How do you actually get business from attending freight industry conferences?

Getting business from freight conferences requires a pre-event strategy, not just showing up. Vincent Lamia recommends identifying the specific people and companies you want to connect with before the event, reaching out in advance to schedule brief conversations, and arriving with a clear value proposition for each conversation rather than a general pitch. Business from conferences is won before and after the event, not during the cocktail hour.

What is everyone doing wrong at freight networking events?

The most common mistake at freight networking events is treating them as sales events rather than relationship-building events. Vincent Lamia observes that most attendees spend their time pitching rather than listening, collecting business cards rather than having real conversations, and talking to whoever is convenient rather than the people who actually matter for their business goals.

How do you follow up after a freight conference in a way that actually builds a relationship?

Conference follow-up that builds real relationships is specific, timely, and value-focused. Vincent Lamia recommends reaching out within 48 hours with a message that references something specific from the conversation rather than a generic it-was-great-to-meet-you email. The follow-up should include something of value: a relevant article, an introduction to someone else in your network, or a specific piece of information that was mentioned as useful during the conversation.

Freight Conference Networking Strategy | Journey Podcast Ep. 65 with Vincent Lamia

Freight conferences are expensive. The travel, the time away from the desk, the registration fees — none of it is cheap. The reps who get the most out of them are the ones who treat them as a deliberate business development activity rather than a break from the routine. In this episode of The Journey Podcast, Will Jenkins sits down with Vincent Lamia, President of Business Development at Pinnacle Logistics, to talk about how to approach freight conferences strategically and what separates the reps who leave with real relationships from those who leave with a stack of business cards they'll never use.

Vincent's approach to freight conference networking is specific: have a goal, do your homework before you arrive, and show up with something to offer rather than just something to ask for. He talks about how to research who will be at an event, how to prioritize the conversations worth having, and how to make introductions that create value for everyone involved rather than just positioning yourself.

The conversation covers handling rejection at conferences — the polite brush-offs and the conversations that don't go anywhere — and why freight reps who take it personally tend to underperform those who treat it as a numbers game with a human face. Vincent also talks about what happens after the conference: how to follow up in a way that keeps the relationship alive without being persistent to the point of becoming annoying, and what it takes to turn a conference conversation into actual freight business over time.

For freight sales professionals developing their networking and conference strategy, explore The Freight Academy or build outreach skills with Journey's AI Sales Coach.

Freight Conference Networking: How to Turn Conversations into Customers

Episode 65: Vincent Lamia, Networking & Conferences

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