Good Friday

Why is today called Good Friday?  

  

Is it called Good Friday because it is good to have a day off?  Fridays are always anticipated but when it is Friday and a holiday we have double reason to celebrate. Go ahead; enjoy the time with family and friends.  Try to put your work aside.  But don’t let the day end with truly reflecting on why it is Good Friday. 

In Germany they call this day mourning Friday.  Jesus was crucified, so the disciples mourned. But I prefer calling it good because the disciples mourning only lasted till Sunday when Jesus defeated death by rising from the dead.  It is good for all who believe because forgiveness and salvation is theirs.  Jesus lived a perfect life, died a horrific death then rose again to defeat death.  He did it all for us because of love.  We can put our trust in Him.  So it is the day of the greatest good.  The day one man sacrificed it all for the good of all mankind. 

Go out and have a good day.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach

www.brooketraining.com

Business Among Friends

Recently I spent some time talking with Joe, a freight broker friend who has hired brokers from our freight broker school graduates.  I asked him about his experience with Brooke Transportation Training Solutions.  Here's what he said:

I started hiring graduates from Brooke's school about 2 months ago and have been very pleased the level of training they have for such a short course.  I met Jeff about 7 years ago when he came in and did training with the sales staff of the brokerage firm I was working with back then.  I started my own freight brokerage about a year and a half ago. It has been going real well.  So, I needed more agents.  That is when I started going in and interviewing Jeff's graduates.  I offer all his graduates an opportunity to work with our brokerage.

In the last few months I have hired several agents from Brooke's graduates.  It has been a great match.  The graduates come in ready to go. I would recommend BTTS to any freight broker who needs agents.  The key to success with these new agents is on going mentoring after they finish their training.  I spend time encouraging our new agents.  I am sometimes the trainer and sometimes the psychiatrist.  We handle administrative needs of our agents so they can focus on making sales, finding new customers who need our help in transporting their loads.

I love working with Veterans.  I'm a veteran myself.  Lots of vets go through Brooke's training, So finding a great agent who is a vet is easy with Brooke.

The great thing about being a freight broker is you have the ability to earn what you want based on the amount of work you want to put in.  As a broker you have to be persistent.  There will be good and bad days but if you keep at it you will be a success.  Don't give up.


Thanks Joe.  If you are a broker looking for agents, or needing some training for your agents give me a call.  If you are wanting to learn to be a freight broker come to one of our courses soon.  You can meet Joe.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
214-206-1169

Life in the Freight Industry after Graduation

One of our incredible graduates, Pamela George, shares her experience of working in the industry after training at Brooke. Reflecting back on her journey thus far, she shares valuable insight and advice for future brokers and agents. Read her full story below. You don’t want to miss this one.

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Life in the Freight Industry after Graduation

I like many other folks embarked upon my journey in the freight industry full of excitement and ready to do it all… I sold a small niche transportation company in Atlanta called Need A Ride, LLC. I picked up logistical transporters for the largest driveaway company in the country. I learned some of the lingo, I asked questions, and I learned a bit from the Owner Operators for 5 years. I thought, how difficult can this be? After all I had so many people in the industry tell me that I could do it, I didn’t need any training, they taught themselves, etc…

After much research and due diligence, I decided to attend Brooke Transportation Training Solutions. I am a hands-on person and knew what I knew, but I wanted to discover what I didn’t know. I spoke to the owners of Brooke about 4-5 times before I made my decision. I needed to be sure that I could get my questions answered and future support for questions that would come up. As I took my class online, they were kind, patient and knowledgeable each time.

I also attended Brooke’s hands-on training class. I got to make calls to real live shippers and network and interact with other students and successful graduates! I loved it!

I started my class online. It was informative, engaging and very interactive. I enjoyed it, but I soon realized that this was more than I can handle all by myself. It was a lot of moving pieces. That was my “aha” moment…. Remember, I was ready to do it all. It’s a good thing I did not listen to those who said I didn’t need training…

I am SUPERWOMAN and the best part about being SUPERWOMAN is knowing when to get other Super Friends…That’s where life in the freight industry after graduation was born.

My first set of Super Friends is the team at Brooke. They were ready to assist me with real world situations. My second set of Super Friends is the broker, which comes with other Super Friends intact. I decided to be an agent. I can sell ice to an Eskimo - sales is my strong suit, but I needed and wanted a back office.

I discovered early on that the phone was going to be a HUGE part of my day and I needed help with the back-office piece - a broker with an adequate license (more on this in a few). This can be a tricky one. I was new and didn’t really know what I needed or desired from a broker. All I knew was that I needed one and since I didn’t have a book of business, I couldn’t afford to be picky or could I? (more on this in a few).

Before you graduate, I strongly suggest deciding what your sweet spot is. By that I mean:

• Do you want to be an agent and secure shippers?
• Do you want to find rates and dispatch the carriers?
• Do you want to onboard the shippers/carriers?
• Do you want to be a Broker? This is ideal if you have a full team in place to handle all the above.

Back to the above underlined statements:

1. Know if you need a broker with asset or a non-asset broker (and know the difference).
2. It’s exciting that a broker wants you without a book of business, but I encourage you to interview the broker, just as you are being interviewed. This will aid in making a good decision opposed to moving around from broker to broker. Do your homework ahead of time and you can avoid the broker shuffle. However, if by chance you find yourself changing brokers, it’s ok as long as you learn from it. We never lose, we learn.

I have a few “Pamela-isms” for you:

1. Never ever sign a non-compete. You must grow your book of business.
2. Be disciplined and focused. Set a goal of 100 calls per day. Use a CRM to log your tasks and follow up. Here a few free CRM suggestions to try: Insightly, ZOHO, and Hubspot.
3. No gossiping.
4. Communicate with your team regularly.
5. Stay on top of your clients and get to know them.
6. If something happens with your client, APOLOGIZE quickly. There is NO passing on the blame.
7. Stay connected to peers, mentors, and others in your industry.
8. Be flexible, turn on a dime, and keep it moving.
9. DO NOT TAKE THINGS PERSONALLY… You will experience getting hung up on.
10. Love what you do and let your passion shine through.

To this day, my experience with the Brooke team has been:

• Informative
• Positive
• Encouraging
• Real unbiased  
• Knowledgeable
• Honest
• Insightful
• Pragmatic
• Full of Feedback. This is hard to find. You are not just a tuition - you become family. They truly want you to succeed and their success is tied to yours.

Written by Pamela George, 2017

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Thank you for sharing your story, Pamela. This is great advice for anyone that is interested in becoming a freight broker or agent in this exciting industry. Your hard work is paying off. You're truly a rockstar! 

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
214-206-1169
www.brooketraining.com

Communicating with Your Customers

Many things can go wrong in the day-to-day life of a freight broker. Loads can get lost, freight can be damaged, drivers or shippers can be late to a pickup or a delivery. There are a lot of factors that are out of your control. So, how do you keep your customer happy when there are so many wild cards? 

As a freight broker, the only thing you have 100% control over is how you communicate with your customers. Whether things are going good or bad, quality communication is the secret ingredient to growing a successful freight brokerage. If you are always honest with your customer and keep them updated on what’s happening, they will grow to respect you and trust you. 

Here are some additional tips for successful communication with your customers:

• Listen more than you talk. Always be sure to listen actively to what your customer has to say. 

• Don’t be afraid of pauses in the conversation. If you are thinking of what you are going to say next while your customer is talking, you may not fully digest what they said. Take the time to process and think before you speak. 

• Recognize and respect emotions. When a problem arises, your customer may have an emotional reaction. Whether they are slightly frustrated, panicked or infuriated, make sure you acknowledge how they feel in addition to solving the problem. In other words, be empathetic. 

• Keep them informed as often and as accurately as possible. If you are having trouble solving a problem, let them know. If you are busy and can’t deal with them until later in the day, let them know. Whatever the circumstances may be, always be honest and upfront with your customer.

If you have questions about effective customer communication or anything else industry-related, I'd be happy to help. Give me a call anytime on my cell at (817)-897-0681. 

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
214-206-1169
www.brooketraining.com

Train to be a Freight Broker Now for only $99 Down!

We are thrilled to announce that we are now offering 100% financing for our online course. You can enroll today for only $99 down. If you are interested in becoming a freight broker, this is the perfect opportunity to get started. What could be better than learning a new exciting career from the comfort of your home?

Here’s what you’ll learn: 

• How to build, open and operate a successful freight brokerage or freight broker agency
• Licensing and regulations
• Operations and ratings
• Sales and marketing
• Back office details 
• Necessary skills, materials, and resources to reference as you build your business

Upon graduation, you’ll also have the ability to attend our Job Opportunity and Resource Friday, where you will meet freight brokerage recruiters and industry professionals, and discuss agent positions. Whether you intend on becoming an independent broker or working as an agent, you’ll be inspired, meet potential employers, and network with complementary businesses.

Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” We believe this is the key to success. That’s why we strive to help all our graduates find success and continue to support and mentor them even after they complete our course. 

If you’re interested in this opportunity, contact Ricky Ortega at (951) 972-3654. 

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach

214-206-1169

www.brooketraining.com

Know Your Customers

The best way to be responsive to your customers is to know them.  As you work with a shipper you get to know the way they go about business.  You can then anticipate when they need your assistance in shipping.   You will know their busy season and when they slow down.  You can then gear up ahead of time knowing you will be working hard that season.  You can also hopefully enjoy the break when things are slow. 

The freight broker should act as an extension of a customer's shipping department.  As you work with a customer over time, trust should develop and grow.  Trust is critical in building a long history with a client.  Prices can be negotiated but trust cannot.  Once a trust is broken it is almost impossible to rebuild that relationship, in business as in life.

Learn about a customer's business.  The more knowledgeable you are about what they do the more you will have to discuss with them when you interact.  That knowledge will help you know how to best meet their shipping needs.

Some customers may become friends, fishing or golfing buddies.  Over time I have become true friends with some of my customers.

It is a great time to be in the transportation industry.  It is a great time to start building relationships.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach
214-206-1169
www.brooketraining.com

Congrats on Starting Exciting New Careers!

We had another successful class this month full of motivated and hard-working individuals. With the help of our expert instructors, they are now ready to take on their exciting new careers as freight brokers! They described the course valuable, motivating, encouraging, and informative. They also acknowledged the valuable contacts they received for potential employment. Read their full testimonials here:

“Overall experience was great. Instructor was very patient and went through the material

thoroughly....Fundamental concepts of becoming a Broker and/or agent was very clear. Instructor's knowledge and experience was concise to the material at hand.”  

- B. Molina

“I've learned very valuable information from class such as how a broker and agent work and what makes them different. How to get customers knocking on doors, making calls, going to events.... Learning about different equipments and insurances they must have etc.”   

“Instructor shows a lot of enthusiasm/passion about his job, gets me motivated into reaching for my goals in this industry. Great advisor & Instructor! Can't wait to get out...in this industry!” 

- S. Johnson 

“I was very pleased taking this course. I felt motivated and encouraged. The instructor was very knowledgeable. The material is very helpful and understandable.  Thank-you Brooke!” 

- M. Panchame

“The training was very informative and provided a lot of insight on logistics. There was also a lot of contacts given for potential employment.” 

- Alexis Khamphavong 

“My week of the training course was very informative. I really like the way the school used different individuals to bring out and focus on what is needed to get started as well as succeed in this business.” 

- Bee Khamphavong

“Coming into this I had absolutely no knowledge of the freight broker business. With the help of Drake Sliver and Tish Cozine, I now understand the basics. Both instructors were very knowledgeable and had no problem going into depth. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in the freight broker industry. Thanks guys!” 

- Javaria Owens 

Have you ever considered starting a career as a freight broker? Join us at one of our upcoming live classes or take our online course from the comfort of your home. Feel free to call me today if you have any questions or would like to discuss your future (214) 206-1169

Moving Forward,

Jeff Roach

www.brooketraining.com