One manufacturer recently related his philosophy concerning field visits with his reps. According to the manufacturer, “There’s got to be a reason to go there, and by that I mean you’ve got to do much more than just look at the calendar, say, ‘I haven’t been there in a while,’ and decide to go. Rather, ahead of time consider what the value-add is — to not only the rep, but also to the customer. Gone are the days when a trip to the field is just a ride along and a chance to shake a few hands. The savvy principal has to have much more on his mind than that.”
He continued that his field trips are not as frequent as they used to be as he explained, “I’m largely dependent upon my reps when it comes to making a trip. What usually happens is that they’ll contact me and let me know that there’s a definite purpose in seeing a specific customer or customers. But at the end of the day, when the rep leaves me at the airport for my trip home, I want him to be convinced there was a purpose for the visit. Did I waste his time or did we get something done? Based on the feedback I’ve received, more and more of my reps are valuing my time in the field than ever before.”
Number One on the Wish List
When a manufacturer was asked if there was anything he wished his reps were more appreciative of, his answer was, “The training we provide.”
He continued that if there’s anything he wanted his reps to be beating the door down for, it’s training. “We put the training out there. We tell them about it and it’s constantly in front of them on our website, but still there’s a large number who don’t follow up. I know, they always mention the reasons why, mostly because they don’t have the time, but the reps who do take advantage of our programs, show sharp increases in their sales performance.”
He continued, “There’s nothing worse than having a new product or promotion and our reps don’t know what to do with it. And making that situation worse is the fact that we provide all they need to be successful. All they’ve got to do is use it.”
He’s not totally down on his reps, however, because he notes that “I can point to our top performing reps as the ones who get the information they need or sign up for our training programs. These top performers really stand out from the rest.”
Holding the Rep Accountable
When the subject of responding to a rep’s request for help came up at a rep meeting, one manufacturer offered the oft-repeated warning, “Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.” He went on to explain that he’s always been quick to respond to reps’ requests for assistance, whether it’s for someone from the plant to visit a customer in the field, product samples, literature, support for attendance at a trade show, etc. However, there’s another side to that coin. “We’re there and always will be there for our reps, but when they ask for something, I want results. I’m not just going to shovel literature out the door to a rep unless he tells me why he wants it and demonstrates his plan for what he’s going to do with it. Likewise, if he wants some help (financial or otherwise) at a trade show, I expect some sort of a report concerning results to follow.
“I’ve found that since my reps know I want to hear back from them, they’ve been much more careful in what they ask for, but at the same time, when I’ve supported them, I get results.”
Lunch and Learn
“Looking back on it,” explains one manufacturer, “one of the best learning experiences I ever had occurred over lunch with the first rep I signed on with. I was new to working with reps so I figured I had better take the time to learn how to do it right. The rep I consulted with over lunch had come highly recommended by other non-competing manufacturers in my industry. One of the first subjects I asked him about was commission checks. I had heard from other manufacturers that sometimes a rep’s commissions get awfully large, even to the point where they had considered replacing the rep with a factory direct salesperson. When I broached the subject with my new rep he never hesitated in offering a response. If I was going to set up and work with a network of reps, he explained, I ought to be appreciative of the fact that the monthly commission check doesn’t simply go into his pocket. Just like me with my company, he had expenses (e.g., car, insurance, travel, entertainment, maintenance of the office, etc.) to take care of. On top of that, since I as the manufacturer didn’t have to pay for all those expenses like I do with a direct person, there was no added expense to me.
“He then backed up his message to me by producing a pie chart showing all of his agency’s expenses that were covered by commissions. I’ve got to say I came away convinced.”
Coming to the Party Prepared
A manufacturer confirms information that has been heard from reps and their industry associations during the course of the last year — as the economy continues to struggle, inquiries are on the upswing from manufacturers. On the other hand, however, some reps have become much more selective since they’re on the receiving end of these inquiries. This manufacturer notes, that one attribute he possesses has served him extremely well when it comes to attracting top-line reps. “Not only have I spent the last 14 years working with reps, but prior to that I was a rep at the beginning of my career. This has been a tremendous asset for me when speaking with prospective reps. I’m finding that reps can be more selective about whom they go to market with. It’s a point in my favor that I have a history working with reps, know how to communicate with them and understand what I can reasonably expect from our joint efforts. I’m finding that when reps realize I speak their language, it saves us a lot of time and effort and is a positive step in the right direction when it comes to forming a relationship.”
Cutting Down the Line Card
“One thing I’ve learned over the years,” writes one manufacturer, “is that the rep who is willing to admit his mistakes and learn from them is the rep I want to conduct business with.” What he was referring to was something he’s seen from a couple of his reps when it comes to cutting losses by removing lines from their line cards. “Just recently we received notice from one of our reps that he was eliminating four of his product lines. In the letter he sent to all of his principals, the rep let us know that while he’s had considerable success with these lines, he felt it was important to limit the lines he represented in order to concentrate on those lines that are more profitable. I also liked this idea because it meant we were getting more of the rep’s time in front of the customer.” The manufacturer added that he was impressed with the way the rep parted company with his departing lines. “He notified them of his intention well in advance of the announcement, but that wasn’t all he did. He then went out of his way to recommend three reps in the territory that he felt confident the principals would be successful with. When all was said and done, the departing principals found good new rep homes, I was happy because the rep could concentrate more on my line and finally, the results the rep has achieved since the decision have borne out the positives of his decision.”
Tracking Web-Page Activity
Many manufacturers today have established separate areas of their web pages where reps can log in, obtain training, learn about new products and promotions, company news and other communications. A side benefit of this is that manufacturers are able to track which of their reps regularly log in and how often they do so. “Here’s how this benefits us,” explains one manufacturer. “First, we can point to our top-performing reps as the ones ones who constantly deliver for us in front of the customer. Sales figures bear this out. Second, we can communicate the benefits of the website to our other reps who don’t log in to see what they should be learning.
“We’ve invested a considerable amount of our time and money in our website. We know it can benefit us, our reps, and our customers. That’s why we made such an investment. Since we’ve taken the first step, we’d like our reps to take the second step — and we expect them to.”
