[LOAD IT]

1. Do your budget:
This is utterly important, without it you don't know if your turning a profit. What is going on right now is a change of thinking, people are use to spending $400 to $500 to fill the truck and that was 25% of the revenue they was making traditionally. Now its $800 to fuel the truck, and its jumped to 40% or if your working to cheap 60% of the revenue.

2. Learn lanes:
Run different lanes till your find ones that pay you the best, but be ready to and looking for other lanes, cause as the economy changes so does the lanes, also as produce moves from section of the country to another so does the lanes. Its a large country and as a small guy you can't learn all the lanes and markets.

3. Talk to your brokers:
Learn lanes they might have everyweek you can get good money one. Chances are those lanes are hard to cover for them. Be there to fill the gap, plan ahead.

4. Home Terminal:
Run from a home terminal and always come back to it, don't run 48 states, run lanes that bring you out and back, out and back, don't run all over the world, your regular brokers that you get the best money from will find someone else to fill the void when your running all over the country.

5. Backhauls: I hate this word but its only one that works.
Don't wait till the last minute to look for loads, it makes you desperate and then brokers know your not playing at industry levels, you'll get crap for rates. One exception to this is the occasion that a broker gets a load dropped on him at 4:30pm and it has to go, but if its not one of your regular brokers they aren't going to call you anyway.

6. Present yourself:
Always present yourself as a trucking company, not a one man pony show. Brokers have Company rates and Owner Operator rates. They will lie like a cheap rug, they can look up your MC# and see 1 truck but they can't know how many O/O's you have leased on. So always carry yourself as a trucking company!

7. Be sociable and polite:
Regardless how they treat you and how cheap the load is be polite and make a good impression, tell them "Our Rate on that LANE is" don't say can you come up $200, thats the way Owner operators talk, and your asking for it, instead of telling the brokers what its going to cost to use your truck.

8. Create demand:
Watch the trucks, and loads, as the trucks get loaded and freight moves some of in invariably get left on the board, pick a destination lane that you know what to expect coming back, then post your truck looking to goto that city/state but list other states too, this is fishing, I'm looking for that broker to call me, remember its supply and demand, you always get more money when they call you. I've used this same tactic to get $3 mile from brokers.

9. Ask questions:
Whats the load time? How tight is that if we can't get a truck there quick? Whats the delivery schedule? Is it a drop dead appointment? Can it be bumped if we have problems? All these questions lead to your knowing how HOT is the load, and how to price your equipment.
Real world story: broker calls just before Thanksgiving we're in KC MO, has a load delivering Friday before Thanksgiving at 3pm its Thursday morning, he also has a load going to same area but delivers on Saturday. I ask a few more questions, and I've already picked the load, the one delivering on Friday at 3pm. WE booked that load for $3.25 mile on whipped creme, from KC to Dallas.

10. When your going to have a truck in an area call everyone and their brother letting them know. Sure they'll say call back when the trucks gets here, they're doing that to control supply and demand, they want you to be in need, they know that you'll work cheap then.



These 10 points are known by alot on here but theres dozens more that have never heard these points and need to know it, they're loosing trucks for the lack of knowledge.


written by Zecatfish

[GMAN]

Interesting points, Load It. The way many of these cheap loads are being taken most of them must not present themselves as a trucking company. If you have your authority you are a carrier or trucking company. I think many of them don't understand that they are a carrier, not an owner operator who is leased to a carrier. It is always good to be polite. It doesn't do any good to get mad, curse the broker and hang up the phone, even though you may want to at times. The broker with the cheap load today may have a really good paying load tomorrow.

[RostyC]

#6 and #7 go a long way. I would add to number 6 "personal presentation" as well.

[YerDaddy]

Loadit you are paying your O-Os too measly if fuel takes 40% of their take!

[LOAD IT]

Originally Posted by YerDaddy

Loadit you are paying your O-Os too measly if fuel takes 40% of their take!

I didnt write that, just passing it along, my O/O's are paid well and on-time.

[Dejanh]

You can obey all of those points above but if your personal life is over bloated like many of out countrymen is, no matter what, you will fail, like many do.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by LOAD IT

One exception to this is the occasion that a broker gets a load dropped on him at 4:30pm and it has to go, but if its not one of your regular brokers they aren't going to call you anyway.

This is something I've been doing lately. I've been working with an agent who is known for being able to get a broker out of a pinch. Sure, there's a lot of waiting involved, and it can get very stressful when that clock hits 5:00 and you're still waiting for that call, but the reward makes it well worth it.

Case in point - the other day I was sitting down in Wytheville, VA, and I'd been getting offers all day from agents and brokers to run loads up to the Baltimore area. The best one I was offered paid around $650 on 350 miles. Far too cheap to go to Baltimore, IMO, so I waited. At 5 pm, I got the call - $1100 on 532 miles to NJ, and within 4 hours of getting unloaded, I had a reload that paid $1000 on 377 miles to MA. Plus I already have a reload out of MA that is paying me quite well.

Whether it will last, who knows. But I'm learning that the first offer is rarely the best.

[LOAD IT]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

This is something I've been doing lately. I've been working with an agent who is known for being able to get a broker out of a pinch. Sure, there's a lot of waiting involved, and it can get very stressful when that clock hits 5:00 and you're still waiting for that call, but the reward makes it well worth it.

Case in point - the other day I was sitting down in Wytheville, VA, and I'd been getting offers all day from agents and brokers to run loads up to the Baltimore area. The best one I was offered paid around $650 on 350 miles. Far too cheap to go to Baltimore, IMO, so I waited. At 5 pm, I got the call - $1100 on 532 miles to NJ, and within 4 hours of getting unloaded, I had a reload that paid $1000 on 377 miles to MA. Plus I already have a reload out of MA that is paying me quite well.

Whether it will last, who knows. But I'm learning that the first offer is rarely the best.

I agree with this tactic and a lot of people practice this daily, but it doesnt pay off daily. This is what the expedite business is built upon. To me, $2100 from Wytheville to Boston is good others here will find a way to diminish it, just as they would over the citizens band.

[RostyC]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

This is something I've been doing lately. I've been working with an agent who is known for being able to get a broker out of a pinch. Sure, there's a lot of waiting involved, and it can get very stressful when that clock hits 5:00 and you're still waiting for that call, but the reward makes it well worth it.

Case in point - the other day I was sitting down in Wytheville, VA, and I'd been getting offers all day from agents and brokers to run loads up to the Baltimore area. The best one I was offered paid around $650 on 350 miles. Far too cheap to go to Baltimore, IMO, so I waited. At 5 pm, I got the call - $1100 on 532 miles to NJ, and within 4 hours of getting unloaded, I had a reload that paid $1000 on 377 miles to MA. Plus I already have a reload out of MA that is paying me quite well.

Whether it will last, who knows. But I'm learning that the first offer is rarely the best.

and after tolls you were right back to the 1.85 pm. :roll:
not busting on you, I'm busting on the tolls up here.
Harbor Tunnel..... 12.00
Susquehanna.......30.00
DE.....................9.00
(Don't know your route after that)
I go around the nine dollar toll in DE. I'm a real desperado.
You should have stopped by, could have thrown a few Kielbasa on the grill.

ok.... back on topic...... sorry. I have a thing about tolls.

[LOAD IT]

Originally Posted by GMAN

Interesting points, Load It. The way many of these cheap loads are being taken most of them must not present themselves as a trucking company. If you have your authority you are a carrier or trucking company. I think many of them don't understand that they are a carrier, not an owner operator who is leased to a carrier. It is always good to be polite. It doesn't do any good to get mad, curse the broker and hang up the phone, even though you may want to at times. The broker with the cheap load today may have a really good paying load tomorrow.

Gman, I have found that larger companies will take the cheap load to move their truck. I dont give my loads to the larger companies, because they will back door you. These newer carriers, mc near 6_____ some have no idea/clue and dont get me started on the brokers and cheap/competitive shippers.
Always be polite!!!! I cant stress that one enough.