Do you know how many times I’ve heard “WOW” from a potential client? To put it in perspective, I could be on a secluded white sand beach, lounging in a beach chair and sipping freshly squeezed lemonade, if I got paid for each time someone’s said it.
JZ, not to be confused with The Jay-Z, said it best when he wrote in his review about my car shipping services, “Wow, what a learning curve for the average Joe. This industry is pretty tricky.”
Talk about hitting the nail on the head, he was right. The car shipping industry is tricky, but when I get through with you, you will be ready to combat anything that is thrown at you. No broker will be able to tell you this “little white lie” that seems to plague our industry.
When I started in this business, I asked myself, Ashley, what are you getting yourself into? How can an honest, caring person make a name for themselves in an industry where it has become the norm to trick, misinformed and to literally rob everyday, hardworking people like you without a gun?
Worst, they actually get away with it. There’s a saying that rings so true, “Its highway robbery.”
So what is this dirty little white lie?
I am going to go on the assumption that you have researched or requested a quote from a car shipping company before. If you haven’t just Google auto transport and start reading. Then come back to this post.
Okay, so hopefully now we are on the same page. I’m confident that you have heard the SALESPERSON say to you,
“You know Insert Your Name Here, {that’s if you are lucky enough to get a salesperson who will actually call you by your name}, the thing that separates us from everyone else is that we have preferred drivers that we use to move your car.”
Or maybe you’re on their website and you see this:
“Through our vast network of over 3,500 preferred transporters we are able to make shipping a car quick, simple, and more cost effective than driving it yourself.”
Or this:
“We have well established relationships with carriers…”
Or maybe even this:
“We develop and maintain long-term partnerships with our network of reliable motor carriers.”
These were taken directly from emails and auto transport companies websites. You’ve heard that before right?
Well believe it or not, majority of the companies out there, do not have “preferred drivers”. What they have and use is a load board. As brokers, we rely on a load board, our link to thousands of qualified carriers nationwide.
Don’t get worried too much.
The load board is not some bidding system and it’s not even close to UShip. It’s a national load board that is closed to the public. Only licensed dealerships, auto transport brokers and qualified auto transport companies can get on there. And they check. But that’s an article for a different day.
The point is, don’t let them fool you into thinking they have this top notch system with drivers waiting to take their loads. That when you book your shipment and you put your first available day as Monday, you pay your deposit or their “service fee”, that you’re guaranteed a space on the truck. Instead, your auto transport broker will have their fingers crossed, praying that a driver calls to move your car by then.
Yes drivers are waiting on cars to move, but they are waiting on anyone who puts a car on the board that is paying the most money. Not Tom, Dick or Larry to say hey, we have a car to get moved. Pickup Monday. No, it doesn’t work like that.
So what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t give you a solution to this little white lie?
Here’s your assignment. Next time they say that, ask them, “So you mean you do not use a load board?”
See what they say. I’m willing to bet, they’ll be shocked.
With that car shipping tip alone, you will throw a monkey wrench in their sales pitch, giving you the upper hand. Ponder over this, bookmark this page and go test it out. Even for fun.
Then come back here and in the comments below, let me know how it went. I will give you a few days to try it out and share your experience with me.
If you liked this article, be sure to recommend it to your friends on any of your favorite social sites. I’m a Facebook Junkie, but hey if Twitter or Pinterest floats your banana boat, then do it. Thanks for reading.