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For brokersCarriers want to talk to a person. How do I answer every call?
Carriers call to talk to a person, not a script. Why phone bots lose them, what missed calls cost a freight agent, and how to answer every call, people first.
Some phone bots answer every call first, even when someone on your team is free, and can't put the carrier through to a person. Carriers who want to talk hang up, and the truck goes to the next broker who picks up.
Example
Your flatbed out of Kansas City has been on Truckstop for an hour. At 10:15 the phone rings. Dana, Luis and Kim are all on calls. The carrier hears ringing, then a recording, and calls the next broker on the list.
Freight agents put it to us plainly: carriers want to talk to a person. They have a truck, a lane and a number in mind, and they want someone who can say yes. When nobody picks up, or a bot picks up and can't get them to anyone, they move on.
Why carriers hang up
Calls come in bursts. A fresh post lights up the phones, and the same people who would answer are already on the line booking other loads. At SmartLoads' first agency customer, 98.5% of the 14,232 calls the brokers missed and SI agents answered from May 14 to September 25, 2026, came in Monday to Friday between 7 AM and 5 PM Central. The problem isn't after hours. It's the busy hours.
Bots that answer everything. Some phone tools put a bot on every call, even when someone on your team is free. A carrier who wants to negotiate hears a script, not a person, and hangs up.
No way through. Some of those bots can't transfer. "Can I talk to someone?" becomes a dead end, or a promise that somebody will call back later, after the truck is gone.
Hand-offs that take too long. Every extra ring loses people. On June 29, 2026, 34 carriers hung up while the call was still being passed along, before anyone or anything answered.
What missed calls cost
We measured a full day at SmartLoads' first agency customer: Monday, June 29, 2026. Of 260 inbound calls, 141 (54%) were missed or sent to overflow. Of the 113 carriers who didn't reach a broker, 70 reached a super intelligence (SI) phone agent and 20 became leads. The other 43 never reached it, and 34 of them hung up while the call was being passed along.
A missed call isn't just one carrier. It's a truck that might have covered your load, and a carrier who learns your number doesn't answer. From May 14 to September 25, 2026, SI agents at the same agency answered 14,232 calls the brokers didn't pick up. Those calls became 4,388 leads, and the team booked 72 loads from them. Without SI answering, most of those calls would likely have been a ring and a hang-up. The full breakdown is in what missed carrier calls cost.
What any agent can do today
You can cut most of this without new software.
- Ring people first. Set your posted number to ring the whole desk before anything else picks up.
- Keep the hand-off short. If calls forward somewhere when nobody answers, forward after a few rings, not after voicemail. Turn off voicemail features that grab the call first.
- Get the basics on every call you can't take: the carrier's MC, the lane, the truck, the rate they want and a callback number.
- Call back in minutes. A carrier with a truck in your area is calling other brokers too.
SmartAgent: a person first, help when you're busy
SmartAgent is SmartLoads' SI phone agent. It doesn't replace your team on the phone. You choose how it fits around them, number by number.
As your missed-call backup. Your phones ring first. Calls nobody answers go to SmartAgent. It answers right away in a natural voice, looks up the load the carrier is calling about, and takes their MC, lane and rate. Then it puts a lead on your SmartBoard for someone to call back.
On the number you post, with a transfer. SmartAgent answers the number on your DAT and Truckstop posts. When a carrier asks for a person, it says something like "Let me connect you with the team" and rings your phone. If nobody picks up, it takes the carrier's details so someone can call right back. Outside the office hours you set, it tells them the team is out and takes the details.
Either way, a few things stay true:
- It quotes only your starting rate. It never sees your max pay or your customer's name.
- It never books or covers a load. If a carrier says yes on the call, the lead shows the rate as offered, not confirmed, until a person confirms it. A person books every load (why that matters).
- Every call leaves a record: the carrier, the lane, what they asked for and what was said.
What that adds up to:
- On a backup number, your team answers first, and SmartAgent takes only the calls they miss.
- On the number you post, a carrier who asks for a person gets put through, or leaves details if nobody picks up.
- A lead with the details for every call you couldn't take, ready for a callback.
The video at the top shows it in a few seconds, and the SmartLoads home page has the rest of the tools. Agents also told us they're tired of unposting and reposting to change a rate. Thinking about running your own desk? Here's how to become a freight agent. To hear it work, watch SmartAgent answer a carrier.
Frequently asked questions
Does SmartAgent answer every call?
Only if you want it to. Set up as a missed-call backup, your team's phones ring first, and SmartAgent answers only the calls nobody picks up.
Can a carrier get to a real person?
Yes, on a number set up to transfer. When the carrier asks for a person, SmartAgent rings your phone. If nobody answers, it takes the carrier's details for a quick callback. On a missed-call backup number it doesn't transfer, because your phones already rang.
Can SmartAgent book a load?
No. It takes the carrier's details and what they asked for. A person decides, books and covers every load.
Does SmartAgent tell carriers my max pay?
No. It quotes only the starting rate. Max pay and the customer's name never reach it.