Last month when Agency Sales explored the differences between the Millennial and other workforce generations, it was probably unavoidable that the subject of effective communications between principals and younger-generation reps came up. As one manufacturer put it, “Whenever I’m with younger people — my own employees and those that work at independent agencies — everyone is always on their phone, but they’re not necessarily talking. They’re either responding to e-mails or texting someone about something.”

The subject was further driven home when one manufacturer noted how several of his reps were suffering from “e-mail overload.” It wasn’t until one of his reps complained about e-mail overload that he truly listened to the complaint. “I’ve got to admit that I eventually and grudgingly accepted e-mail as a viable means for communicating with my network of reps. It’s probably got something to do with the difference in generations, but I’ve always preferred in-person or telephone communication when working with reps. As time changed, however, I accepted the idea that e-mail worked better on many occasions. Maybe it was just my becoming more comfortable with electronic communication, but when my rep said his e‑mail was overflowing with messages, I asked him what was the best way to communicate. He never hesitated when saying that if I wanted his immediate attention and the message could be sent in a concise manner, then texting was the only way to go.

“I’m a true believer that effective communications are the key to a lasting relationship. As a result, when I look at the whole picture of how and why to communicate with reps, I’ve got to admit that everyone has become too reliant on e-mail as a means of communication and I’m hardly an exception. But what has happened is that this rep — and most of them for that matter — simply receive too much e-mail. It has become a tool that, which once valuable, is now being abused. As a result, there’s a real possibility that important communication can be ignored and lost.

“The first thing I had to do to get my arms around this concern was to learn how to text. For anyone who texts regularly, that’s hardly a problem, but as a ‘newbie’ it was just something else I had to learn. And, learn I did. Now I’m very comfortable with it. An outgrowth of this is that this isn’t the only rep I communicate with in this manner. Many of my other reps followed suit and I receive an immediate response (as do they) when questions arise.”

The manufacturer went on to emphasize that texting was hardly supplanting other forms of communication and the telephone and in-person meetings were still critical to the relationship.

More on Texting

Another manufacturer who admits that he’s been a bit late to the game when it comes to communicating electronically says that texting has been just what he needed to get reps’ attention.

“I’ve been working with reps for years and I was a firm believer that nothing could replace the phone, fax, sales reports, and even visits to the field. While I’ve been a bit slow to come around, I’ve got to admit that texting and even transmitting pictures from field installations are the way to go.”

Faced with the typical downsizing that just about every company has gone through in the last couple of years, he continues that “I am doing the work of two or three people. The only thing that lets us do that much work is technology — especially in our dealings with reps. It took me a while to get comfortable with texting as the preferred means of communication, but I did it because that’s what my reps told me to do. All that goes between us and reps now are the facts. There’s nothing extraneous.”

He continues that the quick and easy transmission of photographs from job applications in the field is another benefit of technology. “I don’t know how many times a rep will send a product application photo to us, and attach a question on how to solve a problem. Since our inside people can see immediately what’s going on, they’re much better able to provide immediate attention to the reps.”

Knowledge of the Rep’s Role

A number of reps bemoan the fact that they feel their principals don’t truly understand the rep way of going to market. Chief among the failings they cited were the manufacturer’s lack of grasping the rep’s multi-line business. As a result, many manufacturers want to be first and foremost all the time with the rep in front of the customer. The knowledgeable principal, on the other hand, understands the workings of the rep firm and recognizes the strength of the synergistic approach.

While many of the reps maintain that it’s incumbent upon principals to know what a rep is and how he operates, they add that since they find this knowledge lacking many times, it’s up to the rep to carry the educational and communication load in order to truly inform the manufacturer

Understanding Why You’re Not First

Perhaps as a follow-up to the previous item, it was truly refreshing to hear from one manufacturer who was realistic enough to appreciate the fact that he wasn’t always the first line that his reps spoke about when making a call. This wasn’t the case in all of his territories but was more common in those areas where the product line didn’t have that much business.

According to the manufacturer, “In those areas where we didn’t have much business, we figured it was in our best interests to simply expand our rep network. We had some difficulty finding reps primarily because of the lack of business, but eventually we signed on reps who were enthusiastic about working with us. From the beginning we realized we weren’t getting as much attention as some of their others lines, but we then added an incentive (i.e., increased commissions) that proved to be effective in making up for the added cost incurred by reps to get the business. This has proven to be effective both for us and the reps and our business now is right about where we think it should be.”

Useful Contractual Trends

Following a lengthy process of signing a number of rep firms to cover previously undeveloped territories, a manufacturer contacted Agency Sales to discuss the subject of written contracts.

According to the manufacturer, “Like so many of our peers, we have what I’d consider fairly standard contracts for our reps. We’re finding more and more, however, that reps are balking at accepting these contracts. While at the beginning we might have been a bit resentful of this reaction, we’re finding that all reps are not the same. Each rep’s requirements and needs are going to be different.

“Among the differences are those who don’t have any existing business in a territory. Obviously, we’re looking to develop business there but we’d be foolish to believe the rep is going to sign a contract that’s the same as one for a rep in a territory where there’s already a wealth of business.”

Finally, the manufacturer noted, “We’re appreciative of a number of developments in negotiating with our reps. First is not only the existence but the widespread use of MANA’s standard contract. We’re finding that this can be a great place to start our negotiations with a rep. Second, is the growing trend among reps for having their attorney look over the contract. We’ve found that’s not always a negative for us and as a matter of fact, it’s even developed some great win-win situations for us and our reps.”

Knowing Someone Else’s Job

What one rep firm did to get the attention of a manufacturer has made a lasting impression. According to the manufacturer — a long-time advocate for working with reps — the agency has made sure that each of its salespeople is fully aware of what the others do. “This is especially valuable when one of them is absent from the business for any period of time. Whenever that occurs, we’ve found that there’s never any lapse in communication with us and no questions left unanswered.

“We find this valuable because with some other firms, there’s hasn’t been this level of cross-training. We’ve even had occasions when a problem has to be solved or a question answered, and there’s no one there to take care of it.

“I’d recommend that this ought to be a major consideration for any manufacturer when they’re considering whether to sign on with a new agency.”

If Manufacturers Could Only Hear

When two reps engaged in conversation at a rep association meeting late last year, what they spoke about offered some valuable input for manufacturers that work with reps.

One of the reps was complaining about the fact that through the third quarter of the year, his performance was only 40 percent of what one of his principals had planned for in his forecast. When he was asked how a specific target had been arrived at for that time, he responded: “That’s the problem right there — the principal came in at the beginning of the year and informed me that ‘Here’s the target.’ They neither asked for nor wanted any real-world input from me. I could have told them from the start that there just wasn’t that amount of business there. There was no way I could have even come close to their out-of-this-world projections. In addition, they hold up to me what a rep in another territory is doing and they fail to acknowledge the fact that there’s absolutely no comparison between potential business in our respective territories.”

Finally, he said that “All I really want from any of my principals is two-way communication and planning. I’d say that’s what I have with the majority of my lines. If they’d come in at the beginning of the year, ask for my input and give me their hopes and expectations which should be based on realistic goals, then we’d both be a lot happier at the end of the year.”

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