Training as a Freight Agent. USA Transportation Logistics LLC

Transcription

1 All Gave Some, Some Gave All Training as a Freight Agent USA Transportation Logistics LLC USA Transportation Logistics LLC 302 Osborne Street Union, SC training@usatransportationlogistics.com Recruiting: ext. 5 Training: ext P a g e

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Is Becoming A Freight Agent Right For You? 3 II. About USA Transportation Logistics LLC 5 III. Training & Price 5 IV. Course Syllabus 6 V. Program fee and Commission Pay 7 VI. Programs and Load Boards 7 VII. Company / Phone Extension 8 VIII. Documents to get started 8 IX. What you need for your home office 9 X. Hours of Operation 9 XI. Non Activity of an Agent 9 XII. Leaving the Company 10 XIII. Duties of a Freight Agent 10 XIV. FAQ 11 XV Ready, Set, Go 13 2 P a g e

3 I. Is Becoming A Freight Agent Right For You? This questionnaire has been put together in order to help you understand the makeup of a successful freight agent. Since we want to see you successful, we put this questionnaire together to help guide you in making the right decision. If being a freight agent is for you, we stand ready to assist you in becoming one of the best freight agents in the U.S. IT S ALL UP TO YOU! Choose the answers below that you feel best describes how you feel about yourself. 1. Do you work well alone? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 2. Are you a good detail person? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 3. Do you like negotiating? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 4. Do you have a source of income that can sustain you while building your new business? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 5. Are you good at reading maps/distances? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 6. Do you like doing paperwork? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 7. Are you able to set goals and meet them? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 8. Would you like to be your own boss? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 9. Can you meet deadlines? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 10. Are you a good learner? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 11. Do you like sales work? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 12. Do you always have to be told what to do? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 13. Can you work quickly when it is needed? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 14. Can you make quick decisions? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 3 P a g e

4 15. Would you like to learn how to sell better? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 16. Do you like talking to total strangers? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 17. Do you consider yourself a people person? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 18. Do you like to sharpen your skills? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 19. Are you productive at what you do? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 20. Do you want to own your own business? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 21. Do you like looking for answers to questions? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 22. Do you want to satisfy those you work with? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 23. Do you plan ahead? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 24. Are you good at multi-tasking? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 25. Do you work well under pressure? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 26. Are you willing to work hard? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 27. Are you ready for a better than average income? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 28. Do you like having to deal with changes? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 29. Does your family support you in your decisions? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 30. Are you ready to make a career change? Never Sometimes Often Always Love it 31. Are you proficient on a computer? Yes No If not, this job is not for you, or take a computer class. 4 P a g e

5 II. About USA Transportation Logistics LLC USA Transportation Logistics LLC was formed to provide Individuals a way to get a start into the Freight Agent/Broker Business with little or no experience. Most Freight Brokerages will not hire new agents; normally an Agent needs to have 2 years experience and a book of business before a company will even consider taking an agent into their company. Here at USA Transportation Logistics LLC we see the need to help individuals who want to become a Freight Agent or Broker, therefore we developed a program to get your business up and running. We have recently become an agency of LandStar, which has opened up numerous opportunities for building your business, with the power of the star you can build a very successful business. Even agents that have spent thousands of dollars for training at other companies soon find out that the companies they are given to contact after training will not hire you. So much for their GAURANTEED PLACEMENT instead you heard Two years experience and a book of business. Our Program is unlike any other company, we are willing to take on new agents, and everyone has to start somewhere and we are willing to give you the chance that no other Companies will give you. Please note, we teach you how to be a freight agent, we do not teach you how to use a computer, you must know how to work efficiently on a computer, know how to draft proper s, how to attach documents to an , how to open documents from an , you must know how to make files on your computer and how to put documents into the correct files. You must know how to navigate the internet, your computer and programs. You must know how to edit documents and insert data. If you are not proficient on a computer we suggest taking a class through your local college or library before continuing. Please if you do not know these tasks on a computer do not continue with the process of becoming an agent it involves a lot of computer work. We are partnering up with LandStar which will mean that we will have assets Trucks available for our loads. We will also be able to provide Customers with extra trailers if you have a customer that does preloading, which opens up more opportunities of gaining customers and more loads. There is over 53,000 trucks in the system. III. Training & Price Our Training consists of 1 week of Live Webinars (Sales Training is 4 Fridays), your first class and last class will be approximately 5 hours, the rest of the webinars are approximately 1 hour and the webinars are available to repeat if needed. After, you learn the basics you can expand your education to include specialty fields such as LTL, Heavy Hauling, Border Crossing and HazMat all included in your original training cost. You will also receive the Freight Broker Manual, an extensive training manual for self-study on the Freight Broker Business including laws & regulations and it is followed up with an online final exam which must be passed with 75% or higher to receive your Certificate of Completion. The cost for our course is $350.00; this is one of the lowest prices you will find and one of the only ones that are live classes that you can attend from the comfort of your own home. After training you are still guided and supported with on-going help as long as you need it with your assigned Instructor & Mentor. 5 P a g e

6 We run background checks on all applicants, there is a lot of fraud in this business so unfortunately we find it necessary to have to run these checks, we verify name, address, social security and national criminal check. The fee for this check is $25.00 and must be paid at the time you turn in your documents. IV. Course Syllabus First Basic Freight Agent Training w/instructor & Mentor LEADS Certification LandStar 101 Certification LEADS Tutorial MyLandStarAgent.com training LandStarOnline.com & LOSM Rating Resources Training MyLandStarAgent.com Rating Resources Training LEADS System Review Carrier Capacity Relations Sales Training - 4 Parts - 1 each Friday Part Two Basic - Getting Customers w/instructor & Mentor LEADS Enhancement 2015 USA Training Page Videos LTL Training Intermodal Training Heavy Haul Freight Broker Manual Study & Test 6 P a g e

7 V. Program fee and Commission Pay We do charge a low monthly Program fee of $140.00, this covers all the programs and software used in the daily business operations and helps with administration costs which helps to be able to take on agents with no experience and no book of business, the normal cost if you were to get these programs on your own would cost you $ per month, other Companies charge anywhere from $ $ per month. You can also choose to add Shipper Mate Directory and system for $25.00 per month, normal cost on your own is $ per year. You do not have to pay for a whole year. We understand that starting a business can be costly so we have kept our program as low as possible. Where can you start and run your own business and it only cost $ a month? Don t forget that these costs and fees are tax deductible. The Program fee is a monthly service that is provided by the Vendors of the programs and they charge this monthly fee to use their programs. These programs are a necessity of this business without them you cannot move any loads and build your business. As an agent you are paid 60% of the net margin of each load that is paid to the company that you move and complete that is your own customer. Each year you are with the company you will receive a 5% increase in your commission topping out at 75%. If it is one of our customer s load you are paid 40% of the net margin of the load, there is no increase on moving the company s customer loads. Commission varies on LTL, Intermodal and Air/Ocean loads. You will be given a commission schedule with your contract. We pay 1 week after each load is marked completed in the Dispatch Software. All accounting is done in the main office, you are not responsible for the accounting. The income possibilities are limitless in this business. You truly get out of this business what you put into this business. What you put into building your business is what you will get out of it. You must understand this is not a get rich quick business it is a business that takes time to grow. This business is truly based on your willingness, diligence and time you put into your business, Rome was not built in a day. VI. Programs and Load Boards Program Price to get yourself Through the Company Internet TruckStop Load Board Pro Package $ per month DAT Load Board & Rate Calculator Gold Package $ per month Get Loaded Combo Elite Package $ per month MacroPoint Tracking $5.00 per load Total (without MacroPoint) $ $ per mo. 7 P a g e

8 DAT Load Board: This is one of the load boards and truck searches we use. We also can search loads and get rates. Truck Stop: This is one of the load boards and truck searches we use. We also can search loads and get rates. Plus Rate Mate. MacroPoint Tracking: 3rd party freight tracking software for brokers & 3pls eliminate check calls with automated location tracking software. MacroPoint provides instant visibility into which loads are on time, behind schedule, or in trouble. Offering validated shipping updates, off-schedule monitoring, and arrival and departure detection, our automated freight tracking software delivers the real-time insights today s brokers and 3PLs need to manage 3rd party drivers. Charge of $5.00 per load is paid by the company. Company Toll free number and Extension: Each agent receives an extension number for the company toll free line; the extension will ring through to whatever phone the agent desires to use. Company Address: Each agent receives a Company address, which can be used either on the web server or can be used with a mail program such as Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird. USA Transportation Logistics LLC reserves the right to add or change programs as necessary, but please know if any changes occur with the programs they would be changed because we replaced a program with one that will be better than one we are currently using,. New technology comes out all the time so we are always looking at programs that will help agents even greater than previous programs. VII. Company / Phone Extension You will be set up with a company address and a toll free company phone number and extension number. You will need an program to set up your company address such as MS Outlook, Outlook Express, and Mozilla Thunderbird. You will need to set up a voic for your extension on the company s toll free number. The Company phone number will ring to whatever phone number you designate in your agent profile. VIII. Documents to get started We require New Agents to complete the following documents: New Agent Profile Broker Agent Contract New Agent Training Contract W9 - Independent Contractor Background Check ($25.00 fee) 8 P a g e

9 IX. What you need for your home office The items you need to run this business, you will need to have these in place to start: Computer Skills, extremely important we do not have computer training. You must have skills and Microsoft office, along with PDF. The heart of this business is your computer and telephone. Computer/Printer Phone with unlimited long distance; also we suggest a smart phone for when you are away from your office. Microsoft Office (complete program with Outlook) Ability to FAX, either a standard fax machine hooked to a telephone line or an online program. The office actually has two Magic Jack lines one for telephone and one for FAX, it runs us $60.00 a year for both. An online fax program alone will run you at least $90.00 a year. A regular phone line with your cable company or phone company can cost you as much as $ a year. X. Hours of Operation The main office normal operating days and hours are Monday Friday 8:00 am 4:00 pm EST. We observe the following holidays: New Year s Eve, New Year s Day, Martin Luther King s Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran s Day, Thanksgiving Day and Weekend, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day. Normally there is someone in the office beyond those stated days and hours and you will also be given specific phone numbers and contact information during training. There will normally be someone available to help you 24/7 should there be any emergencies on loads. As an agent, if you are moving a load you will need to be available 24/7 in case there is an emergency with your load. At the least you must be able to receive phone calls and s. XI. Non Activity of an Agent If the Agent is not heard from in 30 days, the Agent will be dropped and no longer able to work under the Licensing and Insurance of USA Transportation Logistics, LLC. All the Agents accounts will be canceled. and program logins will be deleted and any contracts with USA Transportation Logistics, LLC are null and void. Also, if you re monthly Program fee not be paid on its due date all accounts will be immediately suspended until it is paid. If you have any customer accounts they revert to the company. 9 P a g e

10 XII. Leaving the Company Should an Agent wish to leave the company and gives a 30 day notice and does not owe any outstanding fees, all shipper and carrier accounts the Agent obtained while working under USA Transportation Logistics, LLC are theirs to take with them when proper notice is given. You worked hard getting your accounts and we feel if you are to give proper notice you deserve to keep your accounts. Many other brokers require agents to sign a non-compete contract, we do not feel that is fair to the hard working agent. XIII. Duties of a Freight Agent Develop and maintain FTL (Full Truck Loads) business throughout North America and Canada To prospect for shipper leads to build a pipeline of customers, including heavy cold-calling. Manage accounts to retain existing relationships and grow share of business. Succeed at heavy price and service negotiation with customers and carriers. Develop and maintain a strong carrier portfolio according to the carrier selection criteria. Use both traditional and electronic communication tools to make contact with prospective, current and former customers. Create quotations and sales proposals for company services. Independently generate new sales revenue for your business. Translate business opportunities into incremental revenues through strong selling. Manage multiple projects simultaneously with a sense of urgency. Maintain and update accurate information in the company's operating systems. Understand and support the goals, policies and procedures of USA Transportation Logistics. Maintain confidentiality of company information. In summary, being a Freight Agent consists of obtaining accounts of Customers (Shippers and Manufacturers) and gains their business (Loads). Finding trucks to haul your loads. Doing all paperwork and dispatch responsibilities in the movement of the freight from pickup to delivery, receiving all documents pertaining to the load making sure your load was delivered safe and sound. You must be available 24/7, especially if you are moving a load in case there is an emergency with the load. It doesn t mean you have to be in your office at all times you just have to be able to be contacted. There are basically two sides to this business: 10 P a g e

11 1. To obtain and build customers and their loads. 2. Search available Carriers to carry your loads. XIV. FAQ s 1. What is a Property Broker? A Property Broker is the term established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division of the United States Department of Transportation, to describe licensed individuals, or companies, who help make a shipper and an authorized carrier successful in the transporting of freight. 2. What are the requirements of an FMCSA Property Broker? Each company or entity is required to obtain a "surety bond" in the amount of $75, with an approved bank or insurance company, and maintain "process service" agents in all 48 contiguous states. In order to get a Property Broker License you must show at least 2 years experience and evidence of training, there is a new law that will be implicated in the near future that you will also have to pass a written test. 3. What is a surety bond? Each company or entity must prove they are capable of paying the various truck lines, airlines, railroads, or any other entity being used by the broker. An individual's credit, and/or financial strength, is investigated with extreme thoroughness. Only then is a "bond" issued. Accordingly, if for some reason the broker fails to pay the transportation company, the bonding company must pay. As you can imagine, the bonding company is very careful about who they insure. 4. Is this a growing sector of the transportation industry? As of this writing, there are over 14,000 licensed transportation brokers in the United States of which only 50% are operating in a full time manner. Freight Brokers accounted for over 10%, around $60 billion, in revenues from the Transportation Industry. In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal reported "transportation brokerage, and logistics" as the fastest growing segment of the transportation industry. 5. Does a brokerage company carry cargo and liability insurance to protect its clients' interests? By law, a broker is not required to carry cargo or liability insurance. 6. What do I need to get started? If you want to become an Agent, you will need a computer with Microsoft Office or if you have a Mac the equivalent of Microsoft Office, telephone, and fax machine 7. Can I work from home? YES! It is a great place to start your small business and will keep your expenses down. 11 P a g e

12 8. How long will it take for my business to become profitable? This is a relationship business and relationships take time to develop. Typically it will take 2-6 months to show a profit, but it has been accomplished in less time and in more time. You can generate revenue as soon as you become an agent. Your success depends on many factors, including your level of determination, your attention to detail, and your genuine desire to help your CUSTOMERS succeed. 9. What is the difference between a Broker and an Agent? A Broker owns his/her own company and must obtain all of his/her own legal documents to get started. An Agent works for an established Broker under the Broker's legal documents. It is typically an allcommission position. 11. How long has your brokerage office been open? USA Transportation Logistics LLC opened January We are a smaller Brokerage but the business was started in order to help people that want to get into the Freight Brokering field. Almost every existing company requires 2 years experience and for you to have an established book of business but there are not very many companies that will give someone the opportunity to get those qualifications, so we opened our doors in order to provide that opportunity to individuals. The owner has been an agent for different brokerages for 7 years and previously a Truck Driver. 12. How much money can I expect to make? As a full-time Broker or Agent, you can make anywhere from $40,000 to well over $150,000 after you have developed you client database. As time goes on, and you continue to secure customers, your revenue will also grow. You set your own limits. I must let you know there are no guarantees in this business as we cannot control what effort you put into growing your business. 13. What is freight factoring? With Freight Factoring we give a trucking company quick cash for accounts receivables. Pay drivers and expenses in 48 hours... we collect from your customer in the customary 30 days. This is an excellent way to stabilize working capital and boost your company's cash flow. This is not a bank type loan. This is an alternative to traditional bank lending and is especially important in the current economic climate. Factoring is an effective financing tool used by both small business and many Fortune 500 companies. 14. How long does it take to get started? It depends on you; you can be set up in as little a day or two. It is based on when you get your documents completed and your Program fee paid. 12 P a g e

13 IX. Ready, Set, Go If you are now ready to bring a new era in your life and wish to become a Freight Agent follow these instructions to get started: 1. Go to our website and fill out the application (If you have not already done so) Call us after reviewing this booklet and we can go over any other questions you may have. 3. We then send out the documents that need to be filled out to get you set up and we will give you a link to pay the background check. 4. After the documents and background check are complete we will then send you a PayPal Invoice for the class and a subscription link to set up your Monthly Program fee for your programs, or you can purchase your monthly programs at full price directly from the providers, Internet TruckStop, DAT Transcore, Get Loaded and MacroPoint. 5. After the invoice is paid for your class and the program link set up your place in the class is reserved and your accounts will be set up. 6. After you complete the first class you will begin working on the following Monday putting to use what you learned in the first class, after the second class you will be ready to start your new career and building your business. In conclusion, there are Freight Agents and Brokers that have been in this industry anywhere from years and there s a reason they are in it for such a long time, but please be aware it takes time and investment to build your business. Think about it. 13 P a g e