Diamond Centuries Helps Build YOUR Business!!

There is no disputing how tough it is out there right now.  A quick look at the decisions posted on the FMCSA Register every day basically tells us that people are RUNNING out of the business and very few are getting into the business.  Long term for you, that is great.  That means fewer trucks are on the road every day increasing the demand for your services.  But that doesn't mean the storm is over for you yet.  But in the meantime, we created a little list of things you should be doing to help you be prepared for the business.

#1  Build relationships - Go out and knock on doors in your community looking for shippers you can deal with direct.  A lot of truckers still rely solely on brokers to find freight.  Brokers certainly fill a need, but they are still making 10-20% on every load.  Put that 10-20% in your pocket by finding your outbound loads.  The fact that you are based within 1-50 miles of a shipper provides them a certain amount of comfort in knowing you are going to be a carrier that is available more often than most, that they are helping their own local economy, and that you will certainly be more accountable than a carrier they never see again and is based 1800 miles away.  Sell that point and increase your profits.  And if you find yourself delivering to a certain point over and over, build a relationship there as well.  Sure, some shippers require you have X amount of trucks to get in the door, but not all of them, and those that don't have those requirements, will likely be more flexible in other areas as well.

#2  Don't rely on relationships - Seems counter to point #1, but sometimes we have a tendency to stay with the "comfortable".  Insurance companies are banking on this.  If you have been with the same insurance carrier for years, it is probably time to shop for insurance again.  Be sure to check prices for other services as well, maybe licensing services?? 

#3  Know your expenses-   We don't mean on a monthly basis, but on a state by state basis on a per mile basis.  Know what your expenses will be for a trip.  Take into consideration things like fuel taxes, licensing costs, tolls, insurance costs (Illinois is pretty high on all of these for example).  And be sure to include PROFIT into this breakdown.  These state by state breakdowns are going to be important to know as you are building those relationships!

#4  Check credit-  The last thing you need is bad debt.  It takes 10 loads with 10% profit to make up for 1 bad load.  That's a lot of catch-up to play, and right now with companies failing at a record rate, you don't want to play that game!!  But we see a HUGE mistake made on this a lot.  Do NOT rely on load boards!!  You have to remember that brokers pay to be on load boards, and for that reason, load boards are not likely to say anything bad about their customers.  IF they are reporting 100 and have been there for awhile, they are probably okay, but if it's anything less than that, start being cautious.  The load board is already telling you there are issues.  So, if a broker is paying to be on a site, and is trying to take care of those carriers using that site, what is the broker doing to carrier who CAN'T report on that site????

#5  Work you're A/R- Be aggressive on working your accounts receivables.  Just because the invoice isn't 40 days doesn't mean you can't start calling on it yet.  Remember, 30 day terms does not mean they get to mail it at day 30, it is to be in YOUR hand on day 30 (some contracts do specify otherwise, but you can negotiate that out).  And just because it's 60 doesn't mean it's time to give up.  It's time to get aggressive with bond filings or default filings.

Please feel free to give us a call or drop us an email if you would like help from Diamond Centuries.  Whether helping you figure your cost per mile, helping you learn how to collect that past due debt, we are here to help.  You can contact us at 515-210-0245 or email us through the website here!

Next time, we will discuss even more issues on how to help you help your business.  Until then, share this website with your friends.  We want to be the worst kept secret on the internet!!