Looking For Volunteers 2

[teacel]

I am starting a new thread! The topic is the same. It is a continuance of the first topic I wrote on 01/16/02.

In the many years of participating on this forum and others, I have learned ‘simple’ is the best way to go. In fact ‘simple’ will be the theme of this project. 40 replies is a lot thank you! But it is also a deterrence for some. Some would rather not read and/or scroll to the bottom; some have a difficult time finding the posts that land within the center of the other replies. Taking all my experience into consideration I thought it best to start a second thread.

First, I want to thank Rich, and Packmule for attempting to defuse the contract debate in the original thread. With each reply I read pertaining to the contract issue, a sigh of relief came from within. I also want to thank Leo for starting a new thread - topic 'CONTRACTS' Please visit the contract debate [link:www.expeditersonline.com/dcforum/DCForumID1/3580.html|click here!]

Although I believe ATeam about contracts being an issue, this thread isn’t about contracts. Maybe he can include or touch on it in the article he is writing about business plans, or shelf it as a potential next series of articles. This project is about putting together a list of questions for those thinking about entering into expediting to aid in their research.

I may very well end up writing a piece on "How to Research the Expediting Industry," as ATeam suggested, only if ATeam is my editor!
ATeam wrote, “This is the technique Diane and I used when we researched the industry. We talked not to just one carrier recruiter, but several; reviewed not just one contract but several; interviewed not just one fleet owner, but about two-dozen; talked not just to a couple drivers, but many.â€
Those techniques mentioned above came after you already made up your mind to become expediters. Did it not? BTW! I would love to get my hands on a copy of your notes to aid us in this project.
What and how did you decide to talk to recruiters, review contracts, and interview fleet owners?
Didn’t you meet and talk to drivers before you did all the above?
What were some of the questions you ask these drivers you met?
How did you hear about expediting?
How did your react when you learned what an expediter was?
Those steps you took right after you thought about the possibility of becoming an expediter are those I’m looking to build on.

Keep in mind not everyone’s skills are equal. While some are computer literate others are not. While some may be internet knowledgeable surfers who read news groups, forum posts everywhere, and can surf the net with ease, many don’t even know there is an archive on this site full of priceless information on expediting.

How to research ‘finding the right fleet owner’, once a person makes up his mind to become an expediter, and lease on with an owner may also be a sequel to this project. BUT! This project is geared towards compiling a list of 25, 50, 75 or as many as possible questions. Questions we think may aid anyone looking into and learning about expediting. Once a person learns an ‘expediter’ isn’t ‘just a big-truck driver’, that there is a very big difference between the two, it becomes appealing. Appealing to many people from all different walks of life; from the unskilled to the professional white-collar worker and everyone in between. I am volunteering to make this list of questions to aid someone thinking of becoming an expediter. So those thinking about becoming an expediter have questions, some with suggested answers, and opinions, based on successful experienced expediters (Yes! – even those with 1 or 2 yrs). Success is the key! Therefore making it easier for someone entering into this sector of trucking. Hopefully they will use these questions as an aid to research the expediting industry, so to make a sound decision.

Looking back at the first topic #3571 ‘Looking For Volunteers’ there were excellent replies from earnest members. BTW! I received 26 PM’s of which only 2 were of negative influence. Of the 26 members who sent me a PM, even with 2 expressing doubt, all 26 offer to help see this project through.
That my friend is what I call caring expediters!

If you have not yet thought of the questions you ask someone when you entered into or when you were deciding to become an expediter, please take a minute or 2 and write them down, send them to me in a PM. [link:www.expeditersonline.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=send_mesg&userid=teacel|CLICK HERE] to send me a PM, that list of 1 or 100 questions you think may help someone entering into expediting. Please don’t worry about duplicating what someone else may have written. I’ll do the worrying!
What are some of the questions someone you met at a truck stop or on the road ask you in regards to them becoming an expediter?

I will post a list in this thread of some of the questions suggested so far. Please don’t take offence if I don’t credit someone for a particular question, for I am not going to post the names of those who sent me a PM. You know who you are. Some ask that I respect their anonymity therefore I will respect all. Remember members, I can’t do this alone, and I need help from all of you.

PS!!!!
Leaving for Denver, be back /Monday.
Go Steelers!

 

[ATeam]

>ATeam wrote, “This is the technique Diane and I used when
>we researched the industry. We talked not to just one
>carrier recruiter, but several; reviewed not just one
>contract but several; interviewed not just one fleet owner,
>but about two-dozen; talked not just to a couple drivers,
>but many.â€
>Those techniques mentioned above came after you already made
>up your mind to become expediters. Did it not?

We got bit by the trucking bug in December, 2002, or January, 2003, (don't recall the exact date) when a friend gave us our first-ever ride in a big truck. We used the internet and visits to truck stops to research trucking but did not learn of expediting until we happened upon the Freightliner of Knoxville and ExpeditersOnline booth at the March, 2003, Mid America Trucking show in Louisville.

Up to that point, we knew trucking interested us but big-rig driving had two many down sides to draw us in. When we discovered expediting, we knew by the end of that day that we'd be quitting our jobs to jump in; which we did in August, 2003.

Knowing that we would not be big-rig drivers enabled us to focus our research. We stopped learning about dry vans, flat beds, and other aspects of big truck driving and instead zeroed in on expediting carriers, truck types, fleet owners, license requirements, etc.

BTW! I would
>love to get my hands on a copy of your notes to aid us in
>this project.

Sorry. Those notes are long gone. There was nothing in them that folks in your group do not already know.

>What and how did you decide to talk to recruiters, review
>contracts, and interview fleet owners?

It was our good luck to happen on the EO booth at the truck show early in the show. We dedicated an entire day to talking to people in the expediting booths elsewhere in the show. We walked out of MATS with two shopping bags full of literature, including recruiting packets and sample leases from every expediting carrier at the show.

As we reviewed that material at home, the carrier leases became uninteresting to us when we decided to begin not as owner/operators but in a fleet owner's truck. Our task then became to find and interview fleet owners. The EO Free Classifieds became our gold mine. We also got fleet owner referrals from some of the recruiters we talked to.

We next wrote up a one page letter of introduction designed to develop fleet owner interest in us. I'd call a prospective fleet owner, ask permission to fax our letter to him or her, and invited the owner to call us back if there was interest. Every one of them called.

We asked the same questions all newbies ask, startring with "How much money can we make?" We later learned a more productive question was "How much money does your best truck earn?" It's easier for a fleet owner to talk about his or her own fleet numbers than it is to speculate on the earning potential of someone that calls out of the blue.

We'd also ask fleet owners to talk about the differences between their most productive and least productive drivers. Their answers told us how to be the kind of drivers carriers and fleet owners seek.

We saw a pattern after about two dozen interviews; namely, FedEx Custom Critical White Glove trucks do better than most others. White Glove became our goal, and we interviewed only White Glove fleet owners from that point forward.

FedEx also appealed to us because it was a familar brand name. In our white collar professions we used Federal Express for overnight letters. In our peer group, FedEx has an outstanding reputation. We knew when the time came to tell our friends and family that we were walking away from our white collar professions to become truckers, telling them we'd be driving with FedEx would help them understand we had not gone completely off our rocker.

Our research taught us that FedEx Custom Critical runs nationwide while some other expediting carriers run mostly east. Since seeing the country was one of our expediting goals, choosing a national carrier made sense.

>Didn’t you meet and talk to drivers before you did all the
>above?

It was a truck driver that got us interested in the first place. We met and talked to drivers before and after we decided on expediting.

>What were some of the questions you ask these drivers you
>met?

I embarrassed myself with the first questions I asked because I did not know what to ask. But I asked away just the same and eventually figured out which questions yielded the most information. The best was, "If you had it to do over again, what would you do different?"

>How did you hear about expediting?

MATS truck show, 2003. See above.

>How did your react when you learned what an expediter was?

We decided that day to become expediters. I did not sleep for two nights and poured over expediting information instead. My productivity at work dropped to near zero as I spent my time devouring the ExpeditersOnline.com web site. I was bursting at the seams with enthusiasm for this new career opportunity.

>Those steps you took right after you thought about the
>possibility of becoming an expediter are those I’m looking
>to build on.

Hope this gives you what you are looking for.

 

[RichM]

Looks like someone is going to enjoy a flight home from Denver

 

[highway star]

The wheels on The Bus go round and round...

 

[ATeam]

Teacel,

An additional set of questions came to mind for your list. They have to do not with the industry but the propsective expediter.

Note: If you are not becoming an expediter to make money, but for non-financial reasons instead (break even and enjoy paid tourism, do something different just for the fun of it, help out a friend who owns a truck, flee troubles at home, fulfill a truck-driving fantasy, prove to others you can do it, etc.), skip questions 1, 2, and 3. Proceed to question 4.


1. Some people spend many years even decades in the industry and end up with little or nothing to show for their trouble. Others retire wealthy out of the industry and can look back on a fulfilling career. What kind of expediter do you want to be?

2. If you wish to retire wealthy out of the industry, do you know how to do it?

3. If you don't know how to do it, what steps will you take today and tomorrow to figure it out?

Shifting a bit beyond money,

4. Other than earn money, what do you hope to accomplish as an expediter? In other words, what are your goals and how do you intend to achieve them?

Expediter wannabees that have clear answers to these questions before they jump in are miles ahead of those who do not.

 

[teacel]

GO STEELERS

GO STEELERS!!!​

See ya all in the Motor City.

My head is still pounding! I need a day or 2 of R&R. Please endure my lack of participation till then. After I can think without it hurting, I will get back to the Questions thread.

BTW, I want to take a minute to thanks everyone for setting aside our differences and joining in for the sake of those new to be expediters. You all have given me a priceless amount of information and questions to work with.

 

[teacel]

Now that I got over that game in Denver, lets get back to work here.

ATeam thanks for posting those replies will be a great help.

I noticed a long time member is asking some valid questions about driving for an owner. DooWop, has been around this forum for 3 or 4 years, isn't a driver as yet, now needs some help in hoping to find the right owner to drive for. Can we go to that thread and help him out?

The other thing I wanted to bring to the group is... What are your thoughts on not picking a committee to screen the questions?
I thought we could all be the committee. I will soon post a question or 2, 3, or 4,and hopefully receive feed back from all those willing to voice an opinion, in the thread or via a PM to me as some do want to keep their anonymity.