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Load Boards and Podcast Players

What could a load board service and a podcast player possibly have in common? I find it an interesting analogy to compare the two. Want the most comprehensive selection of podcasts? iTunes is a no-brainer. Every podcaster I know gets about 70% of their traffic from the iTunes podcast app. A large amount of other podcast players use iTunes to get their list of podcasts. iTunes is undoubtedly the pioneer in connecting podcasts to podcast listeners.

The way I see it, DAT Solutions would have to be the iTunes of load boards. Starting out as Dial-A-Truck, DAT has been around longer than iTunes. They’ve been around longer than the internet. They’ve even been around longer than [easyazon_link identifier=”B00006JNN7″ locale=”US” tag=”thetruckingpodcaststore-20″]Post-it Notes[/easyazon_link]. Certainly the pioneer of load boards, DAT has to be the iTunes of spot market truck freight.

Trucker’s Edge Load Board

If you’re running a big trucking company with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of trucks, you use most likely DAT. But you only have your truck, or possibly a small fleet of trucks. You don’t need all that DAT has to offer, or the cost of all these services.

Now there’s  Trucker’s Edge, a full line of load board services for the independent owner operator and the small fleet owner. All the loads, packaged with all the data you need to find loads, make better deals and be more profitable. I wrote about the value of Trucker’s Edge a few weeks back in an article titled 5 Ways Trucker’s Edge Makes You More Money.

Sandy Cahill Talks About Truckers Edge, Powered By DAT

Don and I have had a few guests on the show. We consider them experts in their fields. But they’re more than that. Dan Organ is more than our tax man. He’s a Wisconsin farm boy entrepreneur. Bo from Hot Shot’s Secret is our resident diesel tech. He’s also a millennial gear head who loves big block 460s and Tesla’s electric cars.

Being only the second female guest on The Trucking Podcast, the obvious question is what kind of girl is Sandy Cahill. Maybe it’s a guy thing, but this stuff is important. After a couple of conversations with Sandy, I’d have to call her a data girl with an entrepreneurial spirit. Sandy is also one of the public relations people at DAT Solutions.

In this episode Sandy will walk us through the data that’s available through Trucker’s Edge. Let’s face it. Loads, spot rates, trip planning tools, it’s all raw data. Some of it’s pretty up front, but some of it takes a data person to help us make the most of it. Sandy’s business instinct should help us put this data to it’s best use. We had a great time and look forward to our next conversation.

Show Topics

• Who posts loads on load boards? It’s not just brokers.
• Free load boards vs paid load boards.
• Defining spot rates and how to use them to make more money.
• LTL freight and hot shot freight. Both are in an upward trend.
• Building relationships.
• Negotiating with shippers and brokers.

Load Boards and A Little Trucker History

As I mentioned earlier, Dial-a-Truck started the first load board back in 1978. Sandy gives a great narrative about how one truck stop owner, Al Jubitz, did what most other truck stops were doing. He posted notes about loads and trucks on a bulletin board in his truck stop. But he was a bit more of a visionary than the others. Sandy gives a great description of the transition from a cork board with stick pins to a TV monitor and a telephone.

Get 30 Days of Trucker’s Edge For Free

Don and I are excited that Trucker’s Edge has become part of the team here at The Trucking Podcast. Along with Hot Shot’s Secret and Drake Tax Service, we know they bring value to you, the trucker. They also have an offer for you. Get your first 30 days of Trucker’s Edge FREE. Just follow the link for details.

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