It would appear that there are more similarities than dissimilarities between BP Associates and its fellow independent manufacturers’ representative firms.

Where BP differs, naturally, is in its product mix. BP Associates, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is an independent manufacturers’ representative agency that serves manufacturers and retailers in the bike, outdoor, and winter sports business. That profile offers quite a contrast to typical MANA member firms which are largely OEM-oriented.

A quick look at the company profile (www.bpassociates.com) shows the wide range of products that the agency represents — everything from cycling, hiking, outdoor and winter sports. But that’s just part of the picture. The backgrounds of the agency’s staff are communicated in brief biographical profiles that describe their interests and passions for cycling, camping, fishing, bird hunting and “a love affair with human-powered transportation.”

Just as his co-workers, Pat Padden, who heads the agency, can detail his exercise-related path to becoming an independent manufacturers’ representative. Padden, who’s in charge of the agency’s bike group, began in retail at Midwest Mountaineering and during his nine years there served as assistant manager, buyer and vice president. As for his relationship to the outdoors, he has climbed and backpacked extensively throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. As to how and why he gravitated to the agency business, he explains, “While I was in the sporting goods business, I decided I didn’t want to go that way. Instead, I found that my skills were as a retail buyer and my belief was that those skills would serve me well in the agency business. From the very beginning, I understood what my principals and customers needed, and I was able to fill that need.”

Common Concerns

As far as the similarities BP Associates has with its fellow agencies, Padden explains that his agency faces the same concerns others do when it comes to changes in the profession, locating new principals, succession planning, and time management.

In addressing what changes he’s experienced since opening the agency doors in 1980, he maintains that “Over the years the agency has been in business, the single rep working out of his home has virtually disappeared. Today we’re finding that principals are looking for agencies with a great deal of depth. They want to work with rep firms that feature interchangeable team members and have great territorial coverage with a wealth of contacts in the field.” It would appear that BP answers the bell on all those accounts as its 14 staff members show a wealth of experience when it comes to products and customer relations. “Each of our representatives has a specialty and a region that they work. That allows them to develop relationships with the contacts we need to be successful.” If those aforementioned assets are a given for BP Associates, Padden adds that “We’re hardly a typical agency in our field. We really don’t have any direct competitors in our territory and we’re not looking to sell nationally.”

Locating Principals

When the need arises, BP Associates is on the lookout for new principals. According to Padden, “Just as independent manufacturers’ representatives in other fields, reputation is key to gaining principals’ attention. Manufacturers in our industry really don’t advertise for reps. I’d say a good number of principals hear about us simply by word of mouth. As a result, a friend will call us with information about a principal or we’ll get a call from a prospective principal.” He adds that the agency’s website makes it a bit easier for prospective principals to make contact. “Our website remains our greatest effort on the Internet. If a manufacturer is interested in us they’ll know how to get in touch.” He continues that BP isn’t terribly active in the area of social media and notes that tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are more valuable when it comes to building brand than in creating sales.

Succession Planning

The subject of succession planning is hardly foreign to Padden and BP. As he explains, “Like many other people, I’d like to live and work forever. However, if I get struck by a meteor or otherwise decide I might want to retire, I certainly would never want to leave my principals and customers hanging. That’s why it’s so important to have a plan in place — which we do.” He adds that the agency’s succession plan was created with the assistance of an outside consultant.

When it comes to any specific areas of concern that Padden and his agency face, he explains that perhaps his greatest challenge remains his ability to leverage the knowledge and skills he’s gained in the sporting goods world to the people who work with him. “Thankfully, I’ve got a lot of time to think about the business. Having done that, we’re able to build on that foundation in order to make sure we’re professional in everything we do.” Operating in a professional manner is critical to the success of the agency and Padden notes that to achieve that level, “We’re a highly system-oriented organization.”

A contributing factor to BP Associates’ professionalism, according to Padden, is the agency’s continued membership in MANA. “I think our original goal in joining the association was to add to our professionalism. I, like everyone else in the organization, am extremely pressed for time. Assessing the products and services MANA offers only assists us in becoming more professional.”

Keeping It Simple

Value-add is a common term when independent manufacturers’ representatives discuss what they offer their manufacturers and customers. Padden doesn’t shy away from the subject when he explains, “Our value-add to the market we serve is that we do everything that we can to make the lives of everyone in our chain simple. In dealing with our customers, we want to make their lives easier and leave no one guessing or waiting for what we supply. For instance, if you’ve got a customer that wants you to get back to them within 24 hours, our philosophy is why not get back to them in an hour? You want to get problems and questions off your plate as soon as you can. You don’t want anything to fester. If you’ve got some difficulty getting back to them quickly, just drop them an e-mail or text and let them know you haven’t forgotten about them and you’re working on it.”

When asked what the future holds for BP Associates, Padden says that if he was able to peer into the future — say 10 years or more — he hopes the agency would have doubled in size — not just in terms of personnel, but also revenue.

Value in Repping Diverse Lines

Another example showing that MANA isn’t just for the independent manufacturers’ representative serving OEMs can be found in the specialty of PSR Sales, Platte City, Missouri. Standing in stark contrast to the typical industrial-oriented agency, PSR serves the farm store, pet, mass merchant, animal health, hardware, lawn and garden markets.

Admittedly that’s a diverse mix of product lines, but it’s a mix that serves the agency well, according to Doug Tvedt, who covers accounts throughout Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Northwest Arkansas. Explaining that business is good across the board, Tvedt says that having such a variety of product offerings allows PSR to avoid having all its eggs in one basket. “If the time ever comes when we have a downturn in one or more markets, we are able to sustain ourselves in the other markets,”

PSR Sales comprises four members who cover more than 12 states in the greater Midwest. The “PSR” in the agency name stands for Professional Sales Reps.

An Evolving Business

The history of the agency illustrates how it evolved to meet market needs. PSR Sales was founded in 1988 by Gary Skiles and Mike Riffel. Prior to joining forces, Skiles owned a farm store in Newton, Iowa, and Riffel was a sales manager for a cattle ear tag manufacturer. The ear tag product line was the first manufacturer that they represented and one the agency still represents today.

Ten years after opening their agency doors, PSR merged with Ryton Sales & Marketing and added John Henry to the team. The manufacturers that he represented provided a perfect fit for the existing product lines that PSR represented. In addition, adding Henry to the team allowed PSR to focus on a more concentrated geographic area providing better service to customers. In 2004, Doug Tvedt and Scott Ellison joined PSR, bringing a needed expertise in different market segments and were a key part of PSR’s succession strategy. Jim Schepman joined the agency in 2011 bringing more than 20 years of sales experience and allowing PSR to expand into four additional Eastern Midwest states.

In explaining one of the major factors that brought him to PSR, Tvedt refers to the aforementioned agency succession plan. Armed with BS and MS degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Minnesota, Tvedt started his career as a research specialist for the Center for Agricultural Export Development at the University of Kentucky. Following that, he worked as international sales manager for North Central Plastics — the manufacturer of Red Snap’r electric fencing products. After Zareba Systems acquired North Central Plastics, he continued his role as international sales manager, and eventually became product manager.

“I was working for the manufacturer that PSR was representing. As a result, I knew the agency and the people there. I learned there was an opening, but what really appealed to me was the fact that upon joining them I’d have an opportunity for ownership. That’s how they put together their succession plan; they attract and bring in good people to prepare for the future.”

Educating Principals

While Tvedt acknowledges he was familiar with working with agencies and knew PSR and its personnel well, upon joining the agency he was faced with navigating a major learning curve. “As a manufacturer that works with reps, you think you know what they do, but that’s not really the case. In reality, manufacturers see only a small percentage of what their reps do for them. The first thing that hits you is that instead of repping one product line, you’re repping 12. It can be overwhelming, if you let it.”

Tvedt admits that if he learned anything from that first impression, it’s that “Reps ought to be doing a better job of educating their principals as to what they do for them. There are probably some manufacturers who believe reps don’t work on Fridays and overall it’s a pretty good gig, but there’s much more to the rep’s job and we ought to be telling them about it.”

A major help in working his way through that learning curve, according to Tvedt, has been the agency’s membership in MANA. “I had heard about the association over the years and while I knew most of its members were more industrial-oriented than we are, I felt from the beginning that it would benefit us to join such a professional organization. One thing that’s been especially beneficial to us has been the teleforums that the association conducts. Maybe we’re different from many other rep firms in that we have a great deal of ‘windshield time’ here in the Midwest. To maximize my time behind the wheel, I’ve downloaded just about all of the teleforums and make constant use of them.”

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