Once you decide that the freight logistics, shipping, and overall transportation industry is where you are going, inevitably you will look towards courses you can take to begin your journey. Expect to find a lot of freight broker agent training courses from all over. They are an incredible first step, and for many, enough that is needed to get you going to becoming a broker (or agent) in the freight industry.
It doesn’t hurt to take a look at what these freight brokerage training courses generally entail to prepare you for this career path. There are some very common topics that they are bound to cover.
- Overview of the Job and the Industry. What is a freight broker and what are the requirements? What is the place of a freight broker and how does one fit into the larger scheme of freight logistics? This is a very important step and, of course, the first step towards understanding the role of freight brokers. You will get a first sense of how the transportation business works and how the “middle men,” such as freight brokers, can be an essential part of that process. And you’ll grow to have some respect for those middle men.
- Laws and Requirements by the FMCSA. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) is the government entity that allows you to be a freight broker. You need to be licensed with them, and know the many laws to adhere to in order to maintain your license and stay in good standing. This is all very important. You will get an overview, but you’ll also get a general idea of how important these regulations are for your future career.
- Marketing and Sales. Like most businesses, especially ones where you are relatively independent, you need to know some information about how to get clients and how to maintain clients. This is certainly important when it comes to freight brokers. You may discuss things such as networking, promotions, customer profiling, building trust, and developing plans for all of your marketing and sales objectives.
- Getting Started. You should get an overview of the nuts and bolts of what it takes to get up and running. Topics covered may include filing for your freight broker business, obtaining a process agent, and setting up an office.
- Operations. This is the meat and potatoes of what you will be learning. They will cover things such as setting up shipping and carrier packets, setting your rates, building a load and processing it, and many other things that take up the day of a freight broker.