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Shipping companies · Lead generation

Bring in rate requests that name a port pair, a commodity and a date the cargo is ready.

Lead generation for a shipping company means attracting forwarders, exporters and importers whose cargo sits on the lanes and equipment you actually run. GullySales works on the pages, enquiry forms and outreach lists that bring those requests to the right desk.

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Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

Realistic editorial illustration of freight and transport companies at work in India

What lead generation means

Lead generation is the combined work of every channel that brings in a new enquiry, whether from search, adverts, referrals or a stall at an exhibition. GullySales runs these channels together and reports the number of enquiries each one produced, not the activity behind it.

Also for shipping companies

Sales and marketing for shipping companies, the overview.

Last updated 18 Oct 2026.

For shipping companies

Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.

  • “A rate request without a port pair is not yet a lead”

    An enquiry that says only "need rates" forces the pricing desk to write back with questions while the shipper asks another line. The useful lead arrives with commodity, loading and discharge ports, container type and readiness date already stated.

  • “The forwarder is a lead and a gatekeeper”

    A forwarder who allocates cargo to your sailings is worth a separate list, with its own follow-up. Treating forwarders and direct shippers as one pool means the exporter you could book direct gets the same message as a desk that already quotes you.

  • “Export clusters hold the shippers you can name”

    Garment towns, spice markets and engineering belts each have exporters who ship the same cargo on the same lanes. A list built by cluster lets the message talk about their documents and their destination ports.

  • “New exporters search before they call anyone”

    A first-time exporter types how to ship to a destination and reads what comes up. If nothing from you answers that search, the first call goes to a forwarder or a global line, and you meet the shipper later, if at all.

What we do

What we deliver for shipping companies.

Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.

  1. Lane-specific enquiry pages

    Pages for the port pairs you serve, each ending in a short request form that asks for the commodity, equipment and readiness date.

    Result: Each enquiry carries the details a pricing desk needs to quote.

  2. Routing of enquiries to the right desk

    Rules that send an FCL request, an LCL request and a port agency request to different people, with the form details attached.

    Result: A request lands with the person who prices that kind of cargo.

  3. Cluster target lists

    Named exporters in the clusters that ship on your lanes, with the logistics or export head noted for each.

    Result: A list of named plants and contacts, grouped by cluster.

  4. Forwarder desk list

    The forwarders at your key ports and the people who allocate space, kept apart from the direct-shipper list.

    Result: Forwarder contacts sit on their own list with their own message.

  5. Source tagging on every enquiry

    A note of whether each request came from search, a call, a forwarder or an event.

    Result: The sales head can see which source produced bookings, not just enquiries.

How the result is measured

  • Enquiries generated
  • Cost per enquiry
  • Enquiries by source

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

Read the full demand and lead generation page

What to capture

A rate request becomes a lead only when these facts are on the sheet.

Port of loading and port of discharge
The pair, such as Nhava Sheva to Rotterdam, entered by whoever takes the request, so it goes to the desk that prices that trade.
Commodity and container type
Whether it is garments in a twenty-foot box, a reefer or out-of-gauge machinery, recorded because the equipment decides whether you can quote at all.
Cargo ready date
The date the shipper expects cargo at the port or factory, so the reply points to a real sailing and cut-off, not to a general schedule.
Shipper or forwarder
Who is asking, noted by the desk, since a forwarder quoting a client and a direct exporter need different replies and different follow-up.
Source of the enquiry
Website lane page, trade fair, forwarder referral or tender notice, kept so you can see which route brings cargo that actually sails.

Who it is for

This is written for these shipping companies.

  • Container shipping lines serving Indian ports
  • NVOCC and consolidators selling LCL and FCL space
  • Ship agents handling port calls and husbandry
  • Coastal and feeder shipping operators
  • Bulk and break-bulk charterers moving commodities
  • Project cargo and out-of-gauge shipping specialists
  • Ro-ro and car carrier agents
  • Inland waterway and short-sea operators

Not for

It is not the right fit if.

  • You have no space on the lane the exporter wants, so more enquiries for it would only be declined after the shipper has waited.
  • Rate requests arrive on a dozen personal inboxes and no one owns them, so adding a source would add to the loss.

How it works

How the lead generation work runs

The work itself, in order. How an engagement starts, from your brief to a written scope, is set out on our method page.

  1. 1

    Understand your capacity

    We ask how many enquiries your team can answer well, who answers after hours, and what a good enquiry looks like. Without this, the system fills a funnel nobody is watching.

  2. 2

    Audit current sources

    We read your call log, WhatsApp chats, enquiry sheet and platform dashboards. The baseline is recorded: enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order.

  3. 3

    Strategise the channel mix

    Search and maps are chosen for people ready to buy, ads for people who are not yet looking, and content and referrals for trust.

  4. 4

    Implement capture and follow-up

    Pages, forms, tags, the lead record and the first-reply message are built and tested end to end. We submit test enquiries ourselves before any media money is spent.

  5. 5

    Measure and optimise

    Enquiries are traced to source and judged by what became orders, not by volume alone. Channels that fill the sheet with poor enquiries are cut back. How often you are reported to is agreed in writing.

Where this fits

Three pieces of sales work, in this order.

This work sits inside sales process design, at stage 1, prospecting and lead generation. The audit comes before it, and sales management keeps it running.

  1. Step 1

    Sales audit

    Find where deals are being lost and what to fix first.

    Start here if you cannot say where orders are lost.

  2. Step 2 · you are here

    Sales process design

    One written way to sell, from first enquiry to repeat order.

    Start here if every salesperson sells differently.

  3. Step 3

    Sales management

    A target, a review routine and someone who owns the number.

    Start here if the team has targets and no routine.

Tell us what you need Your brief is read before we call. Scope, fee and term in writing.

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need
Should we chase every rate request?
Not equally. Rank requests by lane fit, equipment and the shipper's regular volume, and answer the best-fitting ones first. A request for a lane you do not serve is better redirected politely than quoted badly.
How do we get direct shippers without losing forwarders?
Aim at the exporters forwarders serve thinly, and tell forwarders openly where you sell direct. Agree the rules before a campaign starts, so a desk never learns of it from a customer.
Should new exporters be treated as leads or left to forwarders?
Treat them as leads for your forwarder partners as well. A first-time exporter seldom knows who to ask, so a clear lane page brings them in. Pass the enquiry to the desk and say plainly if your route to a direct shipper runs through a forwarder.
How do we avoid quoting a lane we cannot serve?
Add the lane's equipment and sailing availability to the enquiry form fields, so the pricing desk sees at once whether it is yours to quote. A form that asks for the commodity and container type removes requests for cargo you do not carry before anyone prices them.
How much does it cost?
There is no price list, because the work differs by business. The fee is scoped after we have read your brief and spoken to you, and put in writing before anything starts, split into our time, your media spend and production.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
It depends on the trade, the channel and what is already in place. After we have read your brief and spoken to you, we say what we would expect to move first and how it will be measured against the baseline. Nothing here is guaranteed.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.
What do you need from us?
Your brief, and a conversation. After that, access to whatever this work touches, such as your website, your accounts or your enquiry record, and time with the people who handle your enquiries.
What if we are not happy with the work?
Tell us and the plan changes. Everything is reported against the baseline, so a number that is not moving is visible to both sides. The term is in your written scope, and the refund and cancellation policy sets out the rest.

More for shipping companies

Everything else we would do for you.

Closest to this: leads and follow-up

Also for shipping companies

Or start from the overview: sales and marketing for shipping companies.

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