Last month Agency Sales focused on what it takes for a principal to be considered a professional. This month, the tables are turned and the spotlight is on the rep.

Communication — that’s the starting point and quite frankly it’s the end point for Doug Biggs when he’s asked to describe what it takes to be a “professional” rep. Biggs, vice president sales & marketing for Gilman USA, maintains that it’s the independent rep who exhibits a willingness to proactively communicate with his principal that allows him to be placed in that professional category.

Gilman USA, Grafton, Wisconsin, designs customized slides and spindles and provides services for manufacturers’ equipment. In addition to its customized slides and spindles, the company specializes in spindle repair and is one of only a few companies in the United States to offer slide repair. The company boasts a workforce of 40 employees, who average 22 years of experience.

According to Biggs, “This subject of communication is one that is brought up many times whenever manufacturers talk to each other. In general, I’d have to say there’s something to be desired in terms of proactive communication from reps to their principals. That may be because many reps are either unwilling to communicate with their principals, or they don’t feel comfortable when it comes to organizing their thoughts in a way that would allow them to entertain follow-up questions.”

No Desire for Call Reports

Biggs continues by emphasizing that “I could care less about call reports. That’s not what I’m interested in.” He also agrees with the premise that if the rep was proactive in letting a principal know what’s going in the territory, then that rep would hear very few requests for communication from the field.

“We send out monthly open quote reports. The information we’re looking for in those reports would virtually obsolete itself if the rep had only let us know what was going on. All he has to do is let us know that ‘I visited so and so and they’re going through the process right now.’ What I find instead is that they don’t reach out to us. Maybe it’s a case of they don’t want a push-back from the principal, I don’t know.

“I know the typical response to requests for information is that ‘I don’t want to be stuck in the office writing reports. I have to be out in the field in front of the customer selling.’ Well, you know what, that’s what their principals want too. As a result, what develops is that there’s one-sided communication. That causes us to actually lose the vision of what’s happening in the field.”

He continues by explaining, “We as a manufacturer may have enormous product quality, pricing or lead time problems that we don’t know anything about because all the communication has been in one direction. If the reps are proactive in letting us know about these concerns, we can do something about it.”

Working With the Ideal Rep

Recalling his past experience in the appliance industry, Biggs refers to “The best rep I ever had. This was an individual with whom I had a great relationship. And part of the relationship grew out of the fact that every morning we made it a point to talk on the phone for 5-10 minutes. Obviously there were days when nothing really was going on. Then all we really had was a very casual conversation. But the important thing was that we had this every-day conversation that allowed us to build a solid relationship. I knew everything that was going on. And, while he would tell me things that he didn’t think were very important, the fact was that the information may have fit into something that was happening on the other side of the country.”

Biggs emphasizes that the communication he’s describing isn’t just formal or informal, written or verbal; rather it’s a combination of all the ways of providing information between the principal and the rep. “By following that path, the principal gains a clear understanding of what’s going on in the territory.”

While communication tops the list of attributes a professional rep should possess, Biggs goes on to cite some other areas that are needed for this professional rep designation:

Line Cards — As the result of rep retirements and some inefficient handling of territories, Biggs explains that his company has made a number of changes in its rep network. On the way to implementing those changes, he says that “I can’t tell how many reps have told me if we take on your line, you’re our 15^th line. As you can imagine, that doesn’t excite me all that much. When I’m told that, I know I won’t get mind- and time-share.

“Even assuming — as we do with reps — that all of the reps’ lines work together, we know that if we’re far down the list, there’s not much time for us. I can remember from my time on the other side of the buying desk, that when a rep came in with 15 lines, you’re definitely losing out.”

According to Biggs, “The professional rep will ask the question of us that all professionals should ask when we’re exploring a relationship: ‘What is the value of this line in our territory today and where do you see it in five years? Now, the other side of that question is one that we ask: ‘If this line is worth this much in relation to your other lines, where would we rank?’ If we’re not close to midpoint or higher (and there are exceptions) then we’ll move on.”

Share of time — This is a subject directly related to that of the size of the rep’s line card. According to Biggs, “Virtually every manufacturer tells his regional staff that they should let the rep know that if we represent 15 percent of their business, then we want 20 percent of their time. Obviously, I want more of their time and effort than our line represents. Having explained that, I fully understand that all of the reps’ other lines go in and say the very same thing.”

In order to achieve that share of time with his professional reps, he explains that “Through the use of historical numbers and trends and simply talking to our reps about their territories, we’re able to incent them by creating sales goals. Our approach to setting those goals is that for the rep who doesn’t hit their numbers, there’s a stick involved. If, on the other hand, they meet the number, there’s a carrot.”

He explains that a typical ‘carrot’ would be the rep receiving bonus commission on top of the normal commission. “Most lines don’t do that, but our reps respond because they appreciate the fact that it’s valuable to them.”

He continues that the reps’ input is solicited in the setting of these goals. “At the beginning,” he says, “many of them fought tooth and nail against providing input because they felt they’d be held unduly accountable. Once we showed them how it would work, however, they came on board.”

Technology — A rep’s ability to wrap his arms around rapidly developing technology is something that Biggs maintains allows that rep to call himself a professional. “It’s interesting to me that today I’ve got two different generations of reps. One of those groups is aging and will be retiring in five years; the other group is younger. How these different generations communicate and how that reflects on how they deal with customers can prove interesting.”

As an example, he cites his experience with paper and electronic catalogs. “There are still some who want the paper catalogs and others that hate them. In general, I’d say the older generation loves to drop them on customers’ desks while the younger reps come equipped with iPads and do much of their communicating via e-mail. Both create issues for us.”

He continues that there are also those reps from one generation who still rely on the face-to-face personal sales calls. The other generation realizes that with customer staff cuts, customers aren’t always there to meet you, so electronic communication proves more effective. Once again, more issues are created, but it’s the rep who can most productively change with a changing technology that will work most effectively.

Planning — Just as important as communicating is, Biggs maintains planning is an equal contributor to the rep-principal relationship. “The subjects of annual and succession planning are both covered in our contracts with reps.”

He explains that in the absence of a succession plan, which the rep shares with his principal, at some point the rep can simply notify the principal that he’s retiring or leaving the business. Then the principal has just 30 days to make adjustments. “The fact of the matter is I’ve had territories that it’s taken me eight months to fill. If that’s the case, then 30 days’ notice isn’t much help. What we require of our reps is on an annual basis for them to share with us their plans for the following year. That’s it. If you don’t present those plans, then there’s no bonus for you.”

Biggs emphasizes that the majority of reps he deals with fit into that category of being professional. “And when I say professional, I mean they understand the value of over-the-top communication and they know how to articulate their plans to us. I’d consider us an easy-going company. We’ve made it a point to allow our reps not to have a lot on their plates other than selling.”

Complementary Views

Two other manufacturers offer complementary views to what Biggs has already provided. According to LeeAnn Slaymaker, director of channel development, Microflex, Washington Depot, Connecticut. “The first sense of professionalism I detect in a manufacturers’ rep is how they engage themselves with us and their customers. They show that sense of engagement by how much they know about us and our products and how enthusiastic are they to learn, what resources do they have at their disposal that will allow them to perform their jobs professionally. Do they have their own website? Are they linked in? In general, how are they using technology?”

Microflex provides PPE products to a variety of industries. This includes disposable hand protection and apparel.

In terms of communication with the manufacturer, here’s where Slaymaker sounds a bit like Biggs. She emphasizes that “I don’t want our reps stuck in the office writing reports to us — I want them out in the field, in front of the customer selling. That’s why when it comes to communication, I think the professional rep is one who is proactive rather than reactive. I don’t want to chase them down when I’m looking for information. I truly appreciate the rep who will pick up the phone, call me and ask questions. That shows me that they are forthcoming, and willing to engage in the partnership.”

Interest, Enthusiasm and Delight

Because he once operated on the rep’s side of the desk, Mitch Weinberger, technical director, Acrylabs, Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, acknowledges he might not be the ideal individual to describe what constitutes a “professional” rep. That fact notwithstanding, he does note that when it comes to identifying what it takes to be a professional rep, “I’m probably just going to give back to you what reps and manufacturers have read over the years in Agency Sales.” Adding to that, however, he said that what he values most in a rep is someone who “Shows interest, enthusiasm and delight in working with us. Those attributes can go a long way to aid the rep in his success with a manufacturer. We’ve found that it’s that type of enthusiasm and confidence that will carry the rep further than anything else.”

Acrylabs manufactures a fluid applied roof system that is comprised of multiple applications of high performance acrylic coatings with a fabric reinforcement embedded between coats

While it may not be automatic to be able to identify the traits that Weinberger values in a prospective rep, he says that “When we find a rep who absolutely hounds us for information about our products and programs, we generally know we have a winner.” He adds that sometimes as a means of judging a rep, “We may not answer the phone the first time he calls us. If he follows up and gets right back to us, then we know we’ve got a chance at having a winner.”

On the other side of the coin, he notes that if a rep doesn’t show he’s willing to follow up, isn’t detail-oriented or carries competing lines, then chances are, they’re not the rep his company will be successful with.

Before leaving the subject of what it takes to be a professional rep, Weinberger notes that “Finding true professionals today is a lot more difficult than anyone could imagine. We’ve tried everything from working with experienced seasoned reps to younger reps. What it all comes down to is you’re basically looking for that Boy Scout. The problem is the Boy Scouts (i.e., the real pros in the business) already have full line cards; hence, the problem of finding someone to rep your line. To meet that challenge we’re simply going to persevere. We won’t give up. And when we do find real talent, our goal is to develop and reward it. For instance, when you find someone who is really good, give them more responsibility. Have them manage an entire region and charge them with finding sub-reps.”