Freight Broker Leads and Freight Broker Lead Generation That Books Shipper Calls
Sdrs is an AI SDR that generates freight broker leads. Tell it which shippers you want, by industry, lanes and freight type, and it finds the logistics and transportation managers who route freight, writes the outreach, follows up, and puts the intro call on your calendar so you can quote their lanes.
Plans from $49/month. Monthly billing, no per-lead fees, cancel anytime.
Describe the shippers you want to move freight for
Estimated monthly reach: prospects
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The short answer
Freight broker leads are shippers that move freight on lanes you can cover, and the most valuable version is a booked call with the logistics or transportation manager who tenders the loads. Freight lead generation agencies sell that work as a monthly retainer: Primax Freight Leads publishes plans from $1,000 a month up to $25,000 a month, and database-only access from $250. Business list vendors such as Salesgenie start at $99 a month but leave all the outreach to you.
Sdrs does the outreach as software. It builds a list of shipping decision makers at manufacturers, distributors and importers that fit your modes and regions, sends a short sequence that names their freight and lanes, and follows up until they answer, from $49 a month (Starter). Plus, at $149 a month, adds phone numbers, call scripts and automatic booking of interested replies. There is no per-lead charge, so the twentieth shipper conversation in a month costs the same as the first.
$49
Starting price per month
$0
Extra cost per shipper lead
2,000
Leads per day with phone numbers on Plus
7
Steps per outreach sequence
Why freight brokers run short of shippers
Most brokerages can find trucks. What they run out of is conversations with the people who control freight.
Shippers rarely change brokers in public. A transportation manager keeps a short routing guide, tenders loads to the same few carriers and brokers, and only adds someone new when a partner misses pickups, a rate jumps, a new lane opens or a peak season hits. If you are not already in their inbox when that happens, the load goes to whoever is.
The standard ways of reaching those people are slow or expensive. New brokers and freight agents spend hours a day cold calling from a shipper list, and the list is often the same one ten other brokers bought. Load boards help you find trucks, not direct shippers. Agencies fix the time problem but charge a retainer: Primax Freight Leads lists plans from $1,000 to $25,000 a month, and Launch Leads quotes a monthly retainer by scope.
What keeps a brokerage growing is a steady, specific list: a few hundred shipping decision makers whose freight fits your lanes, a short reason to talk now, and follow-up that keeps going on the days you are covering loads. That is the part Sdrs automates. You still price the lane, book the truck and keep the account.
Freight broker lead generation, handled end to end
One platform covers finding the people who route freight, contacting them in a way they answer, and booking the first call.
Shipping decision makers, not receptionists
Target by industry, headcount, state or metro and title: logistics manager, transportation manager, shipping manager, supply chain director, plant manager or VP of operations. Sdrs pulls verified work emails from its B2B database, and Plus adds phone numbers so you can call the same list.
Your lanes and your modes
Build one campaign per lane or region, for example reefer out of the Rio Grande Valley or flatbed around the Great Lakes. Messages mention the freight and geography you actually cover, which is what gets a transportation manager to reply.
Research on every shipper
The AI prospect researcher reads company news before it writes. A note that mentions a new distribution center, a plant expansion or a new product line reads like a broker who did homework, not a mass blast.
Outreach that sounds like a broker
Sequences of up to 7 steps offer something concrete: a quote on two or three lanes, backup capacity for peak season, or coverage on the loads their asset carriers reject. You approve every template before it sends and A/B test subject lines and offers.
Call scripts for follow-up calls
Freight is still sold on the phone. On Plus, the AI call script generator writes talking points for each shipper so you know the product, the likely lanes and the ask before you dial. Pro adds an AI voice agent for cold calls.
Calls on your calendar
On Plus, positive replies are detected automatically and answered with your booking link, so the lane review lands on your calendar without back and forth. Plus also syncs every contact and meeting to HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive if you run a CRM.
How shipper lead generation works in Sdrs
Four steps from a blank account to booked shipper calls. Most brokers launch their first campaign the same day.
Pick the freight you want
Start with the modes, lanes and industries you move best, for example dry van FTL for beverage distributors in the Southeast. One lane or vertical per campaign keeps the message specific.
Review the shipper list
Sdrs returns matching companies with the person who handles transportation. Remove current customers, shippers you are already quoting and anyone on your do-not-contact list.
Approve the outreach
The AI drafts a short sequence around your lanes, your capacity and your proof points, such as on-time percentage, cargo insurance limits or the carriers you work with. Edit anything that does not sound like you, then launch.
Quote the lanes
Interested shippers reply to you (on Plus they get your calendar link automatically), and the call appears with company details and notes. You ask for lanes and volumes and quote as you always do.
Which freight businesses use Sdrs for shipper leads
The common thread is a sale made to a shipping decision maker, where one active customer can mean dozens of loads a month.
New brokerages
In the first year a brokerage lives or dies on a handful of direct shippers. Starter keeps a few hundred targeted logistics managers in a sequence every month for a fraction of an agency's lowest retainer, while you spend your hours covering loads.
Freight agents
Agents working under a host brokerage bring their own book. Sdrs gives an agent a personal outbound engine aimed at the freight and region they know, without buying a shared list that every other agent in the office is calling.
Growing brokerages with sales reps
Once you have reps, the bottleneck is how many new shipper conversations each rep starts. Plus adds phone numbers, call scripts and CRM sync so every rep works a warm list instead of a cold spreadsheet.
3PLs and warehousing providers
Warehousing, fulfillment and cross-dock providers sell to the same supply chain directors. One campaign can introduce storage and transportation together to shippers opening a new region.
Specialized and niche carriers
Heavy haul, hazmat, temperature controlled, final mile and drayage providers can target the exact industries that need them, such as construction equipment dealers or pharmaceutical distributors.
Customs brokers and freight forwarders
Importers and exporters change forwarders when volumes shift. Campaigns aimed at import managers and supply chain leads can open with tariff changes, a new port or a service you added.
Freight lead agency vs shipper list vs Sdrs
These are the three common ways to buy freight broker leads. Figures come from the providers' own pages checked in September 2026. An agency is the right call for some brokerages, particularly if you want someone else to make every call and you have the budget for a retainer.
| Freight lead generation agency | Shipper list or database | Sdrs AI SDR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Primax Freight Leads plans from $1,000/mo (Launch) to $15,000 to $25,000/mo (Enterprise); Launch Leads quotes a retainer by scope | Primax database only $250, with marketing $350/mo; Salesgenie from $99/mo plus credits for exports | $49, $149 or $499 per month, no per-lead fee |
| What you get | Qualified shipper opportunities or set appointments from their callers | Company and contact records you work yourself | Booked calls from your own outreach, plus the list |
| Who else calls the same shipper | Depends on the agency's client list | Anyone who bought the same list | Only you, with your own message |
| Contract | Primax plans listed as month to month | Salesgenie subscription runs 12 months, then month to month | Monthly, cancel anytime |
| Control over targeting | Set with the agency; they write the pitch | Full, but you do all the work | You choose industry, region, title and message |
| Cost as you scale | Higher tiers for more volume | More credits and seats | Flat per plan |
| Best for | Brokerages that want zero prospecting work | Brokers with time to call all day | Brokers who want steady shipper conversations at a fixed monthly cost |
How do freight brokers get shipper leads?
Freight brokers get shipper leads from four places: direct outreach to shipping decision makers, referrals from carriers and existing customers, industry directories and business databases, and lead generation agencies that call on their behalf. Direct outreach is the only one you control week to week, which is why most growing brokerages run it every day.
Referrals are the best leads you will ever get, but you cannot schedule them. Directories and databases such as Salesgenie, ZoomInfo or MacRae's Blue Book give you names; they do not start conversations. Agencies start conversations for a monthly retainer. The fourth option is to run the outreach yourself with software: a targeted list of shippers whose freight fits your lanes, a short sequence that names their product and region, and fast follow-up on every reply. That is what an AI SDR automates for you.
How to get leads as a freight broker without buying shared lists
The simplest way to get freight broker leads that nobody else is working is to build the list from your own lanes instead of buying a generic one. Start with the three to five lanes you run most profitably, then find the manufacturers, distributors and importers that ship on or near them.
In practice that means four things. First, a tight list of 200 to 500 companies whose freight matches your equipment, not every shipper in the country. Second, a reason to talk now: peak season, a new facility, a tariff change or a carrier that keeps missing pickups. Third, follow-up across at least five touches by email and phone, because most replies come after the second or third message. Fourth, speed: answer every interested reply the same day with a way to book a call. Sdrs runs all four and leaves the quoting to you. If you prefer a human caller on top of it, compare prices first in our guide to what appointment setting services cost.
How much do freight broker leads cost?
Freight broker leads cost anywhere from about $100 a month for a business database to $1,000 to $25,000 a month for an agency that prospects for you. The price depends on whether you are buying raw contact records, qualified opportunities or booked appointments.
Here is what providers publish. Primax Freight Leads lists database-only access at $250, database plus marketing services at $350 a month or $900 prepaid quarterly, and managed plans of $1,000 a month (Launch), $2,500 to $5,000 (Growth), $7,500 to $10,000 (Scale) and $15,000 to $25,000 (Enterprise). It says to expect 5 to 10 qualified leads a week. Salesgenie, a general business list tool, starts at $99 a month with exports and email addresses paid by credits, on a 12-month subscription; see our breakdown of Salesgenie pricing. Launch Leads does not publish prices and quotes a retainer after an assessment.
Sdrs sits between the two: you get the list and the outreach for a flat $49, $149 or $499 a month on the published plans, with no charge per lead or per call.
Is buying freight broker leads worth it?
Buying freight broker leads is worth it when the leads are exclusive to you and you follow up fast, because one direct shipper can be worth dozens of loads a month. It rarely pays off for shared lists that every other broker is calling, or when nobody on your team has time to work the leads within a day.
Do the math with your own numbers before you sign. If an average load earns you a $250 margin and a new shipper gives you four loads a month, one customer is worth about $1,000 in gross margin every month. A $1,000 retainer that lands one new shipper a quarter loses money for months; the same retainer that lands two a month pays back quickly. A flat software plan changes the math because the cost does not rise with volume: at $149 a month, one new shipper covers the subscription several times over.
Which shippers respond best to cold outreach
Mid-sized shippers with 50 to 1,000 employees respond best, because they move enough freight to need several brokers but do not run a formal bid process for every lane. Large enterprises tender through TMS portals and annual RFPs, and very small shippers often do not have a dedicated transportation person.
Industries that tend to answer brokers include food and beverage producers, building materials and lumber, packaging, chemicals and plastics, automotive parts, furniture, agriculture and e-commerce importers. Titles to target are transportation manager, logistics manager, shipping and receiving manager, supply chain director and, at smaller plants, the plant manager or operations director. Sdrs lets you filter by all of these, then writes to each segment differently.
Freight broker leads, common questions
The best way is targeted outbound to transportation and logistics managers at shippers whose freight matches your lanes and equipment, followed up by email and phone within a day. Referrals convert better, but outbound is the channel you can scale on purpose. Sdrs automates the list, the sequence and the booking from $49 a month.
A list is worth buying only if it is current, filtered to your lanes and industries, and you have time to work it. The weak point of bought lists is that other brokers call the same names. Building your own list from a B2B database and writing to each shipper about their freight avoids that problem.
Most new brokers need a few hundred targeted shippers in active outreach every month to land one to three new customers. Direct shipper sales cycles often take several weeks and several touches, so consistent volume matters more than a single big list.
Yes. Freight agents under a host brokerage use Sdrs to run their own outreach under their own name and email. Starter covers up to 3 team members; Plus adds phone numbers, call scripts, reply-to-calendar booking and CRM sync.
Some do in their top tiers. Primax Freight Leads lists a guaranteed shipper acquisition program in its Enterprise plan at $15,000 to $25,000 a month. Most lower tiers promise activity and qualified opportunities rather than signed customers, so ask exactly what counts as a lead before you pay.
Yes. Business-to-business cold email is legal in the US under CAN-SPAM as long as you use accurate sender details, an honest subject line, a physical mailing address and a working opt-out. Plus adds do-not-contact list management and automatic suppression so opted-out shippers are never emailed again.
Sdrs is built for selling, so it targets shippers and other buyers of freight services. Carrier sourcing is better handled by load boards and your TMS, where capacity and authority data live.
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