3 parts of local delivery discovery call, explained

What to take away

A local delivery discovery call decides the stop count, the vehicle, the driver, and the price. Get those four things wrong and the contract runs at a loss for a year. This article covers the three parts of that call and what to ask in each.

Part one: the route itself

Ask the customer for the stop count per day, the delivery window, and the parcel sizes. Those three numbers set the vehicle, the driver hours, and the price.

A customer who says "about fifty stops" usually means forty on a slow day and eighty in December. Ask for last month's actual count, not an estimate. If they cannot produce it, price the higher number.

Stop density matters as much as stop count. Fifty stops inside three square miles is a different route from fifty stops across a metro area. Ask for the ZIP codes and the number of stops in each.

Ask what happens to a failed delivery. Does the driver retry the same day, hold it, or return it to the depot? Each answer changes the route time and the price. A retry policy that doubles back across the city is a cost you carry.

Part two: the vehicle and the equipment

The parcel decides the vehicle. Envelopes and small boxes fit a cargo bike or a compact van. Bulky items, pallets, or anything over 50 pounds needs a larger vehicle and possibly a lift gate.

Ask about temperature control. Groceries, meal kits, and pharmacy items need insulated bags or a refrigerated unit. That is equipment cost and route time, and it belongs in the quote.

Ask about scanning and proof of delivery. If the customer wants a photo, a signature, or a barcode scan at every stop, the driver needs a scanner and the software to match. That is a per-stop time cost.

Cargo securement is not optional. The FMCSA cargo securement rules set the performance standard for vehicles in interstate commerce. Confirm with your state DOT whether your operation falls under them before you promise to haul anything heavy.

Part three: the money and the paperwork

Price per stop and per mile. Hourly pricing sounds simple but it pays you to sit in traffic, and the customer will notice. Per-stop pricing rewards route density, which is the thing you are actually good at.

Build the quote from named variables. Let S be the stop count per day, M be the miles per route, C be the cost per stop, and D be the cost per mile. Your daily cost is (S x C) + (M x D). Add your margin, then divide by S to get the price per stop you quote.

Ask who pays for parking tickets, tolls, and failed delivery attempts. In Los Angeles, parking citations on a commercial route can run into real money over a year. Decide in the call who absorbs them, not after the first ticket.

Ask how the customer wants to be billed and how fast they pay. Net 30 and net 60 are different businesses. A route that pays in 60 days needs working capital you may not have.

Keep records that show what you delivered and what you were paid. The IRS guidance on records lets you choose any system that clearly shows income and expenses, as long as you keep the documents behind them. Ask a CPA how that applies to your entity.

If you are hiring drivers for the route, the staffing decisions you make here set your cost per stop for the life of the contract. A 1099 driver and a W-2 driver carry different costs and different risk.

Claims you can and cannot make

Do not promise a delivery time you cannot hit on your worst day. The FTC advertising guide requires that advertising claims be truthful and supported. A guarantee you cannot meet is a claim you cannot support.

If you use a customer testimonial, get permission and disclose any material relationship. "We deliver in two hours" is a claim. "We delivered in two hours for this customer on this route" is evidence.

A worked example

A courier quotes a retail route at 60 stops per day across 40 miles. Cost per stop is $4 and cost per mile is $0.70. Daily cost is (60 x 4) + (40 x 0.70) = $240 + $28 = $268. At a 20% margin, the quote is $322 per day, or about $5.36 per stop.

The customer counters with 80 stops on the same 40 miles. Daily cost becomes (80 x 4) + $28 = $348. At the same margin, the quote is $418, or about $5.22 per stop. The per-stop price drops because the route got denser. That is the argument to make on the call.

Common questions

What if the customer will not share their stop count?

Price the higher number and put a stop cap in the contract. If they will not commit to a cap, walk away.

Should I quote hourly or per stop?

Per stop, with a per-mile component. Hourly pricing pays you to sit in traffic and gives the customer no reason to help you build a dense route. Per-stop pricing aligns your incentive with theirs.

Who pays for parking tickets and failed deliveries?

Decide in the call and write it into the contract. In dense metros, citations and retries can eat a thin margin. If the customer will not absorb them, add them to your per-stop price.