The fact that Teeling & Gallagher hasn’t appeared in the pages of Agency Sales since 1987 shouldn’t be taken as a sign the rep firm isn’t still active and successful in Indianapolis, Indiana. In fact, it’s just the opposite. That they’re here again is a testament to the firm’s ability to plan for the future, their continuity and their professionalism.
As a matter of fact, when a cover article on the agency appeared 22 years ago, Agency Sales reported that “While other agencies talk about planning for continuity, Don Teeling and Tom Gallagher wrote the book on the subject.” If that’s the case, it should now be known that Gallagher and his son Bob have completed a new chapter.
The agency was founded in 1946 as the D.G. Teeling Company. From the beginning it focused on selling springs, wireforms, fasteners, die castings, molded plastics, powdered metal parts and precision screw machine parts. Teeling continued as a one-person agency until 1960 when he was joined by Tom Gallagher. Gallagher bought the agency in 1971 and was joined by his son Bob in 1992.
While Bob came on board just 27 years ago, his father notes that “It seems like he’s been here forever.” As the two men worked in the agency they began to anticipate the need to come up with a succession plan—which was implemented after 10 years of planning this March.
In planning for the succession Bob Gallagher, CPMR, explains that he had a friend who recommended an attorney that recognized the pitfalls and potential problems of family businesses. “What made the working together and the eventual succession a lot easier,” according to Tom, “was the fact we’ve always been able to separate the personal from the business. We might have a contentious business meeting but we recognize the fact that no part of it is personal. And, on occasions such as Thanksgiving or other holidays we’ve always been very good at staying away from business.”
The elder Gallagher notes that one of the real benefits of working with his son is that “It seems as if we’ve been working together forever. We know each other and trust each other.”
Professional Salespeople
Bob nods in agreement as he explains “We’re professional salesmen and that defines us as relationship experts. In order for either one of us to successfully convince and sell someone else, we’ve got to have trust in each other and we’ve always had that.”
That trust and belief in each other have allowed the agency to adapt to changing conditions over the years to the point where today, Tom and Bob Gallagher and an office manager are still located in the building which it owns. According to the agency profile, Teeling & Gallagher, which joined MANA in 1973, represents the following products: mechanical/electromechanical, OEMs, aircraft engine products, automotive tier one and two products. The territories it covers include Indiana, Kentucky, Southwest Ohio and Tennessee.
Reflecting on the agency profile, Tom Gallagher recalls that when Don Teeling and he worked together “We sold mechanical products for any number of small companies. Over the years those small companies have become parts of much larger organizations. At the same time, we’ve changed lines, lost some, terminated others and some even went out of business. We’ve had and continue to have a cadre of very good lines, however.” He adds that the agency’s longest-tenured line is probably 25 years, with the average for representing a company approximately 15years.
Internal Consistency
In addition to the agency’s ability to get and maintain product lines and develop and nurture customer relationships, an obvious real strength has been its internal operation. Beginning with Tom and Dan Telling and continuing today with the father-son combination, the agency has continued to post a successful track record. Not surprisingly, the latter team of Tom and Bob has faced many of the same experiences any family run business has. From the father’s perspective, “I grew the agency through a time when much of the business was conducted on a handshake basis. You gave your word; you were true to your word. It was as simple as that. I admit things have changed and we’ve evolved into something different today.”
Bob, the son, agrees when he says “People in my generation are more litigious and we’re more demanding. Because it’s the world we live in, we’re more demanding than perhaps the previous generation.”
Staying with the subject of how things have changed, Tom notes that “When I started I could be calling on the same person for 10 or more years. And a lot of our relationship building was done around entertaining.”
Bob says “Today the days of someone staying with one company for 10-15 years are long gone. Because of that personnel turnover we spend a good deal of our time educating people as to the value of reps. So that time that was spent entertaining in the past, is now spent training.”
Education and training the customer aren’t all that the rep has to do today, according to the younger Gallagher. “It’s just as important with our principals. We’re constantly educating them on our value and how we operate. That’s important because the huge majority of reps operate on a commission-only basis while our manufacturers’ sales managers work on a salary. That’s why we have to constantly explain to them why it appears we may earn more than they do. Some think we put all we earn into the bank but that’s hardly the case. After we pay for the office, gas, meals, entertainment, etc., there’s only a small portion that goes into the company bank account.”
Reaching the Right Decisions
If those are some of the more important difference in the two reps’ perspectives, there have been some other business changes over the years. For instance, according to Bob, “We’ve had some technology issues. I’ve always been quick to say we need new computers, more data and access to this or that, whether it’s the Internet or web sites. I was more in the leading edge with those things. My father, however, would always ask why do we need this or that and how will it help us in our business? We spent some time going back and forth on those issues but always reached the decisions that were right for us.”
Bob adds that some of the differences in viewing the business may have sprung from his experiences with MRERF’s CPMR program. “I’m sure some of our different points of view grew out of that. For instance, I can remember discussing whether it was valuable to take on a certain line, do we have people in place to represent a line, can we support a new line, will it take too much of our time, etc.? We never really argued, but we each had a different methodology to answer those questions. In the end, we agreed just about all the time.”
Looking to the Future
As he considers what’s next for him, Tom Gallagher takes a look back when he explains “Being a rep and having this agency have been my life’s experience. I’ve worked hard at it to the exclusion of doing other things. Thankfully, I’ve been successful and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done. I know that I’m at an age now of slowing down but that gives me the time I need to think of some other things. Wherever my life takes me, that’s where I’m going.”
As he also looks to the future—obviously from a different perspective—Bob Gallagher notes that over the years “I’ve really developed a healthy respect for reps and for what they do. As I consider the future my obvious goals are to keep the business running successfully and to keep people employed. I’m very respectful of the fact my father worked long and hard to build this organization and I want to continue it and make it grow. I’d have to admit I’ve got a lot of excitement for what’s in front of me. At the same time, however, I’ve got a sense of respectful fear about doing things right and making my father proud.
“I’m very much aware that as a rep, regardless of the economy, markets, territory or principals, I’ve got to be able to role with punches. Having said that I’m also aware that change is the only constant in our business. I can’t say I’m comfortable with change, but I am used to it. I figure I’ve got about 25 years in my career to continue to change and to come up with some new and different things. My father and I haven’t spoken all that much about the future but we’ve got some time now when we can just talk business and we’ll do that. As I look at it, we’re equals now. We’re working in the same office—he’s not retired or gone off fishing—he’s still here and I’m going to take advantage of that.”
Finally, as he looks to the future the younger Gallagher acknowledges the contributions that MANA has made to him and his agency. “We’re huge promoters of MANA,” he said, “largely because the association does such a great job of educating reps and explaining the rep’s function in the marketplace. We’ve always made it a point to promote the association because they’ve always done such a great job for us and for other reps. The dues, time and effort we’ve expended with the association have been well spent.”
