Background longtime Team Run Smart followers Craig & Lauri that we are all finally able to meet in person and share a meal. 


When you're walking through a truck stop and you see another driver polishing their truck, stop and say hello.  Most drivers enjoy talking about their truck and that is a great starting point as you immediately have something in common.   When this happens, the door is opened to network.   
 
If you are with a company that uses uniforms that is another opening.  We met one of our good friends by passing each other while entering a truck stop.  He was on his way out we were on our way in and I said " Hey, nice shirt" We spent the next four hours talking about our company, freight, and better ways to do business.   Randy became a great friend and mentor. only because we said "Hi, nice shirt".
 
Facebook has also become a way to meet other drivers.  Through the Women in Trucking Facebook page we are able to discuss issues and to read about others ideas to better our business.  Some of these women and men we have been able to meet in person.  We just spent a wonderful evening with a women and her husband that have their own authority and run the west coast.  She saw our truck and messaged me on Facebook to see if we wanted to go in and have coffee. 
 
Workshops are another way to meet people but take a little more effort on your part.  Say Hi to your neighbor and ask a few questions as in what are you hoping to get out of this workshop and then follow up with questions after you receive the first answer.  If someone asks a question that interests you go over and say Hi during the break.  Don't be shy at workshops or something you have paid to attend getting the most for your money. 
 
Docks are another good place to talk to other drivers.  Probably one of the worst questions you can ask is "where are you going?"  Instead say something about their truck or ask a question about securing freight if it is odd shaped.  To get the conversation started say something about the weather.  After the first question is asked the next questions come easier. 
 
What do you do when you have broken the ice and realize this is not a person you really want to talk to?  Sometimes people are negative and you quickly realize that the conversation is going nowhere quickly.  Depending on your personality you can either continue talking to them and work towards turning the conversation to a positive note or excuse yourself and move on. 
 
Starting a conversation on a positive note usually leads to sharing of ideas and is a learning experience.  I am always amazed when I reflect back in time to the people that have changed our lives by a brief exchange of words and maybe we never see them again or we are still in touch.   When talking to a fellow truck driver we start off with one great thing in common TRUCKS and most drivers like to talk about their truck or life on the road.


Comments (6)

Linda Caffee

Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.

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Now that is one sharp looking group and it was a great networking evening.

August 12, 2016 18:27:25 PM

Recently while having a conversation with a fellow driver leased to the same company as us we were having a discussion about snow chains while hauling explosives. We both had preconceived ideas that did not match and neither knew the company we are leased to's policy. We both learned something by an innocent discussion.

August 11, 2016 2:44:04 AM

Very good article Linda! We learn a lot from "networking". As they say you learn something new very day!!!!

August 10, 2016 10:45:51 AM

Shalom I like your F.O.R.M and probably not many are well balanced taking care of everything to a proper degree. Each of us has our preferences and will have a tendency to lean in that direction.

August 10, 2016 4:21:40 AM

One of my many skills is how to properly network.
Here is just a very SMALL part:
F.O.R.M
Family
Occupation
Recreation /Retierment
Money.
When we talk to strangers, {cold market}, we always share our experience in those fields & most people's will interact when asked about those parts in their life.
To date, I have yet to meet a driver that did not needed an improvement in at least on of those fields.
Networking is about bringing value to someone's life. The most interesting part of networking is watching kids network, kids are the very best in networking !

August 09, 2016 13:09:50 PM

When I saw the title, I wasn't sure where you were going. I like the way you took it. Networking is as some as saying hello. It isn't about trying to gain something. It can be about just being polite.

August 09, 2016 4:47:03 AM