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Hi. I am a shipping company director, transport academic, author, family man and all round nice guy. I have worked as shipbroker, shipowner, freight trader and bulk charterer, in senior positions, with some of the largest and most disrespected (joke) companies in the world. Ask my advice on all things shipping and you will receive my blunt and always honest answer. Hang around to learn more about chartering and ship broker salaries, chartering and ship broker jobs, chartering and shipbroker recruitment agencies, cheap freight, maritime education, chartering and ship broker qualifications, become a ship broker, tips on how to be a successful bulk shipping executive, philosophy, Zen and the art of shipbroking, and much more. Yours The Virtual Shipbroker Andy Jamison is the alter ego (pen name) of ex shipping guy and blog creator Nick van der Hoeven Copyright © 2020 by Virtualshipbroker Contact virtualshipbroker@yahoo.com

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The mindset of a good broker

In my new book I discuss the idea that a sense of entitlement amongst brokers is a not so great trait. The premise of the idea is that customers owe brokers nothing. At the end of the day the customer (shipping principal) is taking all the risk. The shipowner has a 30 million dollar ship he or she needs to control and the cargo client will have millions of dollars worth of cargo that needs to arrive somewhere safely.

For a broker - having a mindset that the customer owes you nothing is in my opinion a very healthy state of mind - Zen Reference.

This mindset keeps you on your toes and thus the customers wishes always at the top of any agenda. Keeping your customers happy, by concentrating on continuity of original good service, is a skill.

On the other side of the coin - an equally distateful state of mind is the shipping principal that likes to treat brokers and otjher service providers in a less than respectful way. Most principals i know are brokers too - they just dont realise it. There are very few pure shipowners and pure cargo owners. The industry is full of traders and operators who are brokers but ones looking to make a margin.

We all have something to sell!

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Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the idea of the shipbroking ''fixing machine' - The 'star broker' - Think Steve Austin - The bionic shipbroker.

How to go from zero to hero - Should be fun.

Yours
VS

3 comments:

  1. Hey VS, don't understand your Steve Austin quote here. Are you referring to "Stone Cold?" LOL, can't think of any other Steve Austin.

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  2. Im showing my age (as you are showing yours)

    Steve Austin is the name from the 6 million dollar man tv series of the 70's..

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  3. oh yeh - and stone cold was named after the character in the tv series.

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