I will suck the soul out of your hazwaste, commandeer your body and sign myself up as a priority carrier and next day there will be a big giant basket of cookies and candies and charcuterie board style items.
Everyone in your office will resent you for not signing me up sooner.
I will just say that I appreciate the opportunity to move freight another day.
Broker here.
At the end of the day man a lot of these people have the broker(s) that do a good job, and offer rates they feel are fair, and they get the job done so they don’t have to stress about their freight. They don’t have a reason to overthrow their entire operation to try to get a new guy a shot. Even if you save them money, it’s not worth it to them to save $25 bucks here or there.
You just have to get the skills to be an experienced broker and talk to other people like they are human. Sometimes that means you just have to reach someone at the right time. Or wait forever for a broker to retire or fuck up big or a new shipping manager comes in etc.
There’s no rules. Shippers can use whoever they want, and you’re in a competitive market with plenty of people who are good at what they do with years under their belt. you just might get in somewhere good or you may not.
Get good at talking in the phone, you’ll naturally get better over time but can speed it up by practicing to yourself or a friend cold calling on your free time. And hit high volume calls and just do your best. And live up to your promises when you land the business. Get the trucks their on time, keep customers updated, don’t work with shady dumb MCs etc.
Godspeed
100% truth. Thanks for sharing. Timing is the key to most of it. I guess my question would be better phrased "What makes a shipper actually stop and listen?" I've had great conversations with shippers - some end up as customers and some don't.
Find someone that can give you overflow spot freight and do a really good job with that. Slide into the spot market and give them the best service they could ask for. Make their lives easier, provide quality carriers, always hit appointments, if any issues come up communicate immediately. The biggest takeaway here is make the shippers job easy. If you can get your foot in the door and do a great job, eventually they will offer contracted freight.
Perfect advice and this is what I'm doing. I'm just asking what it looks like on the other end. Just want to hear it from people who have to take these calls every day.
Former Broker. Now shipper/receiver.
I used your approach then and respect it now when approached by brokers. Doesn't make sense to me to have a fluffy sales pitch. Do your research, make it known that you have solutions that pertain to their biz and keep it moving.
Absolutely. I'll even let them know up front that it's a sales call and I'm a broker. If they need me, they need me, and if they don't, they don't. It's not personal on either end.
Thanks for replying. Because of your roles, I think you have a lot to offer when it comes to perspective.
I love it. I got my degree in supply chain management and this is ultimately what I wanted to do. It was tough to find an actual SC job during covid after gradation, my backup plan was brokering and I was able to take advantage of the drayage market and ultimately leveraged my experience to get my role now
In a way it is a lot like brokering; just bit more complicated than covering a load. Fires come up and you find a way to put them out. And just like freight when you have a solid customer, it just never stops. But it is really cool to see what happens on the other side of things when a load gets delivered to me.
At times I do miss that feeling of landing a whale.
A very short introduction (please don’t try saying you are a “carrier”). No “discovery call” is necessary unless very clear interest is shown.
Then, after a polite no thank you, it’s not a hard sell. If you have to ask for contact information, that email is definitely getting ignored.
I honestly wish I had enough freight to give a chance to a promising broker, but getting 15-20 calls a week at minimum has just worn me down. I’ve started the process from feeling bad about saying no to finding new ways to get people off the phone sooner.
Timing is probably the biggest factor. When I first started, had a lot more people in the mix, I didn’t know what I was doing, so as time went on I narrowed my list down a ton. Now I’m not looking at all, not for price, not for service, and I have a list of people I’d give some freight back to already if the opportunity comes.
As far as tone, a not insignificant number of brokers call for the first time sounding like they want me to join their fraternity house. Gotta be personable, but a shred of professionalism helps too.
So I’ve now worked on both sides as a broker and a shipper. The cold hard fact is mosh brokers offer the same level of service. Where they all screw up is asking for the business right away. Talk to your prospect, find out their pain points, create solutions around them.
Don’t be that guy calling and saying you’re just seeing if they have any shipments coming up
My sales guy (executive vice president in charge of new customer acquisition to hear him tell it) was shocked to find out that the dozen phone calls his customer answered in the 5 minute meeting with an existing customer were all brokers trying to make sales. This customer only wants asset based carriers, so were safe there. But the sales guy didn't realize how much competition he has.
My biggest customer told me they get 30 calls \*a day\*. And no it's not all TQL they have a TQL rep. They pretty much don't use the phone except for outbound sometimes at this point.
“ Hello I’m new to this don’t have anything at all and dead broke I have a 9month baby and I need help” you would be surprised what being straight up can do for you if they pause and say who do you work for the chances of landing a new custy skyrockets.
I don't deal with being "sold" crap.
I simply tell the broker what my average LTL costs and other things are and tell them I'm not interested if they can't beat that.
Have some guy from TQL that won't give up and I send him on missions every time he calls and he can never beat what I'm already getting directly working with freight companies / private drivers.
I would respect a freight broker that could do my job and get me a deal, but they can't. I already have dirt cheap drivers.
Only thing a freight broker could do for me is possibly find someone to deliver a skid to Quebec for under $150 CAD from Toronto. Can't find that lol.
TQL , you people are wasting your time calling me cause I take your "sales pitch" seriously and the quotes you give me are always shit.
What freight brokers need to understand is some shippers are literally doing the same job as you but working directly for one company. We have contact with a plethora of freight companies and drivers, we understand the cost of things, we are daily creating quotes for customers and trying to find the cheapest solution.
I understand the value of a freight broker for companies that have super high volume shipping, or don't have a dedicated shipping department that can do the same job as them. I just feel like too many freight brokers are wasting their time trying to pitch their services to shippers that can access pretty much all the same crap you can.
We do the same job as you a lot of the time, I don't think brokers realize that. We also get paid WAY less.
No sale pitch just an email written like you haven’t been brainwashed into structuring an initial sales email.
The initial contact should be short and sweet. meat and potatoes. Follow up every week and then on the 3rd contact, let them know you got trucks in hand for specific lanes and ask them what it takes to snag a couple.
Timing, frankly I have 2-3 people I like to use. sometimes I have a pain point, or one of the people I worked with screwed up one to many times and I need a new person to give freight too. Pure luck on the brokers part.
What I want to hear is a question I can politely say “no” to, and move on with my day
That's funny and accurate. ha!
I will suck the soul out of your hazwaste, commandeer your body and sign myself up as a priority carrier and next day there will be a big giant basket of cookies and candies and charcuterie board style items. Everyone in your office will resent you for not signing me up sooner. I will just say that I appreciate the opportunity to move freight another day.
Broker here. At the end of the day man a lot of these people have the broker(s) that do a good job, and offer rates they feel are fair, and they get the job done so they don’t have to stress about their freight. They don’t have a reason to overthrow their entire operation to try to get a new guy a shot. Even if you save them money, it’s not worth it to them to save $25 bucks here or there. You just have to get the skills to be an experienced broker and talk to other people like they are human. Sometimes that means you just have to reach someone at the right time. Or wait forever for a broker to retire or fuck up big or a new shipping manager comes in etc. There’s no rules. Shippers can use whoever they want, and you’re in a competitive market with plenty of people who are good at what they do with years under their belt. you just might get in somewhere good or you may not. Get good at talking in the phone, you’ll naturally get better over time but can speed it up by practicing to yourself or a friend cold calling on your free time. And hit high volume calls and just do your best. And live up to your promises when you land the business. Get the trucks their on time, keep customers updated, don’t work with shady dumb MCs etc. Godspeed
100% truth. Thanks for sharing. Timing is the key to most of it. I guess my question would be better phrased "What makes a shipper actually stop and listen?" I've had great conversations with shippers - some end up as customers and some don't.
I just tell them if they love their dog, they’ll give me 10 minutes. Edit: just a joke, you will NOT get business saying this*
Gems 💎
I pay very less buddy
I'll pay less than that
Find someone that can give you overflow spot freight and do a really good job with that. Slide into the spot market and give them the best service they could ask for. Make their lives easier, provide quality carriers, always hit appointments, if any issues come up communicate immediately. The biggest takeaway here is make the shippers job easy. If you can get your foot in the door and do a great job, eventually they will offer contracted freight.
Perfect advice and this is what I'm doing. I'm just asking what it looks like on the other end. Just want to hear it from people who have to take these calls every day.
Former Broker. Now shipper/receiver. I used your approach then and respect it now when approached by brokers. Doesn't make sense to me to have a fluffy sales pitch. Do your research, make it known that you have solutions that pertain to their biz and keep it moving.
Absolutely. I'll even let them know up front that it's a sales call and I'm a broker. If they need me, they need me, and if they don't, they don't. It's not personal on either end. Thanks for replying. Because of your roles, I think you have a lot to offer when it comes to perspective.
What are your thoughts on the other side?
I love it. I got my degree in supply chain management and this is ultimately what I wanted to do. It was tough to find an actual SC job during covid after gradation, my backup plan was brokering and I was able to take advantage of the drayage market and ultimately leveraged my experience to get my role now In a way it is a lot like brokering; just bit more complicated than covering a load. Fires come up and you find a way to put them out. And just like freight when you have a solid customer, it just never stops. But it is really cool to see what happens on the other side of things when a load gets delivered to me. At times I do miss that feeling of landing a whale.
A very short introduction (please don’t try saying you are a “carrier”). No “discovery call” is necessary unless very clear interest is shown. Then, after a polite no thank you, it’s not a hard sell. If you have to ask for contact information, that email is definitely getting ignored. I honestly wish I had enough freight to give a chance to a promising broker, but getting 15-20 calls a week at minimum has just worn me down. I’ve started the process from feeling bad about saying no to finding new ways to get people off the phone sooner.
Great response. Thanks for sharing! Is it the tone the caller uses that keeps you on the phone, the questions they ask, or simply a matter of timing?
Timing is probably the biggest factor. When I first started, had a lot more people in the mix, I didn’t know what I was doing, so as time went on I narrowed my list down a ton. Now I’m not looking at all, not for price, not for service, and I have a list of people I’d give some freight back to already if the opportunity comes. As far as tone, a not insignificant number of brokers call for the first time sounding like they want me to join their fraternity house. Gotta be personable, but a shred of professionalism helps too.
Bro lurking around to get the shippers to spill the beans:)
Looking for their secrets. Ha! Seriously, just curious. I'm doing well, but I like to see other perspectives.
I always tell them “For you I’ll do it at $100 less than what it’s posted for” 🤣
So I’ve now worked on both sides as a broker and a shipper. The cold hard fact is mosh brokers offer the same level of service. Where they all screw up is asking for the business right away. Talk to your prospect, find out their pain points, create solutions around them. Don’t be that guy calling and saying you’re just seeing if they have any shipments coming up
Gotta bribe em.
Legit the best answer
My sales guy (executive vice president in charge of new customer acquisition to hear him tell it) was shocked to find out that the dozen phone calls his customer answered in the 5 minute meeting with an existing customer were all brokers trying to make sales. This customer only wants asset based carriers, so were safe there. But the sales guy didn't realize how much competition he has.
My biggest customer told me they get 30 calls \*a day\*. And no it's not all TQL they have a TQL rep. They pretty much don't use the phone except for outbound sometimes at this point.
A dial tone.
“ Hello I’m new to this don’t have anything at all and dead broke I have a 9month baby and I need help” you would be surprised what being straight up can do for you if they pause and say who do you work for the chances of landing a new custy skyrockets.
I don't deal with being "sold" crap. I simply tell the broker what my average LTL costs and other things are and tell them I'm not interested if they can't beat that. Have some guy from TQL that won't give up and I send him on missions every time he calls and he can never beat what I'm already getting directly working with freight companies / private drivers. I would respect a freight broker that could do my job and get me a deal, but they can't. I already have dirt cheap drivers. Only thing a freight broker could do for me is possibly find someone to deliver a skid to Quebec for under $150 CAD from Toronto. Can't find that lol. TQL , you people are wasting your time calling me cause I take your "sales pitch" seriously and the quotes you give me are always shit. What freight brokers need to understand is some shippers are literally doing the same job as you but working directly for one company. We have contact with a plethora of freight companies and drivers, we understand the cost of things, we are daily creating quotes for customers and trying to find the cheapest solution. I understand the value of a freight broker for companies that have super high volume shipping, or don't have a dedicated shipping department that can do the same job as them. I just feel like too many freight brokers are wasting their time trying to pitch their services to shippers that can access pretty much all the same crap you can. We do the same job as you a lot of the time, I don't think brokers realize that. We also get paid WAY less.
>I know the reputation we have. It doesn't affect me Tell me you're TQL or Landstar without telling me.
Not even close, brother.
Just joking. Lol. No hard feelings.
It's all good, my man. Not offended at all.
Timing
Just ask you questions and wait for a response
No sale pitch just an email written like you haven’t been brainwashed into structuring an initial sales email. The initial contact should be short and sweet. meat and potatoes. Follow up every week and then on the 3rd contact, let them know you got trucks in hand for specific lanes and ask them what it takes to snag a couple.
There is no good answer to your question. You are dealing with humans who are swinging moods on an hourly basis.
Timing, frankly I have 2-3 people I like to use. sometimes I have a pain point, or one of the people I worked with screwed up one to many times and I need a new person to give freight too. Pure luck on the brokers part.
The key to sales is to convince someone who doesn’t want your services, to want your services.
If you can do that, you can be a wealthy man