I have a f'ree CD called "A Simplified Guide to Becoming a Freight Broker". You can sign up for it by going to www.atexfreightbrokertraining.com/simplifiedguide.shtml
This CD will not remain f'ree for long and this blog post will only appear for several days. So you must act quickly.
Thank you.
I ran across a press release today concerning freight brokers and liability insurance. A major insurance company is responding to a "recent federal court decision" by providing this liability insurance.
Here is my quick response - don't fall for any scare tactic that might be implied here. Here is why .....
In our training we show you how to pre-qualify your motor carrier for two reasons: 1) for your own benefit so you know about your carrier, and 2) to keep you from being considered "negligent" when hiring and working with carriers. It's a very simple process to check out the carrier.
If you are found negligent when hiring your carrier, you could be liable for damage, missing pieces or more.
Now, it's quite impossible to be 100% guaranteed that your motor carrier is "squeaky clean". You don't have to go to that extent. But you DO have to do certain things and document them so that you fulfill the two reasons that I gave above.
Bottom line - you DON'T need this liability insurance (unless you are indeed negligent when checking out carriers).
I'm going to call the contact person at this insurance company myself to find out what this "recent federal court decision" is. This issue of freight broker negligence has been around for years. It's nothing new or nothing recent.
Just a quick note here - you can now order training by phone or fax in addition to ordering online at my website or sending in snail mail.
Just go to the following links for call-in or fax orders:
Freight Broker Training:
www.atexfreightbrokertraining.com/FaxTeleOrderFBT.pdf
Freight Broker Module Training:
www.atexfreightbrokertraining.com/FaxTeleOrderMOD.pdf
Broker Agent Training:
www.atexbrokeragenttraining.com/FaxTeleOrderBA.pdf
Have a nice day.
This week we have passed 30,000 visitors to our blog, www.freightbrokeringblog.com
That is a lot of visitors. Remember, your comments are always more than welcome. At the bottom of each blog post there is a Comments section where you can read comments from others or you can post your own.
Thank you for your visits! I appreciate it.
Here are some miscellaneous comments that I made in an email sent to one of my clients some time ago. They still hold true.
When you get set up with shippers, you'll fax them your set up package which basically consists of your motor carrier number, surety bond info, W-9 form and a few other documents. It's the first step in working with shippers. You'll always want to deal with the shipping manager or dispatcher as he or she is called. You don't want to talk to just any employee in the shipping department. You don't have to sell yourself in the traditional sense. You tell them who you are, what you do and that you'd like to help them save money on their shipping. However, you can use any approach that is comfortable for you. You give them good service by communicating constantly and effectively. You need to gather all the details from them on each load and then communicate with them if there is a potential problem. You work hard to cover their loads and in time you will prove yourself to them. Then you can expect repeat business - and that's exactly the way you want things to go.
There are no insurance requirements for freight brokers but some freight brokers get contingent cargo insurance. It covers your load in the event the driver damages the load and his insurance won't cover it for one reason or another. But their are exclusions that you need to be aware of. You may not be getting the coverage you think you are buying.
You pre-qualify motor carriers by checking out their authority and insurance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It's done online and is a necessity. You can also do checks on their safety record on the same website.
The best negotiating strategy for carriers is to know exactly what you are offering the truck and then knowing where to draw the line if you have to take less. As far as the shipper is concerned, you first prove to him that you are reliable. Then you continue the service and you may get better rates as time goes on. You build relationships with both carriers and shippers and work for the benefit of both of them while still maintaining the profit margin that you want.
The best way to establish credit worthiness is to pay your trucks within 21 days as a general rule. You may make advance payments but I don't recommend this for beginning brokers. You will want to report your payment activity to various groups who ask for it so motor carriers can check you out. If they can't check you out, they may not want to do business with you.
I just received an email from my son-in-law, Larry Phillips, who is currently living in China with my daughter. She has a position with Caterpillar and they fly home to the states from time to time.
This email contained an "Open Letter" from United Airlines to their customers. Basically the open letter was requesting help from their customers or the public to help restore market restraints to help prevent or control "speculation" on oil futures contracts.
Now, I need some help here. I am NOT an expert in this area by any means but I try to listen to "both sides" of this debate. And if YOU have any expertise in this area, please comment below.
The one side (United Airlines and many others) are saying that speculators are driving up the price of oil. The other side is saying that it simply boils down to market "supply and demand". There is a big difference between the two.
Speculators can include anyone who buys a stock with the hope it will increase in value or they can include people investing in real estate with the hope of an increase in value. This is good old-fashioned investing - buy low and sell high.
Market supply and demand, however are market "forces" that can affect prices either up or down. Simply put, if more people demand a certain commodity such as the increasing demand for gas in the U.S., China, India and Europe and elsewhere, the price for gas is going to increase. It's basic economics.
People buying gas in this case are not doing it as investors (speculators), they are doing within their normal lifestyle. The only way to really drive down the price of gas is NOT by curtailing "speculators" or by penalizing oil producers but by decreasing demand. A decrease in demand can be accomplished either by a change in lifestyle (demanding less gas) or by increasing the use of alternative sources of fuel (wind and nuclear, for example).
It boggles my mind why Congress doesn't act on "real" facts about nuclear energy or new oil drilling in the U.S. or Alaska with, of course, proper constraints to protect the environment. There is too much emotion and not enough real facts when it comes to these touchy subjects.
High gas prices, of course, are affecting the trucking industry, but not only them. Shippers are also affected. And the general public will ultimately be affected as well. If the price of trucking (gas) runs beyond a shipper's budget, they look to other sources for transportation. Intermodal (rail) has seen an increase in demand due to the high fuel costs.
And when intermodal transportation gets too high, shippers will look again to trucking (or any other alternative).
Essentially, the American public does NOT want to curtail their lifestyle yet (demanding more and more fuel) until they may be forced to by high prices that they cannot live with. How high do gas prices have to go before the public "throws in the towel" and decreases their demand?
Only time will tell.
The other alternative to decreasing fuel prices is to increase supply. President Bush is not having much luck with our "dear friends", the Saudis and other OPEC members.
I just wish there was more easily obtainable unbiased facts about oil exploration here in the U.S. and developing nuclear energy. I'd like to know if there are other real alternatives to fossil fuel and if there could be incentives established to pursuing these.
So, please comment of this. If I'm wrong - let me have it. Don't be shy. I'd prefer to stick with economics rather than politics in my discussions but you know how that goes. It's much easier to start blasting others than it is to do some homework and research into some of these issues.
People want simple answers. Sometimes this is attainable. Sometimes not. But we need to be asking the right questions rather than looking for simple answers.
That's it for now. And watch your driving speed.
I get many clients who have no trouble paying for freight broker training plus getting their broker authority as well. But I receive a number of emails from people who are a bit down on their luck. They need help.
Are you in a position to help some one? You might have a friend, a family member or who ever who needs help. They may be too proud to ask for help. But if you are sensitive to some one's needs, you might really have an opportunity to really lift someone up by helping them get started in business - especially if the business venture does not require a ton of start up money.
And I'm not saying that our freight broker training is the only way to help. There are other business opportunities out there. But I get many emails almost everyday from people who just have a real passion for freight brokering but they can't come up with the start up money.
If you are not in a position to help someone, then don't worry about it. Give people encouragement if that is all you have.
I try to do my "giving" with my blog. I have received many comments how my blog posts have helped many people. And it's all FREE information. It's not easy for me to always come up with something worthwhile to write about and I don't know if I'll be able to continue far into the future. But right now it's my way of giving.
If you did not receive an email on this, we want to announce that we will soon be offering you the option to order training with your credit card by FAX and by TELEPHONE CALL-IN in addition to placing your order on the website with PayPal or with snail mail.
This is just two other options to benefit you.
We will let you know when we are ready to start the FAX or TELEPHONE order process - maybe in a week or so. In the meantime, you can continue to use your credit card on the website with PayPal.
So you now have four basic ways to order freight broker or broker agent training:
I just recently had an inquiry from a prospective client. They asked if there was room for one more freight broker because it sure seemed crowded with competitors.
I went on to say, yes, it is competitive (like most any other business), but there is great opportunity awaiting those who are wiling to ACT on their inclinations.
Then, just recently as well, I ran across a survey done by Transcore. The name of the survey is the "1st Annual Freight Broker Benchmark Survey".
Go to the following website and read it for yourself. It may be good news for skeptics and action takers as well. Here is the website:
It's important to have some sort of method to accumulate customer and carrier information. In our
training, we go into this and offer one recommendation for your database software. To view my
latest video presentation on creating and modifying shipper and carrier databases, go to this
YouTube video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hptAkVQ1mE
For most beginning freight brokers, it is not necessary to spend a lot of money on freight
broker software that is out there on the marketplace. Our simple but powerful alternative will
save you several thousands of dollars plus time.
Many people tell me that they read the entire website. That is saying a lot because it
is a long website. But the idea is to give you a lot of solid information to help you make
a decision if this training is for you.
I'm including three topics here and some paragraphs directly from the website. If
you are in a hurry, you can skim the website and you will find these paragraphs.
1. You will learn the steps you need to take to make your business a success …
“You’ll coordinate the complete transaction between shippers and carriers and
you’ll receive a commission for your matchmaking skills. Further, after gaining
the trust and confidence of both shippers and carriers you will get repeat business –
you will guarantee yourself an income stream for as long as you are in business”.
2. You will learn the “secrets” that will get you where you want to go.
“For example, you'll learn powerful Load Manager techniques where you can monitor
your performance that will show you where to focus your time, energy and money,
Also, you'll learn some razor-sharp marketing techniques that will help you go
where no one else is going”.
3. You will learn the costly mistakes you need to avoid.
“Many individuals think they can learn this business on their own. The business concept
is simple enough - find shippers and then find trucks. However, when you strike out on
your own you risk being perceived as incompetent and unprofessional. Knowing the correct
procedures for getting set up and working effectively and efficiently with shippers and
carriers will mark you as a professional”.
"Introduction to Freight Brokering" - Free
by John D. Thomas
"Working As A Broker Agent" - Free
by John D. Thomas
"The Best of John Thomas on Freight Brokering" - $89
by John D. Thomas
"A Typical Day in the Life of a Freight Broker"
by John D. Thomas
"7 Tips on Freight Brokering"
by John D. Thomas
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