The most asked question by owner-operators and the owners of small trucking companies is: How do I find direct ship customers?

It’s not rocket science to know when you depend on freight brokers for your loads you are giving up a fair amount of revenue. The revenue given up is pure and simple profit. But the problem lies with how to find those shippers with whom you can deal directly for the loads they need hauled.

The next problem is the fewer trucks you have at your beck and call, the less value you have to a large shipping customer. In other words, if they have 20 loads in a single day and you only have a single truck, they would have to negotiate with 20 companies like yours to get the loads covered. On the other hand, if they can negotiate with one trucking company (or broker) with 20 available trucks for all 20 loads, in hauling cost and time invested it’s a no-brainer for the shipper.

What’s the solution for the single truck owner or small trucking company?

· First, look for the small manufacturers that ship fewer loads over longer periods of time. These shippers usually have a more difficult time locating a larger hauler that will meet their spread-out schedule.

· Look for multiple small shipments from companies from the same geographic area, heading in the same direction, which you can combine into a single load. This will provide you with greater revenue per load as you can charge for actual cubic feet, linear space, or CWT (Hundred-weight) of the items hauled.

· Start by concentrating your initial customer search within a 100-mile radius of home. Create it so you can pick up all shipments that make up a load within a couple of days.

· Think customer service. Most shipments of this type are picked up by a local truck, transferred at a cross dock to the road truck, hauled to destination and delivered to another cross dock, then delivered to the receiver by a local truck. By the time the shipment is delivered, four forklifts and three trucks have handled it. The more a shipment is handled or transferred, the greater the opportunity for damage and loss.

The idea here is to develop a niche that provides shippers with better customer service through less handling, quicker pickup and delivery, and more personal care of their items being shipped. And all this is being provided for shippers who are left in the lurch by most of the large carriers and brokers.

But to be a success at finding these types of customers takes a bit of grit, a large amount of dedication and a stick-to-itiveness that will rival anything you’ve ever attempted.

You’ve got to search the hidden places in your area where these small manufacturers might exist. They might be a home-based business. They might be leasing their space in an older building off the beaten path. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce, manufacturing associations and bankers, or go down to the county court house and see who’s licensed to manufacture what. There are very few businesses that don’t ship and/or receive something brought by a truck. Find the ones who are having a difficult time getting their products or supplies shipped.

One word of caution: Always do a credit check with any new customer and about every 90 days thereafter. If they are not getting their loads shipped because they’re not paying their bills, they’re not worth the risk to your business. Now that doesn’t mean you don’t haul the customer’s loads; juts that you require either C.O.D. (Cash On Delivery) or F.O.B. (Freight On Board) methods of payment.

Now that you have a list of potential customers, the work begins. Keep in mind; in the majority of cases, it will take eight, ten, or maybe more contacts with any prospect before you will land them as a customer. Moreover, each contact with a potential customer moves you toward signing them on the bottom line.

Remember, each time you call on this customer you need to:

· Demonstrate your trust.
· Show the value to the company in having you haul for him or her.
· Show you are really interested in their success.
· Explain you’re not providing the lowest hauling rate but the best value for their money.
· Realize you don’t give something without getting something of value in return.
· Show that you’re fair and equitable.
· Accept you’ll give them the best deal possible with the greatest value to both of you.

The final word on finding the best direct shipping customers is you’ve got to be willing to “beat the bushes,” and not just once but again and again. You’ve got to do it with forethought and a plan, and you need to know what your costs are, what your break-even point is, and when to walk away. Why?

Because that’s what makes it your company, your truck.

Timothy D. Brady is a 20 + year trucking veteran and AMSA’s 2002 Super Van Operator of the Year HHG. He’s the “Trucker’s Business Advisor” on Sirius Road Dog Network’s “Open Road Café” Wednesday mornings. Brady has authored several trucking business books and is available for speaking engagements and to conduct workshops.
Contact him at tbrady@writeuptheroad.com or (800) 292-8072.