How to become a broker

Salesforce is pretty good as well for lead gen, prospecting, and generally working through the sales cycle.

 

That was my next suggestion. We used Salesforce back when I was doing non-profit work, and I know a few other organizations that use it. It's also pricey, but it's a pretty powerful toolset.

 

Starting out as a rookie in the business, I'm hoping to find something that gets the job done without costing an arm and a leg..

 

Well, neither of the presented options are necessarily on the cheap end.

So- my question for you is this- you said you're signing on as an agent, correct? Are you not being provided with the company's business software?

 

I apologize if I wasn't clear enough, but no, I haven't signed on with anyone as yet.

When I first decided to get into the business, I wasn't fully aware of the differences between a broker and an agent, so my intention was to get in as a broker. Now that I've done my research, I realize it's wiser to start off as an agent.

As you've mentioned a few times in your very informative posts, as have others, most brokers want you to come on as an agent with an existing book of business. Well, you know the age old industry dilemma: to get a job, you need experience; to get experience......

So, I'll have to figure how to get over that hurdle. Oddly enough, it's looking like that might be my first practical intro to the game - the necessity of having to call up brokers and convincing one of them to take on a rookie!

 

When I read the thread title I thought it said How to become broker.

Then I immediately remembered that when I was married to my first wife everytime I came back home I was broker than when I left.

 

They're out there. There's a lot of folks that will hire new. When I got into this, I just happened into it by chance, and everything I've learned has been through that process. What's your previous background and experience look like?

Edit: It occurs to me that you're probably putting the cart before the horse in terms of the software. I get the desire to build a book to take in, but you'll need to see what the brokerage you wind up at does in terms of accounts, who has what, and so on. Might be that someone you find to work with as a potential lead is already doing business with whomever you work with, and if there's one thing that gets taken pretty seriously, it's accounts.

 

Well, I never considered that point so I just might be putting that horse before the cart... It's one of the reasons why I'm on here - to hear the do's and dont's from the more seasoned folks who are willing to share their knowledge and insights. Much appreciated.

I was an airline cargo agent, and dabbled in a little office products sales over 20 years ago.

 

Fair enough. Another point to consider is that if you're trying to sell your service to folks, and you aren't hired on yet... Well - that makes for a really hard sell. Hard to offer what you don't have, so to speak. I'd really encourage you, if you're going to get into this, to get on first and then start looking at the ins and outs of software, lead generation, and so on. All of that stuff is fairly simple, albeit time consuming.

The tricky part, and this is a matter of knowing yourself, is knowing how to sell. I can teach you all the applicable regulations, truck types, and so on. I can't teach you to have the right personality.

 

I prefer new people. No baggage to deal with and untraining of bad habits.