Writing it down….

A MANA member recently explained the success he’s experienced by communicating to his principals what he has to do to develop new business. He’s not only done this verbally, but he’s backed it up with a written presentation that includes a visual representation of how long it takes to make the sale.

“After years of experience,” he explained, “I found that when you talk to a new principal, they think they pay you a percentage in return for you looking for new jobs. As a result, the rep is fat and happy and drives a new car every year. They actually wish they were in your shoes.”

In order to move them away from that kind of thinking, he continued: “We make every effort to sell our value. Our first approach is simply verbal. We let them know from the outset that there’s a lot of work that goes into making a sale. Thankfully, most, if not all, of the lines we take on are complementary to what we already carry. As a result, we’ve already established many of the relationships that are necessary to be successful. That gives us a real head start. But then comes the effort to get appointments, communicate the value of a new line, determine the needs of the customer and how that new line can meet those needs, etc. It’s not necessarily a ‘slam dunk.’ That’s something most principals don’t understand.”

What this rep has done to finish off his verbal message to a new manufacturer is to create a timeline — based on his own knowledge and experience — that spells out the length of time it may take before an order is written. “It may be three to six months or even a year, and many times we don’t receive income while all this prep work is being completed. Not everyone has been exposed to the reality we face every day. This approach has really helped.”

He added that his approach has opened a lot of his principals’ eyes and has even been beneficial in his efforts to gain some shared-territory costs or retainers. “While not everyone has been willing to share in our investment on a line, I will say a level of understanding has been reached whereby the principals no longer take us for granted.”

Fueling sales success….

When a MANA member asked for information concerning a rep-manufacturer meeting at a rep conference earlier this year, a look back at the session came up with some points of discussion on the subject of how a rep can help fuel sales. Included among the tips were:

• “When you (the rep) tell us that you’re going to do something, make sure that you follow up and do what you say you’re going to do.”
• “If there’s a problem with any of the factories you represent, fix it.”
• “Be consistent. Always treat your customer just as you would treat any other customer you deal with.”
• “Always make — and then keep — your appointments.”
• “Ensure that your product literature is kept up-to-date.”
• “If you have any ideas that can assist customers or principals, bring them to the attention of the appropriate person — don’t keep them to yourself.”
• “Be truthful. Always tell customers the truth concerning your dealings.”

Tips for motivating the young….

The timing of one rep’s question at an industry conference this year couldn’t have been better, since we already had an answer in hand. The rep was bemoaning how difficult it was to get, nurture and keep the interest of younger people. His agency was in the throes of expanding, and in a couple of instances he had hired people younger than he had in the past. But with those hires came the concern of how to motivate them.

Concurrent with that problem, we had recently received information from Robert W. Wendover of The Center for Generational Studies, Aurora, Colorado. Wendover posed and then went on to answer the following question: “How do we as managers motivate these young people? After all, they’ve had years of experience watching other people do the work.”

Offering a beginning point, Wendover urges “Help them to understand the big picture. Make sure they know they’re not just existing; they’re contributing in a critical way to the success of the organization. They have to believe this in order to find inspiration and pride in the work that they do.

“Continue by setting clear expectations. What, specifically, are they supposed to do? Within what parameters? They can’t read minds and sadly, many have not seen good models of initiative and hard work. Show them yourself.

“As they evolve into the job, look for ways to genuinely praise the work they do. The key word here is ‘genuinely.’ Giving out random ‘atta-boy’s is a worthless effort. As the ‘One Minute Manager’ would say, ‘Catch them doing something right,’ and do it often.”

Decision-making tips….

Jay Henderson, the founder of MyRepCoach, offers guidance to rep-firm owners when it comes to effectively making decisions.

As the owner of your rep firm, making effective decisions is foundational to your success, and the most successful rep firm owners make fast, accurate decisions! Effective decision-making is a function of two elements: good judgment skills and having a good decision-making process or system. This is why, even for successful professional rep firm owners, I recommend a simple, yet powerful, four-step systematic approach to effective decision-making.

A systematic decision-making approach provides you with two specific benefits:

• It helps you to be consistent in your decision-making.
• It keeps you from making your decisions purely by emotion.

This four-step decision-making process will work for any decision. So you’ve got a decision to make:

• What is it that you want out of a given situation?

In moments of decision-making you always want to keep the end result very clear in your mind. Keep this question in mind, “What is my goal?” What primary outcome do you want from this decision?

• Consider the current situation.

Where are you now? What’s going on? Will it continue? What factors are impacting your current rep-firm approaches? Effective decisions are rarely made when your focus is only on the goal, as many important aspects of the decision may be lost.

Tip from the coach: The real power in this process is in doing step one and step two at the same time. Holding the two at the same time creates a natural internal tension. This internal tension will always seek resolution, which generates creativity and becomes a strong internal drive to solve a problem or make the decision.

Many rep-firm owners tend to get caught up, and remain stuck, in their current situation, and for good reason. Serious, even urgent issues often arise and are capable of commanding all of your attention. If you’re not careful, these issues can capture you emotionally and cause you to lose focus and delay important decisions and action. Remember, we’re after faster, more accurate decision-making.

• Consider potential alternatives.

Now that you’re holding the desired outcome and the current situation in your mind at the same time, take the opportunity to seek out and consider your alternatives. Ask yourself creative, out-of-the-box questions.

Tip from the Coach: Apply brainstorming rules: “Quantity of ideas is better than quality,” and “Don’t judge ideas until after the brainstorming session.” No matter how ridiculous an idea may seem, write it down and move on to the next one.

• Choose your action items.

Review your list of ideas and pick the best. Now that you’ve followed the previous steps, your decision should seem fairly obvious. It’s really a powerful process.

Tip from the coach: Prioritize. Choose the best one or two action items for immediate implementation. Use this process for decisions like succession planning, daily planning, overall rep firm strategy development, creating focus and staying on course. The good news is that you’ll automatically combine your natural creative genius, inspiration, intelligence and best judgment to help grow your rep firm.

Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Jay Henderson may be reached by e-mail at jay@myrepcoach.com or visit www.myrepcoach.com.