Building relationships beyond your main contact

Expanding influence and trust

In logistics sales, it is tempting to focus heavily on your main contact. They may be the person who requested the proposal, manages the tender or coordinates the project.

But what happens if that person leaves the company, changes roles or simply loses influence over the final decision?

A strong customer relationship should never depend on one individual.

In complex logistics sales, decisions are rarely made by one person. Procurement, operations, finance, IT, supply chain management and senior leadership may all influence the outcome. Building relationships across this wider stakeholder group can significantly increase both your influence and your chances of winning the business.

 

Map the stakeholder landscape

Start by understanding who is involved in the customer's decision-making process.

Who will use your solution? Who controls the budget? Who evaluates the operational impact? Who manages risk? Who ultimately signs off on the investment?

Your main contact can often help you identify these people. But don't simply ask for names. Try to understand each stakeholder's priorities, concerns and influence.

 

Create value for different stakeholders

Different stakeholders have different definitions of value.

An operations manager may care about reliability and efficiency. Procurement may focus on price and contractual conditions. Finance may want a clear business case and predictable costs. A CEO may be more interested in strategic impact and growth.

Your solution may be the same, but your message should not be.

By demonstrating that you understand each stakeholder's perspective, you become more relevant—and more trusted.

 

Build relationships before you need them

One of the biggest mistakes sales teams make is engaging additional stakeholders only when they need approval or when the deal is at risk.

Instead, build those relationships early.

Invite relevant stakeholders to workshops. Share useful insights. Ask for their perspective. Discuss industry developments that affect their business. Make the relationship about their challenges, not just your sales opportunity.

This transforms your position from “supplier talking to a contact” into “trusted partner engaging with the customer's organization.”

 

Protect the relationship from dependency

A healthy customer relationship has depth.

If your entire relationship sits with one enthusiastic contact, your position can be surprisingly fragile. If that person moves on, you may suddenly find yourself starting from zero.

Building multiple trusted relationships creates continuity and resilience. It also gives you a better understanding of what is really happening inside the customer organization - including informal influences that may never appear on an organization chart.

 

The real objective: become trusted across the organization

The strongest logistics sales relationships extend beyond a single contact.

They create multiple points of trust, multiple sources of insight and multiple advocates for your solution.

So, ask yourself:

If my main contact left tomorrow, how strong would my relationship with the rest of the customer organization be?

If the answer is “not very strong,” it may be time to expand your network.

Sales excellence is not just about winning the decision. It is about building relationships that make you the trusted partner long after the decision has been made.