How to get Direct Customers?

I first read the title I was thinking tell them cable sucks!

But every trucking company of size has a sales team acquiring new accounts. As an owner operator you can do the same thing on a smaller scale and sell yourself. There are many places needing one or two trucks. Being from Sacramento you have many opportunities. Have you thought about produce? I know you can hook up on regular runs to Atlanta than hook up with Shaw carpet running back home. That's just one of hundreds of ideas. Get your liquor permits and haul wine out of there exclusively from Napa Valley.

 

No. Idea about permits needed to haul liquor but done a few times and no permits needed, just hauled 44k to New England with just a bol and across the US.

 

It depends on the state. I had 3 or 4 of them in my permit book. Places like VA a 4 wheeler needs a permit to move a couple cases. I think PA is one too. Them commonwealth states.

 

Well call me bootlegger lol, my cb handle anyways. I never have had any and been in all those Commonwealth states with booze and no permits

Always learn new things here

 

Never too old to learn....

 

Thomas.net and McRae's are both on-line directories where you can look up manufacturers/distributors of any type of product. You can fine-tune searches to 'only manufacturers' or broken down by state, etc. McRae's seems to ramble off-topic sometimes and the info doesn't always seem to be to most up-to-date, Thomas is a good reference.

Sometimes it will be difficult to get with the person that would be in-charge of shipping, probably just because there would always be someone 'knocking on the door' and they get tired of it. Also, just because someone may have turned you down in '13 doesn't mean forever; they might could use your services in '14 or later - time changes circumstances, personnel, shipping needs.

Sometimes you get in, you do one load and then tell yourself - nope, not gonna do that again! But you will always have to put up with some frustration and aggravation, even with the best of customers. My best I have been dealing with 19.5 years and they are very good to me!

 

READ the broker contracts BEFORE you sign them. I have read many broker contracts over the years and NEARLY ALL have the clauses in them forbidding bypassing them to haul for their shipper.

As far as finding shippers direct google search for the type of freight and the area. I look on the load boards and see what is available in the area. I call the broker about the load....NOT a broker I have a contract with, and find out the product.

As an example if there is a lumber load out of West Plains,Mo I google search lumber in West Plains, Mo and start calling. I then get set up to receive their e-mail load list.

This has worked well for me. I get 50-75 e-mails per day from shippers about available loads. This is after over 10 years and MANY phone calls.