Factoring/New Authority

When I got ready to pull my first load as stated at the start of this thread, I mentioned that brokers did not want to work with me due to brand-new authority, and I could not get paid timely. I met a driver where I keep my truck and he referred me to a lady who is a private dispatcher for many independents over in Saluda, North Carolina (Tammy Branch-super nice lady). She knows the ropes, business, has hundreds of contacts, knows how to negotiate loads, good and bad load areas, and she knows the tought talk also. She was able to get me a load the first day and kept me under loads everyday for a 4% load fee. This lady could do what I could not.

She works with no contract whatsoever, which means she can get you one load or a thousand. She needs no notice if you don't use her and you can pull anyone's load at anytime. After a month, I had pulled enough loads and had contact with the load brokers which enabled me to build-up a reference log.

I sent her my authority pack that first day and she took care of the confirmation and all the rest. All I had to do was say yes or no to a load, and pick up and deliver. It saved me a lot of time and headaches. Anyone might try that long enough to get going. Just some of my experience.

 

Firstly, I was not complaining about the load payments. They were, for the most part-good paying to excellent paying, or average paying loads. (One was a 12,000 lb.-286 mile preload dry van, drop and hook...at exactly $1,200.00) Also, I personally, did not mind paying her that fee to save me hours a day finding a load, and it was primarilly used to get me started building references/good carrier reputation.

I said I did that to get started. She has had many independents using her for years. She also, as noted to the other reader KNOWS HOW to deal with brokers by telling them to do better than their first quote. This lady knows more about trucking and loads than probably most independents out there-including myself. Yes, she almost always got about $ 200 more than the initial quote. She is/was NOT a newbie to brokering loads. (Pick up the phone and talk to her one time-she will set you back in your seat with what/who, she knows) It works to get started but later after you have references, you can do it by yourself if you have time. Starting out, all I did was pickup and deliver, she usually had a preload by 4 or 5 pm for the next day. It takes a lot of stress off you when you first start with your own authority and company.

Any independent knows you can spend hours looking and booking a load only to have it cancelled whilst driving. Then, you have to find a place to park, call brokers, send your authority info to them, and negotiate fees and obtain load info. I was often delayed loading / unloading-one 15 second call to her and she rescheduled. How long does that take for a driver to do that theirself? I am not advocating this is the way to go for drivers who are established or those that have a wife that can handle things for them, simply for a new independent who is having difficuly getting started. Everything does not go as planned as an experienced driver knows. Thank you.

 

Yes, she did all the invoicinig. She knows many of the people personally that work for many factoring companies. Other readers please note: I did this to get started and it worked fine. She also, as noted to the other reader, knows how to deal with brokers by telling them to do better than their first quote. She is/was not a newbie to brokering loads. It works to get started but later after you have references, you can do it by yourself if you have time. Starting out, all I did was pickup and deliver, she usually had a preload by 4 or 5 pm for the next day. It takes a lot of stress off you when you first start with your own authority and company.

Note: When a new independent calls for exampe: Landstar, JBHunt, CH Robinson, Pioneer, Coyote, or any othe major/minor broker-they don't know you or how dependable you are. When this lady calls, they all know her, her word and reputation. So its like dealing with someone they know and can trust and the weight of responsibilty is put onto her and concern away from a new independent. Thats how it worked for me. She would tell them how safe and dependable you are and they almost always agreed. I tried telling some of them that when I started but they would/did not care, only stating you are new and need more references. Thank you.