Spot Market Negotiating Strategy #12... High Fuel Cost Is Your Friend - From "Negotiating with Freight Brokers & 3PL's"
STRATEGY 12 – HIGH FUEL COST IS YOUR FRIEND
Brokers/3PL’s have held onto fuel surcharges for years and not passed them along proportionally to carriers. Do not make a general statement or complaint about the price of diesel. Do not go on about how hard it is to make a living now, be specific, and use a real example. “I hauled a similar load a month ago that paid more per mile, and fuel has gone up 5% in the last month. The higher rate you get shouldn’t be directly proportionate to what your actual higher cost of fuel is on the load, in fact, it should be much higher.
You have had to cash flow this meteoric rise in fuel the past few years. It would take a rocket scientist or two to figure out how much the rise in fuel prices have actually cost you. You are just “framing” and letting him know the price will be higher based on that fact alone, not including all of the other strategies/facts you have already brought up. If the Broker/3PL wants to get scientific and explain that it only will cost you “x” more at 6 MPG, etc. Go into detail about the higher fuel costs in states you have to go through and the load weighs 44,000lbs so your fuel will drop to 4 MPG between the weight and the hills… Remain calm, likeable, specific and unemotional, in your conversation.
Remember C.L.A.S.S. in all your conversations. Explain your reasons calmly, especially if he or she gets insulted. Try and calm them down, i.e. “I am not trying to be greedy or unrealistic; this is just the reality of hauling this load. If they won’t or can’t see the reality, simply thank them for calling and offering the load to you, but maybe it’s just not the right fit right now.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Drivers!
Owner Operator & Driver Retention and Recruiting. It's the 8th Wonder of the World. Where did they all go? What happened to them? I just talked to him yesterday... I thought he liked it here...
It's like Mark Twain said about the weather, "Everybody likes to complain about it, but nobody does anything about it."
Believe it or not, there are a lot of trucking companies who excel at recruiting and retention. Who? Why? How? I'm glad you asked, please join me on a journey that will take us through some basics of successful recruiting and retention.
Let's begin with some careful self-examination. Honesty is key here, know yourself and your organization.
Do you really want to solve this issue? Or do you want to throw more and more money at broad advertising and hire more recruiters and hope it works out? (That Beck song "I'm a Loser, Baby" comes to mind, "Things are gonna change, I can feel it...")
You didn't get to where you are today by hoping things work out.
You are a Person of Action, a Leader, a Mover and Shaker, a Winner. I'm serious...(How do I know? You are taking time out of your hectic day to read this, to learn how to improve your company.)
Turnover at the majority of trucking companies is sadly well over 100%, at some it reaches alarming heights of 200%-400%. Don't get energized in the problem! Let's focus on fixing the issue. The hardest part of any job is getting started.
Think of your procedure when a new driver or operator joins your trucking company, I'll bet this sounds familiar...
The recruiter or safety department initiates the process. Why it always seems to fall on safety is beyond me. I think everybody thinks they have nothing to do until an accident happens or auditor shows up. I assure you this is not the case, especially in this current regulation environment. Anyway, they go to great length and expense to advertise, spend hours on phone, email applications, run MVR's, meeting with potential drivers and operators, and finally one out of the five, perhaps one out of ten, they have been talking to shows up for orientation.
It is a moment of great triumph! Everybody is happy, he gets introduced to his new dispatcher, perhaps an operations manager, if he is lucky the owner comes out of his office to say hello and welcome him. The owner operator or driver feels good about his decision to sign on with your company and everybody is smiling and shaking hands...
Then what happens? Join me back here on Friday and we will explore how everything goes south, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly...
Please try this exercise before Friday, call each your dispatchers into your office and ask him to name from memory each of his drivers and owner ops, and keep track of how many they can name(15 out 25 etc.).
Don't forget to sign up for email subscription so you don't miss it, it's free...
Tomorrow on the Bleater. Conversations with Marge (TA Waitress extraordinaire, Driver and Owner Operator Ambassador) continues with a driver's personal story of struggle and triumph...
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