Phone skills

It's all about negotiation. I'm naturally going to try to make profit as that's what I'm in business to do. We still pay good rates and probably some of the best you'll see out there because I'm not out to lowball people. That said, don't be afraid to ask for another $50-100. Driver's who are polite, professional, and willing to negotiate will get a far better response from me than someone who is cold, to the point, or flat trying to rip me off. Often times if someone does a stellar job for me on a rate they agreed to and I have extra, I'll randomly send them a new rate confirmation with more money on it. They didn't ask for it, I've just been raised to be good to people when they do a good job for you.

 

I agree with both of you on this matter.
But when I have called on a few loads and get the details, I ask what are you offering and they really lowball me, I nicely say that is to low and here is what I can do it for.
Then they have gotten rude to a point some what. Me I'm still nice to them...

 

It's total disrespect when a broker offers you a load at $.98 a mile or even less I just can't get off the phone without telling them how they never should of told anyone that price or even posted that load

I always talk to them like I've done 50 loads for them even when they offer a cheap rate I Let them know real fast how long I been driving and never pulled a load out of that area at that kind of money

First thing I do is run the miles sometimes there off more than 100 miles also I check and see what my DH miles are before I call I have a base price a all in rate if it's a no tarp easy legal load I know what I charge for extra stops or by each tarp ect the longer you take to give them a price the more you seem to not know what your doing

One thing that always works for me if the load I'm calling on is covered I always ask how often they move them loads and if they have anything else in that area than soon as they ask I tell them how I can handle anything they have come up i have TWIC card, ramps, levelers, 4-6-8-10ft tarps do oversize carry V-boards 14 4x4s by the time I say all that they already have that load they can't cover and relize I'm the man for the job, I've had brokers pay me $2.20 a mile to dead head 400 mile to pick up a load that paid even more....

 

Me, I'm kinda new on the calling thing.Years ago I had to call for lds. But that was way before the internet and we still pay phones.
But I still know my costs, plus the people I'm leased too their cut.
I am nice on the phone and tell them who I am and who I'm with right from the start..
But when they give me a figure and I say well we are kinda out of range and give them my figure, I hear well that's more than I have in it, I really wonder do people think it can be hauled that cheap??
I know it gets done, but I still am polite with them..

 

I get the details of the load first. Floor load or pallet load, which customers it is (if it's ones I like to deal with, I'm a more movable on my rate). The more involved, the higher the rate. if the broker doesn't know much about the load, I assume it's a) double-brokers or b) it's a lot more difficult than they're making it out to be.

Also, your rate should be dependent on the type of route you're running and the distance of the haul, and the number of days you'll be on it (especially important for reefer haulers, if you're running the reefer overnight more than what your hours truly would dictate).

Also, your mileage rate is based how many miles you really plan on driving in a week (one-seventh your total for each day on the trip, or one-fifth, if you're a M-F scheduler).

I usually get insulted when I give my rate. But, they asked for it. Usually, I let them offer their rate first. Then if it's in the ballpark, we can negotiate it a little. If they're way off (like $2/mi to the northeast), I'll usually throw out some type of insult "I wouldn't do it for less than $____". Usually it's exaggerated. Once, I had someone agree to it.

TQL always asks you for your rate first. I always over-inflate my rate when I call them.

 

Whenever I get asked for a rate first, I always come back and ask for some minor detail, then follow it up with, how much do you normally move this for, I always get a response, and if it's in the ballpark, great, we can talk more, if not, I tell them, this is probably out of your range, but I need XXXX to move it, rarely do they get to XXXX.

 

It is important to know your freight lanes. For instance, I know that if I take a load to Long Island or New York City, that I will likely have a deadhead of 350 miles to find a decent paying load. There is garbage that usually comes off the island, but it needs to be tarped and only pays about $1/mile. No thanks. Going into New England usually requires a longer deadhead to find something with a decent rate. Knowing this going in, I understand that my rate needs to reflect that added cost and lost time deadheading. Going into Florida is the same thing. I have a minimum rate for going into Florida or crossing the Hudson River.

Each load is a negotiation. Tolls continue to escalate in New York and some of the other toll road states. My rate will reflect those added costs. It takes time to learn some of the better and worse freight areas. If I need more money to go to an area, such as south Florida or Long Island, I will usually mention the cost of deadheading and increased tolls. It is a valid concern and offers the broker or shipper an opportunity to justify a higher rate. The broker only makes money if he books a load. I also understand that the broker also needs to make money. After all, they are performing a service. Just because someone else hauls a load for fuel money, doesn't mean that I will.

It is important to not take rates too personally. This is business. If someone has a rate that is considerably lower than my usual rate, I am still polite. If a broker has a cheap rate and tells me that he is giving me everything that he has in the load, I may tell him that I am sorry that I can't take his load, but I cannot afford to haul freight that cheap or at the rate he is offering. It can be frustrating this time of year. Winter rates are usually lower than in the summer.

Before calling on a load, you need to know the minimum rate for which you will haul a particular load. Brokers may have more than one way to calculate miles. I always ask how they calculate the miles. Some may use PC Miler practical miles, others still use HHG or short miles. If I am interested in a load, I run the miles myself. In fact, it is a good idea to run the miles before calling. If there is a wide spread in miles from my numbers, it tells me a lot about the broker.