Today is the deadline for filling 1099s with the IRS here in the US. Do you guys send them? I have heard some mixed thoughts on this. Some brokerages do while others don't. Paying carriers for freight hauling is exempt under Treasury Regulation §1.6041-3(c). However this seems to be a point of confusion!

We have had to hit the DAT load board a few times this month for a client who has a project 5-10 flatbed trucks in a lane we normally don’t cover. Every post I get about 5 different Landstar agents (these are flatbed loads) who ask for more info than what’s posted on the board. I respond in full (rate, commodity, appt times etc etc). Not one of the agents ever respond back like asking for a different rate or anything. Literally each post I have done has been met with at least five landstar agent email asking for info in the load and never anything after that. I get the loads covered with others but Im just curious now why this keeps happening. Lol

➡️ They're boring and sound just like everyone else. Here are 3 of the worst sales pitches for freight brokers and carriers for that matter! 1. "Hey Joe we have trucks in your area and I wanted to touch base and see if we can help you move any of your freight?" 2. "Hey Joe I am a freight broker and have access to a network of over 5,000 trucks. I was wondering if we quote you on some of your lanes?" 3. "Hey Joe I am freight broker and I can save you money on your full truckload freight. I was wondering if I could quote you on some of your lanes?" I'd say that most brokers/agents use some version of these very bad and outdated scripts. Shippers have heard this crap for years and are sick of freight jockeys. All you are doing with these terrible scripts is TRIGGERING a negative response once they recognize speech pattern and cadence. This NEGATIVE response if very difficult to overcome. Impossible in most cases! Shippers don't want to talk to salespeople, but they are happy to talk to freight experts. Fact, is you only have 5-10 seconds or less to get your pospect's attention. For god sake, please ditch those old dusty 1980's sales scripts. When you sound like everyone else, don't be shocked when you get treated like everyone else. BE DIFFERENT!!! Any and all feedback, questions welcomed. 😎🍻

Recently I started to flip the “script” when it comes to my cold calling. Once I have the decision maker on the phone I have always tried to be different telling them my why, how, and what I do. However recently I typically go through that portion quickly and ask them for a few minutes to ask them important questions. A number of questions as if I’m interviewing them for a job. Questions like the following 1. How long have they worked for the company 2. What is their turnover like? Have most people worked there for awhile with promotions usually coming from internally. 3. How long have they been with their current partners not just freight but all of their business relationships? 4. Do they enjoy the career or do they hope to land in a different part of the company someday? 5. Are they valued and treated well by their superiors and owners of the company? 6. Do they always buy from their suppliers based on lowest prices? 7. Are the sales people involved with the suppliers? I finish with “I appreciate your time and the reason for asking all of these questions is before we go any further I also need to ensure you will be a good fit with my company. I have already done my homework and know you move XYZ but it’s important to me that you also checked the boxes correctly above. With my own personal experience I have come to understand that if those boxes aren’t checked then typically a partnership will ultimately not end up working out….” Although this works as a pitch I’m 1000% being truthful. I will explain and it’s not always a perfect recipe in which I decide if the box gets checked but you can navigate that yourself. 1. Are new - can be a red flag resulting into the question number 2 being answered. If they have been there for too long say 15+ years then it often means they are either going to be set in their partnership but also they probably aren’t being valued and promoted for a reason which can cause an employee who often just doesn’t care anymore, it’s just a job and that can come with a whole set of problems. 2. High turnover usually means that they will not respect relationships, the employees will be treated poorly by upper management, lack of care, fear…. Promotions coming all externally will also cause disappointment and dissatisfaction within the company.

What are your thoughts on Customs Brokers? It seems that most I have seen work in a forwarding company. Have you seen many solo Custom Brokers or small companies that primarily offer Customs services? How does this compare to you to Freight Brokering? Ofcourse they are two very different things but I would love to hear your thoughts.