What's the best way for an owner op to negotiate with brokers as it's an IMPORTANT part of his job

Yes the market is always a determining factor.
It's not a myth at all, I've had 3 or 4 that I had a really good rapport with admit that several of their colleagues operate in this manner.
Its not a myth and certainly does exsist.

 

By the way in case you may have misinterpreted what I meant.

I didn't mean locked to one specific rate.
Once they see your willing to run cheap the rates offered will reflect it.

 

Being an O/O is abit like being a politician you got to know who's palm to grease and who's butt to kiss its all about treating them like royalty getting them to put their trust in you then the rates will go up. In the mean time you've got to where the costs. so make sure when you go O/O you've got lots of cash in reserve to carry you for the first 6 - 12 months. Otherwise you'll just become another statistic.

 

CHR will call my phone then hang up after one ring once my load history pops up on their screen. They seem to call me when they need a truck, need it there on time, and are willing to pay for it. Just the way I like it.

But @rollin coal said it right, the hardest part is learning the markets and knowing what you can get and when.

The one thing that I could use some help on is when I'm the one calling. When they call, it's easy. Usually this is how it goes when TQL calls.

"HAY-lo!"

"Yeah, I'm calling on your truck I see you guys have posted in Memphis? Is that still available?"

"Yup, that's me. Whatcha got, man?"

"I have a load picking up going to Minneapolis, can pick up now, deliver FCFS, I'm showing 850 miles. It's 40 to 44,000 lbs of paper. Is this something you think you might do?"

"Hmm. (Get silent for a couple secs). Well, it's pretty dead up there right now...Hmm....I guess I'd need $2250 to go there with a heavy paper load."

"Wow. That's way more than I have in it...Hmm...Okay, well, I appreciate your time."

Sometimes a broker might say "That's way off base. Thanks anyways." Click.

Usually I give my quote dead on. No starting high and negotiate down. I tell em what I need and that's it. If it's a load like that.
If it's like Memphis to Charlotte, I'd ask "can you do $1600?" Knowing that I'd be close. And then maybe negotiate down to $1500 or $1450.

It also depends on the market. Yesterday in memphis I was telling 350 mi loads to KY for $1450. 500 miles to KC $2100. Load ratio was like 10.4.

Only experience will start to teach you but I learned just by doing it and I'll get better at it.

I need to learn how to do better when I'm the one calling. Another thing I hate is when I'm not interested and someone else is calling through and I hate to be rude and hang up the phone. But I have to get them off the line. "Ok, I'm not interested, I gotta go, got another call, gotta go."

I think this weekend I'm gonna take some daydreaming time to really think about how I am with phone skills and negotiating, now that I think about it, it's not something I've really reflected on much. Not the rates part, but the rest of it. Usually it's just a yes or no, I'll do it or I won't, but there are times when better negotiating skills might have gotten me an extra $100 or $200 and those extra bucks will add up over time.

I made mistake in Charlotte Tuesday at 1pm when someone called me 70 miles away to pick up for Memphis and I only got $1000 on a 680 all miles. But I knew I wanted to go there and I think they knew it too. Hmmph. The thing about that one, and I didn't think about it at the time, is that loads TO memphis get gobbled up. So I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that this was a recovery load. Carrier fell off. And they called me knowing I was an hour away!!!
That was a time where I needed to take advantage of a rare situation and I didn't. But my desperation to go there to Memphis when I haven't been getting too many calls caused me to seize up. I got cold feet. But....I may not have gotten the load....Hmmph. You never really know what would have happened. You just move on and do your job, get the load there and think about tomorrow.

 

It seems to me that more important (than being able to talk) is the service you provide. Always answer the phone; never be late, always take a pic of BOL and email it to them, same thing with POD, always polite and never show anger or emotions. Always be like a waiter in a high end restaurant. or like a real estate agent selling houses over 1 mil value. This way they will remember you well and be more inclined to pay you better eventually. I say this because I've been experiencing it more and more lately. The idea is to establish direct contacts with brokers, when you can call them in the morning and ask what they got for that day, or even better they call you.

 

^ That's a really good post. There absolutely are carriers who I pay better than the average. It's because when I give them freight I sleep like a baby. That's worth money to me.

 

Be professional! No matyer what ! They remember that mote than anything never rude! If your rude they will blackball you! Cheap fteight forever!

 

N/a

 

Reputation is extremely important in this business. Being reliable will get you farther over time than the best negotiating skills in the market place. An unreliable carrier isn't worth .02. On time pick up and delivery, getting the freight delivered undamaged, and communication with the broker will definitely be long remembered. If something goes wrong, like you get hung at a receiver and know that you are probably going to miss the next pick up, make sure you notify that broker as soon as you know so they stand a chance of covering the load. Things are going to go wrong in this business and how you handle them will make or break your reputation with the brokers you work with.