Uncomfortably armed with no customers and little or no knowledge of the territory, Danny Dodge took a leap of faith more than 20 years ago — and he’s glad he did. Dodge who heads Component Solutions, LLC, Alamo, California, explains that when he had the opportunity to move from a position as sales manager with a Texas manufacturer to the California Bay area, he relished the opportunity for a number of reasons.

Danny Dodge maintains that heading his own agency allows him to wear many hats, a fact that speaks to the importance of reps being flexible.

“I was working for a family-owned business and we managed to grow the business tenfold. When a couple of things began to happen including some internal turmoil, I felt it was best for me to make a change. I can’t say it was easy. Everyone there was my friend and I enjoyed selling, getting out of the office and the customer interaction. On the negative side, I didn’t enjoy meetings and so much of the typical sales manager stuff that I had to do. I figured at that time that the best thing for me was to get into the independent representative business. I took the leap and fortunately landed my first product line right away, and others followed.”

Today the single-man operation specializes in custom-engineered components including precision aluminum extrusions, stampings, sheet metal, metal injection molding, ceramic injection molding, precision machining, medical applications.

Negotiating a Changing Market

During his time in the San Francisco area, Dodge notes that he’s lived and worked through a number of changes in the marketplace. “Where once there was a lot of work to be had with the aerospace and high-tech sectors, over the years a lot of that has gone away. That all speaks to the importance of reps being able to be flexible. Thankfully I was able to get into the medical device market and have even done some work with firearms.”

One of Dodge’s principals cites his background as a trained engineer to be a real attribute when it comes to representing the manufacturer’s line of products to a wide range of customers.

Being able to find new principals is something that he says MANA has been especially helpful with. “One of the many benefits of my MANA membership is that manufacturers are constantly contacting me, probably more than I could ever accommodate.” He adds, however, that one of his goals is to narrow the number of principals that he represents. “I think I’m more attractive to a manufacturer if I don’t take a shotgun approach and rather concentrate on a smaller number of companies that they know I’ll do a good job for. What this thinking has resulted in is that I’ve been fortunate in working with honest and quality manufacturers.”

Typical of so many single-man operations, he notes that he’s had the opportunity to wear any number of hats at a given time. “Having to fill so many roles can be a bit distracting at times, but after all these years I still enjoy all that I’m doing. If it bothers an individual to have to do so many things, this would obviously be a tough career.”

Praise From a Manufacturer

If Dodge’s two-decade tenure as an independent manufacturers’ representative is testimony to his staying power and to his success, perhaps even more telling is the endorsement he’s received from one of his principals, Profile Precision Extrusions, Phoenix, Arizona. According to company sales manager Tom Gilluly, here’s why independent agents are a good fit for his company: “In general terms, reps are a good economic fit for us. We occupy a small segment of the aluminum extrusion business. To give you an idea about the industry, there was probably more than one billion pounds of aluminum extrusion shipped in North America last year. There’s maybe three or four of us that focus on small extrusion and we represent maybe 10 million pounds of that total. So it’s obvious that we’re in a niche where there’s not enough business to justify a salesperson’s salary. We tried it with a direct salesperson a couple of years ago and the numbers just weren’t there. That’s one of the reasons why reps work for us.”

Getting the Rep’s Time

Today the company works with nine or 10 independent agencies, and Gilluly notes that whether dealing with a direct sales force or independent reps there are naturally going to be positives and negatives. One of the major negatives is something shared by a majority of manufacturers — getting enough of the rep’s time. To address that challenge, Gilluly and Precision go the extra mile to provide leads for their reps. “It’s really all about us doing our job to provide them with qualified leads. If we’re not active in that area, then we’ll just get what we get and nothing more. When we provide those leads, however, we’re confident that our reps will take the ball and run with it.”

As for the attributes that the reps who get those leads should possess, Gilluly begins by saying, “They’ve obviously got to be good salespeople. But on top of that they’ve got to have a sense of curiosity. The good reps are the ones who want to know what parts fit into other parts. And, specific to working with us, we like reps who are engineering-
oriented as opposed to being completely sales-oriented.”

How does Danny Dodge fit into that mold? According to Gilluly, “He’s unusual in that he’s an excellent salesperson and a trained engineer. He brings the best of both worlds to the job. He’s extremely curious as to how things work, how they’re used and what parts go together.”

Building Relationships

Keeping Gilluly’s words in mind, Dodge is asked his opinion as to what he can attribute his and his agency’s success. “I’d have to say that any success I’ve enjoyed has come from my philosophy that I don’t necessarily go out with the intent of getting the order. I like the business I’m in and I enjoy people. That’s what it’s all about for me. What I’m truly looking for when I’m on a call is to make a friend. Sure, if I get a customer following a call that’s great. But what’s even more important is that I’ve made a contact that I can help in the future.”

In conclusion Dodge is asked if after having more than two decades of growth and success under his belt, he’s got any advice for new reps. Without hesitation he responds, “When you’re new it’s especially important to make sure you work with your principals under the terms of a fair and balanced contract. Make sure — especially when you’re new — that you don’t give in on the smaller details. Too many reps do that simply because they’re new and they want to sign on with principals.” He emphasizes how important it is to follow contract guidelines that MANA provides and make sure “you work with a contract that is fair to both sides.”

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