© Dunca Daniel | Dreamstime.com

The concept is to create a dialog between manufacturers and their independent manufacturers’ representatives regarding agency performance and manufacturers’ expectations.

Before you start ask yourself:

1. Does the questionnaire cover the topic sufficiently? Completely? If not, what would you add?
2. Are you prepared to take immediate action to change, correct, modify your business to be in line with what your key principals expect?

It is also important to focus strictly on principals that are significant contributors to your commission income. What the sales manager of a line that gives you less than five percent of your commission income thinks is a waste of time. He or she may have some good ideas, but if the more substantial principals are not saying what this line is — so what!

Don’t waste your time talking to unproductive principals — why are you representing them, anyway?

Having a Will to Change

The question is whether agency owners/managers have the courage to ask their key principals — and, what they will do about the things they hear?

A few years ago an agency client sent me across the country to meet with the sales manager of a major line. I was in for a real lesson. We met for breakfast at a hotel. After the “Hello” I did not get in a word for 90 minutes. All I did was take notes. The bottom line — “Either your client gets their act together or you can forget our line, by the end of the year.”

Now I had a real challenge. How did I avoid getting shot as the messenger? Fortunately, the client already had a pretty good idea of the situation. He did not know the depth of the principal’s dissatisfaction. I wrote up my comments. We talked on the phone. We strategized and made some major decisions. This included hiring a new person to concentrate on several markets that were important to this principal. It was a big investment. It took a lot of courage. It resulted in:

• Keeping the line.
• Increasing the commission.
• Moving from “marginal” in the mind of a very influential sales manager to the upper level.

What should principals be asking about the agencies and the individual agents who work for them in the field?

1. Overall Rep Firm Performance — Does this agency meet or exceed our desired level of performance?
   1. Total sales of our line?
   2. Development of key customers for our line?
   3. Penetration of all of our products with our best customers?
2. Branch Office Performance — Does this agency provide all of the branch office services that we need in this territory?
   1. Lead follow-up?
   2. New business development?
   3. Availability of facilities for presentation/demonstration of our products?
   4. Providing a hospitable environment for our personnel when in the territory?
3. Individual Salesperson Performance — How well do the personnel of the agency represent our products?
   1. Knowledge of our products?
   2. Ability to demonstrate our products?
   3. Ability to present our products and our company?
   4. Familiarity with our company — all levels and all services?
   5. Is the salesperson a part of our company as well as part of the agency?
   6. What do our personnel in our office[s] think of the salesperson?
   7. What is the quality of the reporting done by this salesperson for our company?
   8. What is the quality of the planning done by this salesperson for our line in his or her territory?
4. Agency Planning — What is the quality of the planning provided by this agency on a continuing basis?
   1. Annual plans?
   2. New business development plans?
   3. Quarterly or monthly reporting and plans?
   4. Territory and competitive environment reporting?
   5. Longer term potential of this agency for our company?
5. Agency Working Relationships? — What do the inside people at our offices think of this agency?
   1. Are they good to deal with from a customer service perspective?
   2. Do other departments/people have an opinion on them?
   3. Do we feel that they are as responsive as they could be to our requests for support?
   4. Do we feel that they are well organized to represent us?
   5. Is the principal/owner of the agency “popular” with our people?
   6. How does field sales management feel about this agency?
   7. What does top management think of them?

Summary

Do you have the courage to ask these questions? If you ask the questions, do it in person. How can you prepare yourself to receive feedback? What do you say to the person giving you the feedback? How do you organize to capitalize on the feedback?

This is a challenging approach to your business. What can it mean to your future? Good luck and good selling.

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].