account executive

sales representative entry level

account representative

sales representative

recruiter

Total Quality Logistics (TQL)

Reading some of the reviews, and through talking with friends I knew outside of TQL, the offices differ a huge amount. I loved my office, leadership was very helpful and it was a fun environment(except for a few in leadership), but a friend I knew at a different office said it was insanely cut-throat and unwelcoming. 

The first 8 weeks are training on an established broker’s account. If you’re lucky, you get put on an in-house broker’s account, and you learn how they prospect businesses, how they talk to truckers and you learn more in-depth stuff. However if you aren’t lucky, you get put on a “remote” account, where you’re working on a broker’s account who is in a different office. Most of the trainees I saw in my year there that were put on remote accounts didn’t make it much past training ended because they didn’t learn much, and their broker was a jerk and it tainted their view of the company. 

After your first 8 weeks, you’re still working on your broker’a account, but you’re allowed to prospect for your own book of business. Prospecting is HARD. You’ll make 80-100 calls a day, reach someone on maybe 50 of those calls, not get hung up on immediately on 20, and have a meaningful conversation that MAY lead to freight on 5, and that’s assuming they pick up next time you call. There’s no script, it’s all about you. For the first 23 weeks of your employment, any freight you get will go towards your broker’s commission, not yours. Also if you’re lucky, your broker will give you time to prospect. Mine did, and even gave me a couple old customers to work on. However I did see people that worked under broker’s that didn’t give them time to prospect. 

Your first 8 weeks out of training are what’s called “proving grounds”, where you need to make $2500 to keep your job. IF your broker gave you time to prospect, and IF you called the right people and IF they give you their freight, you’ll easily make it. I did by the end of my second week, but a lot of people didn’t. 

I do agree with most of the reviews that it is hard work, but those reviews don’t mention how much luck plays into the equation. It may just be a bad time for your prospect and the next person that gets them closes the business. That happened with me, I called this company probably 20 times in the 45 days I had them but never closed them because my rates were too high. They fell off my name and 3 days later someone else moved freight with them. Also since the market is so saturated, if you mess up one time with a customer you may never get another load with them. I had a customer cancel 6 loads on me 2 days before they were set to pick up, the trucks asked for partial payment and my customer flipped out on me and barely gave me a shot on any more of her freight. 

It is accurate that your manager will give you customers from people that quit/get fired, and they vary in how good they are. My manager only gave these types of prospects to people who worked hard, but I have heard of managers that only give them to buddies. Unfortunately that prospect I had that someone closed 3 days later was a “gift” prospect, so unfortunately my manager never gave me any worthwhile prospects after that. 

Work/life balance is tough. I worked 7-4:15, but lived really far away and left at 5:30 and didn’t get home until 5:30PM(so I was basically working 60 hour weeks). Then when you are home, you get prospects/customers asking you for quotes so you drop everything you’re doing to quote them, only to have them send back “$$$”. No joke. This happened to me. 

The atmosphere was great at my office, and I would consider some of those people friends when I worked there. We had beer drops when we broke records, and Friday’s we would go to the bar downstairs. However once I was let go only 2 people have texted me or replied to my texts since, so it does make it seem pretty disingenuous. However I would rate my experience while there high.

I was a Customer Sevice Coordinator. I took pride in the work I did when it came to managing accounts and bettering them. In the beginning it was great, you felt appreciated and as if you were an asset to the company. Things started to slowly go down hill as you realize sales support roles aren't as cared for and catered to as the sales department is. As sales support you either had to be lucky with what account representative you received to work under as if they treated you nicely or poorly. When people in the sales department treated us as sales support horribly they would simply get a slap on the wrist until it would get so bad to the point it would be bad publicity for the company itself. And example of this is I had a coworker tell me multiple stories where their account rep would constantly be off of work and not tell his team and expect them as sales support to do the account reps job for them. (The account reps position is sold as a 24/7 365 position even while on vacation.) If you weren't able to keep up with their work while they were out you would get heavily scolded, even though your down one of the most valuable team members for running the account. They got scolded horribly by the account rep to the point it took a mental toll on them and thats when they finally decided to switch them to a different account. (We work for the account rep but they are not our managers nor supervisors which gives them no right to speak horribly / scold sales support like that.) You would be constantly informed there room for growth yet when you try they refuse to give you even a chance for it, or they already have their favorites that they plan on putting in that position who under perform you based off of company numbers. Its extremely hard to try and grow in that company, it takes years of your life off of the small amount of pay you receive that you can't live off of. Yes you can get yearly raises based off of your performance that year for how much money you've earned the company but there is a cap with it. You cannot request any unpaid time off EVER. They will force you to use vacation time, PTO, or personal holidays. There was this time my office had and internet outage due to a leaking air condition. My supervisor informed me if I had no way to work from home that they'd force me to use my saved vacation time. Tell me how that in any way makes sense as it was a fault of their placement of all electronics? You also are lied to constantly so the company can get their way with employees. I was offered a position in a different department as was a few others I worked with, we were informed if we are not comfortable with the position we can transfer back. One of my coworkers expressed they did not like the position and wanted to switch back to then be informed no one can transfer back as there's no available positions open. If we were able to switch back in the first place there would have been a space open. (This was within 3 weeks of the new postion, nothing drastic like a few months.) If the company finds out you plan on leaving they go out of their way to fire you first and the always do it with 1 hour left in the work day. The only thing I will say I lived about this company is the experience I received from it, and the connections I've made with my coworkers.

I want to try to be as fair to TQL as possible.  For a very specific type of person, the LAE position at TQL is a great fit.  If you're really willing to put your nose to the grindstone, if you don't mind making cold-call sales all day (and probably after-hours/weekends if you really want to succeed to be honest), if you're willing to put in a lot of dedicated time and really live for sales, then you will succeed at TQL.  Some people really love it.  If your favorite movie is "Boiler Room" or "Wolf on Wall Street" this job is for you.  If you're willing to make work your life, then you can legitimately make a lot of money.  I work with some really awesome people and it was awesome having a free gym.

But, for a variety of reasons, this job is not for most people.  It has a high turnover rate; they're honest about this.  They'll tell you that it's because not everybody is willing to put in the hard work necessary to succeed here.  I suppose that's true in a sense, but for me it was because I just wanted a job where I could provide for myself and my wife.  Management basically views you as a sales machine, and if you aren't putting up the right numbers/metrics (my manager expected 800 calls per week for the first 2 years), then they throw you out like a broken machine.  If you don't want to make work your life, if you just want to show up to work, get paid, and move on to other things, if your greatest fulfillment in life comes from outside your job, then I would strongly recommend not working at TQL.  It is really just not a good fit for most people.  For me, making cold sales calls all day was soul crushing, especially because there's no real organization as to who calls which companies.  You are entirely responsible for generating your own leads and hoping that TQL hasn't been blowing them up with calls asking for freight.

One more thing about the commission structure: it's not as nice a package as they make it seem.  Let me break it down:
 
- 0 commission for your first 6 months; any commission you might have made from sales goes to your mentor broker
- After 6 months, you make 25% on any sales with a customer that hasn't done business with TQL before
- But that 25% only shows up on your paycheck if the dollar amount is more than your paycheck for that pay period
- Example: Lets say I make $1000 every 2 weeks (actual base pay is more than that).  If I bring in $4000 of revenue during those 2 weeks, then I still get $0 in commission.  If I bring in $4001 in revenue, my paycheck is $1000.25.  
- Now this all depends on when your customers pay their invoices as well.  Using the above example, if I make $5000 of sales from 2 customers, but they pay their invoices in 2 separate pay periods, then I still get $0 in commission.

That being said, I know guys who have been with TQL for over 10 years and are making something in the neighborhood of $8000/week.  Pretty good.  But is it worth what it takes to get there?  It wasn't for me.  Not with the way TQL expects you to work.

A very intense yet fraternity type work environment. They work hard and play hard. They want to see you hit your goals and because it can be stressful, we often break a couple days a month for different types of competition throughout the day. Both work related competitions with goals in mind and non-work related, and month-long competitions or just short day competitions. Music is also played throughout the day to pump people up. My office was a very fun environment, but kept that way to try and ease the stress while getting you pumped up to make money!!! Because ultimately that is what they care about. Loved my coworkers and the office environment. However, just know they have an abnormally high turnover rate for a reason. They expect you to hit your goals or work hard to prove you are trying to. If they don't like you for whatever reason or just don't feel you are adding to the team environment of they expect, they will find a reason to fire you. People quit quite a bit too. It is good for short-term employment, resume-builder, and a decent base salary, but odds are after 1 year you probably won't be there anymore. Don't get me wrong, there are people who do stay and have been there for years, it's just that a solid 80% are not going to last for more than a year for multiple reasons, and they want the best that add money and fit in with the team environment. The interview process is kinda long and intense, but none of is weighed too much as long as you just do your basic homework, pass the quick/easy tests (typing test, name the states on a map with their initials, etc), because ultimately they want to hear in the last main interview that you are a driven, competitive person who is money-hungry and prepared to do what it takes and work hard/long hours to make money. They will try to intimidate you in the last interview, and they do that on purpose. I constantly joke around now with the 2 guys who interviewed me. Just try to hold your own and give straight-forward answers that cater to loving competition, money and working hard/long hours (you will work fairly typical hours a lot of the time, but you'll be expected to put in extra hrs especially the first few months, and if you're not up on your goals and don't want to get fired- be prepared to voluntarily come in at 7am and stay til 7pm to put in extra phone time almost daily). All in all, I got screwed over by corporate and people I've never met on some b.s. policy I was unaware of, blindsided although not too surprised because I've seen similar stuff happen all too often. But I loved my bosses, my coworkers, the fun but intense work environment, and the pay was okay with potential. They are a super shady large, private company as a whole and very greedy, and upper management wants you trained like a work horse, but I was like whatever, and just kinda shrugged that off. Those are definitely some major cons, but the pros outweighed the cons for me, even though they did screw me over in the end (unsurprisingly). Don't get your hopes up too much if you are looking for something long-term (might happen, just not likely), but worthwhile if you need something for under a year. I had an idea of what I was walking into, and was okay with that.

I worked both in sales and sales support during my time at TQL.

Pros: 
•  The 401k match is great
• Ability to make a lot of money. Most people don’t, but there is a small number of brokers that have landed big customers and do well for themselves. The majority have been with the company for a long time and didn’t land their customers anytime recently. There is still opportunity out there, it is just very scarce (Especially when using the companies internal system to prospect). It’s important to note that your customers have to pay their bills on time or else you won’t earn any of the commission. Even if TQL eventually collects the money, you won’t get your commission.
• The people I worked with for the most part were great. Overall, it’s a good atmosphere in terms of your coworkers. 

Cons:
 • Job security: I worked there for years and saw so many people be let go. Most of them were gone within the first 6 months. In other words, the turnover rate is very bad.
• Commission structure is poor. Also, it is not true base salary + commission. You do not earn commission on top of your base salary. Ask the recruiter to explain the commission structure to you in detail if you’re thinking about working there. 
• Leadership: People are pretty much promoted into leadership solely based on performance. While producing is definitely important, it should not be the only determining factor when selecting someone. You can be a great performer but a poor leader and manager. 

Advice to management: Truly start looking at more than just performance when promoting people into leadership. This causes poor quality leaders. Fix the commission structure in various different aspects. Lastly, figure out why your turnover rate is so high and how you can improve it. It is not a problem with the people you hire. When it is as high as it is, it has something to do with the company.

Advice to future employees: If you are ever placed on performance goals/metrics, this is your sign to start looking for another job. Do not believe they are doing this to help you regardless of what you are told. Anyone that understands how Corporate America works knows this is the start of them trying to terminate you. They have begun a paper trail to build a case to “rightfully” terminate you. If you manage to hit their goals, they will just extend them in hopes that you don’t hit them again. Sometimes the goals are virtually unattainable.

Also, do not go into a sales support role. They do not make a lot of money and the bonuses are very small. Additionally, sales support employees performance is too dependent on how their brokers book is performing. If you are on an account that is performing well, you will be fine. If the account you are on isn’t, good luck. Management will tell you ways that you can try to get your numbers up, but if the account is really slow it may not be enough. They might not let you move to another brokers account either. This will essentially leave you up a creek without a paddle.

I have been working at Tql for [number of years], and I must say that it has been an incredible experience. Tql is a company that truly embodies the philosophy of "you get in what you put in." If you are willing to go the extra mile and put in the effort, this company embraces your dedication and rewards you accordingly.

One of the most remarkable aspects of working at Tql is the supportive and motivating environment. From day one, I felt included and valued as an integral part of the team. The management team is approachable, genuinely caring, and invested in the success of their employees. They provide the necessary guidance and resources to help you excel in your role.

Tql fosters a culture of continuous learning and personal growth. The company offers numerous development programs and resources that enable you to enhance your skills and advance your career. There are regular training sessions, workshops, and opportunities to learn from industry experts. Tql truly invests in their employees' professional development, ensuring everyone has the chance to thrive.

A significant highlight of working at Tql is the compensation and benefits package. While the company sets high expectations, they recognize and reward hard work and outstanding performance. There are ample opportunities for financial success through a competitive base salary, commissions, and bonuses. Tql offers comprehensive benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and various employee perks.

The company values work-life balance and promotes a healthy blend of personal and professional life. The flexible working arrangements, generous paid time off policies, and understanding management create an environment where employees can achieve their personal goals while excelling at their work responsibilities.

Furthermore, Tql is committed to diversity and inclusion. They actively foster an inclusive workplace where every voice is heard and respected. The collaborative and diverse team dynamics make Tql an exciting place to work, promoting teamwork and innovative ideas.

I highly recommend Tql to anyone seeking an employer that rewards hard work and dedication. If you are willing to put in the effort and strive for excellence, Tql provides a supportive environment, exceptional compensation, and abundant opportunities for growth. Working at Tql has been a truly fulfilling experience that I cannot praise enough.

Disclaimer: This review is based on my personal experience and can vary depending on individual circumstances and job role.

10 years ago I took a chance on TQL in Cincinnati. Taking a chance on TQL was the best decision I have ever made and it has paid off. I believe that TQL is the best company to work for, I don't imagine that any other job could provide me the opportunities that I have had. The ability to be successful is based on your performance, your hard work and your dedication to the position. These things get rewarded through the unlimited growth, uncapped commission and unlimited potential that is provided at TQL.

A typical day 10 years ago as a new hire is nearly identical to what the new hires do on a typical day now.  You will be in a fast paced environment. You will be on the phone and at a computer the entire day. When you begin selling, you will make 80-100 outbound calls per day at a minimum. You will work hard and it will be challenging.

Pros, I list them with some details here and below.
- Culture and Environment. I love coming to work everyday and have loved it over 9+ years in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
- Unlimited Income / Uncapped Commissions - It is truly the sky is the limit. I have seen this over the past 9 years. People continue to set the bar higher year after year.
- Growth - Individually and as a company, it is pedal to the medal. Promotions come from within and everyone starts in the same position as an LAET. Each person that starts has the same opportunity to grow.
- People - From the CEO to the new hires, I enjoy working with everyone. We work together to solve problems. I don't dread going to work each day, I get excited to come to work and work with people who are passionate and going after the same goals as me.


As with any job there are Cons.  The difference at TQL is that I don't view the cons of the job as negatives, just realities of having a sales job. Hard work, long hours, lots of rejection, pressure to perform and a high level of stress. If these "cons" scare you, then this may not be a good opportunity for you. It isn't sugar coated to you in anyway. This is an inside sales position. You will be sitting at a computer and talking on a telephone your entire career. Working long hours and working hard are what set people apart in this position. Are there tough days? You bet, but you control these days and your career by what you do day in and day out.
As in any sales position, high levels of stress are common. If you can't handle stress and pressure to perform, this job will prove difficult.

A Typical Day at Work

My typical day involves managing and overseeing active shipments, ensuring on-time pickups and deliveries, and proactively communicating with both customers and carriers. I prioritize reviewing overnight updates, addressing any service disruptions, and aligning on daily priorities. Throughout the day, I balance operational execution with customer support—coordinating capacity, resolving issues, and maintaining consistent communication to keep all stakeholders informed.

What I Believe I Learned

Over this period, I have strengthened my ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail. I’ve developed stronger problem-solving skills, especially in high-pressure situations, and gained a deeper understanding of logistics operations and supply chain challenges. Additionally, I’ve improved my communication skills, learning how to manage expectations, build trust, and provide solutions that create value for both customers and partners.


Management

I’ve benefited from management that emphasizes accountability, performance, and responsiveness. Clear expectations and support during escalations have helped me stay aligned with team goals. I value leadership that is accessible and provides constructive feedback, as it directly contributes to my development and ability to handle complex situations effectively.


Workplace Culture

The workplace culture is fast-paced, results-driven, and highly collaborative. Teamwork plays a critical role in success, as coordination across departments is essential to meeting customer needs. I appreciate the shared sense of urgency and accountability, as well as the willingness within the team to step in and help when challenges arise.


The Hardest Part of the Job

The most challenging aspect of my role is managing constant change and unpredictability in the supply chain. Unexpected delays, capacity constraints, and shifting priorities require quick decision-making and adaptability. Balancing multiple urgent issues while maintaining service quality can be demanding, but it has helped me become more resilient and solution focused.


The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job

The most rewarding part of my role is successfully delivering solutions and creating positive outcomes for customers. Whether it's resolving a critical issue, securing capacity in a challenging market, or ensuring a smooth delivery, I take pride in making a tangible impact. Building strong relationships and contributing to customer success makes the work highly fulfilling.



A glorified call center, you sit in front of two computer screens all day with a head set talking to clients, prospects and carriers. It is an inside sales position with rare trips to visit your customer/prospect, no specified lunch break as you are expected to go get lunch and bring it back to eat at your desk as quick as possible. This job is the definition of "more money, more problems". While this position can be very financially rewarding, it does not come quick, easy or without endless, unwarranted stress. You must generate enough revenue to go on commission, but no commission can be earned while on salary (i.e. if you make a $300 off of one load, you don't see a dime of it unless you're solely off salary and on commission). 

Starting off, you train on a successful broker's account while you learn the business, software, company protocols, etc. After 6 months, you enter Sales Training, COLD CALLING on your own to hit a revenue goal over 4-8 week period. If you do not hit the goal, you're fired. If you hit the goal, you stay and continue to grow your book of business. Growing your book of business includes but is not limited to: endless cold calling (prospecting), sourcing companies within the company database and on the internet, communicating with prospects to turn them into customers, negotiating rates with customers/carriers to earn margins, 24/7 availability to your customers.

You're judged/scored mainly by your revenue, customers and how many calls/call time you've made outbound...inbound calls for whatever reason don't seem to be important. One of the most frustrating parts about the position is that "you need to be moving more loads with more customers" but "make sure you're quoting high enough on your margins to make money". In other words, you could quote your customer to make $100-200 and earn their business but be questioned because you "need to make more money than that" OR quote your customer $300+ and not earn their business but be questioned on why you're not moving more loads. 

The expectation is that you're supposed to be prospecting and sourcing several hours every night after your 9.5 hour day, get in the office early to start work and stay until 7-8pm most/every night. Making $35,000 working those hours with no life is simply not worth the time, effort and stress when there are plenty of better, more attractive options available. The successful brokers at TQL did hit it big and do make very good money, it is attainable. But many will tell you that this job is not for them, it is in fact the money is for them.

This job is not for the light hearted.  There will be many obstacles standing in your way.  If you can get through the Mental Warfare, the negativity from all around you, and stick to the system you can land new business in this company, and make a lot of money.  But there is no room for anyone who ever gets content, even if this means you are not on draw or costing the company any money.  Logistics is brutal, you can get under bid or lose a customer in the blink of an eye and there is never any safe point in this job.  You can however make a lot of money, but the key would be to move to a satellite office to get on the STL or sales team leader levels because they are garnering all the accounts when people leave the company, and therefore are adding business at all times.  The key being able to add business with minimal effort on their own, because you will at some point get burnt out from the day in day out grind.  You always have to be adding to your book of business no matter what stage you are at in your career development, just in case something happens and you lose a client.  There is no benefit for the company to keep you over firing you, and handing your account to another broker, also it seems like managers have made up their minds on who they would like to see succeed and like in any office setting where there are obvious favorites, this to brings down morale.  There are plenty of other companies offering hirer commission percentages to new brokers, that if known previously I would have looked into before signing up at TQL.  The entire industry is kind of a sham, not just this company, but if you were looking to get into the broker life be warned that you are looking at phone calls all through the night, because only you completely understand you business and why would you want to lose your next rent check because someone else handled your phone call, be prepared for a lot of negative outlooks and rejection, and be prepared to go to war on your mental and emotional well being.  It is a grind but it is definitely a place you will do really well if you can stay money motivated.  You can make money here.

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