Expert Advice: 8 Tips for Success From Freight Brokerage Owners

Expert Advice: 8 Tips for Success From Freight Brokerage Owners



Article Excerpt:

In Start Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, the staff at Entrepreneur Press and writer Jacquelyn Lynn explain how you can get started in the freight brokerage industry, from your first steps to hiring employees, marketing your business and managing your finances. In this edited excerpt, the authors share information from the trenches about how to survive in the freight brokerage industry.

Nothing teaches as well as the voice of experience. So we asked established freight brokers what has contributed most to their success and what they think causes companies to fail. Here’s what they told us:

Use Advertising and Marketing Techniques that Work

Track your marketing efforts so you can concentrate on the techniques that work and eliminate the ones that don’t.

Smyrna, Tennessee, freight broker Cathy Davis said small giveaway items, such as pens, note pads, caps and T-shirts, work well. Company newsletters with personal and industry information also get a good response. She said donations to fundraising events may be helpful (depending on the event and the degree to which it’s promoted), but the impact of website sponsorships is questionable. She recommended developing a three-panel printed brochure that's easy to include with letters, invoices and checks.

Chuck Andrews, an Indianapolis-based freight broker, builds name recognition by placing periodic ads in association newsletters as well as in annual association and industry directories. click the link at the topic of the page to read the entire article