Cheap Freight Doesn't Exist

Guaranteed that is correct. I was scheduled to pick up a load last week and ended up on the phone with the broker when the load fell through while I was at the shipper. In an email that was circulated to several people involved were screen shots which included the rate. 234 miles = $800, equates to 3.41880 per mile.

Edit: Southern Pa to Middle Va

 

Bill, I apologize for opening up this can of worms resulting in your thread getting completely hijacked with a lock coming. . It's a shame cause it was a great topic of conversation.

 

that is my point-service sells and service pays.megas need what at times they are unable to provide internally.

I was not necessarily knocking the megas system but you did provide for them,as i read it,what they could not provide so they went outside of their system for that customer. you got the call because you provided for them and that customer and the mega payed you well for doing so. customer stays put due to service.

Win/Win for all involved.did i misinterpret what i read?

 

There are a lot of things in negotiation that may seem like small details, but they aren't.

Language.

It's not only how you speak, but what you say, or more accurately, how you say it.

I almost never ask, "can you?"

As in, "can you do $xyz?"

Why?

Cause I'm pleading, if I'm asking, "can you?"

Somebody asks me, "can you?", the next word from me, usually, is a real simple one word answer...

No.

If you're in command, you're making statements. When I'm negotiating I'll counter with a statement, when countering I won't acknowledge the number offered, I'll just make the statement....

"I can do $xyz", and let that sit in the air, allowing it to settle....

The pause is the other party considering.

I measure the pause and go from there....

Now, that being said...

I sometimes will ask, "can you?", but it all depends on a lot of different factors and it's an instinctive "feel" thing. Understand, I'm not trying to win a fight, I'm trying to work a deal. There are times when you can ask, "can you?", but this is an exception to the rule.

And rather than ask, "can you?", it's almost always better to say, "if you".

See the difference?

"Can you?" is asking, "If you" is stating.

Commanding the conversation could also be understood as... who's in control of the conversation, who's controlling the call, the terms, the length of the conversation, the tone...

 

Well Said!! PERFECT.

I would also like to add...... "The FIRST person that brings up $$$, LOSES the Negotiation

 

I like to skip showers during the week to leave the customer with a long lasting impression! Im a team player. : )

 

First, a big high-5 to Bill for posting a thread teetering on the brink of being locked. Well done!

My favorite line when getting an offer (nearly never call on posted loads) is: "That delivery area isn't really where I want to be on Wednesday. What can you do to make me like it more?"

This week. I took a 6 stopper loading Monday to final in San Antonio yesterday. LTL is the only thing that make the outbound rate even a little interesting. So Tuesday afternoon I'm camping at the TA in Lafayette LA waiting for a morning drop and call a small produce broker I like to work with. Just let him know my schedule. Not interested in booking anything today, just checking in as I know you probably will be doing Thursday loads tomorrow. He already knows I'll pretty much take anything within 300 miles or so from home on a "backhaul" so that notion is out the window right away.

So he calls me Wed chatting up a run from Rio Grande Valley to Columbia, SC. I waffled. REally don't want to be there on Saturday. or Monday for that matter. But I'll make it work if you get in a bind on it. He must've called 3 more times with updates. By the time the last case of chicken came off in SA yesterday, I had a confirmation direct back to Atlanta (what I really wanted) for the rate I asked for.

It's a tough schedule, but legal. Doing the load right now and will be setting out at 0230 to make Saturday delivery. Obviously not staying up to read replies LOL. Anyway, I could have stalled and maybe grinded the rate up a little more. I could have posted my truck and gotten better offers all over the east coast. But I didn't because I like working with this guy and he always shoots straight. His loads are solid, he pays on time, and covers accessorials without any fuss. In return, I always answer his calls and check in. He didn't come out an say it the first time or two I did their loads, but I sensed he would respond well to an email or phone ping 2-3 times a day. Right on. He's lapping it up. Nobody else is doing it. Or at least very few. That's the reason he's my first call when I'm in that area, and why he made a load happen that he may not have even looked for had I not called.

Calling on load board posts and monitoring load alerts is like trying to be the 1st caller on a radio call in contest. It sucks. And everyone else is trying to get that same stroke of luck. Just don't do what everyone else is doing. It will surprise you.