I recently watched a freight forwarder lose a $50K annual account.
His quote arrived 47 minutes after the customer's email.
His competitor took 3 hours.
The customer chose the slower competitor.
The freight industry has become obsessed with quote speed. Faster responses. Instant pricing. Real-time everything.
"First to quote wins the business" became the rallying cry.
And we were right—partially.
Speed matters. Our data shows the first responder wins 67% of opportunities. But here's what we missed: The forwarders dominating their markets aren't just fast. They're fast and they're asking completely different questions.
Back to that lost account. Here's what actually happened:
Fast Forwarder (47 minutes): "Here's your rate: $4.20/kg, 5-day transit, standard service."
Slow Forwarder (3 hours): "I see you need this in Singapore by March 15th. Here are three options:
- Express: $5.10/kg, arrives March 13th (buffer for your trade show setup)
- Standard: $4.20/kg, arrives March 14th (tight but doable)
- Economy: $3.80/kg, arrives March 16th (if you can push your timeline one day)
Also noticed your shipment includes electronics. We can provide anti-static packaging and humidity monitoring for an additional $150—many of our tech clients find this prevents costly damage claims."
The slower forwarder wasn't just quoting a rate. They were solving a business problem.
After analyzing our most successful partners, I've identified the four questions that separate order-takers from strategic partners:
1. "What's the real deadline?" Most quote requests say "ASAP" or "urgent." Winners dig deeper. Is this for a production line that shuts down Friday? A trade show that starts Tuesday? A just-in-time delivery with zero buffer?
The forwarder who understands the why behind the timeline can provide options that save money, reduce risk, or create competitive advantage.
2. "What happens if this goes wrong?" While others quote best-case scenarios, winners consider failure modes. What if the flight gets cancelled? What if customs holds it? What if the warehouse screws up?
They don't just quote transportation—they quote insurance against business disruption.
3. "How does this fit your broader logistics strategy?" One shipment tells you nothing. Ten shipments reveal patterns. Winners ask about volume forecasts, seasonal peaks, new product launches, supplier changes.
They're not bidding on transactions. They're positioning for partnerships.
4. "What would make this a home run instead of just successful?" This is where the magic happens. Maybe faster delivery allows earlier product launch. Maybe consolidated shipping reduces warehouse complexity. Maybe detailed tracking data helps with demand planning.
Winners find ways to create value beyond moving boxes.
Here's the counterintuitive truth: The forwarders who ask these four questions before quoting often take longer to respond—but they win at higher rates and better margins.
Why? Because customers aren't actually buying speed. They're buying confidence.
Confidence that you understand their business. Confidence that you've thought through the details. Confidence that when something goes sideways (and it always does), you'll have solutions, not excuses.
Speed isn't worthless. It’s just not sufficient.
The winning formula:
1. Fast acknowledgment (respond within 30 minutes confirming receipt and asking clarifying questions)
2. Smart analysis (take the time needed to provide real options)
3. Clear communication (explain your reasoning, not just your rates)
This approach takes 2-3 hours instead of 30 minutes. But it converts at 40-50% instead of 15-20%.
Do the math. Fewer quotes, higher win rates, better margins.
The irony? Most "speed" technology focuses on answering faster, not answering better.
AI that spits out rates in 30 seconds is impressive until you realize it's optimizing for the wrong metric. The AI should be asking: "Based on this customer's history, product type, and timing, what questions should we ask to provide maximum value?"
At Aircon, our AI agents don't just quote faster; they ask smarter questions. They analyze shipment characteristics, customer behavior patterns, and market conditions to surface the insights that turn transaction opportunities into strategic partnerships.
In Buffalo Culture, we say "Run toward the storm, together." The storm is about complexity, not speed.
Three questions to evaluate your current approach:
1. What percentage of your quotes include options? (Winners: 80%+)
2. How often do customers ask follow-up questions after your quotes? (Winners: Rarely—they covered everything upfront)
3. What's your win rate on quotes that took 2+ hours to prepare? (Winners: 2-3x higher than quick quotes)
Stop measuring speed-to-quote. Start measuring speed-to-insight.
How quickly can you understand what the customer actually needs? How fast can you identify their real constraints? How rapidly can you provide solutions they hadn't considered?
That's the speed that matters.
Running toward complexity,
Chris Condon
Founder, Aircon
Not every buffalo that moves the fastest is the strongest.
P.S. - Coming up: "The Visibility Trap: Why 'Track Your Shipment' Is the New 'Your Call Is Important to Us.'" Real-time tracking is table stakes—here's what customers actually want to see.
Forward this to a forwarder still competing on speed alone.
