 |
| Featured Blogger Benjamin Bellville |
Dealing with freight brokers as I covered in previous posts is an integral part of the freight logistics process, perhaps the most important if you will be getting the majority of your freight from freight load boards. This job goes hand in hand with customer relations and building your trucking companies image. In this introduction to dealing with freight brokers I will go over the basic attitude and approach you should have when booking a load.
When you make a call on a load that you find on a freight load board you will be entering into what is a business negotiation. Remember it is your business you do not have to agree to anything you feel is not in the best interest of your company. This is not a time to be weak, nor is it a time to be unreasonable. In every business deal there exists what I call the “Sweet Spot” of a deal. This is the spot where everyone involved makes their fair share of the money out there to be made on a load.
One of the main problems in this industry is that not many freight brokers or trucking companies believe in this theory,instead everyone is out to take the other side for every penny they can get. This more than anything is what creates the freight rate volatility that is synonymous with the trucking industry. Contrary to what you may have heard there are plenty of fair freight brokers out there to do business with.
When you are negotiating be upfront with the broker and let them know exactly what you need payed to haul the load for them (DO NOT just ask them what it pays, you start the bidding!) Just like in any negotiation start a little higher than what you could really do the load for, but be realistic. If you call and demand $3 a mile for every load you haul you will find yourself sitting around and going broke very quickly, it’s just not going to happen. Be willing to bend a little if you feel it is someone who you would want to do business with in the future.
You would be surprised that loyalty still does exist in the trucking industry though it is harder to find these days. By being flexible and respectful of good brokers you may eventually get on their go to list. This is when they will start calling you out of the blue to offer you their best paying freight because they know you are reliable and dependable and have done great work for them in the past. No one is going to just start feeding a new company the best freight they have as those are their more important customers that they need to be sure are serviced to the utmost standards. It took me in some cases 10-15 on time non damaged loads before I started getting higher paying freight more frequently with certain brokers.
Finally if a deal can’t be reached it’s important to remember that you may still be dealing with that particular freight broker again in the future. Make sure they remember you by always stating your name and your company name clearly. Be genuine and say things such as, “Sorry we could not reach a deal on this one, maybe we’ll get together in the future.” Because of using this approach I could go into my broker list and call any of them and to this day they would remember me, this is what you want to achieve.
Remember any part of a great business game plan includes doing business with people who have your success in mind, be sure to visit Express2290 and find out why they are the premier excise tax service around and what they can offer your company.