another rate negotiation question

I think it is a fine line one must walk. You definitely want to be pushy and take control, and by that I don't mean being rude. But you definitely want them to lay all the cards on the table first. That's when you hear the inconspicuous clues that a real poker player would never give away,and they know they shouldn't,but they feel the pressure and can't help themselves. That's when you take control and offer the solution to their pain. The ones that are real good always dodge giving the rate. I ask this, how do you guys get a broker who will not name a price, even after being prodded for it more than once? What is a good tactic in that situation?

 

I've told them plain and simple I won't give them a rate. Call back when they figure it out. End of discussion.

I have learned if you are empty, they have not been able to cover a load, they are getting desperate.

One guy insisted he couldn't pay my rate, half hour latter he was calling desperate for my truck.. It was already booked. There were choice words as he tried to get me to cancel the other loads. It was funny listening to him beg.

 

If they ask me what I need, I will ALWAYS ask them, well what do you normally cover these for, they know the rate, they want to see if you will quote it cheaper, plain and simple. Always get their number first, pause, run their numbers, if it makes you money or makes sense, ask for $300 more, split the difference at $150 and you just made money, if it's nowhere close to what you need, chances are they won't move up right away, ie, if you are more than $500 apart, they won't get to your minimum haul rate, but once I hear their number, it makes it easier to gauge what they will do.

 

Well said. God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason.

I don't get all friendly and formal with unknown brokers, but not rude either. Straight to the point not to waste time with the wrong person.

"Hi, I'm calling about the reefer load you have picking up today in ________ (city)."

Then I shut up. Some will want to get to know me ("can I get your MC number?") while others jump right into describing the load.

By knowing the market conditions (you did explore the truck/load ratios or at least did a look ahead search before calling, right?) and listening, you can usually figure out how bad they need the load to move and where to pin the offer.

Name your price higher than you expect, but not high enough to be stupid. If the broker is chatty and keeps it running, you got them. Hustle the rate up and see if you can make it work. Sometimes they just don't have it and you'll just about know it right away. It's just business. When we're too far apart I do like you said and chat them up a little to learn about their other loads or usual lanes if I have time. Or just end the call professionally and move on.

This thread also has some good tips on talking to brokers, but it does go into a lot more detail than just intros and negotiating.

 

Just had a broker give me an $810 rate on 740 loaded miles, and I choked, lol everywhere else has quoted $1350-$1600 so I was expecting that range, and couldn't recover at all lol,

 

To be honest, I don't frequently deal with brokers anymore, others on my staff take care of it. When I need to, I am not usually in the mood to play games so I am usually pretty short with them.

I am not sure how you could come out better by being the first to name your price. One of two things happens...a) their price is higher than you would have quoted. You would have lost on on the spread. b) your price is higher than theirs. Now is when you take control. This would be the time to get a little pushy. ie. Sorry, I couldn't touch it for that. Which will usually be answered by "What could you do it for?" Push the rate as high as you want. My method may have an additional step, but I can't imagine a scenario where you are better showing your hand first. It is the same reason you want to be last to act in Hold 'em.

If a broker won't tell me first, I may or may not get back to them. It just depends how bad I need the load. To be honest, if I don't get the deal done in one call, I often get busy on something else. Only the loads I need get attention.

The best bet is to make sure they think you will walk away even when you don't want to. At the end of the day you always have to be willing to.

Also, don't get to stuck on a certain $/mi figure. What seems like a big difference, for example .05/mi, is only $25.00 on 500 miles. You are way further ahead to eat the $25 and get rolling.

 

I know $25 is peanuts and it seems ridiculous to walk away from a deal only that short. I would make an exception for a small time broker on that but the CHR's, BNSF's, & other megas I will walk away from $25 short. I did that with a lot of CHR loads. I don't know about our other trucks, I hope they ain't hauling it cheap, but I get very solid respectable rates from CHR and credit that to a willingness to say no. I also like to keep regular brokers I work with on notice.. The one I am working with now almost exclusive for about 2.5 months, I book other freight and mix things up. In other words he needs to realize I can get freight anywhere at the drop of a hat. It's not good to depend on any one source. You've always got to mix things up to stay on top of the game. And the same old runs no matter the rate get boring.

 

What will you say to CH Robinson if he told you that you have to do at least 50 loads for them at your cost before you can see any half way decent rates???

 

Full of it.