13 Reasons Why You’re Struggling to Find Shippers as a Freight Broker

 

If you are struggling to find shippers as a freight broker don’t worry you’re not alone. Fact is, getting your first shippers is the hardest and some startups take weeks or even months to start moving loads for their first shipper.

That’s why I am sharing some tips to help you save time and aggravation on your search to find shippers.

13 Reasons Why You’re Struggling to Find Shippers

  1. You are afraid to hear the word NO. To many people hearing the word no can immediate make them feel like a failure. In actuality the more no’s you get, the easier it gets.  The fear of failure plagues many entrepreneurs and freight brokers and freight agents are no exception.  
  2. You do not know how to find leads. It’s hard to get clients without having any leads. There are tons of sites and online directories where you can find potential shipper leads. But as a Premium member of my online training at www.FreightBrokerBootcamp.com you’ll will get access to a database with over 100,000 shipper and 100,000 carrier database. 
  3. You are not talking to enough people. You need to fill you pipeline. The way to do this as a brand new broker or agent is by taking massive action. Where you lack in experience you need to make up in numbers. 
  4. You sound like a salesperson. No one like to talk to a salesperson including you, me and your shipper prospects. You need to be different.  For example, don’t sound like your reading straight from a script, get rid of the monotone voice.
  5. You’re not gathering sales intelligence to warm up the call. Sales intelligence is data gathered that will increase your chances for making a sales. LinkedIn is my favorite source for gather sales intellingence including: geographic location, work history, educational history, mutual connections, hobbies/interests, posts they like, comment or share just to name a few.  This type of knowledge is invaluable when trying to quickly build rapport with your prospect. 
  6. You haven’t done proper research to offer competitive rates. This doesn’t mean you want to be the cheapest but you will need to be competitive. The DAT and Internet Truck Stop both have excellent freight rate analysis tools that can quickly help you with full truckload rating.  Other ways of finding rates are by searching your load boards lane history which will typically provide you a list of carriers that are regularly posting available trucks based upon the lane.  Or you could just post a load to the load board and take phone calls. Write down your finding which will help you to determine your rates.
  7. You are NOT asking good questions. When you’re talking to a shipper one of the things you need to focus on is asking good questions and then listening. Here are examples probing questions that will help you to better understand your prospect. 
    • How do you select new providers?
    • When was the last time you added a new provider and why?
    • If you could change one thing about your current providers what would it be?ask the right question and prospects will tell you how to sell them!
  8. Going after the wrong prospects. You are only focusing on going after large companies/manufacturers. Fact is, it’s can be more difficult for a new freight broker or freight agent to get business from a large shipper like Pepsi, US Steel, General Mills, etc.  Instead of swinging for the fences and hitting a home run you need to focus on singles and doubles with smaller shippers. Ask the right questions, and your prospect will tell you what they’re looking for.
  9. You talk too much, and you do not listen enough. You should be listening twice as much as your talking. There’s a well known misconceptions that a the best sales people are the best talkers.  This is not always true.  Fact is, the best sales people tend to ask the best questions and are the best listeners after asking probing questions. Freight brokers need to ask good questions, listen, and your prospects will tell you exactly what they are looking for.
  10. You make the conversation all about prices vs. value. When new freight brokers get in contact with a shipper its not uncommon for them to focus mainly on how they could save the shipper money. It is not always about money, so focus more on the value your business will bring to the shipper. Remember the example of a $2 bottle of water vs a $39 bottle of water.  If it were all about price no one would buy the more expensive option.
  11. You are not following up properly. Nearly half of salesman don’t follow up with their prospects. Only 2% of sales are made on the first contact with a prospect while over 80% of sales take place between contacts 5 and 12.  For freight broker and freight agents the fortune truly is in the follow up.
  12. You lack enthusiasm and passion when talking to your prospects. Customers buy from people they know, like, and trust. They do not like to buy from monotone, sales pitches. Remember its’s not always what you say but how you say.  Let me hear your passion, it can make a world of difference, especially when you first get started as a broker or agent.
  13. You are lacking the confidence because you have not been properly trained. Everyone needs training. I personally have invested over $100,000 in coaching, training, and mentoring over the years. It has allowed my companies to generate over $200 million in total sales while earning me millions along the way. Whether you invest in my online freight broker and freight agent training or another course…it’s absolutely necessary to get trained.

Yes there are a lot of tips and strategies in this article to find shippers as a freight broker but don’t let it overwhelm you.

Pick on and put it to work on your next freight broker sales calls. You might be shocked how easy it can be if you follow the right steps.

Did this post help you out?  If so, I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d comment below or SHARE on FacebookTwitter or LinkedIn and be sure to click the g+1 logo and let Google know too!

Cheers,

Dennis Brown
Owner/Trainer, www.FreightBrokerBootcamp.com

DENNIS BROWN
Owner, CEO

Dennis Brown the freight broker, is the owner of FreightBrokerBootCamp.com and former CEO of Logistic Dynamics, Inc. (LDi) one of North Americas fastest growing logistics providers. Dennis has over 25 years of hands on experience as an entrepreneur and is widely regarded as an expert in logistics, freight brokerage, business growth strategies and B2B sales and marketing. Dennis became a freight broker in 2003, as a one man operations with NO industry experience . He went on to do over $200 million as a freight broker, eventually selling the freight brokerage to spend more time with his family. Dennis Brown has trained over 10,000 students, in 16 different countries, how to become a freight broker or freight agent. Many of his students have went on to build highly successful and highly profitable freight broker businesses.

6 Comments
  1. Ona Dunham

    Is Freight Brokering still a good business to have?

    November 1, 2017 at 7:53 pm
  2. Chrissy

    From Stone Mountain, GA.

    November 2, 2017 at 6:20 pm
  3. 13 Reasons Why Your Struggling to Get Shippers! PART 2 | Freight Broker Boot Camp

    […] If you missed part 1 of this training where I sent over 1-7 click here to check it out. […]

    November 13, 2017 at 11:55 pm
  4. Dennis Brown

    Absolutely demand for good broker and agents is on the rise due to the driver shortage that continues to grow year over year.

    November 14, 2017 at 12:02 am
  5. alex

    ontario,ca

    November 27, 2017 at 6:43 pm
  6. SSB Star

    A good preparation with utmost dedication and determination will certainly render you optimistic and effective results.

    January 17, 2018 at 12:35 pm

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