well I guess I've got product and I've got marketing and I've got sales and I've got customer success and these are all the things that I have to show up to. Do you really develop this interest in your own business and you're like okay, well if it does, if I don't do it doesn't get done. So then we started adding employees to that. I think that mindset just kind of is natural because you're like no, this is the work. And we're focusing on that. And, and somewhere along the lines as organizations get bigger then in these titles and that's where some, you know, I think some of the things that you might be frustrated about start. But now I want to jump into this like systemization thing.
(12:42):
So that's why we built people because the, your processes should be replicable. And one of the things that in ERP there's an enormous amount of data that you should be considering to be able to go out and get all that data everyone can do to be able to synthesize into something usable. I think less people can do that. There's still a lot of people that certainly can. And then to be able to automate that process, there's even less people. So that's kind of our goal is we start with strategy. How are you thinking about your network? How are you thinking about your customers network? In my mind, basically three ways to win in an RFP price is the worst way to do just like, and we all know it. Everyone's got those lanes out on the board, they're contraction freight.
(13:35):
And I was like, why do we have these? Well, we had to have them to get in with a customer and they don't get worked on, they don't get developed and it's just a mess. So that's not the best way to do it. But the Other two are building trust and then focusing on your network shrinks. And what's great about these two is they actually reinforce each other. So you'll like. I think every broker's probably heard this and I certainly told a lot of people this over the last two years. We only want to, we only want to partner with assets. Well, a broker can buy like an asset and in a lot of ways they can do it very well.
(14:10):
But when you get into these cattle calls, as I call them, the RFP, and there's 4,000 lanes and there's two weeks to respond and you don't know what's going on with incumbency and you really haven't had a strategic conversation with the shipper. And this might be the first time you're ever actually seeing their network. You're already behind the eight ball. So the ability to then like get back to the shipper and relate like, no, I actually buy like an asset on these 52 lanes that are part of your network. Can we have specific conversations about those instead? What ends up happening is we all, and I've done this, I say we pricing professionals, we all pull down the same three rates from a rate provider and we try to make sense of them.
(14:54):
And then we get really good at making sense of rates that maybe we're not very good at operating. And then there's the actual value of our organization never gets communicated back to the ship or they just get some rates back. So Beagle helps you do all of that and then we automate it for you so that you can be consistent with it.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
So, you know, I want to unpack a little bit about what you said there, Eric. My personal RFP strategy, when I get it from a customer, I want to know, I want them to be aware, like, hey, I only bid what I know. We can move. Like if there's lanes out there that I've never done, you know, again, like there's a lot like we do open deck and happy hall that's like 99% of our freight is flatbeds. But there are natural drive in lanes that kind of come along with it. And anytime that I will go to my customers or my prospects, if there's an RFP, I'll let them know, like, hey, I will 100% bid your flatbed freight. Are you okay with that? I don't want any of your drive in. I don't touch your ltl. I don't do any of that stuff.
(15:51):
I have found more times than not the Overwhelming majority are like, yes, please only bid what we, you know, you can do. Do not bid everything. We don't want you to bid everything unless you know you can do it. How much of that have you heard in your career? You know, again, you were on the shipper side, you were on the broker side. How much of that is an actual strategy that people want?
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I think it's universal. I've, I've never heard, I've heard a lot of salespeople tell me that the customers have been everything.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
From what I've shared with people at US Foods and Target and then a lot of the customers that I've talked to, I've ever run brokerage floors before. I've never had a shipper tell me bid on everything. They said focus on where you're strong and, and Chris, the reason for that, honestly. So everyone complains about feedback and rightfully so on during an rfp. The feedback is not good. Well, I would say feedback is one of those things you get out what you put in and if you show up to a 4,000 lane bed and you bid everything and you want feedback and I'm a shipper. Okay, how do you want me to give you this feedback? You bid everything. Do you want, do you want feedback on everything?
(17:10):
Because then like what I'll do when I would have these review sessions with brokers that took this type of strategy is I would just filter to our sort to the rank column and I hover over it and say, okay, so you bid 4, 800 lands, your average rank is 19. You need to be on the top 10 in some lanes to win. So right now like you're probably middle of the road in your submission, that's not useful feedback. Like it's the truth and it's qualitative because it's based on actual data. But it doesn't help them and it doesn't help me.
(17:45):
So what I would always want to do prior to the bid as a shipper is I would like, the onus is on me because I, I got tired of relying on salespeople because I understand how difficult it is to actually go out and get your network strengths and bring them back to the bid. So I would just do pre work and that way whenever we would have a review session with the carrier after round one, okay, here's your average rank. You're 18th. But what we talked about prior to and where I know you have capacity places, we told you to focus your average rank is 8 and out of 20 of those lanes you might be in the top five. So I'd say you're looking really good there.
(18:23):
I would look at other like lanes like that in the, in those regions and where you might be outside of maybe the top 15, top 20, sharpen those up where you top five maybe leave those alone. And, and I was able to provide better feedback because we already knew what were looking for before we started. Like okay, so here's where we want to focus. You focus there. How'd you do? And, and that's like a real review process versus like you pull down DAT rates and you figured out how to be like right in the middle. And I think there's a big difference in approach there.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah, I, I, you know it's tough for from like a sales reps perspective when you're going out there and you are prospecting you think every opportunity that comes your way Eric is like this is going to be the big one. You know. And I have just found and a lot of other you know, highly successful people that I know in this industry have all said kind of the same thing if they do not offer to provide you pre call or post call feedback at all. From a shipper's perspective. Like I'm saying as a broker you land an RFP and you want further clarification if there is none of that. I personally would advise not even placing a bid at that point because it's very challenging to earn any business and I've been a part of that. Right.
(19:44):
And I've done that recently where you know we filled out an RFP and we knew about it but like I was kind of like hoping it was going to be different and now all roads always lead back to the same. You are lumped in, there's a box and if you're out of it and then you're never going to win any business. But you put a lot of work into that. And that's why I want a lot of people to focus in on that roi. Right. Like where are you actually going to fit into somebody's business?
(20:08):
And you know, when it comes to the enterprise level shippers that are out there, I don't know if enough brokers fully comprehend what you need to be able to do for a lot of these larger shippers to even move the needle for them to be a provider just because you're competitive on 2, 000 lanes. That's not bad. But like if there's 10000 lanes, dude, that's nothing to them. Like they need people who are going to take 5, 10% of their freight and be able to execute upon that at a high level. And then the other little dirty secret is do you have the capital to extend to said shippers in the event that they have 60, 90, 120 day payment terms, which is becoming more of a norm out there right now.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Yeah. Especially with interest rates where they are. Yeah. And realistically that should be the case. So a couple thoughts on this. This is just my advice on things that I've done as broker, things I've seen as shipper that I think are best practice. One of the very first things you're going to do with a shipper before you can get a contract signed with them is there's going to be a NDA that gets put in place that is your opportunity. So if we think about each thing as part of a sales cycle and there are milestones in each portion of the sales cycle, you need to get certain things. When you get that NDA, you need to get a look at their network.
(21:25):
So once that NDA is signed, the very next question you're asking for is okay, so we've done this and now we can actually share some information. And I think you can agree with me, Mr. And Mrs. Shipper, that I'm going to be more successful if I know more about your network. Can you flip me last year's rfp? I've never said no to that. I've never had anyone tell me no. So and then once you get that, then you already kind of know what to expect on the bid because their network's not going to shift a whole lot year to year. So the majority of that freight is going to be very consistent and you can start prepping. And that's how you earn your pre call because then you follow back up with based on your network.
(22:12):
I've overlaid my network and here's where I think that we have some synergies. Can we have a conversation about what would actually be up for bid and maybe you can call out which lanes are incumbent that you're not going to shift out of and maybe which ones I might be able to win. And that's the click down. And if you've done those things when you get to the RFP there's this implicit kind of agreement that you're going to get feedback on what you're focused on because you've already done Work together. So you're already working together. You're not moving freight together, but you're already working together. So then when you get to the actual round one, things came back, okay, so we did this pre work together. Now can we see how, what our grade was and can I get a little bit of feedback?
Speaker 2 (23:00):
It's, you know, see this is the stuff that I think a lot of people, Eric, it's going to go completely over their head, right? Like they're not going to think that this is anything that, because they like this. Honestly, man, this is one of the first times I've heard anybody ever bring up like, hey, you should ask about like historical stuff and kind of push back a little bit more on the information. And you know, one thing that I try my best, I'm not, we're not perfect at this, but like, we always try and like, I would rather, I, I, and if you ever hear me say this, I would rather take and ask all the questions up front, then get to a point where it's gone too far and then it's gonna look, they're gonna look at you.
(23:41):
It's like, dude, why didn't you ask this like a month ago, right? Like, I will gladly be the dumbest guy in the room in every conversation that I'm in. I will gladly ask all the questions on the front end because I know that there is a certain point where they're going to look at it as, dude, you should have asked this like a month ago. Like, we don't have time. If you don't know this by now, would you like that's going to be a negative effect on you. And I, I think like a lot of people rush in a lot of these instances where they're like, I just got to get a rate back, just get rates back.
(24:08):
And I get the like, you know, I am a firm believer that speed does kill all deals, but that's on the transactional level when we're talking a RFP, whether it's a six or a 12 month commitment. And some shippers, everything's literally lined out in there, right? Like they are very detailed in their approach, others, not so much. And if you find yourself in that camp, don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid, as Eric said, try and schedule a meeting. Try and get something out of it to have where you have a better understanding about how this is going to go. Because in today's market, a lot of times you only got one shot, right?
(24:43):
Like you got one round of a bid that's out there and you don't want to commit a week's worth of work and then completely miss out on everything.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Agreed. And you got to do that work. You got to ask those questions before the shipper gets busy. And if you're, and they'll do it right, because like when I would sit down to prep for an RP at a Target for a bit that would go live in January, I would start prep in October and you got to get all your data together. One of the things that I would do is I would start profiling carriers, start talking to incumbents, trying to feel them out on how they're doing on certain lanes. Because if you've got rate increases like that are coming down the pipe, you have to communicate those to your finance team.
(25:31):
But shippers are already thinking about this stuff and you want to be involved in their thought process so they can start thinking about, okay, if I'm going to move forward with this person, where is the most likely place for them to fit? And if you wait until there's 70 people in a bid and like a lot of shippers will go dark during this time because there's just so much stuff that's going on. And if you wait to ask, then you're done. Like if you're lobbiting questions into the Q and A section of their bid tool, that's not going to help you because you might get some information that you need, but that information never, then whatever you do with that never makes it back to the shipper in terms of value prop because all they're going to see is the output is a rate.
(26:23):
But if you can ask those questions on the front end and you can come with a solution, then they can start thinking about, okay, I'm going to pay attention to this portion of my network for Chris, because we've talked about this.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
How, what advice would you give? You know, because this is inevitably going to be a question that you've probably already been faced with, Eric, but you're going to get, especially after this show gets out there, how long should brokers actually expect it takes to get in with some of these larger RFP style shippers? Is it two years of prospecting, three years of prospecting? What should they be more aware of as they're going in there? Because I could only imagine when you were on that side, Eric, the amount of DMS you got from people saying like, hey man, set me up. I can move your freight and you're like come on dude. Like no.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
And everyone can, and that's like everyone can move some freight. I wanted to partner with people that could move lots of it and then have a single touch point and then there was enough freight where they could afford to build out an account team around it and do all those things. My in terms of timing, it's, it is rate cycle dependent. So if you are in a deflationary environment or relatively flat, the likelihood that you will come in as a non incumbent is you have to recognize that's significantly lower. And that's why you have to start doing the network profiling. That's why you have to ask the questions of okay, which portions of your network do you like? Which portions do you not like? And then you have to start paying attention to when the market starts to move.
(27:58):
And you can even help your shipper with some of this is like hey, when the market moves, these lanes that I know you have because they were on your RFP are going to be the most sensitive to those market movements. And then by the way, here's the seasonality around those. So if we get into this period and you start to need help, I would love to be able to show you what my solutions are there. Can we commit to having a touch point around these lanes and how they're performing right around this period of time? And if they commit to that, then you damn sure better make like, make sure that you're coming with a solution when that comes because they've made that commitment.
(28:38):
But I like it could be three years like if you start prospecting at the top and you have to write all that down. It could be like you have to then wait to get in an RFP cycle. So that means you have to stay relevant with them for a long time. And there's only so many conversations you can have about ball games and holidays like that before. It's like well we're not doing business together. Why are we chit chatting every single day? But I think if you're bringing value creation at strategic points during the year, maybe it's once a quarter. Whatever you align to with customer, you're showing up and like okay, you're somebody that is continuing to bring me value.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I, I couldn't agree more with that Eric. I think that you know, more times than not I think people, you know, again, I'm never saying people aren't special human beings but like they, we are all our main character in our lives. Just like all of our prospects are they don't remember you as much as you think that they're going to remember you. And again, like, your conversations need to be factual. They need to be value driven for a lot longer. Longer than you want. Right. Like, that's why for me, it's like, dude, we can build rapport after the fact. Like, right now, like, let's keep it business. We don't know each other. You know, like, let's. You have a job to do.
(29:54):
It is a complete nuance for me to reach out to you in the middle of your workday to try and sell you on my services. So keep it very much. Matter of fact, to the point. Business oriented up front. Yeah, you can sprinkle in a little rapport building in there, But I feel like people kind of reverse it. They try and best friends with people before they even know anything about their business. I just personally don't care what the weather is. And I know you're in here in Colorado, you know, like, I'm not gonna be like, hey, Eric, how's the weather today? Go to weather.com and look it up. You know, like, that's the way that I see it.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Yep, I agree with that. No, and, and again, like, I think it's those strategic touch points.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Okay. Like, I had. I had a couple of providers that grew through with me that probably would not have been. And they asked, how do we do this? I was like, well, what do you know about my strategy? Well, not a whole lot. Can you tell me about it? Yes, I'm more than happy to, because I want you to be successful. And the only way you're going to do that is if you actually understand what I'm trying to do. So we. I always committed to anybody that really wanted to work with me that I thought their capabilities were there. Let's have a monthly or a quarterly call and let's continue to talk about how we're going to work together. And I would always lead with, like, here's what I need from you. And then I would wait for them to come back to me.
(31:18):
I never took a call from a carrier where I didn't go first.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
So, like, if I took a cold call, I got tired of looking at the deck and like, here's who we are. We've been around this long. And then maybe there's like a map. It's like, no. Like, here's. Here's what I do. Here's. Here's why I do it. Think about this. And then the next time we have a conversation, then you can come back and overlay some of this and we'll see how close we are. And I, and I think you just got to get. You got to get your shippers to commit to that cadence of calls. If they won't do it, then they're not going to work with you. And sometimes eliminating all the no's is not a bad strategy.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
You, dude. Eric, at this point in my life, man, I think knowing who not to go after and what not to do is more valuable than knowing what to do and who to go after, if I'm being completely honest. But, well, hey, man, dude, I. I appreciate your time. Eric, how does anybody reach out to you to find out more about what you got going on? People are going to undoubtedly have questions about the RFP process, what you've built and everything. How do they reach out to you?
Speaker 1 (32:21):
You go to our website, Beagle without the E on the end. B, E, A, G, L, A, I. There's a contact form down at the bottom. You can fill out or jump into my DMS on LinkedIn where a lot of people, all brokers, knew how to find me there anyways.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
That's perfect. Eric, thank you so much for joining me. If you guys can't find Eric, hit me up. I will gladly put you guys in contact with him to learn out more about what he's got going on. Eric, thank you so much for joining me as always. You guys, if you got value in what you heard, subscribe to the show. You guys, if you're feeling really ambitious after this one, which you better because Eric just laid out a playbook for you guys to attack this rfp. Rank the show on itunes and Spotify. Because if you saw value, that's how your network's going to see value as well. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys and we'll be talking to you soon. We don't, we don't have any cool outros, Eric. We just end the stream.
Came back with a bank window down yelling now money anything hey oh Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when I'm getting to the back hey Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey Let them all cross if they hate then let them hate them Make a bigger balls hey.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
What is up, ladies and gentlemen? We are back. We are live. It is the Freight Coach Podcast, the top podcast in transportation, coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central, to break down some industry headlines. But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen. And I say that before every single show.
(00:48):
And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve, so you can take that information, apply it, utilize it, and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life. Happy Monday, everybody. I hope you guys all had a great Easter weekend out there with your family. We're going to dive right into it today, you guys. The RFP might be one of the more overestimated, nuanced part of transportation and what to actually expect from it. But most importantly, what does it actually mean? Like, why do shippers even have an RFP and stuff like that?
(01:26):
And there is nobody more qualified to talk about this than my friend, Eric Williams. Eric, thank you so much for taking the time to join me today.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Hey, Chris, I love that you have walk in music. When it gets on, it gets. Get you going. How are you today?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I'm doing well, man. And you have to, like, it took me a long time to finally get the good opening song. I've been searching for it, man, because it's like, I don't have the. The budget to contact, like, Dr. Dre and pay for his. So it's like, it's taken me a while, but I, you know, with my marketing team behind the scenes, when went to kind of redo everything right, like, we redid all of our branding and we're like, the last piece was the intro song and it took a while and I, when I heard that one, I'm like, yep, that's the one. We're going with that.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
It's on point, dude.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
I love it. So, Eric, what's. What's new man, you've kind of been building some stuff behind the scenes here. But you know, before we get up to that, man, I think a good lead in is like what brought you into transportation, man? How'd you get your start in freight?
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Accident. Complete accident. So I, I started my career in financial markets. I worked on the floor of the Mercantile Exchange in Chicago for. Right out of college. And you know, we had to be the great financial crisis and Dodd Frank and liquidity kind of draw dried up when they changed legislation. So I went upstairs to. To trade. Did that for about three years. And high frequency trading really came into the marketplace and replaced the need for human market makers which is what I was doing to the prop firm. We were spreading press fund futures against your dollars and the writing was on the wall that like this was not something you could do as a human long term. And I met a guy named Eric Malcolm who was actually trying to get into trading. He'd been at C.H. Robinson for a decade or so.
(03:25):
So I started having a conversation with him. He introduced me to Marie Fields at xpo. I met David Radham and they brought me on board.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Nice. And then from there, dude, you, because like you've, you know, you have a unique experience that in the fact that you've been on multiple sides of the industry, right? And you know, you've spent the better part of a few years here at a large shipper, large retailer and everything. So you have a different perspective than most people, especially when it comes to the rfp. Like, you know, you've bid on it as a broker, but like you've also been a part of it on the shipper side as well. And it's, there's not a lot of people out there who have that understanding of the why behind, you know, the way that things are. And then especially you know, seeing. Because it's like, dude, I filled out some RFPs, Eric, where I'm just like, this could be so much easier.
(04:19):
Like you guys are making this so much harder on yourself than we need. And you know, because it's like, I look at it as, you know, when we're going into certain regions, right, like if it's law, if it's greater Los Angeles, like there's not that big of a difference between a load delivering in Ontario and a load delivering in like Los. Los Angeles or like down in Anaheim, right? But it's like, it's different lanes and stuff like that now. But then on the flip side, there are Some shippers who are like, hey, Southern California is into three regions, right? You got the Central Valley, Southern Cal, and NorCal. And it's the same rate per mile going in. And that's the way that they like it. And I, I like it from that perspective.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
No, and that helps until, until you have a shipper in Elantia, it's in the Fresno market, and you go. Got to go all the way around the mountain. When it snows, you can't do that. So, yeah, like, I think. I think the industry's done a really good job of trying to create geographies, but I've been banging on this stuff for a really long time. So if you're having issues like filling them out, I would say kind of start with strategy first. But I don't think you asked a question. I think I just jumped in and started talking.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
No, no, it's all good. Let's talk about what you got going with your venture here. Right? Because, like, you recently. What was it, Eric, that you were like? Man, I got to get out there on my own, and I just got to push all chips in the center on me.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, well, I mean, I've always wanted to do it. And the product that we've been able to build, I think there are people. When I was working at a transportation one, certainly at dat, there's. There's whiteboards where I sat down and said, you know, like, this is the appropriate way to think through these. And, and essentially it all kind of starts with data and then how that flows so that you're actually bidding around your core competencies. So the reason I really got going with this is I met two really talented people. I could get most of the way there in spreadsheets, and I've done a lot of things in spreadsheets, but I couldn't build software. And I met an incredible talented data scientist and a very talented developer who could take some of these ideas that I had and put them in software.
(06:36):
And once I saw that, like, that was possible, then I started to go out in the market, try to get signals. Is this something that the people are interested in doing? And the feedback overwhelmingly was, yes. Got some news on my health journey that, you know, like, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Decided, you know, like, let's. Let's get this going and see where it takes us.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, man, there. There is no better time than the present. Right? Like, I, I Can't stress that enough. And you know, I, I really, you know, a lot of my content is based around the fundamentals of everything because like, at the end of the day, I feel like people try and over complicate what they're actually trying to do every single day, which leads to paralysis analysis and then more whiteboards and spreadsheets and more thought. Right? Like, action is always the best recipe for your anxiety out there. Just get out there. You're gonna get doors slammed in your face. There's, there is no perfect plan, but you gotta do it.
(07:36):
But then most importantly, like when you're starting out with everything and you've probably come to realize this is, man, it's like, dude, you just really got to focus on your day, especially when you're building out anything. And I try and focus on that in my businesses, you know, with the media side and the freight brokerage as well that we're building, where it's like I spend, I spent a lot of my time overwhelmed about where I'm not, and I was overlooking what I actually needed to do. And that's why it's like, dude, I just preach cold calls, site visits. I preach that all the time because like, that's the only way I know and that's the only way that has effectively worked for me to generate revenue.
(08:13):
Yes, it might work for other people to do other modes, but like, for me it's cold calls, it's site visits. I would rather get the instant rejection to my face than the passive aggressive non response to an email and a DM for years on end. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yeah. So, Chris, what I love about you and the, and the Freight Coach podcast is you're always talking about like the things that we should be doing or could be doing in terms of business, but then you always add in this layer of the mental game and the psychology of it and how to kind of stay in that sweet spot so that you can not only plan, but then actually like start to execute on it. And that's the part where I think you do a really good job and it's great for your viewers to hear that once you move from planning into execution, it's literally about staying in that same spot and just executing and executing and that should be the entire focus of your day.
(09:08):
And I think you do a really good job of making sure that like, you build in time to plan and strategize and look forward. But then you're always coming Back to. Okay, now I've done that. It's time to actually take some, some action. So yeah, kudos to you.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
I, I appreciate that, man. And a lot of this stuff is like, this is just stuff that I've realized over, you know, because I've been self employed now for like five years and I, I, it you like, you know, again, there's no playbook to any of this stuff as you know already. And what you're going to come to realize is I think a lot of people overlook how sustainability in their business because they want to get to the end result, right? They like, they want to get to the finish line. And you know, I've just come like, dude, there is no finish line for me, right? Like, I want to do this for the rest of my life, right?
(09:58):
Like, I, I have a lot of purpose and love in building something and there is not going to be a point in my life, at least for the foreseeable future. You know, again, things can change. But I, I realized that I'm like, man, I, I need to focus on building, I need to focus on selling. And most importantly, if I'm going to lead a team of people one day. I truly believe in leading from the front, Eric. Right. Like, nothing pisses me off more as an employee than a boss telling me to do something that they won't do or they've never done. You know, like I'm a lead from the front. Am I always going to be able to make cold calls?
Speaker 1 (10:35):
No.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
My role will eventually grow and materialize, but I will never be afraid to walk on the floor and get in the trenches with the team and start making dials and then start covering freight if we need to. I want to do that and deliver that. And for me, what I'm finding a lot, like a kind of a love for that. I didn't realize this is like systemizing all of this stuff, right? Like, how do I replicate me and put it on paper to where people are going to be able to come in and fit inside of that system. Because as you probably realized on the shipper side as well, man, brand recognition is like, it's, it's very important. And your reputation out there in the market will literally follow you where all of your contacts eventually go.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, you said a lot there. I want to go back to one point you made. There's no finish line. I love sports metaphors, but in business and life, the game never ends. So there's not like this fourth quarter Comeback or anything like that. It's just next day go out and do what you're supposed to do. But in terms of like leaning from the front, what I've learned and I'm out there on my own right now. So I've got my developer, my data scientist. They both have full time jobs. So beagle is me. If it gets done, it's because I did it. And I think that a lot of times the, you know, kind of the entrepreneur and I, it's hard for me to call myself that because I'm six weeks out.
(12:02):
But when you start kind of going through and like, okay, well I guess I've got product and I've got marketing and I've got sales and I've got customer success and these are all the things that I have to show up to. Do you really develop this interest in your own business and you're like okay, well if it does, if I don't do it doesn't get done. So then we started adding employees to that. I think that mindset just kind of is natural because you're like no, this is the work. And we're focusing on that. And, and somewhere along the lines as organizations get bigger then in these titles and that's where some, you know, I think some of the things that you might be frustrated about start. But now I want to jump into this like systemization thing.
(12:42):
So that's why we built people because the, your processes should be replicable. And one of the things that in ERP there's an enormous amount of data that you should be considering to be able to go out and get all that data everyone can do to be able to synthesize into something usable. I think less people can do that. There's still a lot of people that certainly can. And then to be able to automate that process, there's even less people. So that's kind of our goal is we start with strategy. How are you thinking about your network? How are you thinking about your customers network? In my mind, basically three ways to win in an RFP price is the worst way to do just like, and we all know it. Everyone's got those lanes out on the board, they're contraction freight.
(13:35):
And I was like, why do we have these? Well, we had to have them to get in with a customer and they don't get worked on, they don't get developed and it's just a mess. So that's not the best way to do it. But the Other two are building trust and then focusing on your network shrinks. And what's great about these two is they actually reinforce each other. So you'll like. I think every broker's probably heard this and I certainly told a lot of people this over the last two years. We only want to, we only want to partner with assets. Well, a broker can buy like an asset and in a lot of ways they can do it very well.
(14:10):
But when you get into these cattle calls, as I call them, the RFP, and there's 4,000 lanes and there's two weeks to respond and you don't know what's going on with incumbency and you really haven't had a strategic conversation with the shipper. And this might be the first time you're ever actually seeing their network. You're already behind the eight ball. So the ability to then like get back to the shipper and relate like, no, I actually buy like an asset on these 52 lanes that are part of your network. Can we have specific conversations about those instead? What ends up happening is we all, and I've done this, I say we pricing professionals, we all pull down the same three rates from a rate provider and we try to make sense of them.
(14:54):
And then we get really good at making sense of rates that maybe we're not very good at operating. And then there's the actual value of our organization never gets communicated back to the ship or they just get some rates back. So Beagle helps you do all of that and then we automate it for you so that you can be consistent with it.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
So, you know, I want to unpack a little bit about what you said there, Eric. My personal RFP strategy, when I get it from a customer, I want to know, I want them to be aware, like, hey, I only bid what I know. We can move. Like if there's lanes out there that I've never done, you know, again, like there's a lot like we do open deck and happy hall that's like 99% of our freight is flatbeds. But there are natural drive in lanes that kind of come along with it. And anytime that I will go to my customers or my prospects, if there's an RFP, I'll let them know, like, hey, I will 100% bid your flatbed freight. Are you okay with that? I don't want any of your drive in. I don't touch your ltl. I don't do any of that stuff.
(15:51):
I have found more times than not the Overwhelming majority are like, yes, please only bid what we, you know, you can do. Do not bid everything. We don't want you to bid everything unless you know you can do it. How much of that have you heard in your career? You know, again, you were on the shipper side, you were on the broker side. How much of that is an actual strategy that people want?
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I think it's universal. I've, I've never heard, I've heard a lot of salespeople tell me that the customers have been everything.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
From what I've shared with people at US Foods and Target and then a lot of the customers that I've talked to, I've ever run brokerage floors before. I've never had a shipper tell me bid on everything. They said focus on where you're strong and, and Chris, the reason for that, honestly. So everyone complains about feedback and rightfully so on during an rfp. The feedback is not good. Well, I would say feedback is one of those things you get out what you put in and if you show up to a 4,000 lane bed and you bid everything and you want feedback and I'm a shipper. Okay, how do you want me to give you this feedback? You bid everything. Do you want, do you want feedback on everything?
(17:10):
Because then like what I'll do when I would have these review sessions with brokers that took this type of strategy is I would just filter to our sort to the rank column and I hover over it and say, okay, so you bid 4, 800 lands, your average rank is 19. You need to be on the top 10 in some lanes to win. So right now like you're probably middle of the road in your submission, that's not useful feedback. Like it's the truth and it's qualitative because it's based on actual data. But it doesn't help them and it doesn't help me.
(17:45):
So what I would always want to do prior to the bid as a shipper is I would like, the onus is on me because I, I got tired of relying on salespeople because I understand how difficult it is to actually go out and get your network strengths and bring them back to the bid. So I would just do pre work and that way whenever we would have a review session with the carrier after round one, okay, here's your average rank. You're 18th. But what we talked about prior to and where I know you have capacity places, we told you to focus your average rank is 8 and out of 20 of those lanes you might be in the top five. So I'd say you're looking really good there.
(18:23):
I would look at other like lanes like that in the, in those regions and where you might be outside of maybe the top 15, top 20, sharpen those up where you top five maybe leave those alone. And, and I was able to provide better feedback because we already knew what were looking for before we started. Like okay, so here's where we want to focus. You focus there. How'd you do? And, and that's like a real review process versus like you pull down DAT rates and you figured out how to be like right in the middle. And I think there's a big difference in approach there.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah, I, I, you know it's tough for from like a sales reps perspective when you're going out there and you are prospecting you think every opportunity that comes your way Eric is like this is going to be the big one. You know. And I have just found and a lot of other you know, highly successful people that I know in this industry have all said kind of the same thing if they do not offer to provide you pre call or post call feedback at all. From a shipper's perspective. Like I'm saying as a broker you land an RFP and you want further clarification if there is none of that. I personally would advise not even placing a bid at that point because it's very challenging to earn any business and I've been a part of that. Right.
(19:44):
And I've done that recently where you know we filled out an RFP and we knew about it but like I was kind of like hoping it was going to be different and now all roads always lead back to the same. You are lumped in, there's a box and if you're out of it and then you're never going to win any business. But you put a lot of work into that. And that's why I want a lot of people to focus in on that roi. Right. Like where are you actually going to fit into somebody's business?
(20:08):
And you know, when it comes to the enterprise level shippers that are out there, I don't know if enough brokers fully comprehend what you need to be able to do for a lot of these larger shippers to even move the needle for them to be a provider just because you're competitive on 2, 000 lanes. That's not bad. But like if there's 10000 lanes, dude, that's nothing to them. Like they need people who are going to take 5, 10% of their freight and be able to execute upon that at a high level. And then the other little dirty secret is do you have the capital to extend to said shippers in the event that they have 60, 90, 120 day payment terms, which is becoming more of a norm out there right now.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Yeah. Especially with interest rates where they are. Yeah. And realistically that should be the case. So a couple thoughts on this. This is just my advice on things that I've done as broker, things I've seen as shipper that I think are best practice. One of the very first things you're going to do with a shipper before you can get a contract signed with them is there's going to be a NDA that gets put in place that is your opportunity. So if we think about each thing as part of a sales cycle and there are milestones in each portion of the sales cycle, you need to get certain things. When you get that NDA, you need to get a look at their network.
(21:25):
So once that NDA is signed, the very next question you're asking for is okay, so we've done this and now we can actually share some information. And I think you can agree with me, Mr. And Mrs. Shipper, that I'm going to be more successful if I know more about your network. Can you flip me last year's rfp? I've never said no to that. I've never had anyone tell me no. So and then once you get that, then you already kind of know what to expect on the bid because their network's not going to shift a whole lot year to year. So the majority of that freight is going to be very consistent and you can start prepping. And that's how you earn your pre call because then you follow back up with based on your network.
(22:12):
I've overlaid my network and here's where I think that we have some synergies. Can we have a conversation about what would actually be up for bid and maybe you can call out which lanes are incumbent that you're not going to shift out of and maybe which ones I might be able to win. And that's the click down. And if you've done those things when you get to the RFP there's this implicit kind of agreement that you're going to get feedback on what you're focused on because you've already done Work together. So you're already working together. You're not moving freight together, but you're already working together. So then when you get to the actual round one, things came back, okay, so we did this pre work together. Now can we see how, what our grade was and can I get a little bit of feedback?
Speaker 2 (23:00):
It's, you know, see this is the stuff that I think a lot of people, Eric, it's going to go completely over their head, right? Like they're not going to think that this is anything that, because they like this. Honestly, man, this is one of the first times I've heard anybody ever bring up like, hey, you should ask about like historical stuff and kind of push back a little bit more on the information. And you know, one thing that I try my best, I'm not, we're not perfect at this, but like, we always try and like, I would rather, I, I, and if you ever hear me say this, I would rather take and ask all the questions up front, then get to a point where it's gone too far and then it's gonna look, they're gonna look at you.
(23:41):
It's like, dude, why didn't you ask this like a month ago, right? Like, I will gladly be the dumbest guy in the room in every conversation that I'm in. I will gladly ask all the questions on the front end because I know that there is a certain point where they're going to look at it as, dude, you should have asked this like a month ago. Like, we don't have time. If you don't know this by now, would you like that's going to be a negative effect on you. And I, I think like a lot of people rush in a lot of these instances where they're like, I just got to get a rate back, just get rates back.
(24:08):
And I get the like, you know, I am a firm believer that speed does kill all deals, but that's on the transactional level when we're talking a RFP, whether it's a six or a 12 month commitment. And some shippers, everything's literally lined out in there, right? Like they are very detailed in their approach, others, not so much. And if you find yourself in that camp, don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid, as Eric said, try and schedule a meeting. Try and get something out of it to have where you have a better understanding about how this is going to go. Because in today's market, a lot of times you only got one shot, right?
(24:43):
Like you got one round of a bid that's out there and you don't want to commit a week's worth of work and then completely miss out on everything.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Agreed. And you got to do that work. You got to ask those questions before the shipper gets busy. And if you're, and they'll do it right, because like when I would sit down to prep for an RP at a Target for a bit that would go live in January, I would start prep in October and you got to get all your data together. One of the things that I would do is I would start profiling carriers, start talking to incumbents, trying to feel them out on how they're doing on certain lanes. Because if you've got rate increases like that are coming down the pipe, you have to communicate those to your finance team.
(25:31):
But shippers are already thinking about this stuff and you want to be involved in their thought process so they can start thinking about, okay, if I'm going to move forward with this person, where is the most likely place for them to fit? And if you wait until there's 70 people in a bid and like a lot of shippers will go dark during this time because there's just so much stuff that's going on. And if you wait to ask, then you're done. Like if you're lobbiting questions into the Q and A section of their bid tool, that's not going to help you because you might get some information that you need, but that information never, then whatever you do with that never makes it back to the shipper in terms of value prop because all they're going to see is the output is a rate.
(26:23):
But if you can ask those questions on the front end and you can come with a solution, then they can start thinking about, okay, I'm going to pay attention to this portion of my network for Chris, because we've talked about this.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
How, what advice would you give? You know, because this is inevitably going to be a question that you've probably already been faced with, Eric, but you're going to get, especially after this show gets out there, how long should brokers actually expect it takes to get in with some of these larger RFP style shippers? Is it two years of prospecting, three years of prospecting? What should they be more aware of as they're going in there? Because I could only imagine when you were on that side, Eric, the amount of DMS you got from people saying like, hey man, set me up. I can move your freight and you're like come on dude. Like no.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
And everyone can, and that's like everyone can move some freight. I wanted to partner with people that could move lots of it and then have a single touch point and then there was enough freight where they could afford to build out an account team around it and do all those things. My in terms of timing, it's, it is rate cycle dependent. So if you are in a deflationary environment or relatively flat, the likelihood that you will come in as a non incumbent is you have to recognize that's significantly lower. And that's why you have to start doing the network profiling. That's why you have to ask the questions of okay, which portions of your network do you like? Which portions do you not like? And then you have to start paying attention to when the market starts to move.
(27:58):
And you can even help your shipper with some of this is like hey, when the market moves, these lanes that I know you have because they were on your RFP are going to be the most sensitive to those market movements. And then by the way, here's the seasonality around those. So if we get into this period and you start to need help, I would love to be able to show you what my solutions are there. Can we commit to having a touch point around these lanes and how they're performing right around this period of time? And if they commit to that, then you damn sure better make like, make sure that you're coming with a solution when that comes because they've made that commitment.
(28:38):
But I like it could be three years like if you start prospecting at the top and you have to write all that down. It could be like you have to then wait to get in an RFP cycle. So that means you have to stay relevant with them for a long time. And there's only so many conversations you can have about ball games and holidays like that before. It's like well we're not doing business together. Why are we chit chatting every single day? But I think if you're bringing value creation at strategic points during the year, maybe it's once a quarter. Whatever you align to with customer, you're showing up and like okay, you're somebody that is continuing to bring me value.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I, I couldn't agree more with that Eric. I think that you know, more times than not I think people, you know, again, I'm never saying people aren't special human beings but like they, we are all our main character in our lives. Just like all of our prospects are they don't remember you as much as you think that they're going to remember you. And again, like, your conversations need to be factual. They need to be value driven for a lot longer. Longer than you want. Right. Like, that's why for me, it's like, dude, we can build rapport after the fact. Like, right now, like, let's keep it business. We don't know each other. You know, like, let's. You have a job to do.
(29:54):
It is a complete nuance for me to reach out to you in the middle of your workday to try and sell you on my services. So keep it very much. Matter of fact, to the point. Business oriented up front. Yeah, you can sprinkle in a little rapport building in there, But I feel like people kind of reverse it. They try and best friends with people before they even know anything about their business. I just personally don't care what the weather is. And I know you're in here in Colorado, you know, like, I'm not gonna be like, hey, Eric, how's the weather today? Go to weather.com and look it up. You know, like, that's the way that I see it.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Yep, I agree with that. No, and, and again, like, I think it's those strategic touch points.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Okay. Like, I had. I had a couple of providers that grew through with me that probably would not have been. And they asked, how do we do this? I was like, well, what do you know about my strategy? Well, not a whole lot. Can you tell me about it? Yes, I'm more than happy to, because I want you to be successful. And the only way you're going to do that is if you actually understand what I'm trying to do. So we. I always committed to anybody that really wanted to work with me that I thought their capabilities were there. Let's have a monthly or a quarterly call and let's continue to talk about how we're going to work together. And I would always lead with, like, here's what I need from you. And then I would wait for them to come back to me.
(31:18):
I never took a call from a carrier where I didn't go first.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
So, like, if I took a cold call, I got tired of looking at the deck and like, here's who we are. We've been around this long. And then maybe there's like a map. It's like, no. Like, here's. Here's what I do. Here's. Here's why I do it. Think about this. And then the next time we have a conversation, then you can come back and overlay some of this and we'll see how close we are. And I, and I think you just got to get. You got to get your shippers to commit to that cadence of calls. If they won't do it, then they're not going to work with you. And sometimes eliminating all the no's is not a bad strategy.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
You, dude. Eric, at this point in my life, man, I think knowing who not to go after and what not to do is more valuable than knowing what to do and who to go after, if I'm being completely honest. But, well, hey, man, dude, I. I appreciate your time. Eric, how does anybody reach out to you to find out more about what you got going on? People are going to undoubtedly have questions about the RFP process, what you've built and everything. How do they reach out to you?
Speaker 1 (32:21):
You go to our website, Beagle without the E on the end. B, E, A, G, L, A, I. There's a contact form down at the bottom. You can fill out or jump into my DMS on LinkedIn where a lot of people, all brokers, knew how to find me there anyways.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
That's perfect. Eric, thank you so much for joining me. If you guys can't find Eric, hit me up. I will gladly put you guys in contact with him to learn out more about what he's got going on. Eric, thank you so much for joining me as always. You guys, if you got value in what you heard, subscribe to the show. You guys, if you're feeling really ambitious after this one, which you better because Eric just laid out a playbook for you guys to attack this rfp. Rank the show on itunes and Spotify. Because if you saw value, that's how your network's going to see value as well. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys and we'll be talking to you soon. We don't, we don't have any cool outros, Eric. We just end the stream.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.