Starting out in a freight brokerage business can be difficult. If a new broker doesn’t have a good network of potential shippers, it’s a huge challenge to build a business. So how do new brokers find freight shippers?
It’s often about who you know.
Local Freight Brokerage Customers
Wherever you live, there will be a business producing goods that need to be shipped. The question is – who is moving their freight? How are they finding reliable truckers?
That’s the sweet spot for the freight broker. A broker will find the right driver, right trailer for a shipper who doesn’t have much experience in the trucking industry. By pairing up a trucker and a shipping customer, a freight broker proves their worth.
But getting to know potential customers can be difficult. How does a freight broker break into the field?
Working In Logistics as a Freight Broker
Get the proper training in the brokerage field and work for another freight brokerage company is a solid way to experience the challenges. Freight brokerage can be demanding. An ability to multi-task isn’t optional. Tracking shipments – in inclement weather and during the orange barrel season – takes a sharp mind and quick reflexes when things go south.
Finding freight shippers doesn’t have to be all grind. Sometimes you’ll find shippers in your own backyard.
Small Companies Need Trucks, Too!
Even in rural USA, there’s freight to be hauled. How does a breaker find it?
It’s all about the network. How do the people around that community know each other?
Chamber of Commerce? Rotary Club?
Start wth the mayor’s office.
Any mayor wants to build up the industry in the community. A key component of that industry is shipping. The local goverment will know the companies and probably even the business owners. Learn those names and find a way to get an introduction to them. Keep your outreach professional — social media can be a great way to make genuine introductions. When a small business needs a truck driver, they may be overlooked by other brokers. Provide the best possible service, transparency, and reliability and your reputation as a freight brokerage will sell your services.
Business social media like LinkedIn is a great place to find who you need to talk to. It’s not always the business president who makes the shipping decisions. The shipping department may be a crew of four or fourteen. The person in charge of finding truckers could be an admin in a back office or the person riding around in a golf cart in a warehouse. The receptionist who answers the phone might not want to give you that name, but it’s worth a call, right? It may take a personal visit to meet that person, but a personal introduction may be the foot in the door that a new broker needs.
Find Your Niche
There are always specialty loads that require specific trailers. If a food cold packer has a load of frozen food, they’re not looking for a flatbed trailer to haul the load. Choosing to focus on one type of shipments – reefer, oversize, regional – isn’t a limit on your income. It can be a good way to find shippers who are frustrated on load boards when truckers who don’t have the rig the shipper needs try to take the load. Specialty loads often are paid more than just the usual van shipment.
Work Your Own Contacts
At a luncheon today, I met a trucker’s wife. Finding people in our own lives and letting them know who we want to meet is a simple and startlingly effective way to meet people in our own communities. The social network isn’t just online. People know people and most of us are glad to pass along a reference. Be a good neighbor and see what your neighborhood can offer you.
Especially if you pass out the good candy on Trick Or Treat night.
Keep Track of Customers
Once you make a connection with a shipper, keep in touch with them. Remember the details – kids’ names, dog’s health – and be a decent human being. When you hear about a success, a complimentary email is nice. It doesn’t need to cost much to drop a card in the mail when you see their name in the local paper. Make the effort to keep in regular contact to find out their future trucking needs is a great way to keep a customer. Instead of the constant search for new customers, keeping valued old customers can lead to a long term profitable relationship.
Using TruckingOffice Brokerage software will help you keep all those contacts organized. Give it a try with a free trial today to discover what a dedicated brokerage software can do to build a strong freight brokerage business.
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