The most essential task for any broker, owner-operator, or small-sized fleet owner is discovering the best-paying freight loads to transport. For many, this job is the most difficult part of owning a trucking company. Unfortunately, numerous truckers and owner-operators go out of business because they don’t know how to find excellent loads.
Don’t Make This Error When Booking Freight Loads
Most new truckers make the mistake of getting loads by relying solely on load boards or by leaping from broker to broker. While some load boards can assist you if you are simply beginning, they normally provide low-paying loads. And most seasoned owner-operators will tell you that leaping from broker to broker will not assist grow your trucking company either and is a roadway to no place.
What Type of Freight Loads and Customers Do You Desire?
Before you start searching for high-paying loads, specify the type of client you want. Lots of owner-operators avoid this step– presuming that it is unnecessary. They know an excellent load or customer when they see one, so why bother writing it down?
Understanding your target client provides you a clear viewpoint on what you want. More importantly, it assists you to establish a plan to discover them. This action is vital and takes just a few minutes.
Here is how some truckers define their perfect customers. Clearly, add or remove items to match your requirements:
- A large, recognized carrier
- Pays well
- Pays on time
- Has an excellent track record
- Provides you loads frequently
- Supplies shipments that match the lanes you want to drive
Certainly, no customer is ever really best, however you ought to be able to find customers who are great. And that is how you grow a trucking company and make it effective in the long term.
How To Discover Shippers and Freight Loads That Pay Well
Now that you know who your perfect carrier is, you require to find them. One reliable method is to try to find customers through market associations with local chapters in your location. By the way, we are not talking about trucking associations. There are no clients there. We are referring to industry associations that your ideal customers come from.
For example, if you have an interest in working for grocery stores, think about the National Grocers Association. If you want to move automobiles, you may consider organizations like the National Automobile Dealers Association, your local car dealers association, or the American International Automobile Dealers. You get the point. There are lots of market companies with regional chapters.
By the way, you don’t always require to join these organizations. You just want a list of their local members. Some organizations supply the list just if you become a member. But many organizations have publicly readily available lists with names, contact numbers, and email addresses.
When you have the list of prospects, the genuine work starts.
Now it’s time to do what the majority of your competitors dislike doing: you need to sell. Period. There is no other method around it. Call potential clients and speak to the person in charge of shipping. Try to set up a meeting. If that attempt fails, send them a letter. Your goal is to figure out how they choose the carriers they work with and get on that list.
Simple? Yes. Easy? Not a chance. However here is why you have a great chance of success: while your competitors are going after loads using load boards, you are doing the effort and securing prime customers to provide you high-paying freight loads.
The US Government Moves Lots Of Freight Loads
By the way, don’t overlook moving freight for the US federal government. The government can be a fantastic customer who supplies routine work and reliable payments. Getting government agreements is hard, but it can be worth the effort.
For instance, consider pulling freight for the US Postal Service. As long as individuals send out mail, you will have work. Alternatively, find a way to get on the GSA list or search for chances to move military freight. Keep in mind that military freight may require unique clearances, however, some truckers declare that it pays well. A great location to start is FedBizOps.
New Freight Customers Can Affect Your Cash Flow
One issue of growing a trucking business is that clients frequently pay their freight costs in 30 to 60 days. This delay can produce a capital problem due to the fact that your business needs to pay all delivery costs and then wait for a month or 2 for payment. You can enhance your cash flow and prevent this concern by funding your freight expenses.