Strategies for Spot Quoting

YOU could. I don't. Several very proud members on this site work in exactly that manner. Having seen the comparative #'s I'll stick with the way I do it.

Get as much as I think i can, but not so much that they won't call me next time.

 

yep. that's usin' yer software.

 

After so long you'll get a feel for the lanes you run and how much hassle you have coming out of an area, for instance I just took a load of styro wall board from PA to VT for $3.15 a mile because I knew (and so did the broker) that I was going to be paid crap getting out of New England but they said place a bid so I did. A lot of TQL guys will bottom dollar you hard but if you listen for choice key words then you can get the feel of things and if you call on a load but turn it down and THEY call back.... Get em lol

 

Also, my method (and probably what you were asking about) is I look at the load, I know the min I will run for, if they dont have a rate in mind then I automatically start out at $2.75 a mile and work from there.... Yeah it's high and yeah my operating cost is noooo where near that but it's a starting point... If it's a bad lane or I know I'll have a hell of a time getting out of the area I'll bid way higher..... Hope it helps

 

Good advice DUNE-T.

 

No, refer to @DUNE-T 's excellent post. You are not ever going to get the same rates both ways to come out ahead on a situation like that. It is still a supply and demand situation. If you cut yourself shorter then possible one direction, you will take it in the shorts pulling out of that area.

And you really need to account for your time and work on a load. Leave the high labor and long detention crap to the megas. They can cheat their drivers to pull that crap cheaper then your time is worth.

By the way, speaking of Mega's. They don't even add a percentage on their expenses and pull for that. They consider market forces too.

 

I booked a load with a carrier on Thursday and I really felt like he handled it perfectly.

I posted a flatbed partial from Pittsburgh PA area to San Diego, CA. 18 feet, 9000 pounds, tarped but not a hard tarping job. Could deliver whenever.

I was getting blown up at that rate so I wasn't budging on the rate. That wasn't information the carrier had though.

He started off by asking if I could pay 2500. Good number choice as it's high enough that I almost certainly won't just instantly say yes (which is always bad because it means that they would have gone higher... possibly much higher) but also not high enough to offend me or give me grounds to act offended. I stuck at 2000. He then said he could absolutely bottom dollar do 2200. I said no and he let me end the call. 3 minutes later he called back and took the load at 2000.

Now some of you are probably thinking that this dispatcher is a bad negotiator because he didn't get any additional money out of me. You would be wrong. He found out that my 2000 dollar number was firm (and it was... i got 4-5 more calls looking to take the load at 2000 after I booked with him) but knew that he was asking for more money as a bluff. #### he probably would have done the load at 1900. He called me back and took it before I had a chance to give it to someone else. He extracted maximum money from me on a good load and got the freight. Literally the best possible outcome for him.

Negotiation is a very important skill and very misunderstood. It's not about getting over on the other person. It's about discovering what they are willing to do and making sure that you don't leave any money on the table. A good negotiator doesn't leave his counterparties thinking "I hope I never have to speak to that guy again..." a good negotiator is someone people like and want to do business with.

 

This is fine although I see you're effectively charging for pickup deadhead twice. Not a terrible way to make sure you have some padding in the load though.

My preferred system (when I was a dispatcher) was to combine the money for both directions. But I ran a ton of FL loads so I had to think that way because it's so imbalanced.

I prefer to see everything as zoomed out as possible I guess. There are a lot of loads that make sense big picture that wouldn't survive your calculations. I've made a lot of money for trucks taking cheap loads to places with good freight.