Scripts

What to actually say

Openers, emails, discovery questions and the seven objections you'll hear every week. Read them out loud once, then put them away — the point is the structure, not the wording.

On this page

The first ten seconds
The cold call
Getting past reception
Voicemail
Email templates
LinkedIn
Discovery questions that work
The seven objections
Running a facility tour
Asking for the first shipment
Things to never say

01 The first ten seconds

Freight buyers get called constantly. They have a reflex, and the reflex fires on pattern recognition — a chirpy tone, a company introduction, the phrase "solutions provider". Your entire job in the opening is to not sound like the last six people.

Four rules

Say why you're calling in one sentence, immediately. No warm-up, no "how are you today".
Be specific. A lane, a capability, a piece of news. Never "your logistics requirements".
Give them an easy exit. Permission lowers defences: "tell me to get lost if this isn't relevant."
Ask a question and stop talking. The silence is your friend and it's the hardest part.

The shape

Name → reason → specific hook → question → silence.

Under fifteen seconds before you hand them the conversation. If you're still talking at thirty seconds you've lost them, and you'll get a polite "send me an email" that goes nowhere.

02 The cold call

Version A — the facility hook (your strongest, use it most)

You"Hi Sam, it's [name] from Mainfreight. Straight to it — we've just opened a new air freight and perishables facility inside the Melbourne Airport precinct. Reefer capacity, dangerous goods, running 24 hours. I'm calling companies in your line of work because that combination is genuinely hard to find in Melbourne. Does temperature or DG come into what you ship at all?"

Why it works: it's news, not a pitch. It's specific and checkable. The question is easy to answer and it qualifies them in one move.

Version B — the lane hook

You"Hi Sam, [name] from Mainfreight. I'll be quick — we run consols out of Melbourne to [destination] three times a week and we deliver on our own trucks at the other end, so it's one booking rather than a handover. I don't know if that lane's relevant to you. Do you ship into [region] at all?"

Use when you have real reason to think they ship that lane. If you're wrong, they'll correct you and you've still started a conversation about where they do ship — which is the information you wanted.

Version C — the trigger call (after a job change, new market, or news)

You"Hi Sam — congratulations on the new role, I saw it come up. I'm [name], I look after air freight at Mainfreight here in Melbourne. I'm not going to pitch you in your first month. I'd just like fifteen minutes at some point so you know who's out there when you get round to reviewing freight. When would be least annoying?"

The highest-converting call in this document. "When would be least annoying" gets a real answer far more often than "does Tuesday suit".

Version D — the DG wedge

You"Hi Sam, [name] from Mainfreight, quick one. Do you ship anything with lithium batteries, aerosols or flammables in it? Reason I ask — we handle dangerous goods in our own facility rather than subbing it out, and I keep running into people who've been told no by their current forwarder."

Extremely high hit rate. Almost every importer has a DG headache and almost nobody has ever been asked about it directly.

Version E — the honest one (surprisingly effective)

You"Hi Sam, this is a cold call — I'll keep it to thirty seconds and then you can tell me to go away. [Name], Mainfreight, air freight. We've got a new facility at the airport with reefer and DG handling, and I'm trying to find out whether that's any use to you. Is it?"

Naming the call for what it is disarms people. Australians in particular respond well to someone who isn't pretending. Only works if you then genuinely keep it short.

03 Getting past reception

Don't fight the gatekeeper — recruit them. They know exactly who books freight and they'll tell you if you're straight with them.

At reception, on the phone or in person

You"Morning — you'll be able to help me more than anyone. I'm not trying to get to a decision maker for a sales pitch, I just want the right name. Who looks after your international freight bookings?"

Them"That'd be Priya in logistics."

You"Priya, great. And is she the one who'd actually choose the freight company, or does that sit with someone above her?"

Them"…"

You"Perfect, thanks. Last thing — is she better in the morning or the afternoon?"

You've now got a name, the decision structure and the best time to call, from a thirty-second conversation with someone who has no reason to block you. Say thank you and use their name next time.

04 Voicemail

Assume it won't be returned. Leave one anyway — you're building name recognition for call three, not expecting a callback from call one. Under twenty seconds, and never ask them to call you back; tell them you'll try again.

Voicemail

You"Sam, it's [name] at Mainfreight, air freight in Melbourne. We've opened a new 24-hour facility at the airport with reefer and dangerous goods handling and I wanted to see whether it's relevant to you. I'll try you again Thursday morning. Number's [xxx] if it's easier."

Specific, short, no pressure, and it tells them exactly when you'll ring. Then actually ring on Thursday morning. That single habit — doing what you said you'd do, on a trivial thing — is most of what builds credibility in this industry.

05 Email templates

Short. No attachments on a first email. No logos, no signature block the size of a poster, no "I hope this email finds you well". Write it as though you're texting a colleague.

Email 1 — after a call where they said "send me some info"

SubjectReefer + DG at Melbourne Airport

BodySam,

Good to talk. As promised, the short version:

• New Mainfreight facility inside the Melbourne Airport precinct, running 24/7
• Reefer capacity and dangerous goods handled in-house, not subcontracted
• Road train access, so regional linehaul comes straight in
• Own trucks for the domestic leg — one company, one invoice, no handover

The useful next step is probably a look at the building rather than more email. I run tours Thursday mornings. Any Thursday in the next month suit?

[Name]

Four bullets, one ask, one specific option. "Send me some info" usually means "go away" — the only way to convert it is to make the next step concrete and easy.

Email 2 — cold, to a named contact you've researched

SubjectChilled export out of Melbourne

BodySam — I look after air freight for Mainfreight in Melbourne.

We've just opened a new facility inside the airport precinct with reefer capacity, 24-hour handling and road train access. For chilled export it removes the bit where product sits somewhere warm waiting for a flight.

Not asking for your business today. Just want to know whether it's worth me staying in touch. Is chilled export something you deal with?

[Name]
[mobile]

Under 100 words. One question. "Not asking for your business today" does a lot of work — it's true, it lowers the stakes, and it makes the reply cheap.

Email 3 — the quarterly value touch (no ask at all)

SubjectNew freighter capacity Melbourne–Riyadh

BodySam,

Thought this might be useful given where you ship — there's a new scheduled 747 freighter running Riyadh–Melbourne as of late July. Nose-loading, 110+ tonnes, and it's aimed at perishables and pharma.

Worth knowing about if the Middle East is on your radar, whoever you use.

[Name]

"Whoever you use." That phrase is the whole technique. You've given them something genuinely useful with no strings, which is what makes them read the next one. Send four of these a year and you'll be the only forwarder they actually recognise.

Email 4 — the break-up (send after 5–6 unanswered touches)

SubjectShould I stop?

BodySam — I've tried you a few times and haven't landed. Happy to stop, no hard feelings.

If it's just bad timing, tell me when to come back and I'll leave you alone until then. If freight isn't your area, point me at whoever it is and I'll get out of your inbox.

[Name]

This gets more replies than anything else on the page. People answer it because it's easy and because it's polite. And a "try me in March" is a real, dated lead — better than a maybe.

06 LinkedIn

Connection request

Always add a note. Never pitch in it.

"Hi Sam — I look after air freight at Mainfreight in Melbourne and I follow a few people in [sector]. Happy to connect."

Wait a week before you say anything else. Connecting and immediately pitching is the fastest way to get ignored permanently.

What to post (yes, post)

Twice a month, thirty minutes each. Not corporate reposts.

Photos from inside the facility
A capacity or rate observation from the week
A short explainer — how lithium batteries are classified, what MICoR means for a meat exporter
A seasonal heads-up before a peak

Be the useful freight person in Melbourne's feed. It compounds slowly and then all at once.

07 Discovery questions that actually work

Once you're in the room, stop selling. The meeting is won by what you learn, and by them hearing themselves describe a problem out loud. Aim to talk for less than a third of the meeting.

Open the map

"Walk me through what you're shipping and where — just so I'm not guessing."
"Which lanes matter most to the business, and which ones cause the most grief?"
"What's the split between sea and air, and what makes something go by air?"

Find the pain (these are the good ones)

"When something goes wrong, how do you find out?" — The best question in freight sales. If the answer is "the customer tells us", you've found a visibility problem worth real money.
"What happened the last time a shipment was late? Talk me through it."
"How long does it take to get a quote back when you need one urgently?"
"Who do you ring at 6pm when it's gone wrong — and do they answer?"
"What's the thing your current forwarder does that quietly annoys you?"
"If you could fix one thing about how your freight works, what would it be?"

Understand the buying process

"How did you end up with your current provider?" — tells you what they value and how they buy.
"Is it one provider or a panel?" — opens the second-supplier conversation.
"When was it last reviewed, and when's it up again?"
"If you wanted to try someone on a shipment, could you just do that, or does it need sign-off?"

Close the meeting properly

"What would you need to see from us before you'd give us one shipment?"
"Is there a lane where you're least happy? Could we quote that one?"
"Who else in the business should I understand — is there a QA or finance view on this?"

Write it down in front of them

Take notes on paper. It signals you're listening, it slows the conversation to your pace, and it means your follow-up email can quote them back to themselves — which is the single most persuasive thing in the follow-up.

08 The seven objections

"We're happy with our current provider."

Don't argue. Agree, then reframe to backup.

"Good — that's how it should be, and I'm not going to try to talk you out of it. What I'd like is to be your second option. Most people your size want a backup for capacity or when something goes sideways, and it costs you nothing to have an account open. If your primary ever has a bad week, you've got a number to ring."

"Just send me your rates."

A rate card without context gets filed and forgotten, and it turns you into a commodity on page one.

"Happy to — but a rate sheet without knowing your weights, dimensions and lead times is a fiction, and you'll just get a number you can't rely on. Give me two minutes on what you actually move and I'll send you something real. Or better — send me your next live enquiry and let me quote it properly against what you're paying now."

"You're more expensive."

Never discount on the spot. Move to total cost and to what the price includes.

"I might be, on that line. Two things though — is that comparing door to door, or is there a delivery leg being invoiced separately at the other end? And what did the last delay cost you? I'd rather be the one that turns up than the one that's forty dollars cheaper."

If they're genuinely just cheaper and the service is equivalent, say so and walk. You'll get respect and you'll get the call when it breaks.

"We're locked into a global contract."

Often true at head office level, and often much looser in practice than the buyer implies.

"Understood. Two questions — does that contract cover everything, or is there freight that falls outside it? Dangerous goods, oversize, charter, urgent stuff? And when does it come up for renewal? I'd rather know the date and come back at the right time than pester you now."

Get the renewal date and diarise it for three months before. That one question is worth more than the rest of the meeting.

"We don't use air freight."

Almost never entirely true. Probe once, then leave gracefully.

"Fair enough. Can I ask — what happens when you get a stock-out on something that's selling, or a customer needs it before the boat arrives? Even if it's twice a year, that's the freight I'd want a shot at."

"We're too small for you."

Genuinely good news — they're interested and self-qualifying out. Reassure hard.

"Not how it works here. Our branches run their own books, so a small customer in Melbourne is a Melbourne customer, not an account number in a global system. And frankly the small ones are often the best — you can ring me directly and I actually know your freight."

"Send me an email." (the polite brush-off)

Accept it, but extract something first.

"Will do. So I don't send you something useless — is it the chilled side that's relevant, or is it more the DG? … Great. And when's a better time to follow up, in a couple of weeks or after Christmas?"

You've now got a topic and a date. That's a lead instead of a dead end.

09 Running a facility tour

Your highest-converting activity. Treat it like a proper event, not a wander round the warehouse.

Standing slot. Same morning every week. It's easier to invite people to something that already exists than to arrange a bespoke visit.
Three prospects at a time, same sector, non-competing. They talk to each other, they validate each other, and the social proof does work you never could.
45 minutes on-site, tight. Coffee and a five-minute intro. Reefer bay. DG area. Airside proximity. Security and CCTV. Done.
Show, don't present. No slides. Let the building argue for you. Have an operations person do part of it — customers believe operators in a way they never believe salespeople.
Lunch after, optional and low-key. The real conversations happen in the car park and over lunch, not in the warehouse.
One ask, at the end, to each person individually: "What would you need to see from us to give us one shipment?"
Follow up within 24 hours with a photo from the day and the specific thing they mentioned.

10 Asking for the first shipment

Make the first yes as small as possible. You are not asking them to change forwarder — you're asking them to run a test.

The trial ask

You"I don't want your programme. I want one shipment. Pick the one you care least about — or better, pick the one that's most annoying — and let us run it. If we do it well, we'll talk about the next one. If we don't, you've lost nothing and you never have to take my call again."

Low stakes, reversible, and it puts a real number on the table instead of a maybe. Then — and this is the whole thing — over-service that first shipment to an almost absurd degree. Proactive updates before they ask. A call when it lands. A short note afterwards on what went well and what didn't. The first shipment isn't freight, it's an audition.

After a service failure at the incumbent

If you hear a target has been let down, do not gloat and do not badmouth the competitor — it makes you look small and shippers talk to each other. Just be calm and available:

"Heard you had a rough one last week. Not going to use that as a sales pitch — everyone has bad weeks, us included. But if you want a second option set up so you've got somewhere to go next time, I can have an account open by Friday. No obligation to use it."

11 Things to never say

Never	Because
"We're a total logistics solutions provider"	Means nothing, sounds like everyone, switches their brain off in three words.
"Can I pick your brain?"	Nobody has ever enjoyed having their brain picked. Ask a specific question instead.
"I was just in the area"	You weren't, and they know it. Be honest: "I'm calling on companies in this estate today."
Anything negative about a competitor	It makes you look insecure, the industry is small, and it often gets repeated back to them. Compete on what you do.
"We can beat any price"	You've just told them price is all you have, and invited them to use you as a benchmarking tool forever.
"Let me know if you need anything"	The most common closing line in sales and the least effective. Always leave with a specific next action and a date.
Any promise you haven't checked	Especially on live animals, DG classifications, temperature ranges and transit times. One over-promise undoes a year of work. "Let me confirm and come back to you today" is always the better answer.