The Best CRM for Freight Brokers

The freight industry is relentless.

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Margins are thin, competition is fierce, and your phone never stops. Managing relationships isn’t just part of your business — it is your business. But every small inefficiency eats into your most valuable resource: time. Missed follow-ups turn into missed deals. Scattered notes and manual data steal hours that should be spent closing leads.

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The tools you use can either propel you forward or slow you down. And too many brokers are stuck. Spreadsheets worked when your client list was smaller, but now they’re slowing you down. Tabs multiply, mistakes creep in, and deals fall through the cracks. Leads go cold before you can even pick up the phone.

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That’s where a CRM — or customer relationship management system — comes in. A CRM keeps all of your client interactions, leads, and tasks organized in one place. It tracks calls, automates follow-ups, and streamlines your workflows. For freight brokers, it helps keep your chaos from spiraling out of control.

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But here’s the problem: there are countless CRMs in the world. Many options are bloated, complicated, and built for industries that don’t operate at your pace. You end up paying for features you’ll never use. Even worse, these tools can add more frustration than value, and we’re back to square one.

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So, what’s the best CRM for a freight broker? The right one is about simplicity, speed, and focus.

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What Freight Brokers Need from a CRM

Freight brokers don’t need fluff — or headaches from useless technology. The right CRM should help you move faster, stay organized, and close more deals.

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What to Look for in a Freight Broker CRM:

• VoIP Integration
• User-Friendly Design
• Real-Time Analytics
• Automated Follow-Ups
• Scalability

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VoIP Integration

Brokers live on the phone. A good CRM should link directly with the phone system to log calls automatically. No more juggling between apps or writing down call notes by hand.

If your phone system isn’t built into your CRM, you’re wasting time and making fewer calls.

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User-Friendly Design

CRMs should feel natural and be easy to use — more like scrolling YouTube and less like filling out a tax form. The easier it is to use, the more team members will stick with it. A clean, intuitive interface keeps everybody moving forward and onto the next call, not stuck on clicking through menus.

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Metrics & Data

If you’re not analyzing what you’re doing, what are you doing? Sales is a competitive game. Good brokers know how to win. Real-time tracking of calls, margins, and performance shows how you or your team members perform and creates a culture of accountability that motivates individuals.

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“Good brokers are competitive. It’s in their DNA.”

-Maverick Paul, CEO of Mav Inc

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Fail Fast Philosophy

Not every lead is worth the time. The faster brokers identify a dead lead, the quicker they can move on. A CRM should make this easy by tracking call results and follow-ups automatically.

In other words, if you fail fast, you can move faster.

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The Current Landscape of CRMs in Freight Brokerage

When brokers outgrow spreadsheets, many turn to CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce. These tools promise to streamline operations, but in practice, they often create more frustration than solutions.

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HubSpot looks appealing with its free tier, but users quickly hit paywalls. Features you assumed were included end up costing extra, and the platform gets bogged down with options that brokers don’t need. Instead of speeding things up, all the extra menus and functions slow you down, wasting precious time and resources.

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Salesforce offers enterprise-level power, but it’s overkill for smaller brokerages. It’s expensive, difficult to customize, and takes too much time to set up properly. Even when it’s in place, Salesforce is packed with features that most brokers will never touch.

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Both platforms suffer from the same core issue: they aren’t built for freight brokers. Neither offers VoIP integration, as well. Without this link, calls must be logged manually, adding unnecessary steps and leaving room for errors. Ultimately, these CRMs do too much of what you don’t need — and not enough of what you do, creating a disconnect between your needs and the features of the CRM.

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Why pay for software you’ll never fully use?

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"These CRMs offer way more than freight brokers need. You're paying for 100% of the software but only using 25%."

-Maverick Paul, CEO of Mav Inc.

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Here’s a breakdown of what that bloat looks like in practice and why it causes issues for freight brokers:

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Bounty: A Freight Broker CRM Built by Freight Brokers, for Freight Brokers

Bounty’s CRM was built with a simple goal — to provide brokers with exactly what they need without the extra fluff.

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This system was designed by brokers, for brokers, to keep things efficient and focused. Every feature exists to make your work easier, faster, and more profitable. No wasted time. No unnecessary tools. It’s a CRM that works how you do — on the phone, closing deals, and moving on.

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Unlike other CRMs, Bounty isn’t just about organizing contacts; it’s a complete solution built to integrate seamlessly into your daily workflow. With VoIP baked into the platform, you’re not stuck juggling apps or logging calls manually. You can focus on what matters—connecting with leads and closing deals. And with pricing structured to match the cost of a typical VoIP system, you’re essentially getting the CRM for free.

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Key Features:

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• VoIP Integration: Calls are automatically tracked and logged without needing multiple tools.

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• Metrics and Leaderboards: Track call volume and margins in real-time to foster healthy competition among reps.

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• Shot Clock for Leads: Leads reopen if follow-ups aren’t made on time, adding pressure to keep the momentum.

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• Cost-Effective Pricing: Get a full-featured CRM bundled with VoIP services at the cost of a typical phone system.

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• Designed for Today and for the Future: Minimal buttons and a clean interface keep things simple for all levels of technical understanding.

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Enterprise-Level Tools for Independent Brokers

The freight market is dominated by the biggest players — 1,000 brokerages generate 88% of all gross revenue. Companies like TQL and CH Robinson have the budget to develop custom software, providing their teams with seamless tools to manage leads and close deals efficiently. Competing with these giants often feels like running uphill.

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Every inefficiency slows you down, and when every small mistake costs you a deal, there’s no room for wasted time.

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This is where Bounty makes a difference. Independent brokers don’t need software that promises the moon. They need tools that fit how they work: fast, simple, and focused. Bounty is built to do just that. It integrates the essentials into one streamlined platform. There’s no excess, no steep learning curve, and no paying for features you’ll never use.

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Stop Managing Chaos, Start Streamlining Deals

We all start with Google Sheets or a simple spreadsheet because it’s the easiest tool to implement. It’s flexible, familiar, and gets the job done — for a while. But as your brokerage grows, issues happen. Updating every call, email, and deal manually becomes a time sink. Time spent organizing is time you’re not closing.

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The solution is a CRM built for freight brokers. You need the flexibility of a spreadsheet but with added tools that work with you, not against you. Integrated VoIP, automated follow-ups, and real-time metrics take the guesswork out of managing your day.

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Bounty is built for brokers who want to move fast and stay competitive. No bloat, no unnecessary features — just the tools you need to close more deals and easily manage your brokerage. Schedule a demo today and see how Bounty can transform the way you work and save thousands of dollars in software costs.