I had the chance to attend TMSA’s Elevate Conference in my hometown of Austin, TX. Despite the triple-digit heat, hundreds of logistics marketing and sales professionals came together with one shared goal: figure out how to stand out in one of the toughest freight markets in recent memory.
With attendees ranging from shippers and brokers to fleets, 3PLs, and port authorities, the message across the sessions was clear—this is a year for focus, clarity, and real partnerships. Flashy outreach and generic messaging won’t cut it. You need to show you’re built to last and worth the shipper’s trust.
Here are the top five tactics brokers and carriers can put into action right now:
1. Rethink your shipper pitch
If you’re blasting out cold emails filled with logistics jargon and generic promises, it’s time to stop. Shippers made it clear during the Elevate shipper panel: your pitch needs to be relevant, professional, and rooted in reality.
Bill Herring from The Quikrete Companies shared how often brokers say, “We’d love to take all your freight,” without understanding his volume. His response? “No, you can’t. I’d put you out of business.” That kind of pitch signals a lack of preparedness—and a lack of staying power.
Michael Lin from Musco Family Olive Co. emphasized tone, adding: “Please don’t call me bro.” The room laughed, but the point was serious: casual, over-familiar outreach doesn't build trust.
Instead, focus on doing three things well:
- Do your homework. Know the shipper’s freight profile, seasonality, and volume. (They don’t mind being stalked a little if it means a relevant pitch)
- Be professional. Keep your tone respectful and your message clear.
- Start small. Ask for the first load—earn the rest over time.
Michael even shared a story about a rep who didn’t pitch him at all during a conversation at a conference—but followed up later when a need came up. That’s how relationships start.
2. Fix the back-office before you sell more
What ends a shipper relationship isn’t usually price—it’s poor execution. Billing errors, POD compliance issues, and communication gaps are dealbreakers.
As Bill Herring put it, “You can go out and win a deal. But it’s your back-office that’s going to keep the business.”
If your invoicing is inconsistent, your payments and collections team is sending confusing messages, or your POD process is sloppy, you’re creating stress for your customers. And in this market, they won’t hesitate to walk away.
Tactical checklist:
- Audit your POD process—how fast are you submitting? How clean is your documentation?
- Review billing accuracy—do invoices match what was agreed?
- Simplify collections communication—are you keeping the tone aligned with your brand?
A streamlined back-office doesn’t just retain customers—it gives you something your competitors can’t copy overnight. Use it as a selling point to show shippers you’re the low-maintenance partner they’ve been looking for.
3. Turn fraud prevention into a sales advantage
Double broker and fraud prevention is a marketing opportunity. That was the takeaway from a session with Cassandra Gaines from Carrier Assure and Andrew Smith from Circle Logistics, who urged brokers and carriers to use their fraud prevention strategy as a selling point.
Shippers want to know their loads are protected. If you’re working with trusted partners like Highway, Carrier Assure, FreightValidate, etc, using document verification tools, or training your team to spot red flags—say that in your outreach.
How to market your fraud prevention:
- Create a one-pager that lists the partners and tools you use
- Include a short case study of how you caught or avoided fraud
- Brief your sales team to speak confidently about your process
This shows that you’re not just moving freight—you’re protecting your customers’ reputations.
4. Showcase your “in the trenches” wins
A theme that came up repeatedly in panels with brokers, 3PLs, and fleets: shippers stay loyal to the partners who’ve helped them through the hard stuff.
Those last-minute saves, equipment shortages, and misrouted loads you helped fix? That’s your marketing gold. Don’t just talk about your service level—talk about the real-world challenges you helped customers overcome.
Tactical ways to highlight this:
- Create short case studies with a clear problem > action > result format
- Post one-paragraph versions on LinkedIn or in nurture emails
- Arm your sales team with stories they can drop in a call
Shippers don’t remember your slide deck. They remember when you picked up the phone at 8 p.m. and made their problem go away.
As Anthony Pagnotto of Mohawk summed it up, “Being in the trenches builds loyalty.”
5. Prove you’ll be in business next year
Shippers aren’t just looking for the best rate—they’re looking for reliability and stability. In a market where demand is soft and rates are undercut daily, they want to know you’ll still be standing six months from now.
Dean Croke from DAT called 2025 “a survival year,” and Bloomberg’s Lee Klaskow shared that “every trucking company I’m speaking to is investing in AI” as a way to stay lean and protect their business.
Smart carriers and brokers are cutting unnecessary costs, automating manual tasks, and reducing errors—not just to improve margins, but to stay alive.
To position yourself as stable and ready:
- Talk about how your operations are built for efficiency
- Mention automation tools you’re using for invoicing, compliance, or collections
- Reassure shippers that you’re focused on long-term success—not chasing short-term volume
In this market, resilience is the value proposition.
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The freight market doesn’t reward noise—it rewards reliability and trust. Shippers want partners who are steady, professional, and ready to handle the full picture, from sales to billing to execution.
That means:
- Skip the generic pitch
- Build real relationships
- Run a tight operation
- Communicate your unique proposition
If you do that, you won’t just survive this market—you’ll stand out in it.
Need a back-office that keeps up with your promises?
Denim helps freight brokers and carriers stay compliant, professional, and fast—so you can focus on relationships, not paperwork.
Schedule a demo to see how Denim helps you win freight and keep it.
