How do freight brokers find shippers?

Freight brokers are agents who seek to find reliable freight forwarders to contact the carriers for the purpose of moving cargo. However, research in this regard, as well as customer acquisition, is challenging for sales representatives. To do this, they have to use many different methods and take more time to provide the best for the business. Before making a final decision, it is a good idea to know the nature of the production of the particular goods, where they come from, what measures should be taken when transporting them to preserve them.

How do freight brokers find freight forwarders?

Learn the basic techniques of freight brokers for finding freight forwarders:

An overview of the surrounding supplies

Probably everyone notices the supply of food, clothing, furniture, appliances, office equipment, etc. on a daily basis. All this is transported in bulk by trucks. Thus, brokers monitor the surrounding trade and can contact the freight forwarders who coordinate the delivery of the food to a nearby store or a nearby commercial network.

They are easier to navigate to those forwarders who take care of managing shipments of a similar nature to those of the main customers they work with. This is the best solution as the practice reveals the advantages and disadvantages of moving a particular product from one destination to another.

View Purchase History

This is a personal purchases survey. However, every person constantly orders goods from the Internet. Online banking history can easily track recent purchases from Amazon and other world-renowned online stores. All products are manufactured and delivered to the end customer. This is a great way for brokers to get acquainted with the movement of different goods – it can be said that this technique is quite creative. If you are wondering how to improve your search and are in the field, then you can apply this easy method.

Track competition

This is a natural action in every field as the business needs to know the main competitive niche. Aim for the «largest fish» with a large carpool. The fact that they have been able to expand over time means that they are likely to deliver to near and far destinations and have all kinds of transport. Any freight broker can investigate the competition well, thanks to company websites and other techniques. So you can choose the top 10 or 3 companies they want to work with. Forwarders of specific brands will be able to negotiate a good price for a particular course.

Use of different directories and other lists of forwarders

Depending on the type of transport agents are more likely to target, directories may be considered in that direction. There are books and other guides that anyone who wants can read. There, brokers discover detailed information about manufacturing companies and then specific products. Of course, it also informs you about the tariffs for different loads – make an extensive comparison.

The freight brokers are then directed to the catalogs with available freight forwarders. It would be good to look first at those responsible for many and many different loads. Thus, there is an opportunity for greater orientation about how their work works. It is important to complete the tasks quickly and efficiently.

Satellite view of corporate buildings

Google is undoubtedly providing many opportunities to find the information you need. Google Maps can even travel the world. In this regard, the view of streets and buildings can be helpful to freight brokers. In this way, it can easily and conveniently monitor where there are delivery docks and where goods are received and more. That’s why freight brokers rely heavily on the internet and search engines – satellite view is of great benefit. Only through such spying can anyone make a conclusion about the company in question – it allows research into what it does and how it sends the goods.

Attempted contact with selected vendor

Once the freight broker contracts to a particular supplier, they must attempt to contact the freight broker. The easiest way is by sending a formal email to show interest. However, it is very likely that no feedback will follow. It would be more useful to find a way of direct contact – face-to-face dialogue, because this type of “cold connection” does not produce very good results.

In entering into a dialogue, it is an important duty of the freight broker to introduce himself, to indicate to whom he works, what scheme of work he follows, what his personal achievements so far and those of the company. It is important for the other party to understand that there is a need for an agent that can be of great benefit to the business.

These are the basic steps that freight brokers follow when looking for freight forwarders. However, this is not enough to be successful and preferred in the market. It is important to work hard, especially to consolidate positions, build strong relationships and trust in the movement of goods. Good freight brokers are in direct contact with the most qualified carriers.