KDC Couriers Blog

How Do I Get Jobs?

I have been asked the same question many times.

Well this is a big question and at the end of the day you cant relay on backload’s and jobs from other courier companies these are only good if your not busy. You still need to have you own jobs and to get your own jobs you need your own clients.

So How Do I Get Clients?

First you need to find out what type of companies need couriers. I’ve started a Wiki style list you can add to. These could be almost all types of companies but the frequency of how often they need a courier will be varied from company to company. Food Production Companies need food stuff delivering fast due to freshness. Food Production Companies often send fresh samples of their merchandise to their prospective clients. Now I can’t mention all the companies here the list can be endless.

But still how do you get the clients, well first you can send out an introductory letter but don’t just leave it their and wonder why they haven’t called. I once sent out 500 letters to solicitors and got one reply. You need to build a relationship with your clients.

Frequency Frequency Frequency

One letter saying you are a new kid on the block is not going to work. You need to at least contact them three times or they will just forget who you are. Try sending an intro letter explaining your services, then a follow up letter a couple of weeks later to give them a nudge and then give them a call. If their not bothered after this they probably don’t need a courier.

Keeping the clients you have!

If you have already got regular clients but seem to be dying of a bit why not give them a call, check if they are ok, most people like to have a chat and it will remind them you are still their. You could even start your own newsletter may be a six monthly A4 page spread with your recent news on things like contracts you have gained and new vehicles purchased. But most of all make your clients feel cared for I used to send them a quick text to let them now I have delivered their package and thank them for using me. 5 out of 10 then rang me back to see if everything was ok with the delivery and asked who signed it this way I’d pay 10p for a text, save money on the call and find out if they have any more jobs to pencil later on in the week.

Your Prospects Will Use Your Service When They Are Ready.

Don’t forget that just because you are ready to offer a service that your prospect is ready to use it. They will contact you when they need you. But in the mean time its good just to let them know you are their.

I would like to start by thanking you all for the support you have given me over the past year and to all who have contributed to the. KDC Forum Over the past year we have gone from strength to strength with over 700 members signing up so far and 300 signing this year alone. As always our main services are free to use and will remain that way for the foreseeable future.In the future we hope to provide a more usable site with extra features been added as the year goes on. Any suggestions are greatly welcome. We are currently working on providing RSS Feed’s Of jobs available and Return Journeys this will enable you to get updates instantly straight to your desktop or to your Mobile Phone . This as always will be provided for Free. We will explain more about this as and when the time comes for launching the service.We have already updated some parts of the site over the past year due to members requests and I thankyou for your suggestions. And don’t forget you can still enter your Available Jobs, Return Journey’s and Empty Vehicles for FREE on our site.

“Someday all sites will be free”
Well, maybe not all sites, but more and more sites are providing free services for couriers.

So are they worth using, or do you only get what you pay for? And is there any risk involved?

The Courier Freeway Alliance aims to promote the benefits of free sites and provide a way for users to know they are dealing with legitimate sites.

© Mike George, 2006
 

Free services for couriers
If you are a courier you will know there are plenty of people after your money — for insurance, phones, satnav, van, fuel — not to mention the scams wanting you to pay to go on non–existent databases for non–existent work.

But there are also plenty of free services for couriers, and the Courier Freeway Alliance (www.courierfreeway.org.uk) has been launched to help promote them.

There are free sites for all kinds of services including:
 - freight exchanges and networking sites
 - forums
 - directories
 - books and guides
 - information
 - news

Some of the sites are well–established and have hundreds of members/visitors, others are new and still growing
The sites are usually run by couriers or ex–couriers who have spotted a need for a particular service. They spend time building up the site and getting visitors and members, and they are able to sell advertising space to make a profit.
Are they any good?
The free sites can be as good as, or better than, their paid-for competitors.

For example, free guides and information sites are likely to be more up–to–date than any book you can buy. And free freight exchanges can have as many members as the well–known commercial services, and provide as much opportunity for networking as well as exchanging work.

A free site probably won’t have a staffed office or a help line, and they don’t usually have the capital to invest in equipment or development, so they might not provide some advanced features like digital signatures or GPS tracking with alerts.

But for the core services a courier needs, free sites can be hard to beat.
Not all free sites are good!
You might think a free site can’t be a scam, or you’ve got nothing to lose.

But not everybody who sets up a free site has the best interests of couriers at
heart. Here are some things to look out for:
 -  Any site that asks for business information and contact details could be ‘harvesting’ information which it will later use for marketing, or to use as a contact list with a book.
 -  A free information site could be a front for a commercial site, and persuade you to pay for services by pretending to be independent.
A code of practice for free sites
The Courier Freeway Alliance is a group of site owners who have combined to promote the benefits of free sites, and provide an assurance of quality and integrity.

They have a code of practice which they all agree to follow, covering things like:
 - disclosure of commercial interests
 - provision of site ownership and contact details
 - policies on use and protection of members’ information

The Alliance was set up in September 2006 by the owners of these sites:
 - auctioncouriers
 - codforum and courierology
 - kdc couriers

Full details about the CFA, the code of practice and a list of their member sites can be found on their web site at www.courierfreeway.org.uk

Well it looks like someone has decided to delete my entire blog, Why they have done this i dont know but it looks like i will have to write some more.

firtstly I would like to thank every one for thier support with the site, dont worry im not going away.

since I launched the site in February 2006 I have gained over 270 members and now with an average of 2 new members per day. so thanks to everyone whos spreading the word. 

The site has also joined/co-founded  http://www.courierfreeway.org.uk which you can read more about on my next blog.

I would also like to mention the fuel situation, If any of you read my last blogs you would have known i had a bit of a rant about fuel prices especially the one i saw at the coast. Well it seems know the fuel price has dropped 85.9p for unleaded and 89.9 for diesel - keep them dropping, 

well anyway better go good luck everyone

Chris