A manufacturer reports that he knows there are always problems out in the field. However, when he never hears anything about them, he knows he’s got an even bigger problem. That’s why he’s constantly encouraging his reps to bring him a steady flow of problems and complaints. “The reps are my eyes and ears out there. If I’m not hearing anything from them then I know they’re not seeing or hearing what’s going on in the territory. It doesn’t take long for reps to learn that I’m being straight with them because as soon as I hear something isn’t going right, I’ll keep at it until the problem is solved. They’ve learned to depend on me because they know I’ve got their backs.”

A Lesson Learned

Doing things the way you always have isn’t always the best plan — at least that’s what a manufacturer new to working with reps reports.

“We made the change from a direct to an outsourced sales force,” he explains. “As sales manager, my duties had been in the area of directing the factory sales force. It was our practice that when sales in an area reached a high level, we would split the territory. We never really had any complaints since the salesmen were on salary and it didn’t impact their income. When I followed that same course of action with one of our reps, however, I never heard the end of it. Thankfully, the rep was a good communicator and he made his point without getting too upset. I immediately rolled back the plan and I’m glad I did. That rep has seen his sales go through the roof. I hate to think what would have happened if someone else was tabbed to work the territory.”

Applauding End-User Move

When a rep notified one of his manufacturers that he was cutting back on his visits to distributors, the manufacturer was initially upset — that was until he heard the explanation and learned what the rep was doing instead. According to the manufacturer, “The majority of our sales come through distribution so when our rep told us he was drastically limiting those calls, that is basically just making service calls, we thought he was making a mistake. He then explained to us that because of the struggling economy, their distributors were turning a deaf ear to new product introductions and various promotions from the manufacturer. They were more intent on controlling their own costs than anything else. When the rep saw this trend developing he decided the best way to pull the business through the territory was to go right to the decision makers — the end users. I know he’s working a lot harder for us because he’s got many more calls to make. His efforts are working —we’re holding our own in the territory.”

Push Back on Call Reports

One of the manufacturers who was featured in our series of articles on the Perfect Principal, recounted a conversation he had with one of his manufacturing peers. “My friend, who works in a non-competitive industry was amazed at the push back he received from his reps when he told them he wanted regular call reports. I asked him why he made that move since he had been going along for years without them. But before he could even answer I asked a second question: ‘Did you recently bring a new sales manager on board?’ He was a bit surprised but answered that his new sales manager had been in place for just the last four weeks and it was he who instituted the call report requirement.”

The manufacturer went on to explain that it was natural for reps to resist call reports and he told his friend “You’ve got to keep in mind that reps are self-employed and self-motivated. If they don’t sell, they don’t get paid. If their performance has been fine, there’s no need for sales call reports. The manufacturer does, however, have every right to expect to be kept in the communications loop on matters that are important. Just having calls reports for the sake of having them is a waste of time.”

Making the Move to Reps

The question of how many agencies a manufacturer should have working for him in the field was raised during a roundtable discussion among manufacturers. One of the other manufacturers noted, “The real question isn’t how many agencies you need, but how should the territories you want covered be created? It’s not unusual that agent territories that companies wind up with bear little resemblance to the territories the manufacturer had when they were working with a direct sales force. The typical rep has several people out in the field and they usually cover a much larger territory than the single factory man did.” He went on to cover a few considerations to keep in mind when making the move from direct to rep:

• It’s not as easy as it might seem for a manufacturer to locate the rep firm that is the best fit for their line. To allow yourself the best chance of achieving a good fit, it’s critical to meet and speak in depth with agency personnel before making a decision.
• Determine that the agency’s marketing goals are compatible with those of your company.
• Make sure the agency covers an appropriate territory. Size of territory is not the issue. It’s the customer concentration and the agency’s ability to maximize its penetration that really counts in the end.

Helping Reps Grow

MANA has long preached the need for reps to inform their other principals when they take on a new line. First of all, it’s just good practice to communicate with them on a matter such as this. Second, it’s an indication that the rep has a healthy growing business. Why not communicate that good news? Having said that, however, some reps hold back because they feel some principals would view an additional line as something that would allow the rep to spend less time on their own line. Here’s how the president of one medium-sized manufacturing firm responds to that view: “I want my reps to grow. They had better grow because they can hardly make a living with just my line. Whenever I can, I refer other principals to my reps. This not only helps them gain profitable lines, but it also lets them know that I value them and want them to succeed. Since they know I follow this practice, they’ve always doubled their efforts on my behalf.”

Fielding the Best Team

When a manufacturer boasted that the rep team he works with is the “best in the business,” he went on to explain what it took to get this team on the field. “To begin with, I did all the expected things such as checking references, face-to-face meetings, etc. But the most important thing I did to get the group I’m so proud of is to carefully define the work that we expect from the reps and let them know — in detail — just how we should work together. We’re not all that different from other manufacturers in our industry, but one thing I’m really proud of is the fact that everyone who works for us and with us understands our mission, and by extension, understand their own mission. When everyone knows this ahead of time, we’re firmly on the same page and can move forward together.”

Growing Apart the Right Way

No manufacturer wants to lose a good rep and conversely no rep wants to lose a good principal. But sometimes situations develop that change the winning equation that let two companies work well together. That was the case with one manufacturer and the agency he had worked with for several years when they decided to part ways. There were no hard feelings and the principal and rep remain friends to this day. Here’s what happened: The agency was following a growth path that changed their size and the way they operated. As a result, they got so large that in all fairness they felt they couldn’t spend as much time on the line as they had in the past. At the same time, the manufacturer observed that growth path and got the feeling that his line was being lost among the others that the rep had taken on. Both were correct in their appraisal of the situation and they decided that a change was in order. With the help of the rep firm, the manufacturer located another rep firm where they felt their line would garner the attention it deserved. The rep went on and took on the line of another much larger manufacturer. This serves as an example of how a divorce — if we can even call it that — worked out best for both involved.