Negotiating with brokers when the answer is always no.

You gotta be in the right place at the right time. Sounds easy and stupid, but that is really how it works on the spot market.
You have to learn how different lanes in different seasons work and unfortunately that's the hardest part

 

Fear is your enemy. Your goal should be to rip their nuts off and stuff em down their F’ing throats day in and day out.

Yes, that’s a little harsh but you start with that mindset and find a middle ground. These guys are professionals and will have your number within the first 5 to 10’seconds.


Edit: Think of it like this. Your goal is to make sure the broker makes $0 dollars on the load. The brokers goal is to make sure you make $0 dollars on the load. Whoever wins makes money.

 

So how often do you find yourself in the right place at the right time?

 

In the words of Cormac McCarthy "Scared money cant win and a worried man cant love."
You have to be willing to sit if they dont want to play. If you cant afford to sit, you cant afford to negotiate effectively.
If you are just always bluffing, a good negotiator will smell it ever time.
Try this: find a market with tons of action in a place you might as well take a 34 and catch up.
Decide in advance that you are taking the day off but at the same time your hobby is to look and bid on loads that you are not worried about getting.
Play aggressive because , really , you would just as soon sit. Maybe make a reservation at a nice restaurant or plan to uber to see a movie or something.
This way you are only going to get off your ### for a really nice rate that is well above whatever was offered.
This is batting practice.
Another easy way to get some batting practice in is to put a bunch of junk on craigslist when you are on home time.
Really try to squeeze every nickel out of small transactions you care nothing about.

 

They say no because you want too much. It does not matter what you think of what the fair rate should be when they can pay less to someone else. If they don't pay enough on the lanes you like to run then you need to find different lanes. Finding lanes is not something someone else will advise you on, that's your bread and butter and once you do then the run, run, run is the easiest part and responsibility at times when they pay good so that you can run less when times are not as good. There are times when no lanes in the World pay fair or enough.

 

Probably 3/4 of the time (not including Feb and March when market is usually horrible).
Majority of my loads are booked by brokers calling me and that automatically puts you in a better negotiating position vs you calling on a posted load.
That being said majority of my loads also are getting booked in the afternoon and my main driving hours are 4pm-12am, when a big chunk of the people already resting at truck stops.

I book my loads in a way that I can spend the night at the receiver, that allows to not start the logbook early. Rarely anybody has fresh driving hours in the afternoon and I usually try to take the full advantage of that.

 

if you call enough brokers you are usually always in the right spot at the right time.

 

This is an excellent advice about Craigslist junk.
Over 10 years ago I was working as a security guard. Being bored to death I started browsing Craigslist, began buying electronics and sell it on eBay.
Quit the job and began doing it full time probably a week later after doing the first sale on Ebay.
Back then Craigslist was still fresh and I made decent money for a few years, around 70k or so per year, working like 20 hours per week driving around meeting different people.
That Craigslist business surely helps with negotiating skills

 

You need to have an idea of what you can get for that lane and what it is that you actually want and need to get you to move your truck.

So if you have DAT that will give you an average if you have the 15 day average it gives you an idea anyway of that lane. They also have tools that show you what areas more freight is coming out of and less so if you go into an area less freight coming out you should try to get more if you can.

Obviously the loads that have to go are going to pay more, but don't be afraid to throw a big number out. I think a lot of people are afraid to ask for a large number..

I've had some brokers hang up on me when I do that, I've had others come back with way more than I thought the load would pay. Sometimes they will just tell you I can only pay you this much and if that's pretty close to what you are looking for negotiate from there. Brokers almost always have some wiggle Room, but there is a bottom line for how much they can or will pay.

After enough phone calls if you run the same areas you'll get the idea what you can really get. And you will find which brokers generally pay better, which generally pay worse, which don't pay anything and which will pay really well when the load has to go.

And which ones you like working with, pay, detention, lanes, etcetera etcetera