When he’s asked to reflect on his career as an independent manufacturers’ representative, Steve Williston immediately draws on the words “journey” and “adventure” to describe how he got to where he is today.

Williston maintains that it’s those two words that best describe what he’s seen and experienced since first being exposed to what his father, the late Jerry Williston, chose for a career, to the point where today he finds himself heading S. Williston Sales Co., LLC, East-Greenwich, Rhode Island.

Williston maintains that “A journey can be defined as a long, often difficult process of personal change and development. With any journey, you’re going to have challenges and successes along the way. The adventure can be exciting but needs a decision to daringly take on the journey. That’s the adventure part of it.

“I was exposed to the rep profession early on. After working in the industry for five years, I took an opportunity to work with my father and learn from him the successful traits of a professional independent manufacturers’ representative. When it came time for me to decide to continue in the profession, I knew the next step for me was to start my own agency. That was the next part of my journey. Then — as with any journey — came the need to make decisions — whether it was opening my own agency or deciding what lines I was going to take on. That’s where the adventure comes in.”

The journey and the adventure have taken Williston to the point where today he heads a four-person agency that serves the following markets:

• HVAC and indoor air quality equipment.
• Refrigeration tools and system components.
• Temperature controls.
• Air filtration and maintenance products.
• Installation hardware and accessories.

Even though he was well-schooled with eight years’ experience in the rep profession before opening his own doors and joining MANA in 2007, Williston admits that there were a few surprises awaiting him when he hung out his own shingle. “First there was a recession, and second I had to ask myself, ‘Why does it take so long to make some money in this business?’ I was prepared for a three- to five-year wait even though I remember being told it could take as long as 10 years. I expected things to come to us a lot quicker. I know part of realizing success is an agency’s ability to get referrals and pick up new lines, so I was ready for that. But I can’t say I didn’t get impatient.”

Planting a Tree of Success

Perhaps helping him combat that sense of impatience during those early years of the agency is a bit of philosophy that visitors can see for themselves if they navigate to the agency’s website (www.swillistonsales.com). It’s there that the three major ingredients for sustained growth appear in a visual entitled “Manufacturer Tree of Success.”

1. The Seed: Plant and invest with the right professional and family‑oriented rep agency.
2. The Roots & Branches: Always water and grow.
   • Communicate
   • Activate
   • Evaluate
3. The Tree: The fully developed sales network which gives abundance to all.

It’s that philosophy that Williston and his team have believed in and communicated to their manufacturer partners over the years.

If waiting to make money weighed on Williston and his agency, then there was the added challenge of dealing with manufacturers who really don’t want to make a change to the way they’re doing business until they have to. “The reluctance of manufacturers to make a change occurred to me when I realized it wasn’t all that easy to pick up new lines with a base of business. Some manufacturers will stick with an agency for years whether the agency performs well or not. Whether it was a fear of change or the reluctance to end a long-standing relationship with an existing representative, the manufacturers did not make changes easily. That’s what confronted us.”

When it came to overcoming that challenge and locating and attracting new lines, Williston explains, “Perhaps the most effective means we employed was by networking. We’ve been good at developing relationships with reps in other territories that we meet via our membership in MANA, AIM/R, ASHRAE and HARDI (Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International) and in our attendance at national sales meetings.”

He emphasizes the effectiveness of networking with other agents when he says “Whenever we’ve had to investigate a potential principal, we ask who their reps are in other territories, call those rep principals, and get insight on the manufacturer from them. Naturally we’re going to verify commission rates and punctuality of payments, inquire how they work with their reps, the level of customer service and whether they build quality products.”

Wearing Many Hats

If surviving a recession, making money and attracting principals weren’t challenging enough, Williston says that the task of wearing many hats also came as a bit of surprise. “Now that I’m running my own agency, I find that there’s a lot more to being an independent manufacturers’ representative than I thought. There’s everything from mentoring employees to bookkeeping and all the accompanying paperwork that has to be attended to.” If that isn’t enough, then he’s also had to pay attention to changes that have occurred in the way reps conduct business today.

With a little more than eight years under his belt with his own agency, Williston maintains that even in that relatively short period of time, he’s seen considerable change in the way independent agents ply their trade. Some of the important changes he’s observed in that period of time include:

• Measuring performance — 

“The metrics of the business are more important today than they’ve ever been. You’ve got to be able to answer the questions of whether you’re putting the right amount of time and money into your efforts. Obviously sales are a major metric. Then you’ve got to know what to do to grow sales and revenue. What are your expenses? Are you paying yourself enough to survive — and hopefully thrive? Are you properly managing the expectations of your manufacturers? What do you do if a manufacturer tells you that you need two more salespeople in the field? How do you do that? How do you deal with the pressure of adding another person if the current revenues don’t pay for it?”

• Growing business —

Like so many other independent sales agencies, S. Williston Sales is no stranger to getting calls from manufacturers that have no existing business in the territory. Williston explains that “We’ve adopted an approach that is fairly new to us. When this occurs, we use it as an opportunity to have a conversation with the manufacturer about the importance of determining how the agency and the manufacturer can work together to grow sales in an economical manner. I’ll admit that when we opened our doors we took on some pioneering work. Some of those opportunities worked out, others didn’t. Today our approach is that it’s impossible to take on a line (once again, a line with no business in the territory) and allocate the proper amount of time to develop that new business.

“If we’re going to allocate that time away from other lines, there has to be a form of compensation that will make up for that time. We’re not looking to change the typical rep-manufacturer business model; rather, we’re striving to get to the point where commissions will pay for our time. Here’s the real question for manufacturers: ‘Would you hire a direct salesperson to develop new business and not pay them until a sale is made?’ I don’t think so.”

• Profitability —

“This is probably the biggest issue for younger agencies. When I consider many of the agencies that were starting about the same time we were, a good number of them have failed. There are so many of them that failed to get by the three-, five-, and seven-year marks. I’m not sure we’ve made all the right decisions affecting profitability along the way, but we’re still here today.”

• Technology —

“When we started our agency, my brother Chris immediately brought us on board with SalesForce.com. His message to me was that we needed to build a database of customer contacts and to be able to communicate with those customers in a professional and efficient manner. That was really our first step with it came to getting our arms around technology. We’ve got to be able to quickly communicate with our customers and principals namely because there is such an expectation of immediate communication today that you can’t be successful without it.”

Another of the agency’s initial technological steps was to create an online presence via its website. According to Williston, “Our first site was fine but a couple of years ago we decided to step up our effort. While we developed our thoughts on how it would look in-house, we hired an outside copywriter to put the words to it. Among our goals in revamping the website was to assist our salespeople when they’re out on the road making calls and to demonstrate our partnership with our manufacturers by listing all of them. We also provided more information for wholesalers, distributors and contractors who were looking for information.”

Social Media

In addition to CRM and the agency’s website, Williston cites the growth of social media as something agents have to be aware of. “Honestly we’re only really active with LinkedIn. I’ve found that it’s a great tool for finding and developing contacts. We don’t use some of the other tools mostly because of our staff limitations. If there were more of us, we’d probably be doing more with it. It’s really all about allocating our time and resources properly.”

Before leaving the subject of technology, Williston notes that how some people embrace its use could be due to age. “Given my age, I’m probably comfortable using face-to-face communication or the telephone. He adds that when it comes to communicating “Our goal is to communicate with our customers and principals in the quickest and easiest way for them. Members of the younger generation are the ones who are probably more comfortable using all the tools that are available to them. They’re also the ones who know how to build strong relationships using the newer tools.”

Why MANA?

As to the role MANA plays in the life of his agency, Williston explains that “My father was member of MANA years back. As a result, I was familiar with the association’s newsletters, white papers and other publications. I read them all and learned the value MANA offered to make him more professional. That’s why early on I made the decision to join MANA and shortly thereafter I also joined AIM/R.”

He was quick to praise a couple of MANA’s offerings to its membership. “The steps for professional development that the association has offered have been phenomenal and very helpful in our development. The legal counsel we’ve received from MANA attorney Dan Beederman has been greatly appreciated, and, the articles in Agency Sales and seminars conducted by John Haskell where he emphasizes the importance of ‘Backselling’ have been great.”

As he views the position that his agency occupies today, Williston notes, “I can’t say that I’m where I expected to be at this time in our growth. But, having said that we’re coming off the best year in our history and business continues very good this year. At the same time I’m extremely pleased with where I am. I really enjoy what I do for a living. I love that every day has a diversity of activities that challenge me to improve my abilities in corporate sales, sales management, customer service, and strategic planning with my principals.”

Naturally while he loves what he does for a living, Williston notes that there are some things that continue to weigh on his mind. “There’s always something to do. We’ve always got to be concerned with doing what’s best for ourselves, our customers and our principals. We’ve got to be able to answer ‘Are we doing enough?’ So far I think the answer to that question is ‘Yes.’”

Admittedly, Williston’s agency is a small enterprise. In addition to himself, his brother Chris, director for account management, and Rich Beron, outside sales, round out the staff. He’s also quick to emphasize the valuable contributions his wife has made to the business.

Given the size of the agency, Williston is in an informed position to venture an opinion about the benefits of a small agency like his vs. a larger agency. “A small agency like ours is a little bit like a pirate ship. It can make decisions and move quickly. In addition, when we take on a sizeable line, it’s a little bit like being a big fish in a small pond. They can and do receive a sizeable amount of the agency’s time and effort.” He adds that there are plans to begin working with a sub-rep to supplement the agency’s efforts in Upstate New York.

When he’s asked if now that he’s got several years’ experience under his belt as his own boss if he might have any advice to offer himself when he was starting out with his own agency, Williston quickly responds “Don’t delay when it comes to making decisions. You’ve got to know what you want and have a plan to reach for your goals. And, while you’re planning, don’t be afraid to consult with someone else who’s already done what you’re planning.”

He adds that if you’re interested in having your own agency, he’d advise a prospective agency owner to take over an existing agency vs. starting a new one from scratch. “For those starting their own agency, they’re faced with the task of ensuring that they have sufficient funds to survive while establishing themselves in the territory. With a successful existing agency, on the other hand, the transition could be a bit easier. You already enjoy the benefits of existing relations, customers accustomed to repeat orders and a history of performance in their territory. There’s probably no guaranteed best way. It’s just that the latter path might be smoother.”

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