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Just as manufacturers have a checklist made up of the attributes they’d like to have in their independent manufacturers’ representatives, so too do agents have a wish list. During an industry meeting last fall, a group of representatives at a roundtable were discussing what they’d like to have in a marketing partner. Among their considerations were these:

Manufacturer’s current market position — Since agencies spend a great deal of their time promoting new products, they want to know that a prospective principal is active in this area. At the same time, they need to be apprised of the manufacturer’s current market position and what their potential is for the future. Integral to that consideration is where a principal ranks against the competition in terms of market position, visibility and reputation.

Culture — Is their corporate culture one that is comfortable to independent representatives? Are they committed to the rep way of going to market? Are their inside salespeople conversant with the needs of an independent sales force? Do they treat reps as family? Are they “fun” to work with?

Tech capabilities — Since a certain level of technological know-how is mandatory for any company conducting business today, this is somewhat of a moot point; however, are they geared up properly to work efficiently with an outsourced sales force? Is their website rep friendly?

Personnel tenure record — What attracts any manufacturer to an agency is that agency’s tenure in the territory. They’re naturally concerned with how long the owner of the agency has been in the territory, how deep his roots are and how long has he worked with major customers. Concurrently, independent representatives want to know how long the manufacturer’s personnel have been in place and how long have they been working with reps. Of special importance is the length of time a company’s regional manager has been in the position. According to one manufacturer, “It’s no surprise to any rep that the average length of time a regional manager spends in a position is a little over two years. What that translates to in the rep’s mind is that the position is merely a rung on the climb up a career ladder. It’s not long before the regional manager makes that climb and the rep is faced with the prospect of retraining the regional manager several times during the time he represents a line. That’s a major consideration.”

Changing Agency Ownership the Right Way

When a manufacturer had two of its top-performing agencies go through ownership changes in the same year, it was naturally a bit of a harrowing experience. However, once the dust had settled, he reported to Agency Sales that what the agencies did and how they did it really smoothed the way. “I have to be honest in saying that both agencies’ previous owners kept me informed from day one of their planning process. They let me know the approximate time frame when they were planning on leaving the business. On top of that, they made every effort to personally introduce me to the new owners and to allow us time to build a relationship before actually pulling the plug. If that wasn’t enough, both agency owners sought my advice and counsel during the process. What happened as a result of their careful planning is that we’re still conducting business and selling tons of products with both agencies.”

Lack of Value in Sales Reports

Elsewhere in this issue of Agency Sales, two consultants discuss the relative downside of manufacturers putting pressure on their agents to deliver regular sales reports. They weren’t the only two with a negative view of the subject.

Another consultant weighed in with these thoughts: “If I had to identify any one subject as the greatest waste of time for reps it is monthly sales reports. They’re wasteful because we spend a lot of time on them and they just fall into an abyss.” The consultant continues that “Reps are always complaining about urgent requests for weekly and monthly sales forecasts and asking for product and market input. If they take the time to provide that information, they rarely if ever receive feedback.”

Pushing Product Training

If one manufacturer didn’t know beforehand that his agents thirsted after product training, he knows it know now. That’s what one manufacturer reports after some input from several of his independent agencies. According to the manufacturer, “I had several of my reps approach me with a request for training. But they were adamant that they didn’t want sales training. They were after product training. Their message to me was that since they had already carved out successful careers for themselves as independent representatives, they knew what they had to know about how to sell successfully. What they didn’t know was all they should about my product line.

“In addition to asking for a steady stream of product training, they also wanted the training to be non-intrusive and not to take too much of their time away from the selling process.

“Here’s what both sides agreed to: Whenever possible we were going to bring the training to them. That way they wouldn’t have to leave their territories. We developed a program to train them, but only when we had something truly new to tell them about. By delivering on our promise, we learned that all of our reps are interested in what we have to offer and they’re anxious to complete the training we are able to provide.

“As a side benefit, when we bring the training to them in the field, we are able to combine our efforts with regular visits that we’d be making anyway.”

Gauging How Manufacturers View Training

As one manufacturer was planning his annual training program for his agents, he took a moment to relay to Agency Sales magazine how much he valued the opinions of his independent sales force when it came to training. According to the manufacturer, “I learned early on that it was important to tap our reps for their input when it came to training. I’ll never forget one rep telling me that he rated his principals on how much importance they placed on training their reps. Here was a rep with more than a quarter century’s experience who let me know that the manufacturers who showed that they truly valued the importance of training were the ones he found it easiest to work with. In his words, ‘It’s those manufacturers who have learned over the years what we’re truly up against. As a result, they can anticipate problems and work to solve them before they grow larger than they should.’ And a major step in anticipating those problems is taken during the training process.”

A Relationship That’s Just Like a Marriage

An informal conversation between manufacturer and agent on the subject of marriage evolved into something that described their professional relationship. According to the manufacturer, “An extended time of working together can prove positive when the manufacturer and the rep have continued to work diligently at sustaining the relationship. It’s not all that much different than a marriage. Once the little things begin to go wrong, you start picking at each other. Then it’s inevitable that the little problems become big ones and the big ones become deal breakers. That’s the first signpost of the beginning of the end.

“What strengthens the relationship, on the other hand, is a mutual respect and appreciation for each other’s concerns and problems, effective two-way communication, personal contact and a true sense of partnering.”

More for the Rep Means More for My Company

The way the manufacturer described it was a little bit like an aberration in the performance of one of his independent agents. The word “aberration” is used because, according to the principal, “In just one month, one of our reps sold what amounted to about one-third of his annual sales. And, usually his annual sales are pretty good. What happened was that a number of major projects came through all at the same time. I’d be lying if I told you this didn’t get my attention, especially since I wrote him a commission check for more than $200,000.

“I did this willingly, however, because I’ve always been of the opinion that the more the rep sells, the more I’m selling. And the reason I signed him on to sell my line is to do just that — sell. It would be an understatement to say that’s exactly what he’s been doing for me — for years — selling.

“My only advice to him is to keep on keeping on and I’ll keep on signing the checks.”