Ok, get ready to pummel the new guy..

Agreed! How's your new truck running Greenacres?

 

Before you sign with a factoring company contact two or three and get the specifics, then go to your local bank. You may be pleasantly surprised. Not all banks do this, but my local bank did. I contacted some factoring companies and then went to ask my banker what he thought. His reply: You don't need a factoring company. We'll do it for you and here's the cost". Nice, neat and Local. Just a suggestion.

 

I'd try to work with brokers that offer quick pay as well as a good advance for fuel so the cashflow isn't a problem.

This is what my friend does with the brokers he works with....his cost is about 1.5% of gross for $$$$$
in hand in 48 hours.

I don't know all the ins and outs of factoring companies.....maybe I'm glad I don't.

Don't be afraid to tell a broker what you need dollar wise on the load.

Likewise don't be afraid to say...I'll pass...if the price isn't right.

Once you establish your rate......don't EVER cave in with a broker and do any "Favors" rate wise.......they'll NEVER forget.

Be careful of brokers who link you up with other brokers for return trips.
You'll usually hear that they're "Friends" or "We work with them all the time"
You can be sure that it probably won't benfit you rate wise.

My friend uses Truckstop dot com with good results. Results will vary
with location I'm sure.

Navigation system........I use a map.......always have. Maybe I need to
move into the 21st century.

I just haven't found the necessity just yet.

 

The key is to know your costs before calling on loads. $1.80 might be a good rate for some loads and not others. I have two spreadsheets I work with when shopping for work.

The first is a business plan that has every detail estimated and spits out a minimum cpm that I need to get in order to hit plan. I review it every week or so and make adjustments to keep it current. Post your truck specs and I'm sure someone can tell you what to expect on mpg hauling a van.

The second spreadsheet I use for every load is a quote workup sheet. I drop the miles in (after verifying of course) and instantly know what the flat rate would be at various price points. There's also a box where I can put a quote in against the miles and work the equation backwards and see what the cpm the broker is offering with their flat rate. Take into consideration your route (tolls, traffic, etc) and what you can guess about the load/unload points (lumpers, pallets, delays, etc).

After setting a minimum and a target, I dial the broker and find out about the load. Listen for the weight and stops. Be prepared to recalculate your route and miles in case of more than one pick/one drop.

Negotiation is as much an art as it is a science. After a few calls, you'll pick up ways to banter and find out what sort of room you have. After a few loads you'll get to know who not to call (always cheap) and who has loaded you before with good rates. I'll call on the second group before I even look at a load board. Or at least look for their loads before calling on unknowns. About 1 out of 3 calls gets me a good load with no hassle.

If they don't give me a rate up front, I'll start high but not knock their head off. If they accept it with no pushback, I know I've left some money on the table and start asking questions before finally accepting. If they throw out a low rate I'll ask if they have some room to come up before hanging up. Just remember: if you don't ask, you could miss what could have been a decent load. I called on one a month ago and it was quoted to me below my min. When I asked if they had room to come up, there wasn't any and the call ended with "have a great day." 5 min later the same broker called me asking to quote a slightly different one with more stops. Knowing what I already did, I quoted $2/mi + another $300 for the extra stop and half-day wasted. figuring he'd thank me and hang up. Instead he wanted my fax number. So you never know.

Best advice is to not let a hard day get to you. There will be days you'll dial brokers all day and not get a rate. But your last call has to be just as on point as your first one. Another valuable figure to know is what your daily cost to stay put is and what your cost for DH is. That serves two purposes: one you know how much it will cost you per day to stay put or run somewhere else for a better rate, and when (not "if" LOL) you get a fabulous rate to run a load to West Nowhere you know how much of that you're gonna give back DH to the next load.

I've had to get us loaded out of PA, but only out of the southern part. It's harder to find a good rate there but you can get them, you just have to work for it. We don't go beyond PA/NJ to the north, and a lot of the freight in that area does. Plus there's a lot of shorter runs versus long hauls headed south or west due to that area being thickly populated. YMMV. Matter of fact, our truck will be SE of Philly on Tuesday morning LOL. For what it's worth, the PA/NJ limit I set isn't because I'm afraid to take a load further - we have Progressive insurance and stay within 700 miles of ATL. So far I haven't seen anything paying high enough to make it worth using an insurance exception and paying the NY HUT + more tolls to take on.

 

So what is your bep?

 

Your going to need to run your truck for a while with various weights and terrain composition to get a better idea on your mpg. Mpg varies slightly, even with identical equipment.

Starting out I tripped planned for 5 mpg for cost planning. Error on the expense side of things when in doubt.

I love my Rand Mcnally 700 GPS, it works well with the road maps and has features that you will need to do fuel taxes, trip reports etc. Its a blackbox, records everything your truck does! BY FAR the most important piece of equipment in the truck. If it cooked buiscuts, I would marry it.

Listen to guys like red, bigray and others; they are most helpful