How to contact prospective carriers?

Just my two cents, so take it for what it's worth...

If it were me, I would be trying to narrow the list down rather than add more companies to it.

The real question is what is it that you need from whoever you would lease onto? Is it a certain amount of miles, a certain kind of freight, being able to pick your own loads, a certain amount of freedom, particular lanes that you want to run... you need to find whatever carriers will give you what it is that you want.

You should also look at things like fuel discounts tire discounts some carriers will let you use their garage at a discount for your repairs, etc etc. Again, it's what you need.

If you begin contacting carriers I would be very Swift and concise, because you're still a ways off and you don't want to tie someone up on the phone for some long period Of time answering question after question when they can be recruiting people that are ready to start next week.

I would probably want to ask them why they are a good company to work for. I would make sure that whatever qualifications are needed that you have them. Also find out what year requirement tractor they have. You may want to buy an older tractor they may not permit you to do it. I would want to know what the pay structure is, how often they pay, what fees do they have do they require an escrow account, what the detention pay is, are there Qualcomm or electronic log fees, trailer usage, ETC.

The best thing to do really is to keep reading the threads here and ask questions.

Good luck