If you're building your Q3 freight acquisition plan, the first step isn't a new tool or outreach sequence. It's an honest read of where you stand. Most carriers skip this — they jump straight to execution without diagnosing the real gaps.
These 10 questions are the same ones we use in the RegalOS Freight Acquisition Scorecard. Work through them before you lock in your Q3 strategy.
1. What percentage of your revenue last quarter came from load boards? If it's over 60%, you have a concentration problem, not a volume problem.
2. How many active direct shipper relationships do you have? Not one-time pickups — ongoing accounts with consistent volume. Count them now.
3. What was your average deadhead percentage last month? Track it. A fleet running 12% deadhead is bleeding margin that contract rates would eliminate.
4. Do you have written lane discipline criteria? If not, your drivers are probably chasing rates that look good on a per-mile basis but cost more in fuel and empty miles than they return.
5. What's the spread between your average spot rate and your average contract rate? If you don't know, calculate it. The gap tells you exactly how much revenue you're leaving on the table by not having more contracts in place.
6. How many outreach attempts to new shippers did you make last week? If the number is zero, you're not in a growth pattern — you're in maintenance mode.
7. What's your current rate-per-mile floor for any load? If you don't have one, you're accepting loads that might be profitable on paper but consume capacity you could have used for better freight.
8. Do your shipper relationships have any pricing structure beyond "we'll take what you post"? Spot-only relationships are fragile. Even simple minimums and fuel language change the dynamics.
9. How many lanes do you run on a recurring basis? Recurring lanes = predictable cash flow. The carriers building real businesses aren't chasing loads — they're running routes.
10. What does your ideal week look like — number of loads, lane types, revenue target? If you can't answer that, you don't have a strategy. You have hope.
If you answered honestly and found more than a few gaps, that's actually good news — it means there's clear leverage to act on. The Freight Acquisition Scorecard at /assessment goes deeper than this worksheet and gives you a tier rating so you know where to focus first.