Freight broker training - from courses to coaching and consulting, there’s tons of products and solutions out there for anyone looking to launch their career in the freight brokering world. What do you need, what will you learn, and finally what do we recommend?
People are flocking to the logistics field as entrepreneurs, and they want training to help them succeed. If you’ve looked into training options for freight brokers and want to know what’s what, this video is for you. First, please make sure to like this video, subscribe to our channel, and hit the little bell icon to be notified when we release new videos.
What Training is Required
As crazy as it might sound, there’s absolutely no requirement for training or a certification in order to be a freight broker. Stock brokers and insurance brokers need a certification, so why don’t freight brokers? It's not a crazy question. The only real requirement is to be granted a legal operating authority, which requires a few steps, and you can learn more about that in our other videos.
Even though you don’t need to be trained or certified, you’ll likely fall flat on your face if you have no direction or idea of how this job works. This is exactly why there’s a plethora of broker training courses offered from various sources. The problem here is this: how do I know what one to take if I decide to take one?
What to Look For?
First of all, make sure you find a program that is reputable and taught by experienced individuals that are part of the freight brokering industry. For example at Freight 360, we created the Freight Broker Basics Course in conjunction with DAT, an industry leader in freight broker technology and software. Between our knowledge and their industry reputation as a leader, we bring quality education from qualified sources. The same can be said about the TIA, or Transportation Intermediaries Association and their solutions for new brokers. Make sure you consider the source when it comes to your training. You might find some random guy or gal is selling a course, but how do you know if they are actually credible or not? You don’t and they probably aren’t.
What Will You Learn?
Your training should walk you through all of the basics of doing the job of a freight broker. This includes getting setup, prospecting customers, actually doing the job, and finally the admin tasks that go on in the background. We structured our course to meet this exactly, but we go into way more depth than most. First we walk you through freight brokering at a 101 level and show you how to set up your company and get licensed. Then we walk you through the customer acquisition process and how to quote shippers and win business. We explain the process for finding carriers to haul loads as well as everything you’ll need to know about trucking companies from how they operate, what equipment they have, and what they want in a good broker or shipment. We wrap it all up with a section on the back office admin tasks that happen in the background like invoicing, paying carriers, and hiring team members. It’s an all-inclusive journey that gives you the foundations to grow on if you decide to move forward with starting your freight broker business.
What Else Do I Need?
Training without follow-on guidance can be useless. Simply reading a book or taking a course won’t make you an expert on anything. That’s where the majority of freight broker training courses fail - they don’t offer any coaching or support while you take the course or after you complete it. Having a coach or mentor that works in the industry is a must have if you want to succeed and grow. It doesn’t matter if you do 1-on-1 coaching with an expert or take part in a group coaching session, continuing education and learning from others is key to your success in this business. Learn from those that have made the mistakes before you. Ask them what to do when you run into an issue for the first time - they’ve likely ran into it themselves before. That’s exactly why we launched coaching sessions for our members, and the feedback has been phenomenal. We give every one of our course students a free month of coaching to see if it’s a good fit for them. Some stick with it, and others decide that this career just isn’t for them. At the end of the day, you’ve got to really put the hard work in to succeed in the job, and it can be a tough first six months when you get started. That’s why we created this community and continue to share free content at your request. We want to share our knowledge and answer your questions as you navigate this career choice.
