Our Carrier Sales Reps are fast-paced, proactive communicators who excel at negotiating and problem solving. Here at Spot, we have over 50 Carrier Sales Reps that are split up into “zones”. Each specific zone is tasked with building relationships with our #1 customer – our carriers – within specific geographic locations. Placing our employees into these zones provides a team-focused environment where everyone works diligently to hit various measurable objectives as a “squad”. We sat down with our Purple Zone, who concentrates on booking freight in the Southeast region of the nation, to better under the zone mentality and what it takes to be successful at Spot.
What does a day in the life of a Carrier Sales Rep look like?
We always start the day by performing check calls with our carrier partners to ensure the loads they’re running will be on-time. After that, our focus turns to covering same-day freight. By late afternoon, we meet together as a team to put a game plan together for the following day while continuing to follow up on loads.
What does your team dynamic look like?
Our zone is a true team! We are always willing to assist one another to cover assigned freight. We were the original “guinea pigs” for the zone model and because of that, we’ve all gotten really close. Everyone on the team is genuinely good friends, and we spend a lot of time together outside of work. We also recently implemented a weekend on-call system to ensure everyone on the team has the best possible work/life balance.
What are some of your key goals as a zone?
Our #1 goal right now is to cover all of our freight a day in advance. This ultimately provides better pricing to our shippers to ensure that we aren’t scrambling to find a carrier day-of. Of course same-day freight comes up on a consistent basis, but when we’re able to cover freight 1-3 days in advance, this also leads to higher service levels.
What does it take to be a successful Carrier Sales Rep at Spot?
You 100% need thick skin. Over-communication is key…the more you communicate with your carrier partners, the better. It’s also crucial to have a strong sense of urgency. We’re moving thousands of loads a day as a team and if any issues arise, that’s the difference between a load showing up on time vs. late.
What is the most challenging part of your role?
Accepting the fact that you can’t change or control everything. Things like the weather, natural disasters, or after-hour problems with shippers are just some of the things that are completely out of our control. This is why being able to problem solve on the fly is a vital characteristic of a successful Carrier Sales Rep.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Getting things done the right way! When things go according to plan, it’s extremely rewarding to know that you’ve made a shipper and a carrier happy. Being able to build relationships with our carrier partners is also gratifying because we’re able to impact their business in a positive way. Our carriers ultimately become our friends versus just performing transaction after transaction for us.
How can I apply to become a Carrier Sales Rep?
It’s as simple as filling out our application here. If you’re a fit, someone from our Recruiting team will reach out to you for an initial phone screen to learn more about your background. From there, the next step would be an onsite (or virtual) interview with the hiring managers. Our goal is to make the hiring process as streamlined and simple as possible so you aren’t waiting weeks to hear back from us on a decision! To get a better glimpse of what a day in the life of a Carrier Sales Rep looks like, view our video below.