Where new freight forwarders find their first customers

The first ten accounts are the hardest

You have your company set up, your BIFA membership sorted and your customs access in place. Now you need customers. The problem is that most shippers assume a new forwarder is a risk, and most advice about winning business is either obvious or useless.

This post covers the routes that new forwarders actually use to build an early client base - based on conversations with people who have done it.

Start with who already trusts you

Your professional reputation is your biggest asset when you start out. People who have worked with you directly - as a shipper, a supplier, a port contact, a colleague - already know what you can do. They are far easier to convert than a cold prospect.

This does not mean raiding your former employer's client list. Before you approach anyone you worked with previously, make sure you have read your employment contract and taken advice on your restrictive covenants. That point is covered in more detail in our earlier post on starting a forwarding company.

Within those boundaries, think about:

• Importers or exporters you dealt with in a previous role who were not your employer's direct customers
• Contacts at shipping lines, hauliers or warehouses who move in shipper circles and can refer you
• Former colleagues who have since moved to roles at trading companies

A personal introduction from someone who vouches for you removes most of the early trust barrier. One good referral often leads to two or three more.

Find the shippers the big forwarders ignore

Large forwarders have minimum shipment volumes, account thresholds, and service tiers. A company moving ten to fifteen FCLs a year is not a priority for them. For you, that same company is a meaningful account.

Small and mid-sized manufacturers, importers and distributors often receive a poor service from large forwarders precisely because they are not big enough to matter. They get passed between account managers, struggle to get answers quickly, and feel like they are on a conveyor belt.

This is where a new forwarder can genuinely compete. You can offer the owner or logistics manager direct access to you. You can turn around a quote the same day. You can explain what is happening with their shipment without them having to chase.

Look at trade directories, local chambers of commerce, and sector-specific associations to identify companies in this bracket. The approach works best when you know their industry - which leads to the next point.

Pick a niche trade lane or sector early

Generalist forwarding is hard to sell when you have no track record. Niche expertise is much easier to explain and remember.

A forwarder who specialises in, say, imports from a specific region, or who understands the documentation requirements for a particular commodity type, has something concrete to say to a prospect. You are not just "another forwarder" - you are the person who knows that trade inside out.

The niche does not need to be exotic. It might be a trade lane you covered heavily in your previous role, a commodity type you understand well, or a sector where you already have contacts. The point is to give prospects a reason to choose you over someone with a longer client list.

As your business grows, you can broaden. In the early stages, being known for something specific helps word of mouth spread faster.

Use your overseas agent network properly

If you have joined a freight network or established agent relationships abroad, those partners can be a direct source of business. Overseas agents regularly need a reliable UK counterpart to handle the destination side of a shipment.

New forwarders sometimes underestimate this route. An agent in another country who trusts you will send you business consistently, because finding a dependable UK partner is their problem too. Treat agent-introduced shipments as seriously as direct customer business - your performance on those jobs determines whether more follow.

BIFA can help you understand how to find and formalise agent relationships if you are starting from scratch. Their member resources are worth working through early on.

Be easy to find in the right places

This is not a call to start posting motivational content online. It is more straightforward than that.

Make sure your business appears where shippers actually look when they need a forwarder:

• The BIFA member directory
• Any freight network directories you belong to
• Your own website, with clear information about what you handle and which trade lanes you cover

Shippers who are actively looking for a new forwarder will check these sources. Being listed, with enough detail to make contact straightforward, is often all it takes.

Do good work and ask for introductions

Once you have your first few clients, the fastest way to grow is to ask them directly whether they know anyone else who might need a forwarder. Most people will not volunteer a referral unprompted, but if you ask at the right moment - after you have solved a problem for them, or after a smooth shipment - many will think of someone.

This feels obvious, but it is consistently underused. A short, direct ask ("Do you know any other businesses importing from X that might be looking for a forwarder?") takes ten seconds and costs nothing.

Expect it to take longer than you think

Most forwarders who have been through this say the first year is slower than expected and the second year is faster. Shippers do not switch forwarders lightly - they wait until something goes wrong with their current provider, or until a trusted contact recommends you. You cannot force either of those things. What you can do is stay visible, do reliable work, and be the obvious choice when the moment arrives.

Koda is built for small and mid-sized forwarders who need to handle shipments, customs entries and documentation without a large back-office team - so you can take on new accounts without adding proportional admin.