Below is a video of me interviewing another one of LDi’s top freight broker agents, where we discuss how technology has positively impacted his business since joining LDi.
1) Send a unique/customized gift (See pic)
2) Send a hand written thank you note or card expressing your gratitude
3) Send a letter to their superior and/or the CEO telling him what a great job they do
4) Buy lunch and have it delivered to their office for everyone to enjoy
5) Take them to a special event like baseball, football or hockey game
6) Help to get them written up in trade magazines
7) Have coffee and a piece of cake delivered on their birthday
Truck freight rose by 10.5% in December 2011 based upon the American Trucking Association tonnage index. In addition, tonnage rose 5.9% overall in 2011 which was the largest annual increase since 1998.
So the big question is, are you seeing similar growth in your business? If you answered YES, congratulations on all your hard work and success, I am sure it was not an accident because growth rarely is.
I was recently struck by one of the many ads I see everyday where they used the phrase, “Where Price Meets Value”, so I decided to relate it back it to the logistics/transportation industry. The first step was to define Value so I turned to a definition from a well known sales trainer, Jeffrey Gitomer, which I believe says it all.
“Value is a combination of what you offer and what you perceive is in favor of your perspective customer, combined with what the perspective customer actually perceives is in favor of them”.
Below is a video of me interviewing one of LDi’s top freight agents where he shares his strategies for finding and securing truck capacity that has allowed him to build a $5 million freight agency.
Check out the video below, which is intended to be the first in a series of interviews with freight broker agents on topics that matter to them and hopefully to you!
1. You live in America so be thankful that you have the right to own and operate your own business, along with all the other rights afforded you as an American including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
If you are like most freight brokers or freight agents I talk to, finding trucks can be a real challenge these days. The fact is, not all freight is created equally and neither are all brokers. There are times when carriers are tripping over one another to take your loads and other times the silence is deafening.
So what’s the secret to finding and retaining truck capacity? The fact is there is no secret, there are no magic bullets, there are just basic business principles that successful freight brokers and freight agents use to stand out from the crowd.
1) Be an investor and focus on building relationships with carriers and drivers before you need them, rather than just focusing on only one load at a time. Ask carriers how you can help them grow their business and always try to think long term while balancing your short term needs.
If you’re feeling a little nauseous, dizzy or confused right now or your mind is racing with anxiety you have probably been through this before. Losing a customer is painful, losing a customer due to bankruptcy can be devastating, particularly to a small business like most freight brokerages and even more so for freight agents.
A few years ago I wrote and published a very popular report called, “How To Select The Right Freight Broker Agent Program” and since then it has been downloaded and/or read by over 3,000 people. I decided to make it the topic of this weeks blog post because I recently received an email from one of the readers which said…
“I just want to thank you for your free report. After 5 years in the industry I am now ready to become an independent freight agent and you have just made it a whole lot easier to evaluate my options”
2. Be specific about your goals, details are important
3. Make goals measurable
4. Set challenging but attainable goals
5. Set goals that are rewarding
6. Make sure goals are time bound and trackable
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