Small carrier: How to get a direct customer & skip the broker.

Perfect explanation!

One shipper: moves a lot of volume and if he moves 100 loads a day, if he can save $200 a load, that's $2000 a day saving- $10,000 a week on a 5 day work week saving, and $40,000 a month saving which comes close to half a million dollars in savings for a year! Mega fleets can't cover every company like this-- they have money for it as far as equipment but they can't get drivers --- that's why they're crying for "driver shortage".

Smaller carriers can't handle all the loads, so what is the customer left with? A broker! And brokers under cut each other just by that $200 dollar a load example, but to that shipper it's a lot because they move their products in quantity instead of quality-- this is where claims kick in for damages and shortages where insurance covers it and they're all pleased and happy.

But smaller shippers, they're just like smaller carriers or independent guys. They offer quality to their little circle of customers, and have maybe 2-3 guys in the warehouse, which are all paid good. However they need transportation and not many brokers focus on them because their volume is small. They get over charges of they're persude. They only know UPS and FedEx and alike companies which charge 5/mile minimum. This is where a guy like YOU comes in. Forget FedEx rates, forget broker rates, and forget the rate you have in mind.

They want a professional service because that's what their little business wants to reflect. This is why you make sure the person "in charge of shipping" recieved this envelope. Most of them get cold calls and blah blah "well shop around", but with a professional offer you will get their interest.

Main thing is, you want to listen to them. What they would like? How many shipments? Where? The weight? Product? Etc. Let them get into it, all about their company blah blah.

Once they give you the information, you simply ask them what's their "budget". Budget is another word for "this is your cheap price but you can do more". Once they tell you their budget you can automatically gain THEIR interest or be turned off.

If their budget is good, tell them you should be able to work with that but you'll call them within an hour or two. Now you will calculate what you need personally, fuel, equipment, driver, idk whatever your expense is. Now you got to think of what you will offer.

Now you contact them back, and make a win/win deal. This all depends on a situation.

Example: a shipper I got for my friend has problems with weekend loads and emergency loads. I got my friend this shipper because the deal was in case of an emergency load or weekend load the price doesn't change. That sold the customer. My friend with a new authority (2 months old, he drove for me before) did his calculations, and told me what he needed which I thought might be excessive. Turns out it was 30% cheaper then what the broker charged and 80% trucks were late or switch ups in the last minute etc. So he offered some loads. My friend leased on a few guys that I can't at the moment and they're happy now for 3 weeks. They signed a contract for this year. Now the contract, well it's a buyout deal.

Back to the subject: you have to remember the customers main concerns. Once you call them back you must give them a 100% of those concerns not to be concerns anymore, but your rate will be etc and they will never worry about service for so and so lanes.

Some shippers are like "how cheap can you go? tQL says .80 cpm!" ... You don't want those guys.

Some shippers won't even call.

Some shippers hate dealing with brokers, but the problem is most guys they ever approached were ########, company drivers, no English speaking. They gave up on approaching. Many small carriers don't approach. They just use the load board and collect $$$$$, abuse log books, and take advantage of it all as much as possible as long as it lasts.

To be a true carrier it takes time, expansion, customer base, which some have. But almost every fails at driver compensation.

A shipper of printer ink (look at prices of ink) doesn't care about $500 broker is going to save him once a week. What he cares about is that shipment is shipped on time, without issues.

This is why drop the yellow book, drop the cold calling, drop the Google. Go drive in person pay attention to the docks and companies in your radius, then use google. Then send everything. This may be a week procedure but if you can get a contract rate you wouldnt be happy with why would you dedicate yourself to it?

 

This is why you want to find the 1-4 docks shippers. It means they don't ship much, which you can handle 2-3 loads a week. If you're offered an opportunity for more loads and you can get the right contract at the right rate-- lease a guy, buy a truck, etc. But this must be a contract.

Remember getting contracts and customers--- this is all business and has nothing to do with backing skills or chrome bumpers. Most brokers don't even know any regulations or better yet how many wheels a truck has. But they know "business".

A year contract where the customer and you must stick to ensures you to be able to plan on expanding/pay etc. So what if spot market is at 4 bucks a mile? Lease on guys, get a semi good disoatcher, collect percentages, once it ends let them go because rates are bad--- however you're main income is that "for sure" cudtomer at 2.89 a mile all miles for example. So when that 4/pm drops to 1.60, you're still getting your 2.89.

Now that's all examples number wise. Most guys forget having their own authority doesn't just enable them to run for "clean %" and "call the shots". One owner operator is good at mercer or landstar, but with your own authority you have the power to lease guys, get customers, and so on. That's why having your own authority is important. That's why guys that don't want to expand and only want to drive perfer companies such as mercer/landstar cause they cover all the over head while giving them the freedom for a certain %.

 

By the way if you're a guy that's wants to expand his business now a days a website is a must! Not just a regular crappy website from 1998. But clean, easy to navigate- professional. If anybody wants a contact of the guy that did mine and few others of people that I know he is great at it. Most companies tried to charge $800-3,000 lol. This guy is set at a price of $400, but you get the hosting/domain name which is about $150/$200 for 2-3 years and he makes it really professional for you.

It's like @RGN mentioned customers go there too. And it also shows more of what you do, the visual.

I don't want to share sites on here, but for mine I have how my loads are secure, clean rims, etc. All original. However not a single driver comes across it because it's only targeted at customers. That's what you want to do. People take web more serious than their own life now a days. Lol

 

Another post to think about!

About 2 months ago I lost a customer to CHR, under cutting me from a lane I had for 1 and a half years. Ok.

But I also had a lane from CHR that was from VA to IL paying $2100. It was a lane me and my guys ran for them for over a year now. It's heavy, 43k, liquid and needs tanker endorsement. Guy has been happy with us.

3 weeks ago he told us we need to do it for $1200. Nope it wasn't the "customer" lowering rates. Big guys fr CHR that monitor #### told them they need to cut that rate down to $1200. Will they cover it? Probably! But do you see how big of a cut that is? I simply said "no". But in last two weeks the guy still calls me saying he can get me that "2100". I say no, I want $5,000. Why? Because he can go deal with all these guys for cheap, and hopefully bad service and they lose the customer, then o can approach the customer. Out of this whole message, the Custer didn't lower the rate, CHR guys told my guy the rates need to be at $1,200.

This means he needs to call carriers, etc all extra work to cover this lane. He was fine with how it was, but now he is struggling to be at $1200 tanker end over night 43k from VA to IL.

So if I lived in VA I'd approach that customer with $2200. Knowing out of IL my backhaul would be atleast $1700.