Insider Secrets to Successful Freight Brokering

What Do These Have In Common?

A reefer, a vented van and a flatbed with sides. Okay, yes, they all have wheels - maybe they are all 18 wheelers.

In addition, they all can pull produce. The reefer will usually run at 38 degrees for most produce; the vented van will move any other produce that does not require refrigeration; and the flatbed with sides will haul other types of produce.

You will even see some dump trucks hauling pumpkins. Go here to see what I'm talking about: http://atexfreightbrokertraining.com/videos.html

Scroll down till you see the video on Unloading Pumpkins. This video was taken in Morton, IL where you'll see tons of trucks making their way to the Libby plant from the fields within a 25 mile radius or so.

Here is the point: you really don't need to know a lot about trucking or all the variations of trucks to be a successful freight broker. Your customer will tell you exactly what they need to move their cargo.

Enjoy the video.

Freight Broker Success: What to Watch Out For

When I get phone calls and emails asking about the freight broker industry, I try to be as realistic as possible. This approach is far more helpful than trying to hype up the money potential.

Sure you can make good money. Sometimes it gets to be as easy as falling off of a log.

But, therein lies the danger - the hidden snare that has taken many brokers down to their knees. When some brokers get so successful, when things are moving along without too many hitches - WATCH OUT.

Many brokers start jacking up their rates and trying to pay the truck less and less. At the same time, they start getting sloppy on their service. They don't dot their i's or cross their t's. They forget to thank their customers and start treating truckers like a commodity.

Folks this is sad. But this is the way it is for some brokers. This is bad for them; BUT it's good for you if you are new. Many shippers have their eye out for a new broker because of lax attitudes and ways for doing business. This is how some new, small brokers get their chance to get their foot in the door.

Are you ready to make a move? This isn't exactly and dog-eat-dog business. But be ready to pounce at opportunity when it hits you in the face.

Freight Brokers and Trucking

Freight brokers and truckers go hand-in-hand like peas in a pod. Right? Wrong? Actually, both. Here's why. Many truckers deal with freight brokers every day for all their loads. Further, many truckers are becoming their OWN broker to cut out the middle man and put that money in their pocket.

It is a mistake, however, to think that just because you are in trucking that you know how to broker freight. There is a connection between brokering and trucking. Yet, there is a big difference as well.

Truckers move cargo AFTER someone else usually finds the cargo. Freight brokers, however, FIND the cargo and then FIND AND COORDINATE with the truck to move the cargo. This is a huge difference. The trucker focuses on moving the cargo - the broker focuses on coordinating the move between the shipper and the truck.

I often see other freight broker training schools focus much of their promotional material on TRUCKS and trucking. However, this is only half the story. They lose the focus on COORDINATING the move between two separate entities.

If you were to go to my website to learn about freight brokering, you would find little emphasis on TRUCKING and a whole ton of focus on BROKERS WHO ARE COORDINATING the move.

Check it out at http://www.atexfreightbrokertraining.com

The more you understand the concept or the big picture, the better you are at learning the details.

Freight Brokers Dotting Their I's, Crossing Their T's

A freight broker business sometimes appears to be a simple business. You just find a shipper with cargo, you then find a truck to move the cargo and you then collect a commission for your match making skill. Simple? Well, not so fast.

There are a multitude of details and procedures that freight brokers need to perform. And these details and procedures need to be done in their proper sequence or else you will fall flat on your face.

One detail that comes to mind is in regard to the shipper's confirmation. Most shippers will send you their confirmation for the load you just covered with a truck. What if, however, a shipper tells you that they don't use confirmations? Do you have a contingent plan?

You better have a plan for this or else one day you will leave yourself hanging out to dry. This is just one detail that can trip you up.

Many people are attracted to this business because of the apparent simplicity. They sooner or later find out that they are in a "war"; and they eventually realize that they, themselves, are their biggest enemy if they don't know what they are doing.

Your Freight Broker "Goldmine"

There are many aspects involved in properly setting up your freight brokerage. Without a doubt, you want to ensure that you set up and protect your "goldmine". What is your goldmine?

This is your data base of customers and carriers. You do not have to buy expensive freight broker software to record customer/carrier data. We use an inexpensive $39 package that is as powerful as it is visually useable.

You want to record company names, primary contacts, phone numbers, addresses, types of trucks used if it is a shipper, type of cargo being shipper, days to pay, an area to add notes, plus whatever other important information you want to collect and track.

Once you build a solid database, you want to use it, analyze it, get familiar with each component, protect it and treat it as your goldmine. Because without a database of customers and carriers, you don't have anything.

Want Some Good Reading Stuff?

I have some "secret" gems waiting for you. Go to the right hand side of this blog, scroll down past the CDs and you will find "Insider Secrets to Successful Freight Brokering".

It's a tiny sum of $15 and packed with practical and useful information based upon real experience. But don't order it if you purchased the eBook, "The Best of 'John Thomas on Freight Brokering'". They are essentially the same.

Remember, go right, then scroll down.

How Much Per Load Can You Make?

Once you start moving some loads, you will want to record and monitor the average profit after paying the truck. The average usually depends  upon the length of the haul. If you are doing short hauls of 100-300 miles, your average will be less than if your are doing long hauls of 1,000 to 3,000 miles or so.

Of course, you want to get as much repeat business from any shipper regardless of how short or long the haul is. But if you are doing mostly short hauls, you definitely need to get a lot of repeat loads.

For one long haul of 1,000 to 3,000 miles, you need to have 3 to 7 or 8 loads short hauls for you to make the same money as the long haul.

Maximizing your repeat business is the goal and knowing how to work smart will get you there. Not all work activity makes money. You need to learn how to monitor and analyze your activity.

Freight Brokering: What to Stay Away From

One of the first items I talk about as training begins is to learn how to focus. By this I don't mean you need to specialize in one certain type of commodity or to use one type of trailer whether it's a reefer, flat bed or dry van.

What I mean is know what to NOT use. For example, don't waste your time working with LTL shippers. There is good money to be made through LTL but most beginning brokers don't have the network of shippers or carriers to make this work. Plus, the pricing structure is completely different than with full truck loads.

Knowing what to stay away from will help you focus on what you need to focus on. And that is, focus on full truck loads.

Taking the Order - What Do You Think You Will Run Into?

One of the big topics we dwell on in our training is Taking the Order from the Shipper. This is a FUN topic and a FUN experience IF you can learn the game.

You see, some clients sort of freeze up when they even THINK they are going to get an order. "What am I going to say? What should I do first? Why isn't John by my side here?" And so on and so forth.

Yes, for some, making those first phone calls and being able to talk like a professional is a bit traumatic.

Here is the thing - there are different methods of communicating with customers and each customer is different. Yes, they have cargo to ship and Yes, you want to take the order and get a truck for it. But are you ready for the games?

Taking the order or, all the jiving around up to the point of taking the order, is sometimes a game and, professionally, you may call it "negotiations". But you need the ability to deal with these customers not just on their terms but on your terms as well.

There are a lot of potential bluffs and whatever else you want to call it. Essentially, the customer is trying to get the best rate possible from not only you but from perhaps a number of other brokers.

It is a poker game to a large extent and you eventually have to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. No one is going to tell you when. With experience, you either learn the game or you don't survive.

In our training we take you through some scenarios so you know what to expect. And it gets better - while you are negotiating, playing games, playing poker or whatever you want to call it in REAL TIME, all you have to do is get on the phone to me.

Here is what my one client, Nick W. sent to me today after we discussed his negotiating experience: "Thank you for your help and advice today when I called.  I ended up giving about 3 quotes..... She was really rather nice to me today which i was surprised because the first time I ever contacted her she didn't really seem that interested with me..... I am getting more comfortable with things.  It's just the first time you do something you are like oh man what was it I have been reading and meditating on all this time?  So again thank you.  I will let you know how things go."

So You Are In Trucking .....?

Freight brokering and trucking are interwoven. Yet, they are different as night and day in some respects. Both are regulated by the Federal Carrier Motor Safety Administration (FMCSA) under the Dept of Transportation (DOT). Both use the same application for their motor carrier number although the bulk of the information requested is directed toward motor carriers.

Truckers often use freight brokers to find loads. And, freight brokers usually end up paying truckers for making the deliveries. So, yes, the two industries are interwoven to a large extent.

Yet, some truck drivers tell me they have no idea exactly how a freight broker conducts business even though the trucker may have worked with freight brokers for many years.

Here, in a nutshell, is where Atex Freight Broker Training, Inc. excels. When a trucking company comes to us for training, we first get them set up in a separate company for the freight brokering. With that, the truck driver can then "put on his freight broker hat" and get loads for his trucks or some one else's. If the trucker gets loads for his trucks, he "puts on his truck driver hat" and proceeds to make the delivery.

The customer/shipper really does not care whether the trucker uses his trucks or searches for trucks with other companies. However, many shippers will not deal directly with a motor carrier for one reason or another.

Getting a separate freight broker company established not only gives the trucker freer access to shippers, but it allows each entity to act at an arm's length. Business does not get co-mingled (which is a no-no with the FMCSA) and the shipper is never confused as to whether they are dealing with a motor carrier or a freight broker. This is important.

The biggest benefit of a trucker getting his broker authority is that he cuts out the middle man and goes directly to shippers. He ends up putting that money he used to pay brokers into his pocket.

My website along with the free or low cost information will explain other aspects of working as a freight broker. Go to: http://www.atexfreightbrokertraining.com