CFB CFB Customer Relations and Sales 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'carrier sales' in a freight brokerage context?
- The process of recruiting, vetting, and building relationships with trucking companies to haul freight (Correct answer)
- Selling freight brokerage services to new trucking companies
- The sale of a broker's carrier database to competitors
- Offering carriers discounted fuel through a broker partnership
Correct answer: The process of recruiting, vetting, and building relationships with trucking companies to haul freight
Carrier sales involves identifying, qualifying, and building ongoing relationships with carriers to ensure a reliable network of trucks available to cover a broker's loads.
Question 2: Which shipper concern is most commonly cited as a reason for switching freight brokers?
- Poor communication and lack of shipment visibility during transit (Correct answer)
- Broker's office location being too far from the shipper
- Broker requiring a long-term contract commitment
- Carrier using older model trucks
Correct answer: Poor communication and lack of shipment visibility during transit
Shippers most frequently switch brokers due to poor communication, missed check calls, and inability to provide real-time tracking, which creates anxiety and operational disruption for the shipper.
Question 3: What is 'freight under management' (FUM) as it relates to a broker's sales pitch to shippers?
- The total volume of freight a broker manages on behalf of its shipper clients (Correct answer)
- The amount of freight currently sitting in a broker's warehouse
- The broker's outstanding carrier receivables balance
- The number of loads a broker has posted but not yet covered
Correct answer: The total volume of freight a broker manages on behalf of its shipper clients
Freight under management represents the total annual freight spend or volume a broker handles for its clients, used as a scale metric to demonstrate the broker's capacity and market leverage.
Question 4: How should a freight broker handle a situation where a shipper's freight is at risk of being late due to an unexpected carrier breakdown?
- Proactively notify the shipper immediately and arrange a replacement carrier (Correct answer)
- Wait until the shipper calls to ask about the shipment status
- Blame the carrier to the shipper and let them resolve it directly
- File a claim against the carrier before informing the shipper
Correct answer: Proactively notify the shipper immediately and arrange a replacement carrier
Proactive communication during service failures demonstrates accountability and gives the shipper time to make contingency plans, which preserves the relationship even when things go wrong.
Question 5: What is a 'dedicated contract' vs. a 'spot' arrangement in broker-shipper sales relationships?
- Dedicated contracts provide consistent capacity at fixed rates; spot deals are one-time loads at market rates (Correct answer)
- Dedicated contracts are only for refrigerated freight; spot deals cover dry van only
- Spot arrangements are longer-term while dedicated contracts are for single loads
- Dedicated contracts require FMCSA approval; spot loads do not
Correct answer: Dedicated contracts provide consistent capacity at fixed rates; spot deals are one-time loads at market rates
Dedicated contracts give shippers committed capacity and rate predictability over a period, while spot arrangements cover individual loads priced at current market rates with no volume commitment.
Question 6: What does 'shipper credit check' mean in freight brokerage, and why is it important for the broker?
- Verifying a shipper's financial reliability to ensure they will pay the broker's invoice (Correct answer)
- Checking the shipper's driving record before allowing them to tour a carrier terminal
- Verifying a shipper's DOT registration before accepting freight
- Reviewing a shipper's insurance policy before onboarding
Correct answer: Verifying a shipper's financial reliability to ensure they will pay the broker's invoice
A credit check assesses the shipper's ability and history of paying invoices on time, protecting the broker from non-payment risk since the broker must pay carriers regardless of whether the shipper pays.
CFB CFB Customer Relations and Sales 2
What is 'carrier sales' in a freight brokerage context?