Leadership for the sales team is one of the most critical elements of making a rep firm more profitable and more secure with the principals the rep firm represents.

Evaluating the Salespeople

This approach assumes that there is a sales leader. The rep firm has a person who steps up to the challenge of managing the sales personnel.

Who is this person? Generally, the sales manager will be one of the owners of the rep firm. It is mostly not possible for a rep firm to afford to hire an individual to be a sales manager. As a result, someone … Read the rest

Sales are what it is all about, but how good is your independent manufacturers’ rep firm at selling the selling?

We all know that the rep business is all about selling; but, the way your firm does it can be a neglected topic.

How good are you at backselling all aspects of your business?

Organization and Management of the Sales Process

Do you have a sales manager? If not, how do you manage the sales force? How are your salespeople held accountable for all aspects of their business? We recognize that most rep salespeople are either 100 percent commission, or … Read the rest

Some regional sales managers have little or no experience with reps. How do you educate them and make them an ally?

It’s very common for reps to face a new regional sales manager for at least one of their major lines every year. And, it is probably safe to say that often they are not very knowledgeable about your business and how they are supposed to work with you. Some may even think that the job is to “manage” you.

Sometimes a regional manager is well acquainted with the real beneficial activities they can contribute to your rep firm and … Read the rest

An outsourced sales force works if you make it work.

There is only one product that a rep sells — sales!

With a focus on this reality, what can you do to make your rep sales team better?

Planning is the first step to making a rep firm better. There needs to be a plan for every line you represent. How can you work with your manufacturers to plan your work for that manufacturer in your territory?

How strong is the marketing plan for each manufacturer? What can you add to that plan to position that line to get an … Read the rest

When opportunity knocks how will you respond?

Is your agency in a position to compete effectively when good lines are available? To effectively compete in a “shootout,” your agency needs to be ready and rehearsed months in advance of any chance to go after a good line.

The business of getting a rep agency ready for live time is not complex, but it requires a very disciplined approach.

Your Profile

Is your company profile an effective working tool to provide a significant edge?

The profile must be totally professional.

First, the graphics presentation. Does your profile look as good or … Read the rest

Competing for a line should be a well-planned process designed to win most of the time. There is no reason not to be one of the best, if not the very best, rep firm in your geographic area.

Being a great rep firm requires total discipline and an organized approach to how you conduct business. The key to winning is how you present your firm when talking to prospective new principals.

There is only one thing a prospective manufacturer wants to know about — sales! The business of a rep firm is obtaining and maintaining sales volume for its lines. … Read the rest

Can they present and sell the company?

For most of you reading this, your firm has four to 10 outside salespeople. At one time or another, each of these salespeople must present your rep firm. How well do they do this?

My experience is that most salespeople would get a “C” grade or worse. Most salespeople regardless of industry are neither trained nor capable of making a high-quality presentation of their rep firm.

Why is this important? First of all, the salespeople are the product that the manufacturer is buying. In the rep business, the only product is the sales … Read the rest

There are so many things that can cause trouble for a rep firm — there is no way to list all of them or to be smart enough to provide solutions. This article points out a few major threats and suggests solutions.

The Goal — Build a Fortress Rep Firm

From the answering of the phone at a rep firm to the communications with each principal, every single person working for the rep firm must be a part of the fortress.

Nothing is more important than making sure everyone — receptionist, janitor, lowest person on the customer service team — … Read the rest

Here’s the scene — you get a call from a rep friend in another market.

“I just had a call from one of my best principals. He asked for a recommendation in your market. They have terminated the guy they had. Of course, I gave him your name and number and referred him to your website. I think he’s anxious to talk to you. He’ll probably call in a few days.”

After you thank your friend, you think about “the presentation pitch.” You realize that others have large full-color brochures. Some have professionally developed power-point presentations. Some even have video … Read the rest

Knowledge is power. In the rep business knowledge is many faceted. The rep needs to gather knowledge about the best customers and have it organized for current and future use.

What Kind of Operation?

What is the customer’s business all about? How does the customer approach the market? What do the customer’s customers think of the company selling to them? What do their employees think of them? What do customers think of this individual salesperson and the firm that this salesperson represents?

Self-evaluation is critical to this in-depth penetration of the customer. The salesperson and the sales manager need to … Read the rest

Do you own a multi-salesperson rep firm? When was the last time you evaluated the members of your sales team? Rate each of the following qualities on a 1-10 scale with 10 being best possible.

If your team overall doesn’t rate at least eight, you have trouble. If any one individual doesn’t rate eight you have a problem.

It is simply not smart to run an independent rep agency with a sales force that is less than 80 percent on the 100-point scale. You know the only thing you have to sell is the quality of your sales team.

• Planning

Learning to build an agency on hard-edged demands is the road to success. Each salesperson who works for a rep agency should be managed against a very specific set of standards.

Planning

The first requirement that should be made a part of the salesperson’s responsibility and work plan is detailed planning for the territory, each significant customer, and each significant line.

One of the problems salespeople encounter is managing their time. Time and territory management go hand in hand.

• Where does a salesperson need to be? Of course, it depends on the business situation, but it also depends on the

Major problems in your business come from many “little things.”

Avoiding disaster should be a primary task of every member of the rep company team. You have all worked very hard to build a successful agency and position that agency with very good principals. Unfortunately, the world of the independent rep business is full of landmines that cause temporary or permanent damage to your business.

To follow is a landmine for you to think about as you are planning the operation and functioning of your agency.

Major Changes in Agency Management

Major changes in agency management must be communicated effectively … Read the rest

Avoid planting and setting off landmines in the manufacturer-rep relationship.

The opportunities to plant landmines in your agency’s path are many and occur every day.

Trying to list many of these landmines results in a clear picture of how many there are and how many can really damage your business. Being aware of these landmines makes everyone in the rep firm a better rep and better partner for the principals you represent.

Communication Gaps

No regular program of communication to keep principals up to date and looking forward.

“We never hear from those guys in Ohio. Their business is not … Read the rest

Stuff happens! There is no avoiding occasional negatives for your rep firm.

One of the most troubling negatives is losing a good person for any reason. It is critical that rep firm management recognize that communication with manufacturers about personnel changes is absolutely critical and urgent.

Your manufacturers (I like to call them principals) have every right to know everything about your team — their sales force — as soon as something develops.

A Great Letter

I recently received this letter from a rep client:

“I regretfully announce that Charlie Smith [fictional name] will be leaving The Smith Group this … Read the rest

Everyone acknowledges that independent rep firms need to plan their business.

But very few get a real plan done and put in action.

The answer to “Why don’t reps plan their business?” is very simple — the “I’m too busy” syndrome dominates rep thinking. “What do you want me to do, plan or sell?” dominates the mentality of even the most successful rep firms. How can a rep firm build planning into their business? The “work on” not “work in” your business standard has to rise to the surface.

All Hands Meeting

A good starting place is to gather everyone … Read the rest

A month can be long or short. In the rep business a month should be the key measuring point for running the business.

Most of us have heard the expression, “work on your business — not in it!” Unfortunately, most reps are so far in the business that they are like frogs in a pot of boiling water, just swimming so hard to stay alive that they never think about the vital few things that make them successful.

The Vital Few

What are the “vital few” for a rep firm?

1. Time to think — as mentioned above, reps are … Read the rest

Does your rep firm deliver?

The rep firm is an “outsourced salesforce.” Of course, delivering sales and earning commissions are basic. But what else is important to the manufacturers that are represented by a rep firm?

In my mind, this presupposes that the people running the rep firm have a broad vision of their responsibilities, their value-added services, and products they “sell” to the manufacturer.

The rep is in the field at least four days a week. Reps see customers and communicate with customers constantly. The rep firm provides one or more “branch offices” for the manufacturer. This constant communication … Read the rest

Things everyone who sells for a rep agency should do. A check list for every rep firm owner/manager.

Selling as an independent representative salesperson for a manufacturers’ representative agency is not an easy job. Success demands great organizational skills and discipline.

Here is a review of essential elements: See how many boxes you can check if you are a territory salesperson. If you are the boss, how many boxes are the members of your team checking off?

1. Line Card Review — Territory Results Analysis

In your line card, how many of the lines do you actually sell productively?

Which … Read the rest

Manufacturers please pay attention. It may not seem important to you, but it is.

Why is your rep’s line card important to you? Later we’ll discuss why it is so important to the rep firm and the rep firm’s customers.

For a manufacturer, the line card that a rep firm presents to all of its publics is of vital importance. These are the publics:

• You, the principals that they represent.
• Their customers and buyers who purchase either directly or through distribution.
• Their employees.

We will review all three.

First of all, the line card is a clear, concise overview of … Read the rest

Newbie, newb, noob, nub or n00b is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in a profession or activity. Depending upon the context and spelling variant used, the term can have derogatory connotations — but is also often used for descriptive purposes only, without any value judgment.

With a little help from Google we have a starting point.

New people joining a rep firm are generally totally lost. If your firm doesn’t have a solid, highly structured game plan for a new person coming in to either the sales or customer service areas they will surely … Read the rest

What to do? This is being written in the middle of the COVID‑19 shutdown. Business is practically zero. Commissions will dry up very soon, and when they will start being paid again is very questionable.

Some of the most well-financed manufacturers will pay on time. But, what is your team going to do to make commissionable sales quickly when you can get out in the market, again?

Manage the Details

The winners are the people who manage the details.

The big question is whether the independent reps are willing and able to attack their market.

How Do You “Attack”?

The … Read the rest

Agency size matters — there are ways to position your rep firm to look and feel bigger and more powerful.

In a previous article we discussed the larger, more powerful rep firms — “power reps” — what they have and what they do.

Now, let’s talk about your average size — the five salespeople, two inside support personnel firm. You don’t need to do everything a power rep firm does to compete for the good lines. Many manufacturers who are looking for a new rep in your territory do not have the powerful marketing and sales management systems of the … Read the rest

If you associate with power reps, you’ll have marketing and sales power in your territories.

Regardless of industry, all territories have several rep organizations that stand out above the rest. If you are a manufacturer does your line merit the attention of a major rep organization? If not, why not?

What does it cost your manufacturing company to manage your sales program? If you have rep firms that are totally professional with advanced systems and procedures your cost per territory or per substantial customer is less.

How to Beat the Typical Manufacturer Mind-Set, If You Are a Rep

What is … Read the rest

In the not too distant past, at a trade event I overheard two reps talking about another rep who had made some serious errors and behaved very badly. Until that performance they had great respect for the rep’s ability as a salesperson. As a matter of fact, one of the guys commented that he had thought about approaching the rep in question to work for his agency.

Now, no way!

This article is much less about a lost opportunity for an attractive, smart, in some ways, young person in the rep business than it is about what leaders in the … Read the rest

Keeping a key person is not always possible.

Joe, the best salesperson and a vital part of the rep agency suddenly decided he did not want to be there anymore.

Seriously, this guy was making big dollars and doing very well. The owner of the agency had even given him a 10 percent share of the business and promised more to come. What more could the guy want?

This situation is not farfetched. It doesn’t happen every day, but it happens often enough for owners of agencies to be concerned. What can a smart, loyal, very involved rep agency owner … Read the rest

“Do you have the courage to run your business?”

Being the owner or leader means something special, but you have to recognize it.

Managing a Rep Business Is Different

Running an independent manufacturers’ rep business is a bit different than other businesses. Managing a team of rep salespeople is definitely like herding cats. Having a really productive team that is consistently able to exceed the expectations of your manufacturers doesn’t mean that you can ignore your management responsibilities.

When business is at its best is the time when you — the leader — have to exert yourself to build the … Read the rest

Getting the sales manager to be a proactive part of the salesperson’s program pays big dividends.

Do you have a sales manager? If you don’t, should you have one?

My answer is a resounding “Yes!” Even if you are a small rep firm, you need someone to act as the leader of the sales force and supervisor of the salespeople. How can you expect salespeople to manage their business if they are not managed by the company they work for?

The most important part of a salesperson’s work is not making calls. It is planning their activity for their 10-20 … Read the rest

Tell your customers and your principals how your business works.

The rep business is very different from other service businesses. Yes, reps are looking for orders. Yes, reps call on different types of customers. Yes, reps are in the middle between the customer and the manufacturer.

The problem is that there is very little information disseminated to the public or in business schools about reps. Somehow reps seem to slip through the cracks. They are lumped in with “salespeople.”

Also, the selling “process” is neither widely understood nor appreciated.

Multiple-Line Selling

The idea of multiple lines being “represented” by one … Read the rest

What you don’t know can hurt you. This is especially true when it comes to selling through independent manufacturers’ representatives.

Pro-Active Involvement

Building personal relationships with the reps is much more valuable than you might think. It is obvious that it is good to be friendly and to get along with your reps, but there is much more to a personal relationship with a rep. In some cases it is the owner of the rep firm; in others it is the field salespeople. Or it might be the inside coordinators and customer service people, or even the bookkeeper.

The more … Read the rest