Back solicitation done right

Freight Broker

Freight Broker

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Sep 12, 2009
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This morning I had a carrier call me to ask if it would be okay for them to contact my customer to set up with them direct. I told him I had no problem with it, and thanks for asking. They've been running a steady lane for me for about three months now.. very steady.. same commodity.. same weight.. same destination.. same everything, and I saw the writing on the wall awhile ago. But I really didn't expect them to approach me first.. very professional. And I'd use them again for other stuff in a heartbeat.
 
Was the carrier in the contract not to solicit your customer for at least one year if doing regular lane, this is not right in my view unless your customer wants to connect with the carrier directly.
 
Not sure I agree with you on this one freight Broker. Calling a carrier Very Professional because he TOLD you he was going to deal directly with your customer doesn't sound very professional. Not knowing all the details, i will not ask who the carrier is, however if you are providing them with steady business on a lane and everyone is happy, why to cut you out? If that business has been lost and has gone to another carrier / broker , then i can see your point.
 
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I see your points.. ostensibly they want to cut me out as they want my cut as well as theirs.. Anyway.. this whole thing got weirder since my original post: shipper called me before noon to advise that my supplier had approached him directly. Shipper turned the carrier down.. they want to continue working with me.. I do other stuff for them as well. I'm cool with that.. Shipper says he doesn't want to deal with 50 different suppliers.. he has diverse lanes and wants to limit himself to a handful of carriers and brokers. So the long and short of it.. carrier is going to continue to work through me on these loads. They don't seem too happy about it.. but it is what the end customer wants. They should be happy though.. I pay them in 15 days verses the shipper's 40 days to pay..
 
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Good for you. It's good to know that some customers still show business ethics and still value having relationships with a carrier / broker over the cost of saving a few pennies. As for the carrier in question, he would be put on my DNU list ASAP. I don't really care how you dress it up, he still back solicited you and your company.
Just my 2 cents.
 
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I think you're right Madbooker.. from their end the relationship has certainly become more strained.. I can tell just by talking to them. Son of a gun..and it was going so smoothly too. Why mess with a good thing when there are so many real problems to deal with.
 
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Freight Broker: In this case, you let your customer down because you allowed outsider come in btw without your customer's consent. I hope your carrier didn't tell your customer or shipper that you allowed them to cut you off and deal directly. As MADBROOKER said good for you that you have such customers. It clearly shows your customer doesn't like to deal with suppliers and that's why he or she chooses you.
 
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If we go back to your original post, Freightbroker, I don't agree with the carrier on this one. We do steady work for a particular broker and the thought would absolutely never, ever occur to me to cut that broker out and go straight to the shipper. I don't see anything professional about this at all on their part.
 
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I guess the carrier did think enough of me to ask first.. that part of it I appreciate. Would be worse to find out on the fly that carrier is now dealing direct with the shipper. From the shipper's point of view saying no made sense also.. they weren't going to save anyhting by adding one more carrier/supplier.. same service levle and price but now with one more carrier. Didn't make sense from their standpoint either.
 
It isn't the lack of a moral compass that disturbs me the most about those who participate in back solicitation. Some people are just born without them I suppose. Rather it is the sheer laziness of those who feel it is so much easier to steal your business partner's customer, than to do the hard work of identifying, developing and securing your own. Hiring the right sales people, training and nurturing them for months, all the while paying them before they can successfully land their first account.......oh Hell, too much trouble, let's just back door that broker we've been dealing with! Scandalous!!!
 
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... wow... where is " if carriers would be honest with brokers - life would be much easier" ...
Your COSTUMER went behind your back and contact carrier directly without asking you first. However you blaming carrier for being honest and respectful (as you said he DID call YOU) but now he will be on DNU because of your costumer behavior.
Typical broker to carrier relationship. Let's all blame on carrier because costumer screwed up again.
I have only 1 question to Freight Broker: What would've you do being in your carrier's shoes?
 
ZoCNK. As per his original post, Customer never contacted the carrier.
Carrier in question asked Freight broker if he could go to customer directly. BIG difference. No offence to you FreightBroker, however you telling carrier that would be OK was a huge mistake.
If one of my carriers ever called me and asked me that,. I would say you are free to try, however our relationship would come to a sudden stop if they acted .
 
Gee.... I had to re-read freightbrokers post to see if I missed what ZoCNX is talking about. Got to be honest with you, nowhere do I see mentioned that the customer contacted the carrier behind the broker's back. To the contrary, when the customer received the call from the carrier, the first thing they did was say " no thank you" and the second thing they did was call Freightbroker. Wait a minute, I am going to re-re-read the original post one more time before I hit post reply. No, still don't see what you're on about ZoCNX.....sorry.
 
MADBOOKER said:
ZoCNK. As per his original post, Customer never contacted the carrier.
Carrier in question asked Freight broker if he could go to customer directly. BIG difference. No offence to you FreightBroker, however you telling carrier that would be OK was a huge mistake.
If one of my carriers ever called me and asked me that,. I would say you are free to try, however our relationship would come to a sudden stop if they acted .
Click to expand...
... OMG... yes you right.... 100% put this carrier on DNU
 
LOL... you always a good guys for me, BUT sometimes you need to be reminded "to behave!" ;) clockwise for us - carrier
 
LOL... you always a good guys for me, BUT sometimes you need to be reminded "to behave!" ;) clockwise for us - carriers
 
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