Versatilist — a good new added description of the professional committed manufacturers’ representative — today!

“A versatilist is someone who can be a specialist for a particular discipline, while at the same time be able to change to another role with the same ease.”*

In our world as full channel manufacturers’ representatives, consider a:

• Generalist, as a distributor who “has broad scope and shallow skills, enabling them to respond or act reasonably quickly.”
• Specialist, as a manufacturers’ factory rep who “generally has deep skills and a narrow scope, giving them expertise.”
• Versatilist, as a manufacturers’ representative who, in contrast, “applies depth of skill to a progressively widening scope of situations and experiences, gaining new competencies, building relationships and assuming new roles.”

In a full distribution channel, these needs are provided by all three service providers. This is an endless journey of economic value-add perceived by the end user, performed by each unselfishly and interdependently.

“Those Swiss army knives are versatilists.” — Joe Santana, Siemen Business Services.

Personally, I have been in all three occupations. A manufacturers’ factory rep for five years first, then a distributor salesman for three and now a manufacturers’ representative for almost 30 years. As a factory rep I became unchallenged — too narrow a focus. Then, during my time in distributor sales I was terrible — order taking of too many products — there too, I quickly became disenchanted. Now a manufacturers’ representative or “versatilist,” in control of my own destiny, I became and continue to be challenged enough to keep my passion for this great profession. This profession isn’t for everyone. Some are better as generalists; others, specialists. Myself — “versatilist.”

Think about it.