Will Jenkins’ Journey to grow freight brokerages

In the hyper-competitive satellite of freight brokerage, wherever endowment is 1 of the fewer differentiators, nary 1 understands the stakes amended than Will Jenkins. The co-founder of MoLo Solutions — the Chicago-based brokerage that rocketed from zero to implicit $600 cardinal successful gross earlier its 2021 acquisition by ArcBest — has turned his attraction to solving 1 of the industry’s astir persistent symptom points: finding, processing and retaining apical performers.

In November 2023, Jenkins launched Journey, a bootstrapped “full-cycle brokerage enactment organization” that provides recruiting, consulting and grooming services exclusively to freight brokerages. Approaching its two-year anniversary, Journey has already established itself arsenic a go-to spouse for immoderate of the largest players successful the space, moving with 8 of the apical 100 brokerages and a fistful of the apical 25.

Jenkins’ freight travel began modestly successful January 2014 erstwhile helium joined Coyote Logistics arsenic a bearer income rep with zero manufacture knowledge. A erstwhile Illinois Wesleyan shot subordinate who erstwhile sold Cutco knives and ran a assemblage bureau for the brand, Jenkins rapidly grasped the grind required successful brokerage sales. By 2015, longtime workfellow (and present Journey partner) Justin Turner tapped him to determination into lawsuit sales, a pivot Jenkins calls “life-changing.”

He roseate to lawsuit income manager, grooming a squad of 9 greenish reps connected everything from acold calling to RFPs and in-person shipper visits. In 2017, Jenkins near Coyote to assistance motorboat MoLo Solutions alongside Andrew Silver, Matt Vogrich and Stephan Mathis. What followed was explosive growth: MoLo trained its archetypal 200 hires, scaled operations from scratch and deed $176 cardinal successful gross by 2020. Jenkins yet took implicit the lawsuit income group, gathering proprietary grooming programs that became a cornerstone of the company’s culture.

The 2021 merchantability to ArcBest — reportedly valued astatine $235 cardinal — capped an bonzer run. MoLo posted $1.25 cardinal successful gross successful 2022 nether ArcBest ownership. Jenkins stayed connected for 18 months post-acquisition earlier stepping distant successful May 2023, “feeling truly bully astir what we had accomplished.”

Rather than discontinue connected the proceeds oregon leap backmost into different brokerage, Jenkins spotted a broader opportunity. “A batch of it has to bash with our team’s knowing of however to successfully physique and standard a ample freight brokerage,” helium explained. Journey was calved to bundle that hard-won expertise for the remainder of the industry.

The institution takes a deliberate, diagnostic attack with clients. Jenkins recounts 1 aboriginal engagement with a $150 cardinal Chicago brokerage seeking a VP of sales. After digging in, Journey determined the proprietor really needed a player-coach manager who could personally physique a publication of concern alternatively than negociate a non-existent endeavor income team. “We inquire amended questions astir the deliverables,” Jenkins said. Sometimes consulting oregon structural enactment indispensable precede recruiting, helium said, reminding clients to “slow down to velocity up” for sustainable results.