Nothing Has Changed

By
business person

© Rob | stock.adobe.com

When a manufacturer was marking its 30-year anniversary as a member of MANA, he mentioned something that for him is as true today as it was three decades ago.

“When I first joined the association I had occasion to call someone at headquarters when I was seeking some advice concerning how to maximize my relationships with what was then a brand-new rep network. I was told that paying commissions on time — all the time — was of paramount importance, but there’s more to the relationship. A few of the additional functions I had to be sure to pay attention to were to provide:

  • Accurate delivery information.
  • Assistance in handling order questions, problems, and requests for quotations.
  • A steady stream of qualified sales leads and complete customer histories for the territory.
  • A sales manual that would serve as a collection of all the sales tools that the manufacturer has available.
  • A supply of current literature, product samples, and product demonstration capability.
  • A current and understandable price list.

“I paid attention to that advice and I’ve got to admit that I can boast of an extremely strong team of reps that aid our sales and marketing efforts coast to coast.”

Putting Cards on the Table

One manufacturer recently admitted that thanks to his company’s decades-long experience working with reps, he’s learned what works best for him when it comes to getting the attention of a prospective rep. According to the manufacturer, “It’s no surprise to any manufacturer looking to replace a rep or seeking representation in a new territory that reps aren’t always going to respond to your initial approach. Here’s what we’ve learned works best for us — we’re completely forthcoming with what we expect from reps and we go out of our way to provide them with a description of how we work with our other agencies.

“Before we even have a phone conversation, we’ll let the rep know that our goal is to partner with a professional agency that is energetic and persistent in following up on potential leads. We stress the importance of the rep firm having synergistic lines. We’re very much aware of the fact that having those complementary lines opens a number of sales opportunities for us.”
In addition to providing the prospective rep with information concerning the company’s history, key personnel, products/services and manufacturing facilities, he continued, “We let him know that we appreciate the fact that he can’t get the job done without our support. Therefore, we’ll go into detail describing how we provide support in the following areas:

  • Brochures.
  • Direct mail.
  • Interactive website.
  • Samples.
  • In-plant training.
  • Telemarketing.
  • Pre-qualification of potential customers.

“And finally, we make sure that we address the subject of commissions by letting the rep know that we pay a base commission rate of X percent on all products and they (the reps) are also open to the discussion of a start-up retainer fee when there is no existing business in a territory. Furthermore, the territory will be exclusive to the appointed agency. We let the agency know that we work with reps from all across the country and we are committed to building long-term solid relations with the agencies that we appoint.”

An Effective Communication Philosophy

A manufacturer went out of her way last month to compliment the communication philosophy that one of her company’s reps espoused. According to the manufacturer, “We were told at the very beginning of our relationship with this firm that they were big believers in staying in close touch with their principals. The rep told us that while it was a little like being married to five or more people at the same time, it was incumbent upon them to find out what means of communication their principals liked best. Thankfully, today we live in an age where there are any number of effective communication tools available to us. It really wasn’t all that long ago that personal visits were the main tools we employed to stay in touch, but all that’s changed. Today we’ve got everything from texts, e-mail, voice mail, video conference calls, and so on. As a result, as this rep says, I can’t see anyone using the excuse that they don’t have the time to keep their manufacturer abreast of what’s going on in the territory. And, when reps take the initiative, no principal is going to complain that they haven’t been kept in the loop.”

Going the Extra Mile

When an independent manufacturers’ rep contracted a professional sales trainer to work with its outside sales staff, that was just the beginning of its effort to improve performance. In addition, the rep invited the outside salespeople from several of the distributors that it works with in order to undergo the same training.

This impressed one of the rep’s manufacturers. “This shows how seriously the rep believes in ongoing sales training. And, by extending an invitation to the salespeople from several of their more important customers, they showed a real belief in the value of training. This is the type of commitment we truly value in our reps.”

Building a Strong Foundation

When a manufacturer was asked what — if anything — he did at the beginning of his relationship with a rep that put the principal-rep relationship on a solid footing, here’s what he had to offer: “I look at the very first year of your partnership as the time that lays a solid foundation for moving forward.”

He added that during that first year there are a number of important stages the relationship goes through that truly serve as a harbinger for how well or how poorly the two companies are going to work together. “For instance, during the first few months both the manufacturer and the rep discover characteristics that neither knew existed. These discoveries aren’t necessarily related to individuals involved in the relationship, but rather to the characteristics of the agency (e.g., the benefits that grow from the contacts made with some of the agency’s other principals, or the depth of the rep’s contacts in the territory).

“Following the opening stages of the relationship is a period when the personal relationships either grow strong stronger or actually begin to weaken. We refer to that as the ‘getting-to-know-you’ part of the relationship.

“At the half-year mark, we notice some sort of a breaking-away phase when the agency begins to depend less and less on the manufacturer and actually starts beating its own path when it comes to representing the product line.

“Finally, during the last couple of months of that first year, we really begin to see what the future holds for relationships between manufacturer and rep. It’s then that the two are comfortable with the relationship and have a feeling of confidence that it will become the type of relationship they both know will work. Conversely, it’s at this same time that the two can determine it’s not going to work and it’s best if they soon part ways.”

Finally, he said that “The manufacturer can increase the chances of getting the type of relationship he really wants if he treats his reps as true business partners and not employees. When you do that you’ll find that you’ve realized the considerable benefits of long-standing relationships.”

Lessons Well Learned

Perhaps it was because a manufacturer began his career as an independent rep that he was especially receptive to what he heard during MANA’s Manufacturer Seminar last fall. According to the manufacturer, “We’ve got to remember that we rent the rep’s time. We’re kidding ourselves if we believe we do anything else with them. As a result, I came away from the seminar with an appreciation for the fact that I’ve got to do all I can to provide the rep with what he needs to do his job. That includes the latest in sales collateral, current sales reports and the latest and best in technology.’

Another thing he took away from the training session was some advice to pass along to other manufacturers. “Remember that sales is the alpha and omega for everything that we do. If we don’t have sales uppermost in our minds, we’re not going to be in business for long. I’m sure that the time I spent during my career on the rep’s side of the desk is very helpful in what I’m doing today. But it’s important to constantly appreciate and understand their day-to-day challenges and to do all I can to foster a good revenue stream for their side of the business.”

A Vote for Synergy

An appreciation for the synergistic sales effort of the manufacturers’ rep was put forth by one manufacturer. “Ours is a very time-consuming product line,” he said. “As a result, we require a large portion of the rep’s time. Concurrently we recognize the fact that a good number of our reps make sure our product line gets their foot in the door for the other product lines they represent.

“It seems to us that since we recognize that fact, we should do all that we can to develop not only our own product sales leads, but also those of the other product lines the rep carries. What we accomplish by this effort is to encourage their overall business growth at the same time we’re encouraging the sales of our products. And down the road I’m going to be sure to remind the rep of all I’ve done for him in this regard for building his business. That’s the foundation for establishing a sound business relationship with our reps.

“All this does is tell the rep that we appreciate the fact that there’s an expense connected to their sales calls. When he makes a call only on our behalf, he may not be making money. We want him to maximize the effectiveness of those sales calls and we help him in that direction by providing leads. It’s just another effort on our part to take away some of the superfluous tasks they have to perform that cut into their sales time.”

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at mana@manaonline.org.

End of article

Jack Foster, president of Foster Communications, Fairfield, Connecticut, has been the editor of Agency Sales magazine for the past 23 years. Over the course of a more than 53-year career in journalism he has covered the communications’ spectrum from public relations to education, daily newspapers and trade publications. In addition to his work with MANA, he also has served as the editor of TED Magazine (NAED’s monthly publication), Electrical Advocate magazine, provided editorial services to NEMRA and MRERF as well as contributing to numerous publications including Electrical Wholesaling magazine and Electrical Marketing newsletter.