Truckers and Travelers
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Archive for September, 2009
Trucking Industry News – Concealed Weapons
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 11:55 AM
Hello, Fellow Drivers! I saw an interesting article in the Aug/Sept issue of Land Line Magazine that I thought would be of interest to you. Notice the front cover of this issue is the same picture as my blog! This trucking industry news covers concealed weapons and I wanted to pass this on to you for your information. It is about a bill being introduced into the Senate concerning states honoring the concealed weapons permits from other states. I will warn you though the State of Illinois does not allow weapons in any vehicle. In fact, it is a felony if they catch you with one, so be aware of this. This bit of trucking industry news is an important milestone for truckers since we are still not allowed to carry weapons in our trucks. Enjoy the reading and be safe out there!
Sensible concealed carry bill would protect drivers
U.S. Sen. John Thune
R-South Dakota
Responsible firearm ownership is a freedom that many American citizens rightly hold dear. Protecting one’s life and property is a cherished part of our culture, and more importantly it is necessary for many to secure their livelihoods. Responsible concealed carry laws can help protect drivers on the road, and there are steps Congress can take to remove restrictions on those who frequently cross state lines.
I have introduced a bill in the Senate, the Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, bill number S371, which would allow lawfully permitted concealed carry permit holders the ability to possess a firearm in other states that have similar concealed carry laws. Currently, 48 states have laws permitting some form of concealed carry. However, not all states recognize the concealed carry permits of other states.
Above all, this legislation would eliminate the need for states to enter into complicated, confusing compacts with other states. My bill would not establish a national concealed carry law; states wishing to prohibit concealed carry would still be able to do so. Individuals carrying permitted concealed weapons in other states would be required to abide by that particular state’s firearms laws, including prohibitions on concealed weapons in certain areas, such as schools. Federal and state laws prohibiting firearm ownership and concealed carry permits by certain individuals, such as convicted felons, would still apply as well.
Research demonstrates that states with concealed carry laws enjoy significantly lower rates of violent crime than those states that do not. This legislation is a commonsense measure that would strengthen public safety across the nation while at the same time reaffirming one of our nation’s most fundamental rights.
Truck drivers face many hazards in performing their jobs, including irregular work hours and routes in remote areas of the country. Law-abiding firearm owners shouldn’t have to check their security at the state line, and my bill would make it easier for truck drivers and others to practice responsible self-defense while at the same time honoring state and local firearm laws. LL
Sen. John Thune, R-SD, is in his first term in the U.S. Senate. Most importantly to truckers, he serves on the powerful Science & Transportation Committee.
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Trucking Resources – Grant Money for Starting A Trucking Business!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 2:29 PM
Hello Fellow Truckers! Remember in the past when I blogged about the seven things to do before starting a trucking business on dates 6/5/09, 6/8/09 and 6/9/09? Actually the blogs were titled “Thinking Of Starting A Trucking Business? and the subtitle was 7 Things To Consider Before Quitting Your Company Job”. Well, here’s a place, per OOIDA’s Land Line Magazine that tells you where to go to obtain grant money! Starting a trucking business with as little debt as possible is the best route to take (pardon the pun!). Enjoy the read and be safe out there!
August 19, 2009
OOIDA’s Land Line launches list of diesel grant opportunities
At least twice a week, it seems that a different state, nonprofit group or federal agency is coming out with a new grant program offering reimbursements for truck equipment upgrades.
Existing state programs have received additional funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other new funding sources, and some new programs have emerged.
To keep the variety of federal, state, nonprofit and other grants straight, Land Line has compiled its own grant opportunity list by working from information from the Department of Energy and the EPA, as well as talking to many state and non-profit agencies directly.
The list is available by clicking here.
Because the list of programs and eligible funding is fluid, this list will constantly be changing and almost certainly will need updating. If you know of a grant program that isn’t on this list or about list information that should be updated, please e-mail charlie_morasch@landlinemag.com or kerry_evans-spillman@landlinemag.com to let us know.
Truck owners should be aware of grant opportunities and should apply when they’re eligible. Tom Weakley, Director of Operations for the OOIDA Foundation, says many truck owners are disappointed to learn that grant programs have strict regional work requirements or accept applications during very short time frames.
Weakley told Land Line Now that OOIDA applied to be a grant distributor this year for Diesel Emissions Reduction Act funds that came largely from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. OOIDA, he said, wasn’t selected because the association couldn’t tie new or preserved jobs to the funds.
Ironically, the ARRA funds couldn’t be spent, Weakley was told by federal officials, to meet emissions mandates like California’s reefer rule, or idling regulations in several states.
Many OOIDA members and small business trucking companies would have been helped and could have preserved jobs, Weakley argued, had they been eligible to spend grant money on reefer upgrades and other emissions equipment.
“Wasn’t this money supposed to stimulate the economy and keep people in business?” Weakley said. “ ‘Nope – it’s a mandate – they have to do it anyway,’ they said.”
Other ARRA-funded projects include cash-for-clunker provisions where existing truck engines are dismantled. Weakley said because many owner operators still have equity in their trucks, cash-for-clunker-like programs aren’t always beneficial.
Weakley still encourages truck owners to apply – as long as the equipment upgrade will pay off for them.
To obtain a reimbursement of up to 40 percent of the cost of buying and installing an APU, OOIDA members can obtain more information or apply for the Association’s grant program by calling 1-800-444-5791 or by clicking here.
– By Charlie Morasch, staff writer
charlie_morasch@landlinemag.com
The Trucking Business – 4 Strategies To Achieve Success – Step 3 of 3
Friday, September 25, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 12:32 PM
Hello Fellow Drivers, In part two I wrote to you about creating a questionnaire to identify your customer base and their specific needs so you can stand out as a superior trucking business, one to which they will contract their hauling services. In this last part I will discuss the two final steps in achieving trucking business success, which are automating your follow-up and being persistent with yourself. Let’s discuss step 3 first.
Step 3: Automate Your Follow-up. Automating your follow-up will make it far easier to be persistent with your clients and prospects. My research show that the most effective follow-up includes a combination of media, so be sure to include all these methods in your follow-up strategy.
Mailings, for instance, including newsletters and relationship marketing campaigns such as personalized birthday and holiday cards, can easily be automated through third-party vendors. You many want to set up automated emailing as well that keep your client updated on any new developments in trucking industry news.
Telephone follow-ups can be automated through your contact management systems. I recommend that you call your top customers personally, based on their preferred frequency. Amiables, for example, might want you to touch base with them on a regular basis, while Analyticals may want to hear from you only when you have some relevant information to share with them. Whenever you call a customer, alsways use a script and take notes so you can later review the findings.
Step 4: Be Persistent With Yourself! Follow-up takes time, but doing it right can yield tremendous rewards. Take the time to research your niche and ask your ideal customers the right questions, and you’ll find the perfect formula for making persistence pay off…without being swatted away for pest-like behavior.
This concludes the three part series on starting a trucking business or maintaining a thriving trucking business with 4 strategies to achieving success. These blogs that I write for you are to assist you in thinking outside the box and being more than just an average trucking business. My goal is to see you be the very best in the trucking industry. Remember you can always email me with any questions or comments at the website that is linked in this blog. Be safe out there!
The Trucking Business – 4 Strategies To Achieve Success – Step 2 of 3
Thursday, September 24, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 3:08 PM
Hello, Fellow Drivers! In Part 1,(9/17/2009), I wrote about the first step in achieving success in the trucking business. Today I want to write to you about Step 2, creating a questionnaire process. If you expect to stand out in the trucking business, you must first develop a niche for yourself. Think of a way to stand out. That may be in your customer service, or the way you interact with your customers when you deliver their goods or the kind of product you haul and the way you haul and deliver it.
The second strategy in achieving success in the trucking business is to create a questionnaire process. Socrates was a wise philosopher who asked simple yet profound questions. Similarly, landing a hauling contract is the logical conclusion of a four-step questioning process that includes identifying your client base with similar hauling needs, understanding their chief problems and objections, effectively handling their objections and providing solutions that solved their challenges or needs.
To facilitate this process, you can develop your own questionnaire to find out everything you can about your ideal customer. It can quadruple your business simply by asking the right questions and listening effectively! Asking the right questions will provide you with critical information, such as what keeps your ideal customer up at night and the three biggest problems you can solve for them. You also can use this questionnaire to determine how persistent you need to be with your ideal customers. Simple questions such as the following can give you remarkably valuable insights into this subject:
- How often do you like to be contacted by your transportation company?
- What information or paperwork do you want to receive from your transportation company?
- How do you prefer to receive this information – postal mail, e-mail, fax or telephone?
After you develop your questionnaire, meet with centers of influence (COI) in your niche market, such as purchasing agents, dispatchers, or trucking company managers to get their ideas for working within your desired market. Once you feel confident that this is the right niche for you, begin asking your COIs and other influential people for referrals from within your desired niche. For instance, if you wanted to haul farming equipment, you may want to visit several tractor dealerships and talk to them about how their equipment is delivered and if they are satisfied with their service they are getting with the present transportation company. In these cases, it is very important to explain that you just want to ask questions for market research purposes and that you will not solicit their business unless they ask about your services.
With questionnaire in hand, interview as many of your ideal customers as you can and compile a spreadsheet or list with all your data. This provides valuable information not only on the beest ways to reach new customers, but also how and when you should prepare your paln for persistent follow-up. For instance, you may discover that several of your customers are hunters or fishermen. You could then establish contacts within a certain hunting clubs or fishing tournaments.
Once you’ve completed your interviews and questionnaires, share your findings withe the COIs as well as the interviewees with whom you met. Also ask them if they’d like to receive additional information from you as you obtain it. If they say yes, provide it to them in whichever format they prefer. If they say no, thank them for their time and don’t add them to your customer base.
So, for you go-getters this is an excellent way to drum up new business especially if you are just want to start a trucking business. Next blog will cover steps 3 and 4. Step 3 is automating your follow-up. Step 4 is being persistent with yourself. Be safe out there!
Truckers are known to have some of the least healthy diets of any occupational demographic. Since they spend so much of their time on the road, truck drivers seldom have enough time to enjoy the benefits of a home-cooked meal. Instead they often settle for fast food, which lacks nutritional value. As a result, many truckers experience hypertension, high cholesterol and a number of other health risks.
There are of course ways to combat the problem. Grocery stores sell healthy snacks in small, portable portions – nutrigrain bars are one example. In addition, truckers can stock up on apples, bananas and other fruits before setting off for their destination. By eating smaller portions at truck stops and drinking plenty of water rather than caffeinated beverages, drivers can defy the expectations associated with their profession.
The Trucking Business – 4 Strategies To Achieve Success – Step 1 of 3
Thursday, September 17, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 12:10 AM
Hello, Fellow, Drivers!
The trucking business requires a plan of persistence. I want to write to you about four strategies that will help you achieve success. Persistence is a key element of any trucking business success. One study conducted on customer service revealed that poor follow-up with your client base was the No. 1 reason why clients changed trucking companies. When it comes to being persistent, marketing expert Jeffrey Lant discusses a concept called the “Rule of Seven”. The rule explains that a trucking business needs to followup with a client at least seven times within an 18-month period to make a significant impression. You must be the marketing and sales rep for your company all rolled into one person. Chet Holmes, author of “The Ultimate Sales Machine, writes, “It generally requires 8.4 rejections to get a meeting” and “that only about 4 to 5 percent of salespeople keep trying after four rejections.” Staying diligent with your followup efforts must be dauntless. Finding the perfect balance between being persistence and being a pest requires finesse. So how do you put the power of persistence to work for you? The following four steps will help you determine the right amount and type of follow-up you must perform to get and retain more trucking business.
STEP 1. Identify a niche market: First you must identify the niche market. This blog page is a niche market, for instance. This is important because the similarities among the people in your niche will make following up with them easier. When you work with “just anyone,” you’ll have to spend much more time learning about different client needs and personality types in order to make your follow-up meaningful and effective.
I’ve found that people within a niche generally share similar personality profiles. Understanding the four basic personality types will help you determine what kind of follow-up will work best with your niche:
Doersare short on patience and need to get tot the bottom line quickly. They’re often business owners and want quick and direct follow-up.
Expressives often are salespeople who love to talk. Their ideal follow-up will naturally include conversations.
Analytics are engineer types, people who like receiving data and frequent information from their advisors.
Amiables avoid conflict and just want to be your friends. Essentially, they will hire you if they like you.
When selecting a niche market, you should choose a niche that tends to attract people who are likely to be compatible with your own personality type. If you’re a Doer, for example, you might not want to fill your client base with too many Amiables.
I’ll discuss steps 2, Creating a questionnaire process in part 2. In part 3, I’ll discuss automating your follow-up and being persistent without yourself. Be safe out there!
Hello, Fellow Drivers! Thought you would stick this information in the back of your brain and simulate it along with a good buffet meal! The trucking resources below will help you maintain optimum health so you will have a successful trucking business. Renee is an expert in the field of preventative health. I’ve used her on a regular basis and have found my energy levels and stamina increased. That’s a must in the trucking business. She is available by phone and has many products available to help you achieve better health and in turn a successful trucking business. Be safe out there!
Free Flow on the Highway
By Renee Detky, Wellness Educator, Jacksonville , FL (904)465-0023
Staying regular while traveling can be a challenge even for really healthy people. Daily bowel movements are important though, because they help eliminate poisonous substances, known as “toxins,” from the body. Driving for hours and hours in a day does not promote movement in the muscles or colon. Restaurant food has less fiber and more salt than people should eat regularly. The combination not moving and eating unhealthy food leads to swollen ankles and bellies.
To help move the colon move the body, you should stop every one and a half to two hours to help increase circulation, park at the far end of the parking lot when stopping to eat, and walk around for ten minutes after you buy gasoline. Don’t be embarrassed to stretch at rest stops. Everyone there is stiff, and tired of being in one position! The more movement a body gets the better it will feel at the end of the day.
Eat foods that promote movement, not congestion. Like your mother used to say, “Eat more vegetables!” Find something leafy and green on the menu at a restaurant, hold the cheese on that burger, ask for broiled fish instead of meat, order soy milk instead of regular, avoid the battered and fried temptations, and ask for whole wheat bread instead of white bread to increase fiber.
Fresh fruit has antioxidants, essential enzymes and fiber. Have fresh fruit instead of pancakes for breakfast. Jelly doesn’t count! Apples, grapes, and individually wrapped prunes travel well. They are so much better than chips for a snack.
Probiotics are the healthy bacteria that live in the colon. Acidophilus is the most common one. They help promote a healthy gut and immune system. They can be found in the vitamin aisle of most grocery stores. If you have a cooler, the refrigerated ones are the best. They will help balance out all the extra bacteria that enter the digestive tract when consuming restaurant food. Even a few healthy probiotics added in is better than none. With only a few small changes, you can make a big difference in how good you feel, and how good you look!
Your Trucking Business Plan – What You SAY Is What You Get
Thursday, September 10, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 12:10 AM
Hello, Fellow Drivers! Yesterday I wrote to you about two things that cause you to arrive at where you are in your life. The first is what you think about yourself and the second is what you SAY about yourself. Today I’m writing about the second part, what you SAY about yourself. If you want to start a trucking business then you first need to visualize a successful and prosperous trucking business. Once you get that picture clear, you will then begin to make good decisions that will manifest your business plan. Your actions will follow what you think. Research has shown that your brain will most clearly follow what it hears your own voice saying. So, with that in mind, it is important to watch what you say. You will need to become aware of keeping your words in line with what you see yourself doing with your trucking business plan. After all, if it reinforces your vision.
Remember my story yesterday of how I got a piece of real estate sold? The same rules apply with starting a trucking business and maintaining its success. You will have to have what I call behavioral congruence. In lay men’s terms that means that you will have to practice what you preach and what you think. If your thoughts, words and actions don’t line up, guess what? You will never see your dreams become reality.
So, if you want to start a trucking business and/or maintain its success, you will get what you SAY if your thoughts, words, and actions are in agreement. Believe in yourself and your abilities and you will find success in the trucking industry. Be safe out there!
Start a Trucking Business With Your Mind’s Eye
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 12:10 AM
Hello, Fellow Truckers! Today I want to write to you about your imagination and starting a trucking business. There are two things that have brought you to the place where you are right now and that is what you think about yourself and what you say about yourself. I want to write to you today about the first one, what you think about yourself. There have been a lot of books written on the subject of meditation. It’s been mostly from a spiritual take. But in order to start a trucking business or have a thriving trucking business, you must begin with an idea of yourself or imagining yourself thriving in the trucking business. Meditation is simply forming an idea in your mind about something you want in life. If you see yourself starting a trucking business and see it also thriving you will achieve just that. You might be asking me, “But how do you do that? I have a difficult time seeing myself successful.” Let me give you a real life example.
About 15 years ago, I had to sell a piece of property in a short amount of time. I was in a place in my life that required a change. This property was my primary residence. One day I was reading about biblical faith and what it meant to walk by faith. Please don’t click out of this site just because I mention this and you happen to be of another belief. Humor me for another quick moment, if you would. After I read about speaking things that be not as thought they were (Romans 4:17), I decided to give it a try in my pending situation. It was 9:15 AM on a Sunday and I began to walk around my dining room table praying to God that my property needed to sell. I began to declare that my property was sold. I could actually see it done in my mind’s eye. At 10:00 AM, the phone rang and it was my realtor calling to tell me that I had an offer for my property from two ladies in California. They wanted to buy it sight unseen for a little less than my asking price (a typical real estate barter). They also indicated that they would buy it for cash. I am here to tell you, and I have kept the paperwork on this experience as a reminder that God does honor faith. The property closed one month later and I walked away with cash in my pocket on the deal.
How does this apply to you and starting a trucking business? Begin to see yourself having favor with a truck finance company to buy your new or used truck. Begin to see yourself with steady customers and a thriving trucking business. You actually will see that your decision will begin to line up with what you think. You will also see that your actions will do that same.
So, to start a trucking business and make it successful, you must start with an idea and meditate on that idea so that your decisions and actions follow what you see in your mind’s eye. I once read an old saying when I was in my teens. It goes like this: ”If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”. Tomorrow’s blog will deal with saying what you see in your mind’s eye. Stay tuned!! Be safe out there!
Trucking Industry News – Truck Parking Update
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
posted by 18 Wheeler 12:10 AM
Hello, Fellow Drivers, Here is an update from the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).
More than 40% of truck drivers responding to a recent survey indicated that they had either had “close calls” or had actually been a victim of violence while parked. OOIDA is passionately working to increase available safe truck parking for America’s drivers and looking at all possible solutions to that end.
Currently OOIDA is working at gaining Congressional support for Jason’s Law (H.R. 2156 and S. 971), or expanding SAFETEA LU’s $25 million set-aside, “Truck Parking Pilot Program”. The last administration decided to re-designate “Truck Parking Pilot Program” money to the “Corridors of the Future” program. By the end of last year, the “Corridors of the Future” program provided a total of $11 million to two small truck parking projects (I-5 and I-95). Jason’s Law is a bigger program ($120 million) and politically unopposed. Due to its price tag and current political dynamics related to transportation legislation, it is unlikely that this bill will pass a vote on the House and Senate on its own, so in addition to urging lawmakers to cosponsor H.R. 2156/S. 97,1 we are pushing transportation leadership to attach this bill to the Surface Transportation Authorization Act (STAA).
Additionally OOIDA is supporting Concealed Carry Reciprocity (S. 845), allows individuals with conceal carry privileges to conceal carry in any other states that also allows conceal and carry, so that drivers can protect themselves and their cargo when they most need it – when they are on the road, parked for rest in unsafe areas, and away from the security of their home. Concealed Carry Bill nearly made it on the must-pass Defense Authorization Bill on the Senate, only missing 2 votes, in July. Much of the support, we heard, is due to the proactive drivers that called in support of this bill. This bill is not dead though and Senators are going to be looking for upcoming vehicles for it.
Available safe truck parking dwindles and will continue to do so without legislative help. Be safe out there!