Dealing with the brokers - what's the best way?

Very true. Rollin Coal knows this business.

Most of the "professional dispatchers" I've run across determine the rate by calling on the loads they see, and letting the brokers dictate the terms, they just go down the board, one load at a time, and ask, "what are you paying"? They'll come back to you saying, "$1.50 is a good rate for this lane today", cause every load they called on that hour was quoting them a buck fifty, and they had no clue how negotiation works, let alone how to start one....

Truth is, when the "professional dispatcher" is taking 10% off the top they're gouging the crap out of you.... they better be getting 150-200% better rates than you can or they're just stealing from you....

But most of them are getting something like 3%, and they are really only interested in loading as many trucks as they can, and not too concerned about the rate.

Why?

Cause .03 on the dollar isn't a lot of money, and there isn't much incentive for them to really learn negotiation and get the rate up, cause it doesn't change their bottom line much...

They get a load paying $1.50, at 3 percent they get .045 cpm, let's say the load goes 750 miles, they get $33.75

but what about if they got, say, $2.50, what then? $2.50 X 3 percent= .075cpmX750=$56.25, another $20, and now that's if they got almost double the original $1.50....

Now, how hard do you think they're going to work to get you up to $1.85-$2.25?

Not very.

They're going to work you, they're going to convince you that keeping you loaded and rolling is the path to riches.....

You're going to be ecstatically happy on the rare occasion where they stumble onto a broker in a jam that throws a rate at them, something like $3 a mile....

They'll have you conditioned to think barely making it is the industry norm, and when you get something really good you should wonder why you don't get more stuff like that, instead of thinking about how lucky you are right then....

You work your ### off, while they sit back and watch t.v., they never figure out how to make real money, cause there's just not much difference to their bottom line, one way or the the other.

Now, there are some dispatchers who are good, who do work hard, who do know how to negotiate, and who dare care about you, but they're really rare.

They're guys who are former O'O's themselves, and for whatever reason are no longer driving, but they know what it is to run a truck, they know the costs, they know the game, and they fight for you.... cause they've been there, and they know what's at stake for you, cause they were that guy once....

But they're a rare find.

They're people like Rollin Coal, or myself, that love the business of trucking so much, guys that get a rush out of getting a rate, guys that when they can no longer drive they move into the brokerage end of things, or guys that start they're own companies and hire drivers, and get so busy in operations that they don't have the time to drive themselves.

If you find one of those guys, they're worth having, they're worth trusting, and they'll do right by you.

 

That's when it gets hard to bite your tongue and remain civil. When I get insulted like that one of two things happens, I either end the call really quickly, or I laugh and say something like, "Hey, that's pretty funny. Now seriously, do you want to move this load or not?" All depends on the situation, who the broker is, what the track record with them has been like, etc..

I had this CH broker, young kid, you could hear him stammering, all uncertain about his load.... and he quotes me this unacceptable rate, $380 on 350 miles...it was a bridge load, just something to get me from where I was to where I needed to be... where I was, was a dead area, no loads.... But what the hell, I'm either bouncing or getting paid, so I hit him back hard, told him I could do it for a grand, anything less was a waste of my time, and got his best rate counter offer, he went from $380 to $706.00 exactly...lol....

So, I told him that $900 would work, but that he'd have to agree to this rate right now, once the call ended the discussion would be over and I'd be moving on...

Puts me on hold, and comes back and says, "we could do $800".

I say, "ok, well thanks for your time but I've got to go..."

He says, "hold on, hold on please.." comes back and says, "We're all in at $875, can you do $875??"

"I can do $875, I'm not going to fight over $25 bucks..."

I figured that there were about just as many empty trucks in that area as there were loads out of that area....and I was ready to bounce out if need be.

So, to the OP, always remain civil, no matter how hard it is. Your strength in a negotiation is that you don't have to take the load you called on, always remember that.

 

I love to hear these pipe dreams.....

 

Dealing with brokers, what's the best way?

Kill them with kindness.

 

"Freight" is freight to a "dispatch service". One load is much the same as any other. Load of bricks or air freight it's all the same. What is the rate (?) is the only concern. There is no "can take this one or leave it" no reading the clues and negotiating accordingly. That stuff doesn't matter anyways, just make sure to get the load booked and bank those 5 or 10 points. A driver in tune with the business and willing to walk away from any load will always get a better rate than a "service" like that. All that time spent searching for loads is more productive if one leaves it to someone else and ends up driving for lower rates? Please.... the point of spending the time to search is to hammer and win. Loads passed on and time spent searching that nets nada is time you weren't out there working for free making someone else's bank. No-one knows this business like a driver who's done it and applies good common sense to their load search and negotiating game. Former drivers who do it are few and far between. Dispatch services who don't know their ### from a hole in the ground are a dime a dozen. Drivers take control of your destiny and command your rates. Don't leave that up to some clueless rank amatuer.

 

Not all brokers are out to get you. You'll know which are very quickly into the conversation. Important to remember that you and the broker have the same goals.....move the load, keep the customer happy and make some money. Trees hits the nail on the head when he suggests a calm intelligent conversation....but you gotta be quick because neither has time to waste.

If you start out with one of my brokers, all ex drivers by the way, being rude and tough...they will thank you for your call and say "Goodbye"!
If you explain that you have a reason for asking for more money they will try to work with you as much as they can.

Understand that all the big brokers have inexperienced people on the phones and they have a ceiling and a bottom rate they can offer. They are trained to start at the bottom and keep all they can. Anything outside the parameters set by the company and they have to get permission.

Examples given of brokers getting panicked and paying $100 a mile are greatly exaggerated. Brokers move the same loads every day for the most part and they know the rates and the carriers...so they don't often get in a panic. If they do run into a panic situation they call the customer and explain the situation and ask for more revenue to move the load. It doesn't happen often.

Smaller brokers like me, I move 40-50 loads a day, like to develop relationships and use the same carriers as often as possible. We pay them more to keep them working with us and will move heaven and earth to help with appointments and all the things that can go wrong moving freight.

Rude people we hang up on......easy as pie......

 

Excellent post.

Basic rule of thumb, if the broker sounds like a used car salesman and has his pitch down pat, and comes across like he thinks he's really slick....this is probably not going to be a broker you're going to want to do business with.

But,

If the broker talks to you in a way that is relaxed and friendly, and if he listens to you explain why you need xyz on your rate, and that's a big detail right there, be able to justify your rate, then, that broker is one to save to your contacts.

There are some really good brokers out there, and they will be your partner, not your adversary.

As you find them you will find yourself calling the mega's less and less.....

Pretty soon, you're only calling the mega's every now and then, and if they don't have a rate that justifies you hauling their load, then it's adios amigo and time to bounce to where one of your guys has something worth dealing with.

 

A lot of carriers call us every morning and ask what we have for the week. The biggest compliment we get is when a driver calls and thanks us for helping out and wanting to haul for us on a regular basis. These are the things that keep our customers happy and keep us in business.

Without trucks we can't move freight.....no point in opening the doors in the mornings.

 

I just ended that call quickly, we were to far apart to even waste the oxygen on it.

 

Great info, especially for a new owner op like myself. Thanks to all.