Stop Losing 3PL Deals

Good Morning!

I noticed a trend speaking with 3PL operators when reviewing their first needs assessment/discovery calls.

Most, if not all, simply answered basic questions which could have been answered in an email and rarely asked questions that elicited a meaningful response around their fulfillment pain points.

That is what today’s newsletter is all about.

The formula for a kick ass discovery call.

Many brands view 3PL as a commodity. It is up to you to show them how you differentiate yourself from the others.

That all starts with the first call.

The types of strategic questions you ask to foster a deeper relationship will earn you the right to gain their trust.

People don’t buy from those they like. They buy from those they trust.

Let’s dive in.

Understanding DTC Brands' Unique Needs

Before you jump on any first call with a potential merchant, you have to understand the categories of what brands care about and where the challenges most likely will be.

We have gone through these needs in a past newsletter but at a high level take a look below.

• Rapid Scaling

• Order/Inventory Management

• Fulfillment Processing & Delivery

• Visibility and Transparency

• Customer Experience

• Cost

Now with those categories in mind, let’s dive in.

Objective & Agenda Setting

Most 3PL calls I have listened to have a loose agenda or none at all.

This is setting you up to fail. The merchant has no idea what that first call is about or what expectations are.

You need to set an objective & agenda on every call.

I am taking a page from Chris Orlob who does a phenomenal job coaching sellers to enhance their sales skills. This is from his discovery masterclass and I give him all the credit in the world for this phenomenal script that I still use to this day.

(I have edited it to make it fit the 3PL setting)

“Mind if we discuss the agenda?

“Great. Here’s what I have in mind. Let me know if you’re thinking something else:

“First, the objective of this meeting in my mind is simply to determine if we should have a next step. Obviously I don’t expect us to do business on this call. So let’s just learn enough about each other to determine whether the next logical step even makes sense.

“Fair?

“Great. Now here’s the agenda I’m thinking that will help us get there:

“First, let’s spend most of our time getting clear on the gaps you’re seeing with (your 3PL/self fulfillment)

“Once we’re clear on that, I can explain what and how we do what we do at ______ so we can jointly decide whether we schedule next steps.

“Does that agenda feel fair?

“Great... [transition to discovery].

Crafting Deep-Meaning Questions

This is where you get to shine and separate yourself from the other 3PL’s who only want to compete on price.

The key to a successful needs assessment call is asking the right questions that go beyond surface level answers and get to the core of the challenges they face.

Speaking with most 3PL owners, the majority of inquiries are inbound leads. Meaning they are active buyers looking for a new 3PL. Take that into consideration when you ask certain questions.

From my experience, one of the best ways to get merchants to open up at the beginning of a call is to ask

“Out of curiosity, what motivated you to jump on the call with me today?”

They will more than likely open up and explain some of the high level challenges they are experiencing with their fulfillment operations.

This is where you dig in deeper.

“What’s going on within your business that is driving this challenge to be a priority?

This is where the REAL problems are flushed out and why they want to fix their fulfillment processes.

Below are some “what” and “how” types questions you can ask the merchant throughout the first call (and subsequent calls) to have a more strategic dialogue.

The point in asking these is to get an understanding of the fulfillment metrics that matter to them the most.

Rapid Scaling

• What specific challenges have you encountered with your current fulfillment strategy as your brand scales?

• What strategic goals do you have for the business over the next 12-24 months and how does the 3PL play fit into that equation?  

• How has your current logistics setup adapted to fluctuations in order volume, particularly during peak seasons?

• What level of flexibility do you require from your 3PL to support rapid scalability without sacrificing operational efficiency or service quality?

Order/Inventory Management

• How do you currently manage your inventory across multiple sales channels and fulfillment locations?

• How do you handle inventory forecasting and replenishment to optimize stock levels and minimize holding costs?

• How do you reconcile discrepancies between physical inventory counts and digital records?

• What metrics or KPIs do you use to measure inventory performance and order accuracy?

• What measures do you take to prevent inventory shrinkage or loss within your supply chain?

• How do you ensure inventory levels and customer demand are aligned to prevent stockouts or overstocking?

Fulfillment Processing & Delivery

• What are the limitations you've faced in achieving desired delivery speeds and reliability with your current fulfillment method?

• How have delivery speed and reliability issues impacted your customer satisfaction and repeat business rates?

• What challenges do you face in maintaining fast order turnaround times while ensuring order accuracy?

• How do you handle order fulfillment during peak periods or sudden spikes in demand?

• What opportunities do you see for innovation and improvement in fulfillment processing and delivery to enhance the overall customer experience?

Visibility and Transparency

• How satisfied are you with the level of visibility and transparency into your order fulfillment and shipping process?

• What specific improvements in tracking and transparency would you like to see to enhance customer trust and satisfaction?

Customer Experience

• What aspects of your current order fulfillment process are falling short of creating an optimal customer experience?

• What types of ways do you communicate with your 3PL when you need questions or problems resolved?

• How do you currently gather and act on customer feedback regarding their fulfillment and delivery experience?

• How soon after raising an issue does it get resolved?

Cost

• How do you currently manage and optimize parcel costs for your outbound shipments?

• How do you prioritize cost efficiency without compromising on order fulfillment speed and accuracy?

• How do you handle fluctuations in shipping rates and carrier fees, especially during peak seasons?

• What strategies do you employ to ensure inventory accuracy across your warehouses and fulfillment centers?

• How do you forecast future warehousing needs and plan for capacity expansion or consolidation?

These are just some of the questions I would ask.

It is okay if you only get to ask them a few strategic questions. The point is that these questions elicit a deeper response which allow you to differentiate yourself from the other 3PL’s who are asking basic questions.

Pro tip - after receiving a number of challenges/pain points and the metrics that are being impacted the most, summarize what was said. This will make the merchant feel understood. Ask to confirm if your summary is accurate!

Secure Next Steps

Far too often I see 3PL owners end the call with no definitive next step.

They say something like “I will follow up in an email next week” or “what do you think is appropriate next steps?”

You’re killin me smalls. Yes, I love corny references from The Sandlot.

You need to own the process and you should be guiding the potential client on what the next steps are.

Going back to Chris Orlob’s techniques, here is a script you can use that I have personally leveraged to drive sales leads through the funnel.

Leave 5 minutes at the end of your calls to talk about next steps.

“Looks like we’re coming up on time. Should we talk about next steps?

“Great. You know your brand better than me. So if you have a different idea than this, let me know.

“But based on what you told me today, what I recommend we do next is ___________________________.

“Does that feel fair?”

You can make this script your own and make it fit your style of communication but I have found that, at least for me, it resonated well with my merchants.

All in all, this type of change to how you run your discovery calls doesn’t happen overnight. It takes weeks or even months of practice.

Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work as well as you think it should at the beginning.

Keep editing the questions and tone of how you ask them. You will see the answers you are getting from merchants propel you to solve their challenges better than Joe Schmo 3PL.

You don’t need to discount your pricing by 20%.

You need to ask more thought provoking questions and demonstrate how you specifically are the best suited to solve their challenges.

Well, that’s it for this week!

Any topics you lovely people would like to see me discuss in the future?

Feel free to email me or DM on good ole LinkedIn.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Hodes