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Rep firms exist for one reason — sales! Selling is the first, second and third activity of a manufacturers’ rep organization. But, too little time is devoted to the sales process, management of the sales force, and directing overall sales performance.

Numbers Matter, but….

We know that the top salespeople in any sales organization are revered and in some cases, “worshiped.” But, the top performers can provide challenges for management. For example, Mr. or Ms. Number One might have some bad habits — like not getting expense reports in on time. But, the bookkeeper is afraid to challenge Number One — after all he or she is above everyone else.

Top Performance and Luck

At one rep firm a good — but not great — salesperson was all of a sudden number one. Why? As luck would have it, the best customer in his territory had been acquired by a very aggressive firm and was rapidly expanding the business of this firm. The guy, Mr. Average Salesperson, was suddenly in the very fortunate position of having to be a very busy responder to many people in the customer’s organization. Everyone seemed to want information and to provide RFPs to Mr. Average. All of a sudden he was hot!

Mr. Average Believes His Own PR

The problem here was that Mr. Average got a swelled head. He believed that he had created the sales situation that he found himself in and his ego expanded with his volume.

What is management to do in this situation? The situation is difficult because Mr. Average may be a strong personality who can buffalo ownership/management into believing that he is essential to the sales situation and that no one else could ever do what he is doing.

The first step is for management to assert itself against bad behavior. No matter what it is that Mr. Average — Mr. Number One, is doing, management has to put its foot down and demand that he correct the problems — get expense reports in on time, show up on time for meetings, file reports as requested, cooperate with principals, etc.

Prima donna behavior will not be tolerated. This message has to go out to Mr. Average and everyone else in the company. Everyone obeys the rules and does what is requested. No one is too big not to be replaced.

If the behavior persists, management has to have a Plan B in place. Even at the risk of having to step into the customer relationship itself, management must manage.

Management cannot afford to lose control of the sales force. The inmates cannot be allowed to run the asylum.

Use Your Principals for Positive Action

Certain manufacturers will be key to Mr. Average’s success with this big and growing customer. One of the ways to dilute Mr. Average’s control of the account is to get key principals involved. Principals have the advantage of the manufacturing facility, training personnel, skilled engineering personnel, and many other highly effective tools. They can also invite customer personnel to the manufacturing facilities — perhaps even flying them in on the company’s plane and hosting a special multi-day educational seminar. The manufacturer assists the rep firm management as they spread the influence on the customer far beyond Mr. Average (swelled headed salesperson) without any confrontation or disagreement. The principal has the real power — he owns the ball and the playing field.

Proactive Sales Force Management Pays!

The situation with Mr. Average serves to point out a very frequent gap in the rep firm’s business model. When things are going well, the owners/managers of the rep firm have a tendency to leave things alone — “When its working why fix it?”

It Ain’t Broke…

The problem is that although on the surface it ain’t broke is true, below the surface the rep firm is not functioning as a professional sales organization.

All of the elements of sales force management are critical to real success and lasting prosperity for the rep firm. Yes, Mr. Average may be number one and his commission or bonus may be through the roof. This does not mean that this success will continue and it does not mean that the tools and program involved in sales management are not valuable.

Everyone Hates Reports

There is nothing that salespeople hate more than paperwork. But, the smart rep knows that staying ahead of the principal and getting reports in on time and making them good reports is one of the keys to backselling effectively.

The rep firm that demonstrates that it has a plan for every customer and for the key lines is the rep firm that doesn’t get surprised by changes by the principal.

The rep firm that is constantly working on new ways to increase sales for key principals is one that lets the principal’s management team know that they are getting good value for their commission dollars.

The rep firm that listens to the principal’s personnel and responds quickly and effectively to everything from leads to marketing research questions is the rep firm that is building and maintaining a solid foundation based on sales force management.

Don’t let Mr. Average — Mr. Lucky — push your rep firm into trouble.

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