A complete guide on how to begin launching your logistics freight broker business and understanding what is your next steps in getting there. Read More:

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You want to become a freight broker or freight agent and move loads every day from your computer while being at home and begin to move forward to generate an income within $6 figures potential earnings a year. 

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You have been involved with a proper freight broker training course, and now you are ready to take the next steps in building a solid career moving freight. Your starting point to getting there is to become America's greatest freight dispatcher and start building a working relationship with a few trucking companies to provide freight for. This will lead you to your next phases later into brokering loads as a freight agent yourself within the next few months. 

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This is only accomplished by you learning how to become a freight dispatcher and developing your skills and knowledge about the trucking industry and software for load movement.

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Knowledge is guiding you where to start your lucrative freight broker business and you are strategically planning your next steps. 

You are now ready to launch your first steps and where to start is the decision of making it or having a failed broker business. The biggest answer to how to start is answered in this article.

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Below I will give you my advice on where I see new freight agents begin point and when to actually make contact with shippers and carriers to start their freight broker career. How to take the knowledge you just received and turn it into money that will sustain you as you grow your freight broker business.

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I always tell anyone that a true freight broker is a person who builds trucking companies. This person is a true entrepreneur who understands the trucking industry, networking with other brokers and builds a solid social media marketing plan to connect with truck driver’s.

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Here’s 4 critical starting points that anyone who wants to move freight with carriers should consider.

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1st. 

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You will want to understand the services you have to offer to a carrier:

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Knowing the right services to offer as a legal freight dispatcher and understanding how to sale your skills and services is where your business strategy needs to focus and accomplish.

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This starts with building your Freight Dispatch skills. After all, you are offering dispatch services, so Get training if you do not have a background in dispatching 18 wheeler trucks. Your goal is to start as a freight dispatcher for a few trucks that are all pulling the same type of freight. This will lead you into becoming an amazing freight broker with skills and the shippers will admire your skills and services to move their freight as a freight agent in the future.

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Carriers need help finding good freight and solid lanes. They struggle daily working with brokers and most carriers would be interested with help on building a mutual working relationship that help the carrier to build information with brokers and finding freight opportunities that are not listed on load boards.

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Your starting Objective:

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After you have a truck you can dispatch you can now begin to build your information library on brokers. You will also focus on how to begin searching the brokers by mastering a few load boards that will give you up to date real time information on freight in America and Canada. I suggest DAT and ITS as your starting load boards. This will help lead you to meeting brokers who have the freight you need and also give you tools on the market and crucial information concerning freight, lanes, and freight rates.

The purpose of meeting brokers is to gather information on freight that might not be listed on load boards for dedicated lanes. You have a goal to begin contacting hundreds of freight brokers within the large 3pl industries and begin to network and search for the type of freight needed for your carrier. These contacts are crucial to gathering your information and building inventory of different types of freight lanes. Your focus on one type of equipment and networking with other freight broker agents on dedicated lanes.

Start Learning the Load Boards and TMS Is Top Priority Training 

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You will find yourself at this point if you have not already, to begin to become a master of the load board solutions offered today from DAT and ITS Truck Stop. Your TMS is offered by Inmotion Global and called Ascend TMS Software. I personally use these exact solutions dispatching various trucks and working with Freight Lanes. 

Load Boards and TMS Solutions give you the ability to learn more on lane rates, available freight by State, Hot Map Market Trends, Available carriers in your regions, and searching freight by equipment, these are considered the best and most practical tools for any freight broker agent, and will allow you to offer Dispatch Services worth your money.

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Take advantage of getting to know these solutions every day and understand the importance of what they each have to offer. Your knowledge on these solutions must be at master level and will show in your daily work habits. These load board solutions and TMS software can be found here ?https://truckstop.com/         https://power.dat.com/ 

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Knowledge is Key 

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You have a responsibility at this point to take advantage of these 2 Load board solutions training program. This is where you will understand the online load board solutions and understand how to use the solutions to become more knowledgeable. You will need to accept that a great freight broker is someone who knows how to utilize their online freight solutions and tools. Mastering the load board is a must and you will want to explore the free training options offered. 

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2nd.

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Establish a legal Dispatch Agreement in place with your carrier.

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A Solid Dispatch Agreement with your carrier will allow you to do several things. You will have the legal right and honored by the FMCSA to represent this carrier for freight dispatching services. If you’re working This allows you to work under the legal terms and guidelines of the FMCSA.

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To be a legal person working and providing freight dispatch services, you must have a signed freight agent contract with a Licensed Property Broker Firm who has an approved FMCSA Property Broker License. You can only then offer dispatch services legally under the FMCSA guidelines of moving freight and getting paid. Learn more about this rule https://cms8.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/types-operating-authority

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Being part of a Freight Broker Firm as a bona-fide freight agent allows you to offer a Freight Dispatch Service to carriers. You are operating legally and this will also allow you to build your trucking company clients and provide the necessary services for the trucking company as a freight dispatcher. 

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You have the legal right to offer solutions and services to trucking companies within America and your protected under insurance, license and bonding. The most important part of your business is your branding and transparency with a great team and company.

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Getting Paid?

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Positioning yourself the right way to get paid is critical with your dispatch business. If you are working with multiple trucking companies, you will need a system to get paid from. This is made available within your Dispatch Agreement for carriers that enables you working with their freight factoring company and being paid from their freight factoring companies by each load invoiced by you. 

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You are not in the position to collect credit cards and bill the carrier directly as many professionals are more comfortable with transparency and billing systems you can provide. When you are working with your trucking company, you are able to submit their load invoices for funding and at the same time the factoring company can pay you at the same time your dispatch fees. This creates a smooth system for everyone to focus on the freight and billing left to the professionals at the freight factoring companies to make sure all parties get paid.

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You will want to get to know the freight factoring companies that your carrier is set up with. For this matter you can contact them and ask if they are able to pay directly to you and for your dispatch services with your invoice on each load for your percentage. If the carrier is not set up with a factoring company, then you want to refer them to a freight factoring company that can assist them and offer great rates and terms that you are also building a working relationship with. 

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The benefit to working with each carrier’s factoring company is the factoring company will be able to pay your percentage of dispatch fees directly. This is done when the carrier is paid on each load and this allows your billing to be streamlined and direct with the factoring company. This creates transparency for each load and you are not relying on the trucking company to pay you by credit card for your dispatch fee.

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Working with a factoring company while dispatching the trucking company is the only set up that I do myself. If the carrier does not have a factoring company that will pay me directly or no factoring company at all, then I can offer dispatch services and work with them. Having a set foundation and building into will help you create a system that lasts and is streamlined for your needs.

Creating relationships with the best factoring companies will allow you to offer carriers a better invoice factoring experience and better fees and rates.  

 

3rd.

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Make the call to brokers and build your information on loads.

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It's time to pick up the phone and spend two weeks calling brokers and getting load information. This is the beginning of your income. You are searching the top 30 best 3pl companies within the industry and searching for a broker who is managing freight within certain regions and is looking for several trucks to work with. This is the time in your business that you are searching for information that's going to sustain you and allow you to offer loads to carriers. You want to begin to look for information that's going to ultimately lead you into building relationships with carriers and you will have loads to offer!

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Many new freight agents who start off and fail do so because they do not take the time or never have started contacting freight brokers for load information. You will want to build a relationship with more than 20 to 50 different brokers at any given time. This will allow you to have enough information that your carrier will be able to actually find loads from and benefit while you are growing your freight knowledge and freight information. Working with the right freight broker only comes by your efforts of picking up the phone and contacting them. You will want to take at least two weeks of daily doing this. Do not get frustrated and rush by not meeting your information gathering goals and move forward to soon. 

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The goal is to create an income that will sustain you quickly and begin to financially support your starting point. This is where you begin to feel the income and grow more profitable as you move forward.

You will contact the right broker sooner than you thought, that will have dedicated loads coming out of specific regions that fit exactly what your trucking company need. You will also be able to find information on loads that will bring your carrier back and closer to home.

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You have created a starting point to begin and develop what we call a dedicated lane! A job well done if you meet this goal. 

This exact point in your moving forward point is critical to your success and you should take the next couple weeks and to begin to contact at least 10 different load brokers a day.

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I tell new agents all the time, that in order to be a true freight broker you must have developed the ability to dispatch trucks and make this your first focus on becoming a freight broker agent. A true freight broker agent will always offer dispatch services for owner operators. This is a part of your business services as a freight broker and that is to professionally dispatch a few trucks.

If you cannot accomplish this in your first 6 months within your logistics career, then perhaps the freight broker industry is not a good fit for you. The knowledge skills that you learn from contacting brokers and information on rates and freight lanes that you learn is priceless information gathered from hard work and determination. Keep Moving Forward!

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Contacting Freight Broker Agents who work with the larger freight broker firms is where new freight agents should begin because of the knowledge and information that is gained by this type of communication and networking efforts.

A carrier is going to want load information from you and you are going to have to be able to communicate about freight and lane rates with the trucking company so that the owner operator will feel comfortable knowing that you understand freight and how to obtain freight. 

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These skills are only accomplished by contacting the top freight broker companies in America. Just Do It! 

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Taking the time and searching through thousands of different freight agents for possible freight opportunities builds confident in yourself and helps you. Being able in providing the freight dispatching skills that will guarantee the trucking company that you have freight available and consistent loads is found within the next few weeks of hard work.

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Having these contact skills will allow you to become a true freight dispatcher and begin to earn an income quickly and also by gaining knowledge as you move forward. You should be able to connect trucking companies to freight loads within a few weeks from this point. You would have gained the knowledge of freight and be able to move forward to your carriers.

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What to say when you call a broker? 

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When contacting a broker, you must know exactly what you're looking for and what to say. Professional 3pl companies and their freight broker agents are usually busy during the morning early day as they have to connect loads on a load board with many carriers while new carriers are calling in on possible loads they have offered. The best time to contact freight broker agents is between 11:00 am until 5:00 pm.

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Your time spent with the broker is limited so you need to get straight to the point and say what to be said and also give the broker the right information. Early morning times the broker agents are very busy with loads being booked for early Pickups and getting the loads connected to carriers.

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A freight broker agent Rep will want to know who you are?

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When you call Freight Brokers remember you are working as a representative for a trucking company and the MC# of a trucking company is going to be required. Information about loads will only be given to you after your trucking company is verified by the MC# given by yourself. You will need to be connected with a trucking company with an active MC# before you move forward with contacting 3pl companies. A Trucking company’s MC# is the operating authority or license number of an approved carrier by the FMCSA. 

When you are working with a trucking company that you have a legal Dispatch Agreement with, then you can use the MC# of that trucking company and this begins your starting point for contacting freight brokers. You are able to make contact with large 3pl companies and begin networking with their inside freight agents on specific freight.  

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You also want to remember that you are representing the trucking company and not as a dispatch agent. You are more than a dispatcher, you are partnered with a trucking company legally and consider yourself part of that trucking company’s team.

If you have a dispatch agreement with a trucking company, then you are legally working with his trucking company as the representative. 

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When you call brokers about load board and freight opportunities, then you are calling on behalf of your trucking company.

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• When you call a freight broker they're going to ask you what is your MC# number of the trucking company you're with and at this point you give them the MC# number so that they can look the trucking company up quickly and determine if they are an approved carrier to haul for freight for their broker company. 

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Remember to contact freight broker companies with purpose.

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You are calling the freight broker company for letting them know that you have a particular type of equipment and an example would be your trucking company focuses on refrigerated full truck loads and you also will be adding a few more trucks to your company’s fleet and you’re looking for who can help you with possible dedicated loads within specific States or City’s.

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• When you begin to speak with the freight broker agent you're asking them about specific freight within the area of where you are working and if you're in Alabama then you're looking for refrigerated freight out of Alabama.

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You want to know what freight options do they have and what consistency they have.

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• Your main objective is to find consistent freight. You ask each broker if they have freight in these states, and if not can they refer you to someone else. Your searching States and freight availability.

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Here are main questions that you're going to want to ask the 3pl Broker Company while speaking with the freight broker agent representative.

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• Do you have freight coming out of specific states or regions?

• Do you have consistency on a weekly basis?

• Do you work with this type of equipment?

• What are the rates that your company is paying for these types of freight lanes you have available?

• Can I get your contact information and do you have a direct line?

• Can I have your email?

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Picking up the phone and contacting freight brokers and working with different companies is where you begin. Getting the right information is going to help you later with connecting your trucking companies to this available freight. Practice and learn from each call you make.

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4th.

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Utilize Social Media and Online Marketing to Brand Your Dispatch Services. 

Working as a dedicated dispatcher should generate you about $50-$60 thousand dollars a year income. This comes by spending a few months of slowly and precisely building your freight dispatching brand and offering your services to gain more carriers and start networking. You must not forget to let others know about your services and online marketing can reach trucking companies all over America.

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Building a strong social media that is geared toward your services and skills that you offer for freight is a must. This is done by SEO methods and understanding social media marketing. 

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How do you know if you have enough carriers to Dispatch freight loads to?

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• You will have enough dedicated carriers to work with and you find them by advertising for free on platforms like Indeed, Facebook, LinkedIn and more. Marketing correctly will allow you to have multiple prospects of trucking companies that you might choose to dispatch with.

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You will be looking for trucking companies that want to grow and expand by adding the right services and solutions to help their company grow.  The right trucking company that you will find will also be equipped with the right equipment you are focused on. 

There are numerous training courses for free online to help you achieve this. It is very important for you to place ads for carriers and offer your Dispatch Services and networking. 

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Joining trucking forums and Facebook groups connected in the trucking and freight broker industry is a good place to start meeting new brokers and carriers.

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For anyone wanting to become a freight broker and wondered where to start, following these 4 points listed above will help you move forward with more consistency.