negotiating rates

Lol. Thank you.
I've tried the whole freight broker thing. It was a dismal failure that left me embarrassed and owing people small amounts of money ($300?) That I will pay back. If you're reading this, you know who you are.

I've thought about having another truck. I'd have to have a good experienced driver that I could trust before I do that. Don't plan on getting my own authority any time soon, but I have thought about a team driver. I'm happy where I'm at right now. Just want to get this truck paid for. Sigh.

@rollin coal once said that you just have to get out here and learn yourself. It's gonna be a different experience for everyone. I'm afraid to quote a broker high and get him or her mad, so I quote them high but make it sound like I'm sorry I have to quote that. Begrudgingly is the word. I want them to like me, have that connection, that makes them more inclined to call the customer and ask.
I imagine some people just straight up quote a high number without any regard to how the other person might react. Yesterday some lady asked for it, kept calling on a load I didn't want, so finally I quoted her $3700 on 450 miles. She screamed I was effing nuts and out of my mind. I felt so bad for her consternation. I REALLY don't like people mad at me. But oh well...i need to grow some thicker skin I guess.

But you have to be intelligent, and make this your life. My whole life this year has been this truck.
Learn learn learn and that will be your ammo.

 

Dude, I call that the "eff off price"

I do it in my business too.

If someone is stupid enough to agree to it, then hey...not my wallet.

So what if she lost it...it was never your desire to engage anyways...

 

Good Read,

Here's the thing though.........
After Years of "mastering" The art of being a Driver- including all street skills-Negotiating skills with customers- Weekly routines,etc.. Many Guys are Scared to jump to Ownership of several pcs of equipment And/ore a brokerage.

Kinda like a Union worker at the mill- became comfortable with weekly routine and salary throughout his life- then an opportunity comes up to make $130k instead of 90k.BUT lose seniority and benefits until you re-hone your life.

I Turned operating a brokerage down- Too many years in operating my truck- I wont take that Risk and maybe Lose. I Had 5 trucks at one time, Biggest Issue with that was keeping Trucks Filled for more than 6 months at a time.

Drivers are Picky-Finnicky- And want Union style benefits to stay- I would have Loved to Operate that way- But not enough revenue to go around to bring in a union

 

Yeah I'd block that brokers number without any other mitigating factors. She called you, she doesn't get to be offended by the price you asked for.

I do find it somewhat annoying when people call me and ask for the moon as though I were some kind of genie who grants wishes. Them calling and doing it repeatedly is occasionally a thing and very annoying.

Also I wouldn't assume that past experience is a guarantee of future failure. The first six months of any brokers career is heavily influenced by luck. When did you try if you don't mind? There have been a few start times in the last few years where the survival rate was <1% for new brokers.

 

It's business, there is no place for feelings or emotions.

 

Really this question is hard for me to answer. When I started I knew nothing of going rates. I just dove in and was doing it. Over time it became second nature. That doesn't happen overnight and I don't know when a light bulb per say clicked on. Things always change sometimes very rapidly so the learning never stops.

To me the most important and first market every operator should learn is their home area. Then pick up other regions through experience. If you live in a decent freight area it'll be much easier learning than if you live in a dead hole freight area. You just have to adjust for the fact that you live in a poor outbound freight area which can be counterintuitive to a lot of people but it doesn't really have to be a bad place to be in because I know some guys who live in Florida, a notoriously poor reload market, who do very well.

 

I've run a few paying loads for Coyote Logistics. Thus, I get cold called almost everyday M-F from some new young kid having to fulfill his or her call quota.

I decided to ask this kid that I've booked a cpl loads through what the company requires of them regarding cold calls. He told a minimum of 100 calls a day are expected of them, followed by, "it's brutal, man."

 

Coyote Logistics has an office right off the Kennedy on the Northside of the city- can see it driving by.

 

The reality is that only a few broker agents (within any company) actually make any money. I suspect it's like the top 5% and that's it.

Other than that, it seems like any person who goes into the brokerage business might as well be a telemarketer making $10 an hour and having the phone hung up on them all day long. I try not to be rude with some of these kids who call me asking, "how can I help you today?" Or, when they use the standard, "what do you need to run that load?" I understand they're just doing their job, which as the one kid told me is "brutal" sometimes.

 

I can only speak to my own experience and company, but we get a base salary with a tiered commission structure, plus benefits. I'll say that this helps me in dealing with you guys- Having a guaranteed (decent) salary makes me more willing to negotiate. The second part that's helpful is having a good relationship with my customers. If I get someone that quotes high, and is greater than my initial quote (and I'm not having any luck for X, Y, or Z reason) I can generally make a phone call that goes along the lines of: "Hey man, this one's proving a little trickier. I've got a guy that's asking for X. Let me know if that works, or I'll keep working on this." So, I guess absolutely don't be afraid to ask for your price point- depending on what the shipper's needs are, it might well get met.