How to get the most money out of brokers

On the serious note, for those relying on load boards, keep in mind that you are balancing between the risk of being somehow screwed on an elevated rate resulting from your negotiations skills, e.g. load gets cancelled the last minute, payment gets delayed - you could be deceptively cheated into a load that stinks in the end vs. getting a straightforward, easy to complete, load with accordance of what the market pays at given time maybe +/- a hundred or two. You can't beat the market by a lot, it is the market who dictates both to you and the brokers how much you will haul for.
For instance, I don't know how I would feel, if a broker agreed to a rate of $3000 from Chicago, IL to Columbus, OH while everyone else is paid not much more above $1200 unless the broker is a mega and all is plain and clear in the rate con....no drop trailer and such.

 

I'd feel like "hell yeah I got another one"

 

Trying to get a broker to come up on their rate by telling them what other brokers are posting loads for on that lane is a complete waste of time. I’m sure that they already know what other brokers are posting loads for, and they know what they are able to get a load moved for in the first place in most instances.

There really are no secrets to this. Call on loads and give them a price you would do the load for. You’ll either come to an agreement or you won’t. On to the next call.

It is good to keep tabs on what a particular lane pays, there will always be brokers that offer and likely move freight for less than what the average is. And there are brokers that pay higher than what the average is.

 

Those brokers are often off load boards and they call their pupils first, and naturally so.
How to get most money from brokers?
First become a pupil of a generous broker and then start nagging them about transparency being a good thing. I think that's the way to go. At least you'd know how much is the most.

 

OK

 

Seems to me if you want to get the most out of a broker; you be at the right place at the right time with the right equipment.
Other than supply and demand, spot market doesn’t seem to offer a lot of options to drive prices one way or the other.

 

Well it may sound overly simplistic but there just are some loads that pay more than others and some Brokers that pay more than others.

Some loads absolutely have to go and they'll give you well above market rate for it. Some don't have to go and they'll reschedule it for another day if they can't find a truck so they're willing to pay less. Then there are other Brokers that maybe they're double brokering or whatever and some I think don't really care if they move the load so they pay the least.

Whatever the load pays the broker has a limit on whatever that is. I think that the trick is to ask for enough up front that you're as close to that rate as you can be. But if it's a broker that just doesn't pay well or that load doesn't pay well then it just is what it is there's nothing more you can do.

Except to make more calls. So the answer really to get Brokers to pay more is to not take the cheap Freight.

 

Lost count how many times I was called offered $2 a mile and I'd tell broker there's 10+ loads posted same lane for $3+ a mile.

 

As Ruthless stated above, the spot market is based on supply and demand, hence the name spot market. Unfortunately, you won't be able to get premium rates all the time, it's just how the game goes. You'll always have a guy that can do it for cheaper and "better".
All you can do is take advantage when the times are good and wait out the bad times.
Business cycle.

 

316 total miles (from the yard back to the yard)
134 deadhead
146 loaded
pick Monday delivery Tuesday morning
1400 dollars