Issue: July 2013

MANA “Member in Good Standing” Web Page Tackles Three Common Member Problems

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MANA Member in Good Standing LogoMANA is constantly looking for ways to improve the value proposition we offer to MANA members, and our new “Member in Good Standing” web page benefit hits a home run by tackling three common problems faced by our members.

My company is a MANA member, and:

  1. We do not have a web page. Problem solved!
  2. We’d like to be ranked higher in Google search results. MANA can help!
  3. We’d like a web link that verifies we are MANA members in good standing. Done!

Problem #1 — “My company does not have a web page.”
Now all MANA members have a web page, courtesy of MANA. It’s based on the information in your MANA profile. For more details, read the “Frequently Asked Questions” section below.

Problem #2 — “I want my company to be ranked higher in Google search results.”
One of the ways your Google search ranking improves is when a link to your website appears on a well-respected, popular website like MANAonline.org. For more details see the FAQ section that follows.

Problem #3 — “I want MANA to verify to prospective partners that we are MANA members in good standing.
Your MANA web page carries the “MANA Member in Good Standing” symbol and verifies your status to pro-spective partners.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I use this web page?

Print the web address on your business cards and letterhead, and include it in your e-mail signature line to let your customers and partners know that you are a MANA member in good standing.

What is the web address for my new web page?

All the web addresses start with www.MANAonline.org/member. For example, John D. Roba Company, Inc. was automatically assigned the web address:
www.MANAonline.org/member/johndrobacoinc

To find out what letters follow www.MANAonline.org/member for your company:

  • Log onto MANAonline.org
  • Choose the “Manage my member account” link.
  • Choose the “Manage MANA Web Page” link.
  • Your www.MANAonline.org/member address is listed on this page.

Can I change my web address?

Absolutely.

  • Log onto MANAonline.org
  • Choose the “Manage my member account” link.
  • Choose the “Manage MANA Web Page” link.
  • Change the information after www.MANAonline.org/member from the name that was assigned to you to the name you want.
  • Click the “Update” button.
    Please note, when two or more MANA members with similar company names all request the same web ad-dress, MANA honors the first request for that name and the others will need to make a different selection.

I made a change on my MANA profile, but the change did not immediately appear on my MANA web page.

Your MANA web page draws its information from your MANA profile, but it will typically take up to two hours for updates to your MANA profile to be reflected on your MANA web page.

Why doesn’t my e-mail address appear on my MANA web page?

Instead of including your e-mail address on your MANA web page, MANA has included a contact form. This contact form was designed to significantly reduce nuisance e-mails that you would receive if your e-mail address had been included on your MANA web page. Messages directed to you through the contact form on your MANA website will be forwarded to the e-mail address you provided in your MANA member profile.

I am “flying under the radar,” can I turn off my web page?

If you have already requested that your profile not be included in the MANA directory, MANA did not generate a web page for your company.

To turn off your MANA web page:

  • Log onto MANAonline.org
  • Choose the “Manage my member account” link.
  • Choose the “Manage MANA Web Page” link.
  • Uncheck the “Website is turned on” box.
  • Click the “Update” button.
    Your web page will become inactive within about two hours.

How do I use my MANA web page to improve the Google ranking of my company’s website?

Be sure that you have already included the URL for your web page in your MANA profile. If you have not in-cluded the URL for your web page in your MANA profile or if you are not sure if you have done so, log on to www.MANAonline.org and check your profile.

Go to www.google.com/webmasters/tools/submit-url and follow the instructions to submit your MANA web page to Google.

When Google accepts your submission, Google will recognize that the well-respected and popular site MANAonline.org has a link to your company’s website, and your search rank will reflect that fact.

How do I use the “Member in Good Standing” feature?

Include a link on your company’s website to your MANA web page. Visitors to your company’s website who click on the link will see that your company is a MANA member in good standing.

What happens if my MANA membership lapses?

If your MANA membership lapses, then your web page will no longer be active. MANA will reserve the name that was associated with your web page briefly, but if you do not reinstate your membership that name will become available to other MANA members.

For example, if the Smith rep company in South Carolina had been assigned the web address www.MANAonline.org/member/smith but then allowed its membership to lapse, another Smith rep company in Oregon could claim www.MANAonline.org/member/smith and the Smith company in South Carolina would not be able to get that web address back if it reinstated its membership later.

Can MANA provide a more elaborate website including my logo, line card, and other information about my company?

Not yet, but we will consider expanding this program if there is interest from our members. If you are inter-ested in a more elaborate fee-based website or have comments about this new MANA benefit, let us know by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

We are excited to offer this new benefit to our members, and continue to apply ourselves to making your MANA membership more valuable. Your feedback will help us serve you better. Please e-mail us at [email protected] or call us toll-free at 877-626-2776.

Technology —
Accept and Embrace It!

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I’ve got to admit that as someone who’s still in his 30s, I’m fairly late to the electronic communications game. I didn’t even have an e-mail address until late in high school.

And as an agency, we’re not much different from fellow independent manufacturers’ reps when it comes to the technological tools we use to run our business. We use everything from Smart Phone and Blackberries to laptops and even the old standbys of the fax machine and scanner. We’re working on our website and we’re fairly new to the iPad and deciding how that fits into our business model.… Read the rest

Technology Complements Rep’s Face-to-Face Efforts

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When your territory represents 30 percent of the Canadian geography and is equivalent to four times the size of Texas you had better have a handle on the use of technology in order to serve your principals and customers. But if technological tools are a means to getting the job done, those tools will never replace the quality and value of face-to-face contact.

That, in very few words, is the message of Brandon Spearman, president of Spearhead Marketing, Inc., Langley, British Columbia.

“There are more people in the state of California than there are in our entire country, and they’re … Read the rest

When It Comes to Tech Tools, Take It Slow and Easy

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While he’s unabashedly an Apple advocate, Rick Ramsowr urges his fellow reps to follow a slow, steady, well-studied course as they navigate their way through the high-tech tools they’ll need to properly serve their principals and customers — not to mention themselves. Ramsowr, who heads Genesis Fusion Marketing, Houston, Texas, advises reps to “Take it slow. Make sure you conduct your research up front. Do that as you consider what your needs are and weigh what you hope to accomplish. Finally, spend time with the suppliers of these tech tools to see to it that your needs can be met

… Read the rest

“We Don’t Need Reps Anymore! Two Guys in Chicago Can Handle the Business”

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This is a direct quote from a rep I visited with recently. He told me that two of his lines had said just about the same thing. One company had been acquired by a European company and the other by an Asian multi-billion dollar diversified manufacturer. How and why do manufacturers make statements like this? Are they just misinformed? Or, is there something the rep business is missing?

The bottom line is that these manufacturers and, unfortunately, many others do not have a clear picture of the value of rep services they receive for their commission dollars.

Why is it … Read the rest

You CAN Lead Through Change

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“Are you kidding me? Weekly meetings!” Riley was questioning why Clint, his boss, is requesting weekly staff meetings instead of the longstanding monthly meetings. “Is this the beginning of a new form of micromanagement? Why do we have to change now?” Riley asks himself. “It’s such a burden with no apparent benefit.”

Clint notices Riley’s questioning response about the weekly meetings. The weekly meetings are part of the changes coming to the department. If the team didn’t meet weekly, they would struggle implementing the new software for customer relationship management. Clint needs Riley on board with this change. If Riley … Read the rest

Making Selling Easier

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“It worked once, it worked twice, it worked three times,” reflects the serial killer in Lee Child’s Running Blind. “But you know there are no guarantees in life. You know that better than anybody. So you keep on thinking, because the only thing that can get you known is your own complacency.”

The words may seem strangely philosophical for a crime novel, but no matter who we are, it’s complacency that gets us “known,” that betrays us. For anyone in sales, complacency is a sure-fire career killer. With that in mind, here are some thoughts that can help avoid the … Read the rest

So You Call Yourself a Professional Salesperson: It’s All About How Customers View You

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There was a time not so long ago when accountants, attorneys, doctors, some musicians, certain ball players, the clergy and a few others earned the right to be called a “professional.” But that was about it.

More recently, the dam burst and we’re now flooded with “professionals.” Everyone wants in the club.

It’s as if just calling ourselves a “professional salesperson,” for example, is magical, lifting us above all those unfortunates, the “unprofessionals.”

For “professional” to mean something special, something unique, something above the crowd, it requires content that’s specific and concrete, a standard against which a salesperson’s behavior can … Read the rest

The REAL Reason Salespeople Fail to Sell

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You can give a salesperson all the sales skills training in the world. You can lay everything out and tell them exactly what to say and do in each and every situation and yet, if they have either of the two afflictions I’ll talk about here, no amount of sales or product training will help them. When a salesperson fails over the long haul, it is always a failure in activity, a failure to do the things necessary for success. Below are the two reasons salespeople ultimately fail to do the necessary work and, in the end, fail to sell, … Read the rest

Keys to a Successful Publicity Campaign

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Every year, countless businesses from a variety of industries decide to take a crucial step in their corporate progression: a national publicity campaign. More often than not, there are a few critical missteps made at the outset that impede their momentum that have a direct impact on their PR return on investment. Public relations endeavors are an essential component to increased visibility and name-awareness, but without proper preparedness and implementation, visions of magazine covers and daily newspaper interviews can prove to be ill-fated pipe dreams.

Thankfully, there are a number of actions you can take to safeguard yourself from PR … Read the rest

Tips for Family Business Succession Planning

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When it comes to family business succession planning, one thing is certain: Most family business leaders don’t do it, they don’t do it well, or they wait to do it until it’s too late. While the CEO longevity in non‑family businesses is an average of six years, for a family owned businesses CEOs tend to stay for 20-25 years.

Sure, that long tenure contributes to leadership stability and consistency, but it can also fuel flat growth, narrow business focus, and decreasing leadership drive. Additionally, when the CEO and other top-level executive family members do not step aside in a timely … Read the rest

Making Use of an HR Practice

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A manufacturer passed along news of success he’s had by employing a practice that probably every human resource department uses.

According to the manufacturer, “Just as most companies in this country, we’re always conducting employee evaluations. Not only does the supervisor in our company fill out a form evaluating strengths, weaknesses, goals, etc., but so does the employee. Not to let a good idea get wasted, we’ve made use of this with our network of independent manufacturers’ reps. We regularly have our regional sales manager complete the same exercise with the reps in his territory. This simplified and short form … Read the rest

What’s in Store For 2013?
Digital Marketing’s Role in Lead Generation

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As we think of new goals and new strategies, it’s important to consider all avenues to new business opportunities. Your company may have a solid handle on this challenge or it may be struggling to keep up. Whatever your particular case may be, there are always opportunities if you look in the right places.

First and foremost, digital marketing needs to be a major component of your marketing strategy, that is, if it isn’t already. Digital marketing affords you the best opportunity to connect to potential customers, clients and leads because they all use some form of digital media. This … Read the rest

Get Employee Sales Commission Plans in Writing — It Avoids Disputes and in Some States It’s the Law

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As independent sales representatives, you’re all too aware of the issues surrounding payment of commissions from your principals:

  • When are they earned?
  • When are they payable?
  • Your entitlement to commissions on backlog orders upon contract termination.
  • Your rights if the principal doesn’t pay.

These same issues pertain to the payment of commissions to your sales employees.

You’re also probably aware that many states have enacted statutes protecting your rights as an independent sales representative to payment of commissions by your principal. Many of these statutes levy multiple damages and attorney’s fees upon the principal for failure to pay commissions to … Read the rest

What’s New for 2013

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We are well into 2013, and a host of tax changes kick in this year. Here’s a quick rundown of the most important things that have changed along with reminders about longstanding tax breaks that were extended through this year.

Changes Taking Effect in 2013

Payroll Tax Holiday Is Gone — For 2011 and 2012, the Social Security tax withholding rate on your salary was temporarily reduced by 2%, from the normal 6.2% to 4.2%. If you’re self-employed, the Social Security tax component of the self-employment tax was reduced by 2%, from the normal 12.4% to 10.4%. However, the payroll … Read the rest

CBM Names Doug Mayle to Board of Directors

Cleaves-Bessmer-Marietti, Inc. (CBM, Inc.) announces that Douglas P. Mayle has been appointed to the Board of Directors, effective May 10, 2013. Doug is currently the Vice President of the Contractor & Industrial Group and a valuable member of CBM, Inc. He has over 25 years of experience in the C&I Market and has been on the management team for the last 13 years.

Doug graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Education. He started his career working in distribution doing outside sales, then joined CBM, Inc. as an Account Manager in the C&I market. Doug has been … Read the rest