Starting a freight agent business isn’t a venture one can just pick up after reading a few Internet articles and then hanging a digital shingle saying you’re available for business. It requires experience and a solid network to rely on for both generating business as well as affecting the performance and delivery of services. The best way to get started is first to take steps to become educated about the shipping environment as well as the general language. Then, spending some time in the industry working for other agents and brokers is essential; it teaches a person both practical lessons as well as the mistakes to avoid as well.
Language is Key
The number one detail that is going to work against a person and force them to not be taken seriously is a lack of basic awareness of how freight shipping works. That includes the language used as well as the key elements involved in making freight shipping happen. Fortunately, there are lots of easy ways to get started. Many community colleges and universities provide classes and training in modern logistics, including the systems used for management as well as the language applied in industry communications.
The key lessons to cover involved the different transportation modes as well as how various players provide their services in transportation types. Don’t forget the storage and warehousing elements. As a person becomes far more familiar, the aspects and differences between shipping modes become apparent and useful for the future. Additionally, obtaining logistics certification in training shows you’re serious in your interest in being a freight agent, not just exploring or experimenting for a quick job.
Get Employed
The next step, no surprise, is to obtain practical experience. That means getting hired to work for an existing freight agent as well as to build up practical learning toward becoming an agent as well. If still in school, internships are a classic entry, utilizing student status to get entry that might not be as easy as a straight hire. If already working, find ways to leverage your prior experience into a new shipping-related position. The closer you are to an aspect of logistics, the more valuable you become as a candidate for bringing on board with a freight agency.
Skill-Building
Once in the door, now it’s time to start putting time into the key skills needed for a successful freight agent. Ideally, your first months and year are with a mentor who really knows what he or she is doing, but this isn’t always the case. So, be on the lookout for different ways to learn essential freight management skills. That includes soft skills like negotiation, networking, communication, and time management. At the same time, learning as many logistics software tools as possible is critical as well. Much of shipping management is handled today with data and geospatial tools; understanding both and how to use them gives you an edge short-term and a top-down view in training long-term.
Network, Network, Network
People are your access to success as a freight agent. Business decisions and account commitments are ultimately made on trust that an agent will take care of a company that needs shipping services. Because of this fact, no matter how much data and quantification is used, knowing whom to talk to, how to negotiate, and how to leverage resources through people matters the most. Learning these skills as well as gaining these connections on a first-name basis produces real-time results. Networking is also how one ladders up to larger and larger challenges based on trust and success based on rewards.
Don’t Stop Learning
Once you’ve made it to freight agent status, don’t stop training and adding to your skills. The business is constantly evolving, especially on the software/digital side. For example, artificial intelligence, or AI is now being seriously considered as a tool for freight shipping. Where it is applied and managed will become a new job niche for those who know how to make it work in logistics. Again, constant personal evolution keeps you ahead of competitors and in demand as the freight agent to work with.
To become a freight agent is a long-commitment road. There are no overnight tricks or tips. You need to be willing to commit and put the time in to make it work for you. However, the career path can also be very rewarding too. And when established players see your commitment, they also gravitate to your skill and performance. Work hard, connect deeply, and protect your reputation. Those three aspects are the most common traits shared by successful freight agents in every shipping mode, hands down.
