How to Get shippers/receivers

I would never pay for a database of shippers or a trucking lead of any kind, because the key person still does not know you. Free ones are worthless. Besides, it's not that hard to find shippers, just follow the trucks and ask who handles the shipping. Securing the business? That's a different story. No database is going to help you with that, only tenacity.

From your post, it sounds like you know the meaning of the word 'NO.' That's a problem!!

Good luck. BTW, what are you offering to the customer?

 

You've entered the industry at a terrible time. You've entered at the worst time in many, many years. That fact should actually cheer you up. Everyone is being told no right now.

However, the industry will consolidate and these same shippers that are slamming the door in your face will be begging you to take their freight.

 

If I could answer that, I wouldn't be posting on a trucker's forum, but on a millionaire CEO's forum. You can take my free advice for what its worth (nada!).

It depends on what kind of equipment your company runs. For vans and reefers, I would try to mix customer partials with brokered partials to set up multi- stop loads. This is extremely tricky to do, but 1 pick 1 drop loads have always been the cheapest, unless they are high value or take special equipment. Those loads do not usually show up on the load boards.

If you have to use brokers, use them only to compliment your freight base. They should never be your freight base. Even in good times, it is hard to stay afloat exclusively using brokered loads.

Apart from that, prayer and lottery tickets are good ideas!

 

Can I ask, how many trucks do you have? How big is your company? I am guessing you have no sales representation.

 

It is truly amazing how many do depend strictly on load brokers for all of their freight. Amazing or scary, I'm not sure...

 

Sometimes the shipper will give those loads to a couple different brokers so that he's sure it will move. If he goes with one and the broker keeps it all day and can't move it the shipper won't be able to satisfy his customer with decent service. So the shipper goes with more than one and has a better chance of getting it moved. Shipper probably has the same rate with both, but one is probably more greedy than the other. Or maybe not, one could have come in a little lower to try and get the business.