Our Founder and CEO, Michelle LeBlanc, shared her knowledge and provided guidance as a presenter at the conference with her session, Turning Video Into Results: Measuring What Works for Sales & Marketing in Transportation. She hosted a roundtable discussion, lead a casual conversation over coffee, and presented during a breakout session about short-form video strategy.
That's just scratching the surface of this engaging event. Take a look at our top takeaways from TMSA Elevate from the Drop & Hook team's perspective:
"Compliance is going to become a competitive advantage," said Dean Croke, Principal Analyst at DAT Solutions. "The whole market is being 're-credentialed,' and the door that drivers come through is getting smaller and smaller."
Croke speculates that we could see repercussions of the driver shortage as early as next year. This is due in part to the increase in enforcement action against commercial driver training programs, causing a higher barrier to entry. Some drivers are being permanently disqualified, which closes the cycle of bringing in new personnel. The changes to industry standards aren't necessarily disqualifying drivers based on merit, rather their ability to speak and understand the English language. Furthermore, the cost of operating the vehicle is getting higher, but the rates are not keeping up with driver pay.
"Events are relationship infrastructure," said Mackenzie Hill, Senior Marketing Coordinator at JAXPORT. "They are that foundational element beneath your pipeline, and they have to be measured as such.
According to Ash Thomas, Trade Show and Events Manager at ITS Logistics, the stat we all need tattooed on our arms is that in 2025, it took an average of 27 touches to close a sale in logistics. Each of these touches are all meaningful interactions, not just badge scans. From meetings and demos to full on conversations, you have 27 opportunities to make a good impression on a potential lead long after they stop by your booth. As long as you define success before the event, you can measure the value of each interaction with your specific KPIs in mind. This could be the number of meetings scheduled, warming up a cold lead, or having a speaking event that you could clip and use as content for months. Whatever you decide, it's important to agree on these goals ahead of time.
"[Getting through to a customer is] no longer about luck," said Clara Flaherty, Co-Founder & Head of Growth at CarrierSource. "It's about using the data available to you to reach them when they need you with the right message."
You can sort your intent data like you would sort your leads: hot, warm, and cold. Hot leads are shopping and ready to convert right now. Warm leads are researching a problem that they have, but waiting to weigh their options. Cold leads are just browsing, not necessarily looking to solve a problem, but they are in your ICP. Hot leads are quick to cool down, so they require immediate action. Most of your pipeline will be warm, but it's important to hone in your skills on hot leads. That way you can start warming up other leads and be ready for action when they become hot without fumbling the lead. You can figure out the best way to do this by making sure the right team is assigned to these actions. Hot leads will be handled by specific sales people, while warm and cold leads will have the marketing team busy.
Hear directly from the Drop & Hook team on our TMSA Elevate takeaways.
TMSA Elevate always exceeds our expectations, and we are armed with more knowledge to better serve our clients. We're excited to see everyone in Nashville, Tennessee next year for more collaboration and networking!
If you want to talk more about Michelle's topic of utilizing video and measuring its success, book a call now!