During the course of an informal lunch with a 45-year member of MANA early this fall, he related that one of the keys to his agency’s continued success was the willingness of the agency staff to continually make use of the products and services that association membership provided.

According to the agency president, “Over the more than four decades we’ve been members, I’d maintain that we’ve gotten more than our membership dues back. But, it’s only because we took advantage of what is offered.

“We determined long ago that we wanted much more than just a MANA decal or membership … Read the rest

As you have read earlier of this month’s issue of Agency Sales magazine, the Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) has invited MANA members to register for an excellent representative education program at ERA’s Management and Marketing Conference, February 25-27, 2018. Space in the conference and at the conference hotel are very limited, please visit www.era.org and click on “ERA Conference” for full details.

In this article ERA Conference Committee Chair Rick LaPiana shares his enthusiasm for what promises to be an outstanding representative educational opportunity.

To my fellow reps:
My message is twofold but very straightforward. The rep sales model has … Read the rest

Earlier this year, Agency Sales focused on the importance of reps communicating with their principals regarding the importance of having existing business in a territory before they take on a line. That discussion obviously struck a chord with one of our readers as the following letter and subsequent conversation shows.

Letter to the Editor

I would like to take this opportunity to formally compliment you and all the contributors to Agency Sales for the high quality of your publication. In my mind the August 2017 issue was exceptional inasmuch as it devoted much of its content to the subject of … Read the rest

Are you ready to compete for the line?

In one of Charley Cohon’s most recent “Three‑Minute Business School for Representatives and Manufacturers,” he tells a story about a sales manager looking to set up a national rep network.

It is a good story with several good examples of “things to do,” but several other points need to be made.

A thoroughly professional rep firm needs to look at the market situation through very disciplined glasses. In order to be ready, remember: When preparation meets opportunity — the definition of luck! A rep firm in today’s marketplace has to have a … Read the rest

In the November issue of Agency Sales, the subject of dealing with the Millennial generation in the work force was explored. Continuing that discussion, the following are several strategies to employ in order to better communicate instruction and content to that younger generation.

1. Set Clear Learning Objectives

Tell them what you’re going to teach them and why. Effective learning is all about context. Sure, I’ll learn something if you force it on me. But without understanding how it impacts the environment and how my doing it impacts others, I have little investment in the outcome.

2. Teach Them … Read the rest

This month’s article is the sixth in a serialization of the author’s life and career as an independent manufacturers’ representative.

Reprinted with permission from The Reputable Rep, Success in Sales and Life, by Sig Schmalhofer.

Sales by Segment

New Construction

The products installed in residential and commercial projects travel a similar route. They are manufactured, sold through a network of factory salespeople and or manufacturers’ reps to wholesale distributors, and ultimately to contractors who install them. The competition is fierce. There are many people that influence product decisions. Price is always an important factor, but is not the only … Read the rest

The “how-to” behind building a highly effective, competition-dominating, sales juggernaut is actually fairly simple.

What isn’t simple is executing the steps and sticking to the plan. The dedication and resolve necessary to start and complete the process is where the majority of people fail. That said, if you’re ready to skyrocket sales in your organization, here are the steps to get it done.

Super-Intense Sales Training

The most important tool a salesperson can have in their arsenal is great sales skills. Yet, while most organizations spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new producer, send them … Read the rest

More and more companies are waking up to the fact that giving employees more power and responsibility can bring huge benefits for both the company and its workers.

Employee empowerment may be the most underutilized tool in all of customer service. Give employees the authority to take action. No one should have to go “higher up” to get permission to help a customer. Empower everyone to break the rules thus allowing employees to have input and control over their work.

President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that read “The Buck Stops Here.” Actually that should be the … Read the rest

Sales pitches are shortcuts that save time and don’t require thinking. They’re the stock-in-trade of salespeople, rolling off the tongue easily and unconsciously. They once worked well with customers, but not so much today.

Here are some of them:

• “How Can I Help You?”

This one gets top billing on the list, and deservedly so. It’s leftover from the last century, when customers needed assistance and relied on salespeople and marketers, as well as the iconic Sears catalog, to point them in the right direction, followed by the ubiquitous shopping mall. While the former is long gone, the latter is … Read the rest

Reviving Salesmanship

By P. Edwin Thomas, Executive Secretary

Reprinted from December 1949 The AGENT and Representative magazine

Decadence in the art of salesmanship was blamed recently by a prominent banker for business apathy. True salesmanship, it was claimed, consists chiefly in service to the consumer, not in persuasive argument or persistent solicitation. It calls for study and skill in human relations, not taking advantage of unwise impulses and a reckless itch to spend.

This banker concluded by suggesting that intelligent advertising, common courtesy, knowledge of the product and cultivation of long-range “repeat trade” will work wonders with many a faltering … Read the rest