How To Be a Top Logistics Sales Rep

Recently, I had the pleasure of talking to Joshua Harrison, who works for Total Quality Logistics (TQL). He is a Man of Action, a husband, and a father of five children. To top it all off, Joshua is also a top sales rep. Somehow he also finds time to run some mornings, 26 miles before logging in and working all day. So I talked to Joshua to find out what drives him.

How would you describe your role at TQL?

“We are a cradle-to-grave operation,” said Joshua. He closes all his customers, sorts all his carriers, and does all his accounting. He also has a support team. “I’ve got a logistics coordinator that covers loads. I’ve got two trainees I’m currently training and two account specialists.”

“I was a top 100 broker in the last four years, and hopefully, this year, I’ll finish in the top 20.”

What’s your secret?

Joshua puts it down to hard work. “When I was a trainee, I did over a thousand calls every week, over ten hours of talk time, and over 30 to 35 loads covered every week,” he said. His ‘hustle percentage’ was consistently high, and he always gave it everything he had. “I’m not looking for guys doing one or two loads a week; I’m looking for guys doing hundreds of loads a week.”

What are your three tips for sales?

1)      We are not in the sales business. We are in the relationship business.

2)      Nobody likes to be sold to.

3)      Listen and empathize with customers

Four pillars to building relationships

1)      We all want to be listened to.

2)      We all want to be understood.

3)      We want to be respected.

4)      We all want to feel loved.

Why do you think TQL has a bad reputation?

“We are high touch, high service brokerage. It’s in our culture; we’re customer-centric,” Joshua said. “We’ve got 5000 brokers here, meaning we’ve got 5000 different experiences on the carrier side.”

How are your relations with trucking companies?

When I asked Joshua if he treats trucking companies well, he was honest. “I used to not,” he said. Maturity has taught him to treat everybody with respect, dignity, and love. He believes that he should have a positive impact on everybody that he meets, including carriers.

What has been your experience with TQL?

Joshua has been with TQL for five and a half years. “I look forward to going to work every day,” he said. He looks at his co-workers more like family and likes the company culture. “We have this up-lifting go-get-em attitude, and we root for each other’s success.” Joshua did point out that the work is not for everybody because it involves cold calling, and not everybody can handle that amount of rejection. He also likes the amount of charity work that TQL does and its focus on diversity.

What’s the story with running?

“I started running about two years ago,” Joshua said. Because he is busy with work and taking care of his family of five kids, running is how he gets alone time. “I’ll have a whole week where I’ll wake up at 3 am, run 26 miles, log in and work all day.” He runs a marathon almost daily sometimes.

What’s your average mile?

Joshua runs 8 minutes a mile; if he’s doing marathons, it’s around 7:30 minutes a mile. “I’m a firm believer that what we think we’re capable of is probably only 5 percent of what we are capable of,” he said. “It’s my duty to myself and the world to be the best version of myself.” He says running is fun, but the biggest challenge is getting out of bed to run.

How much do you sleep?

“I wish I slept more,” said Joshua. He tries to go to bed before 10, but it can be hit or miss if you are a father of 5.

What do you listen to when you’re running?

“If I do listen to music, I listen to John Mayer, Norah Jones, and some Avril Lavigne now and then,” he said.

Do you know anyone else doing this amount of running?

“No, not really,” Joshua said. In the spring of next year, he will attempt to set the fastest known time for the 220-mile trail from Empire, Michigan, to Oscoda. He believes he can do this in 48 hours. So I called him the David Goggins of freight. “My ten-year goal is to get into motivational speaking, giving seminars on sales and wellness.”

To listen to our entire conversation, click here.