Landstar home time

In addition to that and a clarification...

There are ways to research an agent and before you call them know what they do.

It is no good cold calling and presenting yourself with a flat bed trailer if the agent doesn't ever do flat bed work.

I go meet them for a bunch of reasons, one is continuity by keeping you in mind when they run across something you can do.

 

I'm new here, and just applied to LS waiting for their acceptance. I just want to know how you get agents contact information? How do you find out who they are, to start building that relationship?

 

You'll find the agents on the load board. The relationship is built like any other in this business...you start hauling what you can see on the board and do the best job you can do..rinse and repeat, and then do it again. Once they become familiar with you they may offer you other loads they don't post on the board. The key is making sure you don't ever cut any corners...ever. Your reputation is only as good as the last load you ran. Like TripleSix says, bring your A game.

It won't happen fast and it's going to take work and patience on your part. Just remember the best loads never see the board. The board contains loads that are either "cut-n-paste" or stuff they couldn't cover. You need to watch for last minute stuff you don't usually see and learn to capitalize on it. I am loading tomorrow for an agent that never posts to the board. This load pays almost $4/loaded mile, it's a direct shipper and always pays this well. I only met this agent because they posted a load last New Year's when they couldn't find trucks to cover. The load only hit the board for ten minutes and it was pulled, just to see if someone would call....well, I did and it just comes down to this: you have to be paying attention and be in the right place at the right time. I have run about a dozen loads for this agent now. Now I can call this agent and know I can book this same load anytime I am in this area.

Be willing to haul stuff that other won't, be willing to go where others don't want to go and be willing to run on days when others want to sit at home. There is no instant gratification here, it will feel like it takes forever to get there, but believe me, there is a payoff if you can handle the journey.