Finding reliable owner-drivers to cover the work
Posted by Tim Gilbert in Taking on courier owner drivers on Feb 14th, 2010 | 0 comments
Once you’ve got some customers, you’ll need some couriers.
Before you’ve got some couriers, you’ll probably be the courier as well as the salesperson. This is quite normal. In fact it’s a great way of finding out who is spending money on couriers. For every collection you make from your customer, there’s a delivery to a prospect. Make sure you collect contact names as you go along, and use them in your sales efforts later:
“We do a lot of work for ABC Co who I believe you do quite a lot of business with, and I’m keen to make an appointment with you to discuss helping you solve any...
Telephone technique for couriers
Posted by Tim Gilbert in Telephone technique for couriers on Feb 14th, 2010 | 0 comments
Once you’ve got some customers, you need make sure you to handle your callers the right way on the phone, or you’ll have been wasting all that time and effort. This article covers how to keep them coming back time after time once they’ve signed up.
Accomplished use of the telephone is vital in your business as the many bookings are still placed by phone and it is the main point of contact between you and your customers. When you answer the phone you are the voice of your business.
The first impression a customer receives when they phone us up is the way in which the phone is answered.
Aim...
Giving out the courier work
Posted by Tim Gilbert in Courier Operations Manual on Feb 14th, 2010 | 0 comments
The job has arrived on your control desk. Now you need to find the right courier to give it to.
Remember a first class service to the customer is your overriding concern and arranging a quick pick-up time on the job/s is the first priority with which you should concern yourself.
It is common sense that the closest available courier to the collection point is the one who is most likely to achieve the fastest pick-up time and this is the basic policy which should govern your decisions about which of several couriers you allocate to a particular job.
There are however other factors which need to be...
Courier waiting and loading time
Posted by Tim Gilbert in Courier Operations Manual on Feb 14th, 2010 | 0 comments
The idea behind this charge is to reward the courier company for any time spent by the courier not actually driving.
The charge is usually waived if a courier is kept waiting for less than 15 minutes.
If the wait is longer than 15 minutes, usually the charge is then made for that 15 minutes and for every subsequent minute thereafter.
Not charging for anything less than 15 minutes allows your customers a little “free” time to make the consignment available, and prevents unnecessary ill feeling being created when the invoice arrives.
If a courier job is pre-booked…
Got a question?...
How your courier business might work financially
Posted by Tim Gilbert in Useful Documents for Couriers on Feb 14th, 2010 | 0 comments
This article may help you when planning your courier business with your professional advisors. You’ll need a cash flow forecast at the outset, however tedious this may seem. As with any business, there’s no point in going to a lot of expense of time effort and money to set your courier business up, without being reasonably certain that you have enough cash available to run it.
You need to be sure that you can pay your bills as they arise, without necessarily having to wait to be paid in full by your customer. A cash flow forecast will show you how much spare cash you need to survive.
If...
