Posting For Good and Bad Brokers

I haul for Buyers of Fresh Produce....Not Brokers.....
a lot of O/O's don't realize that Brokers like CH 'Produce Division"
move produce from various points throughout the US....
but what they don't realize
is that CH is profiting approx. $1100.00 to $1600.00 PER TRUCKLOAD....
ALL YEAR...STOP HAULING CHEAP FREIGHT....


crusin

 

But, wait.....I thought brokers only kept 10% to 15%......

LOL!!!

 

So that I'm clear, is this fairness idea a two way street? At a certain level of profit is the truck driver considered a greedy pig?

 

It's entirely subjective...lol...I'm sure greedy pigs don't see themselves as being greedy...lol...

Really though, the only way fairness could be determined would be by knowing what the shipper actually paid the broker to move the load. Knowing that, then some kind of distributive formula could be calculated that could be considered "fair"....fair being 20% to 25% of the gross going to the brokerage. (that'd be my idea of fair, and that's depending on the actual rate being somewhere between $2.50 and $5)

Problem is, brokers won't divulge the shippers rate....you see, they don't play "fair"

So we play poker with brokers...lol...

It's hard to play poker when the other side can see your hand, so, figuring out what the shipper is likely paying is a necessity if you hope to get a really good rate. Likewise, brokers are always trying to figure out how much you know and how experienced you are. Once they get your number it's hard to break away from that....Both sides would like to see the others hand.....one side figuring what the load is likely paying, the other figuring what the carrier will likely haul for...two greedy pigs tussling over something tasty...lol.... The free market system is the best one going, it's self regulating and self correcting....

Now, I could be wrong, but I really think the majority of O/O's have no idea what kind of rates shippers are actually paying....If you don't have a fairly accurate idea of the shippers rate then you can't really counter in a confident manner with the expectation of actually receiving the rate you're after...I've had O/O's explain that they calculate their rate based on their costs, and that if you get your rate that you shouldn't care what the shipper paid...now personally, I think that's a great way to set the minimum rate that you'll haul for, but, it will never allow you to hit the big number. If you're content to haul for $2.20, you'll haul for $2.20....and never realize that it was possible to get $3.40 or better on that load you booked for $2.20....and the reality of getting $5 a mile will never materialize....$5 rates are out there, how do you find them if you're not looking?? Likewise, some stuff just doesn't pay. It could be that the load just isn't worth anything, in which case there's no money in it. Might be that the area is soaked with empty trucks, another situation that takes the money out of the market. Wait it out, haul something cheap as short a distance as possible to a better area, or bounce...lots of factors, lots of options, lot's of possible moves, and the better at analyzing you are the better off you are.

I don't think that the majority of O/O's are really good negotiators...I haven't met many, anyway, if they are out there. What I've met is a lot of rate shoppers, they just call asking, "how much?" A big part of getting a great rate is knowing how to brush off a lowball offer while countering with an offer in a way that let's the broker know you have experience and insight into his shippers rate..You've got to be able to gauge the market if you want to consistently get superior rates.

In my opinion, the number one key to success in this business is learning the market and learning how to negotiate rates. Understand your lanes and areas, learn to negotiate, and do it well, and success is yours.

 

Why are Owner Operators a special breed of business owner? My idea of starting a business is that you think you can do it better, as good or see a need that you can fit and make a profit.

But for some reason Owner Operators are acting like Occupiers and feel the broker owes them something. Did I miss the entitlement class when I bought my truck? I don't care about all the tired old "but I have all the risk and they just have a phone, fax and work in their pajamas from home" BS.

To date, I have not meet an O/O that had a gun put to his/her head and forced into this business. And brokers are also a free market system. Anyone that can meet the requirements and put out the effort to go get freight can get into it.

And this idea of "fair share" is hurting O/O's. I liken it back to the old "Stranger Danger" campaign for kids that we now know put them in more danger from family and friends.

It ranks behind "Say No To Cheap Freight". Catchy slogans are nice but they take the focus away from what is more important - building a solid business plan and implementing.

Over and over I talk to O/O's that feel the biggest issues they have are the broker is "cheating" them. And they are so focused on this that they can't get past it and focus on what it in their control.

 

Or, you think you can make more money than you can as a company driver...so I think that fits with your, "or see a need that you can fit and make a profit."

All the broker owes is what we agreed to in the rate con.

No argument there.

Yeah, I don't have that problem. I get the rate I want or I move on....sometimes I DH, all depends on the circumstances of the moment. I don't "feel entitled", but I do feel that if I'm going to haul something, it should be beneficial in a way that is commensurate with my risk as being a business owner. I didn't buy a truck so that I could independently earn the same amount that I did as an employee of a trucking company, as a company driver...lol... I know what I bring to the table, and that is how I determine my worth.

Now, would these O/O's you've been talking to be the guys who are looking to lease on with you? Don't you find yourself giving O/O's who lease on to you a "fair" deal?? Wouldn't that be a selling point? Don't you sell yourself to potential O/O's on the idea that you can provide them with a "fair" deal?

Don't you divulge the full rate when asked, don't you provide the rate sheet, you know, just to verify that you're dealing fairly with them? Or do you expect them to trust you with rates?

Fairness is in the eye of the beholder, to an extent, but there is also a universal concept of fairness. If I demanded 99% of the gross as the condition for leasing my equipment and services to you, would this be acceptable??

No.

Why not?

Cause it wouldn't be fair to you, right?

 

It works like this, I'm entitled to as much as I can get from the broker, and the broker is entitled to as much as he can keep from me in the process...lol...

We'll call this concept, "fair"

Knowledge is power, and being able to determine what the shipper is likely paying, as well as knowing how the supply and demand situation is balanced at the moment, is critical to obtaining a "fair" rate.

Communication. The ability to communicate is also critical in obtaining a "fair" rate. Negotiation, in relation to trucking rates, is really nothing more than a communication involving monetary "needs", and service "needs". The rate agreement is the point at which these needs balance out.

The beauty of the free market system is that it's self correcting, the challenge of the free market system is competing successfully within it.

 

Lipsey Logistics Worldwide - per website and email : they are in Tennessee (Chattanooga, TN 37411)
Lipsey Logistics Worldwide - per fmcsa info : they are in Norcross, GA 30091

* unsolicited email phishing for trucks.
I'm really tired of brokers waking me up for loads that I didn't ever inquire about
especially when they have pulled my email/phone information from the fmcsa website .

Thanks for waking me up again - and making the roads that much more safe (not) .

 

I'll suggest something that I hope some may find useful.

The lowball offer is designed to stun you. It's designed to start the negotiation in an area where the one making the offer feels in control of the process. There is always flexibility in a rate negotiation, especially during the initial phase of the process. The first rate proposal is never the last, unless it is something so spectacular that it takes your breath away in a good way....and really, who's going to give you Fort Knox right off the bat?? (once you've established yourself with reputable brokers you will receive fat initial offers, and at that point I'll graciously accept the initial offer. All of the groundwork has been laid and there is no need to try and squeeze for more, this will only cause resentment over time)

Don't let the lowball stun you. Don't let it make you angry. Just brush it off, like something on your shirt....remember, it's their attempt to assert the terms and set the negotiation in an area where they feel in control.

I think the lowball tactic is what gets everyone's underwear bunched up. The lowball tactic gets the ball rolling on the fairness rants...lol...

 

To those lowball offers I just tell them they aren't even in the ballpark ... usually turns the table pretty quick on them ... they often ask where I am with a rate, and usually ends up with no deal in place ... no biggie, just look at the next load ... sometimes that same broker will call back later in the day when he is hung because nobody took his cheap load, but by this time I am already busy ...