K Charles Haulage had no CRM, no follow-up system, and no pipeline visibility. We built it all from scratch — a fully automated freight sales engine that runs itself.
About the Client
K Charles Haulage is a UK-based freight forwarding and logistics company handling a broad mix of shipment types — from refrigerated and frozen loads to ambient, standard, and international cargo.
With a growing sales team and strong inbound demand, their biggest problem wasn't leads — it was what happened to leads after they arrived. Everything was manual, untracked, and entirely dependent on individual memory.
The goal was simple: build a system that could handle the entire sales cycle without requiring reps to babysit it — from the moment an enquiry lands to the moment a delivery is confirmed.
The Problem
High-intent freight enquiries were arriving — and quietly dying. Not because the team wasn't trying, but because there was no system underneath them.
Enquiries arrived by phone, email, and referral with no single system. Reps kept personal notes. Nothing was shared, tracked, or measured across the team.
Management had no real-time view of open deals, stalled quotes, or conversion rates. Every review required manually chasing reps for updates.
Without automated follow-up, reps chased what they remembered. High-value enquiries went cold due to inconsistent — or entirely absent — contact cadences.
Some reps called twice. Others called ten times. No standardised process meant the customer experience varied entirely depending on who picked up the enquiry.
Every email was manually composed — no templates, no sequences, no scheduling. Follow-ups were slow, inconsistent, and regularly skipped entirely.
Closed lost deals were archived with zero learnings. No loss reasons, no nurture tracks, no win-back attempts. Revenue potential was permanently abandoned.
The Solution — Pipeline Architecture
Each stage mirrors exactly how freight deals move — from initial triage through delivery and post-sale relationship retention.
Distribution
Uncontacted
Opportunity confirmed
Internal only
Awaiting decision
Paid & signed
Active delivery
Job complete
Recovery routing
Integrations Built
Beyond the CRM itself, we connected K Charles's entire financial, payment, document signing, and reputation stack into HubSpot — every tool talking to every other, automatically.
Xero is connected to HubSpot so that every deal won in the CRM automatically flows into Xero as an invoice — no manual re-entry, no handoff email to accounts. The sales-to-billing gap is fully closed.
Stripe is connected as the payment processor for HubSpot's Commerce Hub — enabling K Charles to send payment links, collect card payments, and track every transaction directly inside the CRM without switching platforms.
Adobe Acrobat Sign is integrated directly into HubSpot deal and contact records — reps can create, send, and track order forms and service agreements without leaving the CRM. When a document is signed, HubSpot updates automatically.
Trustpilot is integrated with HubSpot so that review invitations fire automatically when deals close — capturing feedback when clients are most engaged. No manual outreach, no chasing, just a steady stream of verified reviews on autopilot.
"We didn't just build a CRM — we connected the entire operational stack. A deal won in HubSpot now simultaneously creates a Xero invoice, triggers a Stripe payment request, sends an Adobe Sign order form, and queues a Trustpilot review invitation. Four tools. Zero manual handoffs."
The Solution — Workflow Automation
Every stage transition fires a workflow automatically. Reps never need to remember what comes next — the system handles it.
Fires the moment a deal enters the pipeline. Enrolls the contact in the 5-day sequence, creates the first call task, sets last activity date, and notifies the assigned rep immediately.
Unenrolls Stage 1 sequence, enrolls Stage 2 qualification sequence, creates company record if missing, links contact, and updates lead status. Auto-moves to Lost after 10 days of silence.
Sends quote confirmation, creates call + email tasks on Days 2, 4, and 7. No response after Day 9 auto-moves deal to Closed Lost with reason "No response." No rep involvement needed.
Sends thank-you email, Slack notification to accounts, creates review request task, enrolls into Active Customers list, and schedules a 30-day future needs check-in — all automatically.
Branch logic reads Loss Reason and routes accordingly: timing → win-back in 30 days; price → promo list; competitor → management flag; no response → nurture drip.
On Stage 5 acceptance, separate notifications fire simultaneously. Ops gets collection + driver details. Accounts gets payment confirmation. Neither team needs to check the CRM.
The Solution — Sequence Design
Stage 1 hits hard and fast. Stage 2 sustains pressure over ten days. Both run on autopilot with deal-property personalisation on every send.
The Outcome
These figures reflect typical performance improvements when a fully manual freight sales process is replaced with structured, automated CRM infrastructure.
Every enquiry enters Stage 0 automatically and receives an owner within minutes. No lead sits unassigned regardless of volume or time of day.
Management has a real-time view of every open deal — stage, rep, days open, close probability. No more chasing reps for pipeline updates.
Sequences fire automatically at each stage. Reps don't write emails from scratch — the system creates tasks, sends emails, and logs everything.
Four recovery lanes run automatically based on loss reason. Timing losses get a win-back, price losses get quarterly promotions — nothing is wasted.
Ops and accounts are notified automatically the moment a deal is accepted. Right info, right people, right time — no manual messages needed.
Closed Won triggers a multi-touch retention sequence — thank you, review request, future needs check-in, quarterly email — all on autopilot.
"Before this build, our reps were the system. If they forgot to follow up, the lead was gone. Now the pipeline works regardless of who picked up the enquiry — it follows up, qualifies, and routes automatically. We're not losing business to our own process anymore."
Ecosystem Integrations
Beyond the CRM, we connected K Charles Haulage's entire operational toolkit — accounting, payments, contracts, and reputation — directly into HubSpot so every team works from a single source of truth.
HubSpot deals flow directly into Xero as invoices the moment a deal is won — no manual re-entry, no missed billing.
Stripe is connected as HubSpot's payment processor — payment links generated inside HubSpot are processed through Stripe, with full transaction data syncing back automatically.
Booking confirmations and service agreements are sent for e-signature directly from HubSpot deal records. Signed documents attach automatically, creating a complete contract trail.
Review invitations are triggered automatically when a delivery is confirmed, capturing feedback at the highest point of customer satisfaction — building a verified reputation library on autopilot.
Technology Stack
No external tools required — just clean configuration, smart workflow logic, and a pipeline built to scale.
How We Built It
A structured, multi-week build with testing embedded at every stage before going live.
Documented every touchpoint in the freight sales cycle — how enquiries arrive, how reps handle them, how internal teams stay informed, and where deals were silently dying. Every manual step became a candidate for elimination.
Designed the 8-stage pipeline with colour coding, exit criteria per stage, and 15+ custom properties. Every field tied to a specific decision in the sales process — nothing added for the sake of completeness.
Built 10+ personalised email templates per stage with deal property tokens. Assembled the Stage 1 (5-day, 20 touches) and Stage 2 (10-day, 26 touches) sequences with call tasks at precise morning and afternoon windows.
Built 6 workflows covering every deal transition — lead assignment, qualification, quote follow-up, closed won retention, closed lost routing, and internal handoffs. Branch logic ensures each lost deal routes to the right recovery lane without human intervention.
Connected all four external platforms to HubSpot — configuring bi-directional syncs, payment triggers, e-signature workflows, and automated review collection. Each integration tested end-to-end with live data before handoff.
Tested full deal flows across all 8 stages, validated sequence unenrollment triggers, confirmed branch logic on loss reason conditions, verified internal notifications, then delivered documentation and team training.
Whether you're starting from zero or fixing a broken CRM, we build revenue systems that run themselves. Let's map out what that looks like for your business — no pitch, just a real conversation.
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