As we stress the importance of education and training in this issue of Agency Sales, I can’t help but think of Stephen Covey’s message on how important it is that we constantly work at sharpening the saw. You can never assume that you know everything you should know about your profession and that’s especially true about the rep profession. Reps are fortunate — perhaps more fortunate than people in other professions — in that we have so many opportunities to “sharpen our saws.” Perhaps at the top of the list of training/educational opportunities that we can avail ourselves of is the CPMR program conducted by MRERF.
As I complete my tenure on the MANA Board, after having served on the MRERF Board, if there’s a single message I could deliver it would be to emphasize the major contribution that CPMR has made — and continues to make — to the education of manufacturers representatives. If a rep hopes to grow his firm and sustain it into the future, CPMR training is mandatory. Hoping to succeed without that type of training is a little like trying to go directly from high school to your Ph.D. in a period of a couple of months. It just can’t be done.
And CPMR isn’t all that MRERF offers. Consider the value of the Certified Sales Professional (CSP) program. The skill sets needed to sell multiple lines are so different than those needed for a single line. That’s what CSP teaches. It’s all designed around the need to develop and sharpen those skills.
And finally, I’d have to say that reps are probably more fortunate than participants in other professions when it come to ongoing training. Sure, everyone from the National Association of Purchasing Managers to auto dealers have training programs, but when you consider what MRERF offers and add the training venues available from MANA and their industry-specific rep associations, the rep has plenty to consider.
That last point is the key — take advantage of what’s offered. If the educational opportunities are not taken advantage of, I’d say the rep is going to be hard pressed to succeed into the future.
