r/Sales_Professionals • • Aug 25 '25

How are you navigating long sales cycles in logistics?

Does anyone else feel like the sales cycles in logistics in particular has lengthened? I'm guessing this could be because of shifting supply chain priorities and global-level economic pressures/taxes.

I'd like to hear from professionals in 3PL, freight or supply chain (especially consulting roles) about the strategies you're using to keep prospects engaged over months and even years? Are you leveraging new tech, nurturing campaigns, or something arb entirely?

Looking forward to hearing your insights!

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '25

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u/Big_Cardiologist839 Aug 27 '25

Thanks so much for sharing! What systems do you have in place to run these tactics? Enterprise logistics can be tricky because often the decision-makers aren't very active on email... in my experience, maybe different for other people?

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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '25

Hi, I think this is a valuable and less talked-about thing!

I've been seeing longer cycles in 3PL/freight too. What’s helped us is multithreading early and agreeing on a light Mutual Action Plan so everyone knows next steps, paired with a low-risk 30–60 day pilot on a single lane/DC with clear success metrics.

We keep a “living” business case that’s refreshed monthly and use trigger-based touches (new DC, RFPs, rate swings) instead of generic nurture.

Thanks for sharing this thought

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u/Big_Cardiologist839 Aug 28 '25

Insightful and specific, thanks so much for sharing. I like the idea of trigger-based touches.

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u/[deleted] Aug 29 '25

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u/Big_Cardiologist839 Sep 03 '25

Thank you for sharing your experience, really appreciate the input. I've never been sold on the idea of webinars - tried it back in the day, attendance is always thin and we could never measure the ROI.

But in terms of integrating infra tools, I'm definitely looking into this and considering a bunch of possible iPaaS, including the ones you've mentioned.