saying NO to cheap freight

nah! I don't see it as waste if it is something I want! only my other half thinks that!LOL

 

If you'd run for 75 cents a mile per axle instead of a dollar you'd stay busier.

 

IMO its really hard to get a customer or broker to pay you decent rates once you have started to haul cheap unless you dig your heels in the ground and say this rate or nothing.
Not sure if its true or not but I have heard a lot of brokers keep a " report card" on your previous performance and rates and use it to measure you for negotiations on future loads

 

or .50 per axle. I would be so busy I would have to buy another truck!!LOL

 

Incorrect:

ever buy a used car? If you showed up and the seller said $5,000.....and 20 minutes in said $8,000.....how would you react?

Once again:if you only sell on price, you're selling yourself short.

 

Couldn't you start at $2/mile just to "get your foot in the door" with a broker and after you build up a relationship and history of on time delivery start asking for more? Like the next load ask for $2.50 and bring up the history you have.

 

That's because revenue and profit are two different numbers. Don't go favoring all profit necessarily, because revenue feeds cash flow. To me, CPM is interesting, but I also look at revenue per day. Widen the focus on the numbers when you're deciding whether an offer is good for you. Also helps to look at a load in context of a series of loads, or a week at a time works too.

You have to build conservative estimates. Start with one of the many operation cost spreadsheet templates posted around here. Rationalize your numbers, don't just use what someone else put in the template. You can make it as granular as you have time for. Tires for example. You favor a certain brand and know how much they cost. You ought to be able to make a swag at how many miles you'll get out of them. Do the math to figure out cost per mile against your estimated miles for the year.

There's a lot of estimates. Be conservative at first and update them as you develop a track record. As you do the updates, your cost model becomes more accurate. It's tedious, but worth the effort. Just don't forget to add a line for profit. I and many others have learned the hard way that a cost number is good to know, but never a good target or floor to use when quoting a rate. Make sure you're making money on top of that.

 

What's the brokers incentive to give you more later? If $2 is good enough now, it should be enough later, THAT is how they are going to look at it.