The trucking industry is a vast operation, and the departments within a trucking company are interdependent. Without drivers, the trucks stand still. Without profit and organization, the business fails. Without loads, the drivers have nothing to haul. Marketing's job is to sell the company's services to its clients. Marketing is the sales arm of the company team.
Duties and Qualifications
Once again, this is an occupation that isn't for everyone. While it is not absolutely necessary to have specific education to enter marketing, most of the larger operations are looking for men and women who have studied subjects such as logistics, business administration, business management, and commercial marketing. Yet, classes alone do not suffice to fully train someone for the specific and often unusual demands that arise within the commercial trucking world.
A marketing or sales representative calls on producers, agents, manufacturers, and businesses who ship or receive commodities of every description from every comer of the world. It is a good bet that as you read this article, the items you are wearing, using, and surrounded by came to you because of the trucking industry and were delivered only after the successful efforts of a marketing representative for a transportation company. Each of these everyday items--from the light bulb in your desk lamp to the threads in your clothing--was probably shipped by track. Someone had to sell the manufacturer the services of that trucking firm. That someone was a marketing or sales representative.
The duties of the sales rep are the same no matter where they are employed, but the methods salespeople use to do the job vary. Some never leave their office, but spend most of their day on the phone calling clients and setting up load schedules. It is more common, however, for marketing reps to physically call upon their prospective clients. They will make appointments to meet shippers just as any salesperson would. The biggest skill a marketing representative can bring to his or her job is the ability to listen and understand the needs and desires of the client and the imagination and skills to solve problems and meet those needs.
Making the Sale
Interviews with marketing professionals reveal a few surprising facts. First, although price is a major tool in a sales rep's arsenal, it is not always the primary reason shippers select a specific company to handle their trucking needs. After deregulation, many trucking firms jumped into areas they had never serviced before. Too many were ill equipped to service their new clients and their specific needs, even though they quoted low prices for these services. The end result was that in today's trucking market, price is but one factor a shipper considers before contracting with a trucking firm.
One of the biggest concerns is on-time delivery. Marketing representatives must know the strengths and weaknesses of their company, the various areas in which the company operates, and, to some extent, the strengths and weaknesses of the rival companies vying for the client's shipping business. Some of the geographic areas served by the firm may be serviced on a regular schedule. Often these areas of operation are called power lanes. At any given time, the company will always have units in various stages of their route on the power lanes--from loading to unloading to in transit. And the company always has loads available at each end of the route. Power lanes are direct, high-speed, quick turnaround routes, such as New York to Chicago. A good marketing rep will use the company's power lanes to the shipper's and the firm's advantage.
Perhaps this sounds complicated, so let's look at a power lane in action. ABC Trucking operates in all 48 states, specializing in refrigerated shipments of meat. They have a client in Denver who ships six loads a week to New York and a shipper in New Jersey who ships nine truckloads of imported meat to Omaha every week. The marketing rep for ABC finds that a packing company in Cheyenne, Wyoming, consistently ships four loads of meat a week to a processor in Albany, New York.
A good rep will use this knowledge, combined with the knowledge of ABC's power lanes, to propose a contract that will benefit both the Cheyenne packer and ABC Trucking. As you can see from this example, the rep has an excellent chance not only of gaining the business of the Cheyenne client, but also of picking up the remaining East Coast shipments for ABC on the other end of the power lane. Negotiating the terms of this contract are very much like guaranteeing the company's continued existence for whatever the contract term might be.
The marketing rep must have an excellent grasp of operating costs, especially if he or she works for a smaller firm in which the staff may "wear more than one hat." He or she may be the rater as well as the marketing rep and has to know, at least approximately, the costs of any operations. The company's survival and their customers' satisfaction rest on this knowledge and ability.
Many trucking companies maintain offices or terminals throughout the country or along their main power lanes. Most of these offices are staffed by dispatchers and marketing reps. A representative may only see the main office once or twice a year and has to be able to operate independently with minimal supervision. In a sense, this position and the accompanying responsibility is much like that which a driver faces. Although it may sound fun to work without the boss peering over your shoulder, it's a heavy responsibility to know that the success of the operation rests on your ability to "read" a shipper and understand what is required, and your ability to close a sale.
Collection and Customer Service
One major drawback with the position can be collection. Some companies have specialists who handle accounts; others depend on their sales force to collect the fees from their individual clients. It's a sad fact of life that not all companies or individuals pay their bills on time, and when this happens, someone holds the responsibility of collecting these overdue accounts. Collection is very often one of the duties of a marketing rep. The reasoning is fairly obvious. The salesperson knows the company and the individual personally, and should possess the necessary tact to collect the funds due without incurring the anger or resentment of the customer.
The reverse is also true. Often, if there is a problem with a shipment, the first one a shipper calls is the marketing rep. Why? Because the marketing rep usually is the only person the customer deals with personally within the trucking company, except, perhaps, for the driver. Rather than call a main office, which may be thousands of miles away, the shipper calls the marketing rep looking for answers or redress on a shipment problem.
The amount of power actually vested in a marketing representative varies from company to company. In some firms, the rep may be able to settle claims independently. In others, he or she may simply be a salesperson whose responsibility and problem-solving abilities stop when the contract to ship is signed. Other marketing reps may have powers somewhere in between these extremes.
Earnings
Just as duties and responsibilities vary, wages can be paid in a number of ways. The most common is a base salary and a commission schedule. Commission is a percentage paid the salesperson for each shipment booked or each signed contract brought in. In addition, some reps may receive certain bonuses, usually for attracting and keeping new shippers. Expense accounts are fairly common, especially within the larger corporations, primarily because of travel and the extra costs it involves, such as taking a client out to lunch and paying for hotel stays and similar business expenses. Company cars are also fairly common, especially with the larger companies. It's not unusual for representatives with large territories to accumulate enough mileage in a year to make them feel as though they rival truck drivers.
Commission payments can take a variety of forms, but two basic payment systems are common. In the first, the marketing representative receives a basic wage and does not receive commission until he or she reaches a set number of sales or contracts, or a specific dollar amount. Then, any percentage booked over that base amount is subject to commission.
The second method, which is becoming less common, is a draw against commission, where the marketing rep's skills are tested to the maximum. Although the representative receives a basic salary, it is a draw against the minimum amount he or she is expected and required to sell. Drawing against commission is a risky way of making a living unless you are very, very good at what you do. Yet, the biggest advantage is the fact that companies who pay in this way are shouldering a minimal risk, and they are less inclined to demand that marketing representatives provide educational or experience credentials before being hired. A seasoned, professional marketing representative is a "hot" commodity, sought after by many companies. He or she has no need to assume the risk of straight commission. A "green" marketing rep may have to prove himself or herself, and a straight commission position may be all that's readily available. It is one way to break into the business and discover for yourself whether or not you are cut out for it.
As for actual income, marketing representatives enjoy a challenging and unique position in that they literally are responsible for the ceiling on their earnings. Because the primary source of their income is commission, the more sales they make and the more contracts they produce, the more they earn. That's why you will see the most successful marketing reps living in nice homes, wearing nice clothes, and driving nice cars. The average income of a marketing representative varies widely according to the method of payment, geographic location, and the sales skills of the rep. The average starting wage for a sales representative is around $25,000 per year, and top professional sales representatives in the transportation industry may earn well over $100,000.
In addition to base salaries and/or commission, it is becoming more and more common to set a sales goal--usually on an annual basis-and to offer an incentive if the sales representative exceeds that goal. Since this excess amounts to what might be considered pure profit, bonuses for surpassing these sales goals can be quite lavish. Some companies offer exotic trips, automobiles, or an annual cash bonus.
Hazards of Sales
As with most good things, there is a price to be paid if your intent is to maintain the lifestyle of a successful marketing rep. The first price is time. Few marketing representatives work an actual nine-to-five schedule, or even an eight-hour day. They are in their offices early, setting appointments, usually for later in the week or month. Then they leave on appointments they set earlier. No matter how each sales call goes, whether successful or not, the rep has to face the next client full of enthusiasm, concern, and energy. It's hard to keep smiling when you've been turned down by every person you've called on that day, but that's what a marketing representative must do. This confidence that good things happen to people who work hard and enthusiastically is part of a salesperson's philosophy, and if you are easily discouraged or depressed, if you become angered or upset easily, marketing is definitely not the career for you.
Life for a marketing representative tends to be fast paced and loaded with pressure. This is the sort of career that can create ulcers and age you fast, if you let it. Stress is another price a marketing representative must be willing to pay. The challenge of setting and making appointments; discovering and capitalizing on the needs of the clients; scheduling, quoting, and confirming sales; and creating booking contracts fills a sales representative's day. While he or she may arrive at the office at 7 a.m., and spend an entire day calling on prospects, evening may find the salesperson back in the office, long after everyone else has gone home, going over contract terms, pricing, following up on calls that came in during the day, and even making phone calls to other firms in different time zones. Often the final meal of the day is fast food gulped down with a phone in one hand and some client's contract out on the desk. It is a career for someone who is incurably competitive. Often, people who make the best marketing professionals were highly competitive in sports activities in school.
Many firms look at their sales representatives as public relations people and tend to expect their marketing personnel to take a personal interest in the clients they call upon. In a sense, this is a form of office politics, and in the marketing game, you either play by the rules or find another profession. This means that at times a marketing person may have to show up for events sponsored by an important client, perhaps spend a weekend tending to details of a client's contract, and, very often, approach the client when shipping rates must be raised to remain profitable. In short, the marketing representative is the link between his or her company and the shipper. If the link is weak, both the trucking firm and the shipper tend to suffer.
Advantages in Marketing
If a person wishes to gain executive status, the marketing avenue is another excellent career path to follow. It provides the vital experience needed within the administration of any major company. A marketing representative learns the needs and necessary operating basics of the clients the company serves, and at the same time, he or she learns the basics of the day-to-day operations of the trucking company. This broad spectrum of knowledge is a prerequisite to moving up within the ranks of the business successfully.
Today's modern technology has added an entirely new wrinkle to the field within the trucking industry. Even though there is nothing new about import items, satellite technology and rapidly expanding international businesses have created a situation of new opportunities. For instance, in 1989, Mayflower signed a contract with the Soviet Union for their international moving and certain freight trade. More and more companies are entering into contracts and agreements between U.S.-based transportation companies and foreign-based manufacturers and services. In the future, the trend may well be toward bilingual marketing personnel who will be responsible for setting up foreign transportation contract negotiations.
Finally, if a marketing representative eventually wanted to move away from the transportation industry, the skills that are developed and honed as a marketing rep for a trucking firm are easily applicable to any other business that employs people who need to represent and sell their company's products or services to other people or businesses. Marketing skills, whether they are applied to trucking or any other industry, are in great demand, and those who can handle the pressure and responsibility of marketing can carve an excellent career for themselves.
