No matter what kind of business you run, from a photography studio to an auto transport broker business, you’ll always need some form of software system to help “streamline” your business and hopefully smoothen out your journey to success.
More specifically, you’ll need a CRM system. Now there’s tons of generic options available, but from my experience, the more niche aka, the more specialized you get, the less options you’ll find. In the auto transport industry, you’re limited to a whooping three choices. Yay! (Insert Sarcasm)
Before we get into the three auto transport broker software choices, let’s first discuss what a CRM system is and why as an auto transport broker, you’ll need it.
Time to get techy:
CRM system stands for Customer Relationship Management System. As it implies, it manages customer relationships. In our industry, auto transport brokers use CRM’s or as they call it, “Brokering Software”, as a way of keeping up with auto transport leads, quotes, and orders, as well as which carriers are being used/which carriers have been used.
So to put it in perspective, without a CRM, this is your process:
1. You get a call from a client, you’ll need to write down their name, email address and phone number. You’ll also need to record the vehicle details and shipping information.
2. Next you’ll need to give that client some form of a quote, be it over the phone or via email. As you’ll learn quickly, a lot of clients will want you to email it to them so they can have a “paper trail”. So now you need to email it to that client. You’ll spend about 5-8 minutes writing a quote email.
3. So now the client is ready to book you. You’ll need to take their credit card info so at this point you’ll want to create a client file folder like the ones in most doctors offices.
4. The next step is to find a carrier so once you do that, you’ll need to store the carriers information and attach it to the clients file.
5. Not too much work so far right? Well let’s say the client wants to know when the vehicle is going to be delivered, so they give you a call. You’ll need to find that clients file which if its your first client, it won’t be a problem but after 200?
“Yeah John, umm let me find that file of yours. Give me a few minutes while I dig it out the archives.”
Meanwhile John is probably getting seriously impatient and is asking himself why he didn’t go elsewhere.
In my best Italian mafia voice, “Forget about it”.
Forget about repeat business, testimonials have gone out the window and you can kiss any sort of recommendations goodbye for that matter.
And to tack on more bad news? You’ll need to do this for every single client. I’m just imagining an office filled to the brim with paper. Organizational Hell!
So to sum it up, your CRM acts as your virtual filling cabinet and secretary for your auto transport broker business. It is the most important tool for your business. Without it, you might as well just go climb under a rock and wait for the next solar eclipse. Literally.
Some students have asked whether or not they should use a brokering specific system or a generic one like Salesforce or Infusionsoft. My answer is simple: If you plan to build your business based on buying auto transport leads which you better be, I highly recommend you use a brokering software.
Okay so now you know what a CRM is and is super clear why your auto transport broker business won’t survive without it, let’s talk about the options you have available to you.
As I’m writing this, there is only three options. Carriersoft MegaBee, Auto Broker Dispatch and JTracker.
The available features are determined by the actual company you choose.
Ultimately it’s up to you which auto transport broker software you choose.
Carriersoft currently has a demo you can try out without purchasing the software or talking to a sales rep which I like. So play around with the software see if you like it.
The guys over at Auto Broker Dispatch are very friendly and personable so you can also give them a call and set up a demo with them so they can show you their software.
As far as JTracker is concerned, they offer you a free trial with their software. However you have to be an active central dispatch member to get on.
My Auto Transport Broker Software Recommendation:
If you want the best features available and the most streamlined choice, then Jtracker is a no brainer. In fact, in my Auto Transport Broker Toolkit, I highly recommend using JTracker. For one, it seamlessly integrates with Central Dispatch and two it allows you to be extremely productive which has proven to be a nonnegotiable trait if you want to be successful in this industry.
I hope you found this article helpful. If you want me to do a review on any of these auto transport broker softwares, leave a comment below.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your entrepreneurial journey by eliminating the guesswork so you can make money sooner, join us over in ReloAcademy.
7 Responses
Helo Ashley,
I have recently found you online, and think all of your information is absolutely. Especially to us who would like to invest in becoming auto transporter brokers!
i would be very much so interested in a review done over the CRM JTracker!
Thank you so much,
Claudia Dehoyos
(Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!
Thanks Clauida. I will definitely consider doing one.
Glad to found this article. This is very informative. Through this we understand more how important the CRM system which stands for Customer Relationship Management System. This is really helpful when you are investing in auto transporter broker.
Great post, Ashley. Since the power has moved back to the customers and is no longer in the hands of corporations, managing your customer data and your relationships on a personal level is key to success, and therefore a CRM system is incredibly valuable.
CRM saves time, money and your sanity! Lol thanks for being here!
Ashley
Great article Ashley your writing style is amazing I really enjoyed reading your article. I was searching for some details about CRM system & thank god I found your article.
Happy that you found it helpful my friend!
Ashley