I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Welcome back to the trenches lets get some freight moving! How's everyone's week looking so far?

Most new brokers think they need fancy tools, a big team, or 100 shippers before they can make money But the ones who actually WIN focus on just 3 things: Consistent outbound calls Not perfect calls. Not fancy scripts. Just numbers. Your pipeline grows when your dial count grows. Building one strong carrier relationship You don’t need 50. You need ONE carrier that trusts you with their wheels. Following up like your business depends on it Because it literally does. Fortune is in the follow-up… and that’s where 90% quit. If you just mastered THESE 3, you’d close more shippers than brokers with 10x your experience. What’s the ONE thing you’re struggling with the most right now: calls, carriers, or follow-up? Drop it below.

Winter weather is officially here throughout most of the country. Key points to focus on throughout the winter season is winter weather advisories, loading and offloading conditions for open deck freight, and travel times. Be sure you are communicating with your customers regarding all these key factors. Rush shipments are not advised this time of year, be sure to leave plenty of leeway for traffic delays due to weather and accidents, be sure your customers have sufficient loading accommodations for open deck freight especially if the load needs to be tarped, chained, ramp loaded, etc. All of these factors can create major delays in transportation so stay diligent and be sure to pay attention to the 3 day forecast for the lanes you are sending freight through.

What's one lesson you learned the hard way in this industry

One of the most important things you can do once you find a set of reliable carriers, is treat them with respect, appreciation, and gratitude. There is always so much focus on the customer and the way we treat them, but so many times the treatment of the people that make everything possible goes unmentioned. Carriers are the lifeline of our country, and also the lifeline of our business as a freight broker. Reliable carriers are the ones who make the difference between a customer being a one-off or a returning business partner so when you find a carrier to haul your freight it is imperative that you make sure they are appreciated for all that they do. If you treat them like just another part of the process, or like they are all the same or replaceable, that is the service quality you will get. The better you treat your carriers who handle your freight, the better the will treat your customer, and equally as important, your customer's customer which is normally the receiver. Ensuring you have a carrier that is not only capable of handling the freight you need transported but also happy to transport it is often an overlooked aspect of the transportation process. As an owner op of 10 years I have dealt with the best and the worst of brokers in the industry. I know what its like to be treated like just another truck, and I know what it feels like to be appreciated for all that was done and I can tell you first hand that the difference in treatment goes a long way regarding charisma when dealing directly with the shippers and receivers. It can mean the difference between compassion and empathy for a delay in loading and offloading, it can mean the difference in professionalism when encountering a disgruntled loader or offloader, and it can mean the difference in whether or not that particular carrier tries to scalp your customer and steel your business. Make sure that you are always showing your appreciation to the carriers you hire to handle your customers freight. Remember, no matter how good of a sales person you are we cannot do it without them!