Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/741858
Family Owned | Experienced | Reliable | Team Midwestern | MC-186420 THE RIGHT WAY TO SHIP Certified Transportation Broker 800-505-9754 EXT. 3 DAVE TAYLOR CTB www.midwesterntransit.com sales@midwesterntransit.com MID-SIZE BROKER WITH MID-SIZE CORE TRUCK AND RAIL CAPACITY TIA 2016 HERITAGE AWARD TOWER INTERNATIONAL BROKER OF THE YEAR 2014 2001 NASTC BEST OF THE BEST BROKER • Work from Anywhere Via PC, IPAD, or Smartphone • Account Receivable Bad Debt Protection • ITS and TIA $250,000 Bond • 21 Day Carrier Pay • Quick Pay, Advances, Terminal Pay • Unsaturated Agent Territories Available TRANSPARENT AND EXCEPTIONAL BACK OFFICE SUPPORT • Owner is Agent Liaison • Tiered Commissions Based on Sales and Margin • Multimodal Capacity of TL, LTL, and Piggyback • 25,000 Contracted Carriers • Exceptional TMS Software, Free Integrated Load Boards, DAT, Truckstop.com, GETLOADED • Once Agents Try MTSI They Stay With MTSI L ARGE ENOUGH TO SERVE YOU - SMALL ENOUGH TO BE FAMILY SUPPORT + RESOURCES = COMPLETE SUCCESS = THE RIGHT WAY TO SHIP!! ™ Relationships You have to have good ones in order to get the right information and to make a deal that doesn't burn you later in its lifecycle. Not all lanes are great and not all contracts are short. Know where to go the extra mile with your customer for the sake of relationship and long-term business. Most importantly, take a long term approach to the contract rather than nickel and diming in a buyer's or seller's market. A good contract will not only correctly adjust pricing so that you don't get burned with rising cost or changing rates, but will also not come back to be a huge burden on your customer in the long run. If you know if it is buyer's or seller's market, you'll be able to balance these factors, and still get a killer deal. Pricing Pricing must be within reason and budget. Oen when we get hungry for new business, it is easy to chase the next deal just because it is in front of us, without knowing if it is even a real opportunity. It is important to have an ear to the CFO or person approving payment, and to get an idea early of the budgetary requirements for the contract. Is it a startup where preservation of cash flow important or can they use a capital expense? Are you miles apart on expectations? rough educating the other party on costs and the market trends, can you close the gap, or is this not the right deal to chase? If you have not pre-qualified than you could be wasting time. Value Consider the value of a contract above just the dollar sign. if I offer a competitive bid, how much business will I win? How much market share will I earn? What will it do to propel the reputation of our organization forward? Does is offer a strategic partnership with supporting elements for post sale? What is the price of someone I know I can talk to and deal with, I can truly trust, and a partner that represents my business well? Sometimes these additional factors raise the value of a contract beyond just the price. Don't Limit Yourself - Oen times we choose not to bid on contracts or RFPs that are bigger than we are today. Maybe we ignore lanes we don't already have capacity for or equipment we don't already have shipping contracts for. We commit to smaller deals because of the uncertainty. ese can be missed opportunities. Many businesses in the industry still are not using technology to find suitable carriers that match the lanes in the bid, or to find loads to fill equipment we are contracted to keep moving, so we don't know what is possible. You may be limiting yourself to smaller deals than you are capable of because you haven't embraced the ability of tech to help you match a huge array of loads or capacity in real- time. By leveraging technology, you can foster lasting relationships for contract bids, find partners that you might not be familiar with (which is a great way to lower your rates like finding backhauls for dedicated carriers), and broadening the size of contract you are willing to commit to and bid on. Vo l . 1 0 , N o . 5 TRUCKSTOP.COM 9