Critique this Idea Please

[Yanezez]

Hello all,

I know ideas are worthless, it's all about execution, so here it goes.

I want to make a website with an automatic freight cost calculator. Freight for trucks in the beginning. So you would input certain data: cargo type, approx. weight, point A and point B. The site would generate an output, the price estimate of the freight. The user requesting this estimate would be asked to give a nod if they think the price is good, bad, or neutral.

I would then sell this data to people who own transport trucks. The user info (with their permission), the data they've inputted and their opinion of the price. So I would be selling the lead, but a little bit more 'developed'. That's it pretty much.

What do you think?

thank you all

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[f.laengle]

Hello all,

I know ideas are worthless, it's all about execution, so here it goes.

I want to make a website with an automatic freight cost calculator. Freight for trucks in the beginning. So you would input certain data: cargo type, approx. weight, point A and point B. The site would generate an output, the price estimate of the freight. The user requesting this estimate would be asked to give a nod if they think the price is good, bad, or neutral.

I would then sell this data to people who own transport trucks. The user info (with their permission), the data they've inputted and their opinion of the price. So I would be selling the lead, but a little bit more 'developed'. That's it pretty much.

What do you think?

thank you all

What is this data useful for? Have you figured out if there is a demand for this data? How will you reach enough people so that you can make enough money? You won't be able to sell the nod of one person for multiple dollars.

 

[Yanezez]

What is this data useful for? Have you figured out if there is a demand for this data? How will you reach enough people so that you can make enough money? You won't be able to sell the nod of one person for multiple dollars.

So for example there is a local website that uses a similar concept but for paining leads. In fact, we use it for our company. We pay a couple of dollars and get the contact information of a person who made a post about looking for a service (paint a home, build a room, etc). Let me know if its clear.

thank you!

 

[NervesOfSteel]

Hello all,

I know ideas are worthless, it's all about execution, so here it goes.

I want to make a website with an automatic freight cost calculator. Freight for trucks in the beginning. So you would input certain data: cargo type, approx. weight, point A and point B. The site would generate an output, the price estimate of the freight. The user requesting this estimate would be asked to give a nod if they think the price is good, bad, or neutral.

I would then sell this data to people who own transport trucks. The user info (with their permission), the data they've inputted and their opinion of the price. So I would be selling the lead, but a little bit more 'developed'. That's it pretty much.

What do you think?

thank you all

What's the use of a website that offers only a quote?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Yanezez]

What's the use of a website that offers only a quote?

Well, it doesn't. I'd use this quote input to sell the lead to registered people who have trucks (moving, freight, etc)

 

[Johnny boy]

No one will use it, on either side as the lead or the company.

Nobody wants it, on either side.

It’s worth nothing and there’s no strategy for getting people to use it.

Put yourself in the shoes of either person. As the user, it doesn’t help you accomplish anything. As the company, it doesn’t help you accomplish anything.

You’d be better off just trucking things yourself and making money that way.

My buddy is in trucking and I asked him how much time he spends looking at the Amazon load board. I said “would you pay $10 a day for someone to watch it 24/7 for you and send you texts with the info when loads pop up?” And he said yes.

So the idea is to have a VA sit at a screen, fill out a form when loads pop up and it sends them out using some api automations to only people who pass the filters they’ve set.

So one VA getting $30 a day could handle like 100 people paying $300 a month and it’s a simple business.

 

[Yanezez]

No one will use it, on either side as the lead or the company.

Nobody wants it, on either side.

It’s worth nothing and there’s no strategy for getting people to use it.

Put yourself in the shoes of either person. As the user, it doesn’t help you accomplish anything. As the company, it doesn’t help you accomplish anything.

You’d be better off just trucking things yourself and making money that way.

My buddy is in trucking and I asked him how much time he spends looking at the Amazon load board. I said “would you pay $10 a day for someone to watch it 24/7 for you and send you texts with the info when loads pop up?” And he said yes.

So the idea is to have a VA sit at a screen, fill out a form when loads pop up and it sends them out using some api automations to only people who pass the filters they’ve set.

So one VA getting $30 a day could handle like 100 people paying $300 a month and it’s a simple business.

Thank you for the feedback. I'm absorbing everything but a gentle pushback.

As the user, people requests quotes all the time. Normally they have to locate a freight company, and then call or fill a form. Then wait. So the user would get the quote in an instant.

The truck owner would get someone better than a lead. They wouldn't just get the information of a person who wants services they offer, but they would get that plus with data on the price the demand is willing to pay.

There are companies, like Habitissimo, that sell contact leads for a couple of bucks. They do well. In fact, we use it for the painting company we have.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Johnny boy]

Thank you for the feedback. I'm absorbing everything but a gentle pushback.

As the user, people requests quotes all the time. Normally they have to locate a freight company, and then call or fill a form. Then wait. So the user would get the quote in an instant.

The truck owner would get someone better than a lead. They wouldn't just get the information of a person who wants services they offer, but they would get that plus with data on the price the demand is willing to pay.

There are companies, like Habitissimo, that sell contact leads for a couple of bucks. They do well. In fact, we use it for the painting company we have.

Lead gen can work I thought you were just being a silly calculator and selling “data”.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

It's not a bad idea. Now go out and try it, that's the only way to figure out if the economics work. Basically you're doing some arbitrage work – you're assuming it's cheaper for you to generate the leads seeking a quote than it is for them to do the same thing, and you'll pocket the difference.

@Johnny boy's idea is also solid – over time you could even get rid of the VA, and have a software built to handle the texts. Then you could charge like $99/mo for the software, and get even bigger volume.

 

[Johnny boy]

@Johnny boy's idea is also solid – over time you could even get rid of the VA, and have a software built to handle the texts. Then you could charge like $99/mo for the software, and get even bigger volume.

exactly

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[amp0193]

I think the idea isn't great, as something that just offers a quote is pretty low utility and low value, without the ability to book that shipment immediately.

My company books LTL freight every day.

I don't want a quote. I want a quote, and then to immediately book the freight.

So the 2 business models are either:

A) Freight brokerage. You negotiate volume pricing with all of the major national and regional carriers. You resell this to the end customer at a markup, who doesn't have enough volume to get those same discounts. This business kinds of sucks though, as it's just a commodity, and there isn't any real way to differentiate yourself other than price. (I've worked with maybe 6 different brokers... all try to differentiate on "service" but in reality, it just comes down to price).

B) Software solution: This is a TMS (transport management system) for those with high volume and direct relationships with carriers, which is what I use now. It pulls in all pricing via API from the various carriers, quotes all for every load, then I can pick the quote I want, and then it sends the booking back to the carrier via API.


I do use loadmatch.com a few times a year to book trucks with chassis to move a container from port to my warehouse. I hate it, because I can't book immediately, and then I get a dozen quotes, and have to go back and forth with multiple truck companies to finally get something booked. If you could turn loadmatch into something more automated... that'd be rad.