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There’s a common refrain heard among manufacturers that they’re not getting enough of their reps’ time.

Meeting that concern head on, one manufacturer admits that he hears remedies from his peers that run the gamut from paying higher commissions, to providing more support to reps, to increasing joint sales calls in the field. Here’s what he’s done for himself that seems to work pretty well: “I share the same concerns as other manufacturers, but I counter that by making fewer demands on my reps’ time. But when I do contact them, I feel it’s fair to expect their attention. For instance, when I come out with a new marketing program or have a new product to introduce, I expect their attention. I believe that because I’m not constantly on them, they respond. This approach has worked for me, and I’ve even had a number of reps tell me that when I make a special request — because they’re few and far between — they’re more than willing to drop what they’re doing to attend to my needs.”

Getting the Reps’ Attention

Some additional conversations with several manufacturers concerning getting enough of a rep’s time in the field have turned up some interesting approaches:

• “For as long as I’ve been working with reps, I’ve made sure that my company’s sales manager spends some time in the field as a salesperson. I do that because I feel he can then better appreciate the reps’ problems and needs.”
• Another manufacturer offered that he worked extra hard to encourage his sales manager to provide the reps with “more than enough room to make their own decisions to do what’s best given the fact that it’s the rep who’s actually out there in the field on a daily basis.”
• And finally, one manufacturer pointed his finger squarely in the direction of teamwork. “If the rep feels as if everyone is truly pulling together with just one goal in sight, then there’s a much better chance that he’s going to be working constantly for you in the field.”

Making Reps Feel Welcome

When a manufacturer was asked what steps he’s taken to integrate an outsourced sales force with its limited direct sales force, he emphasized how important it was to make reps feel as if they’re a part of the team. “We’ve always prided ourselves on the feedback we receive from a number of our long-standing reps in that they feel as if we treat them as employees. I offer that as a positive. For instance, whenever we have them here for a plant visit, they’re on their own for the most part. There’s no need for them to ask permission to go anywhere or speak to anyone. If they have a question or problem, we leave it up to them to get in touch with the right person to get an answer or a solution to a problem. Likewise, we let our factory people know that they have to be at the reps’ disposal. They are here for a limited period time. Let’s make the most of it and let’s be forthcoming with our cooperation to get the job done.”

Picking the Size That Fits

When a manufacturer was describing why he preferred to work with small (two-five-man) firms, he was quick to note that his preference wasn’t a criticism of larger firms, but more of a decision born of finding what works best for him and his company.

The manufacturer who has been working with reps for more than 50 years, was adamant that he wasn’t going to budge from his belief that only the small to mid-sized firms could do the job he was looking for. “Thankfully, we boast long tenures among our reps. We’ve got any number of firms that have been with us for more than a quarter of a century. When the occasion does arise that we’ve got to replace someone, however, the first thing we look for is the smaller operation. It’s been our experience with our products we manufacturer and the markets that we serve that the agencies that are on the smaller side tend to give us the attention we’re looking for. It’s not exactly the ‘big fish in the small pond’ type of thinking; rather, it’s more like we’ve found these folks are great at establishing and maintaining relationships. That’s a talent that works well for us. Someone could try to prove me wrong, but we’ve got a lengthy track record of success to look back upon. I’m not changing until proven wrong.”

The Generalist vs. the Specialist

If the previous manufacturer’s chosen preference is for picking an agency based on size, another one voiced the opinion that technical ability was what he was looking for. This manufacturer that produces fairly sophisticated high-tech products, maintains that when he has a need, he looks for a rep who is capable in a general sense, rather than one that might be considered a specialist. “Although my agents do need a certain level of technical ability to sell our products, it’s not really as high as someone might expect. When I have to replace or otherwise fill a void in a territory, I look for reps that have a fairly wide range of competence — those who can move quickly from one sales situation to another. Keep in mind that no two sales situations are alike. As a result, when you have people whose primary strength is that of being technical, they tend to look for ways to make the customer conform to their conditions rather than to evaluate a situation and adapt to it. That’s why I look for flexibility, and I find it with generalists.”

Defining the Word “Synergy”

Perhaps it’s just a choice of words, but there are a number of manufacturers that don’t necessarily fall back on the use of the word “synergy” when speaking about the benefits of using independent manufacturers’ representatives. But while they may not use the word, they admit to knowing what it means when they hear it. For instance, in a recent conversation with one manufacturer, he took pains to explain that an important consideration for him when selecting a rep is that the potential rep “not represent the same products (from other manufacturers naturally), but rather products that customers of ours would also need.” When offered the chance to use the world “synergy,” he responded, “Yes, that will work for me. That’s exactly what I’m looking for in my reps. I want them to have plenty of opportunities to get inside the customer’s door with his full offering. Once he does that, I know I’ll get my fair time share of the rep’s time.”

Networking Reaps Benefits

A manufacturer reports that networking opportunities that began among the reps that comprised its rep council have grown into something much larger — and more beneficial.

“When we conduct our annual rep council meeting, we always allow time for our reps to meet with each other in order to exchange problems, solutions for problems or simply to share some of their best practices. It really didn’t take all that long for us to realize the benefits that accrued from these sessions. As a result, what we’ve done is to take this to the next level. We’ve suggested to our entire rep network that they make an effort to stay in touch with each other. We’ve provided each of our reps with everyone’s name and various contact points. The result is that many potential problems have been headed off and many of our reps report they’ve been able to employ a new business practice that prevents them from having to ‘reinvent the wheel.’ Bottom line is that there’s never too much communication.”

Letting the Rep Do the Job

In a room that was filled with a manufacturer and a good number of his reps, the manufacturer made a comment concerning qualifying sales leads that somehow surprisingly met with almost unanimous approval.

Here’s what the manufacturer said: “I don’t qualify leads for my reps. Instead, I just pass along all the information I have concerning the prospect. Here’s why. He’s the one who knows the territory much better than I do. After all, isn’t that why I work with reps in the first place? Doesn’t he know the level of business activity and who the best contacts are? As a result, I trust him to take the proper action when I forward a lead to him. He may take no action at all, or he may immediately follow up. I leave it all up to him. He’s my go-to guy. He’s my eyes and ears in the territory. If I tried to follow, qualify and follow up, I’d probably wind up making a lot of wrong decisions.”

Interestingly, the reps in the room concurred with him and wished their other manufacturers would act accordingly.

One Manufacturer Who Hit the Jackpot

When a manufacturer contacted Agency Sales recently, he let us know that he had hit the jackpot with an agency that he signed up a couple of years ago. “This rep was impressive from day one, but we didn’t know how good he was until recently. To his initial credit he hit the ground running, but what really impressed us — in addition to his sales success — was his follow-up and ability to grasp everything that was going on in the territory. He insisted on regular meetings with us either by phone or in person. Basically the agendas for these meetings were simply to keep us up-to-date with what was going on. To say he made an impression on us would be an understatement. We’ve taken the relationship with the agency a step further recently. We’ve asked him to train some of our other rep firms when it comes to communication and reporting from the territory. Thankfully he’s agreed to do so — for a fee — and some of the other firms we see real potential with are beginning to realize that potential.”

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