Synergy and effective geographical coverage might best be described as the twin magnets that attract Advanced Mixing Technologies, Inc. (Admix) to an independent manufacturers’ representative firm.

Keith Cherise

“When we’re looking at a prospective rep firm, we always consider synergy from a marketing standpoint,” explains Keith Cherise, director of sales and marketing for the Londonderry, New Hampshire, manufacturer of innovative stainless steel mixing technologies. The company’s mixing systems accommodate customers’ mixing, blending, and particle-size reduction needs and Admix specializes in in-tank batch mixing, inline mixing and milling, and powder reduction.

Cherise explains that the company’s products ensure that there are no unmixed solids or liquids for the industries that it serves. “Think for a moment about that batch of pancakes you make up in the kitchen. What we do is something like ensuring that we break up any lumps.”

Cherise continues, “As we’re considering what the qualifications are of an independent firm, we’ll ask them for a list of their top five customers. Then we’ll compare that list to companies we’re already working with. What we look for is that we’re not calling on the same companies. That way we can lean on each other to get into new customer locations.

“At the same time we want them to show us how well they cover the territory. We’ll take a close look at their line card and ask who their salespeople are and what areas they cover. If we do our homework up front — which we do — we can figure it out.”

The Admix U.S. Pilot Lab is the hub for applications development, testing, and customer demonstrations.

The company’s approach to finding representation certainly seems to work since they are committed to the rep business model to provide them with coverage throughout North America. While the company does have one direct salesperson who works on a small part of the business in the chemical industry, “Right now, about 85-90 percent of our business is done through reps in North America. At the same time, we’re growing our presence internationally also with an aim to use reps.” He adds that the company works with about 25 agencies in North America and currently with four or five in Europe and beyond. When asked whether he’s found the rep model as we know it here to be the same in other parts of the world, Cherise says, “We’ll soon find out. So far we’ve received leads on rep firms from around the globe via our website (www.admix.com/careers). They tell us, ‘We want to be your rep. We’d love to work with you; let’s explore possibilities.’ A lot of them go away on their own but with some that remain, we give it a try and see if we can work together.”

As the need arises for Admix to fill geographical areas with representation, Cherise says “We’ve worked successfully with a variety of methods. Generally, I’ll take a look at a map and see where there might be some folks that we’ve had relationships with in the past. If so, we bring them back into the fold. Other methods we employ include word-of-mouth from other reps and customers, and recommendations from non-competitive companies in our industry.” In addition, Admix also has made use of the MANA Online RepFinder and Hoover’s Directory.

Cherise explains that once reps are signed they can expect a six-month to even a year-long selling process. “We let them know that they’re expected to purchase one of our demo units. That’s the key. Our product is a real door opener for them. When you combine the sale of our product with a tank and then a pump, you can be looking at a $100,000 order. This all shows that we’re not a ‘me-too’ company. Once you show the customer what the product does, you’re no longer a salesman, you become a problem solver for them — and their company.

“I’m aware that when we explain the importance of them buying the demo unit, many of our reps look at us like we’ve got 15 lobsters coming out of our ears. But the more we explain to them, they learn what we’re talking about.”

He adds that once a rep makes one $30,000 sale, their investment is paid for and if for any reason the rep is terminated, Admix returns what they paid for the demo unit.

In addition to having regional sales managers travel with reps, the Admix sales team can be found at industry trade shows.

In addition to the assistance that having a demo product provides, Cherise adds that reps can expect to be well-trained by the manufacturer. “There are a couple of things we do in the area of training. For instance, on an annual basis we’ll have our reps come in to be trained at our facility. This isn’t just a sales meeting, rather it’s a hands-on equipment session where we actually do some live testing. We’ll also bring in customers to our facility to prove our processes.

“Added to that we let our reps know that we expect that the first couple of sales calls they make with our demo unit will be joint sales calls. We’ll call on customers that we both know. We do this because our product can be challenging and often we’ll have to tweak things.

“We also have our regional sales managers travel frequently — maybe 60 percent of the time — with our reps. We want our reps to get us right on the manufacturing floor. We’re looking to find the customer’s pain points and solve their problems.”

Finally he explains that the company puts out a bimonthly communication where we share sales success or war stories. “Our regional managers put these out on the rep portal of our website and also send them out via an e-mail blast.”

As to what incentives Admix uses to gain and keep a fair share of their reps’ time, Cherise explains that a competitive commission and solid leads get the rep’s attention. “We show them that once they make a sale of our product, coupled with their other product lines, the commission is incentive enough. On top of that, we provide solid qualified leads. We constantly hear from them that ‘You provide our best leads.’”

With that compliment, however, the company looks for those leads to be followed up and then feedback provided to the manufacturer. “We expect fast and reliable follow-up in the area of 24-48 hours. In today’s business world, it might even be shorter than that. We want them on the phone immediately. Then we want to know how valid our information was and what more can we glean from the leads.”

This point leads to the subject of communication, and that’s a subject of prime importance to Cherise and Admix. “Sure, communication sounds simple, but it isn’t always. There are difficulties getting people on the phone or having them return e-mails to us. It certainly is a red flag for us when a rep doesn’t communicate or stops communicating regularly. We don’t want to be a pest to them, but we’ve got to know what going on and what’s on their plate and what’s influencing the customer.’ He adds that what’s especially appreciated is the rep that takes the proactive approach of apprising the manufacturer of anything that’s important in the territory.”

If keeping open the lines of communication can be a bit of a challenge, Cherise notes that what remains especially gratifying about working with reps is the appreciation for the teamwork that it takes between manufacturer and rep to get the job done. “That’s really the most fun and best part about working with reps.”

When Cherise is asked what his company’s attraction to MANA was, he explains “We’ve had any number of our reps tell us about the association. Then the obvious question is ‘What’s the benefit?’ We’ve found that it places us in a network we weren’t in before that allows us to find reps. We did our research to learn what MANA really knew about independent reps and we’ve been members a little over six years now. The educational and networking benefits are tremendous, Agency Sales is awesome and we especially appreciate the monthly iToolbox communications from the association.”

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