Membership in MANA is Important: The Facts!

2024	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2023	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2022	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2021	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2020	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2019	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2018	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2017	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2016	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2015	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2014	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2013	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2012	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2011	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2010	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2009	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2008	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2007	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January
2006	December	November	October	September	August	July	June	May	April	March	February	January

The 2007 business census tells us there are around 30,000 rep agencies in the U.S. and Canada. The census numbers correlate to the market data MANA has used for many years. The point is that there are a lot of you out there, and your economic impact is estimated at around $300 billion, with a B. As a group, you employ about 170,000 people and pay them around $7 billion per year.

Now don’t get a swelled head!

As individuals your voice can barely be heard. You need to form a group, a union, an association that can look after your profession and leverage the profession’s impact. Fact is, you already have one: MANA.

MANA is a “horizontal association” that is dedicated to educating, protecting and promoting the multi-line, outsourced sales function. That’s what we do. We feel that from the day we started back in 1947, we’ve had a positive impact on the unique relationship that is the rep-principal method of going to market. Think of MANA as the American Medical Association. The AMA broadly represents medical professionals.

There are other associations, “vertical associations.” These are what MANA considers our sister associations. They promote the business partnership approach to marketing and they have tended to do so on a targeted basis, expending their resources in a given industry or geographic market. These are associations like Electronic Representatives Association, National Electrical Manufacturers’ Representatives Association, Manufacturers’ Agents for the Food Service Industry and many more. To continue my example of the AMA, there are vertical associations in the medical industry, e.g., the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. We at MANA believe that you need to belong to both types of associations.

Why MANA is important to you, your business, your profession and your family is in the facts.

You can measure MANA’s impact on your profession in many ways. Here are a few:

• MANA acts as an incubator for rep agency start-ups. Over the last 10 years, MANA has worked with over 600 start-ups.

• MANA offers an open line for members to consult on business matters. Over the last 10 years, MANA has fielded over 2,000 of those calls, for example, “What is the commission split for a sub-rep?”

• MANA has led the effort along with other vertical associations to lobby states to enact Commission Protection Acts. Thirty-eight states enacted these acts that protect you and your business when you have a commission dispute. The Commission Protection Acts along with the MANA listed attorneys have influenced or litigated the recovery of over $200 million in commissions for reps over the past five years. Yes, that is over $200,000,000!

These three facts confirm the importance of MANA.

Think of the cost to your profession, your business and your family if MANA didn’t exist. MANA continues to offer its other services to the profession — referral to attorneys knowledgeable about the rep business, Agency Sales magazine, a library of information available to members regarding the rep function, RepFinder….

MANA is the profession’s advocate.

Is MANA membership important?

You Bet!