© everythingpossible | stock.adobe.com

Do you have systems that force results? What should manufacturers be looking for?

Everyone in the rep business will agree that sales are the first responsibility of a rep organization; but, how many rep firms have a productive, professional system for assuring sales growth and development?

There is no question commission checks are the best evidence of selling, but there needs to be a lot more involved for an agency to survive and prosper.

If you are a “single shingle” one-man or woman rep firm none of this really matters. You have to “manage” yourself, period.

But, if you have two or more salespeople there is an unspoken demand that there be management. It is “unspoken” because most manufacturers do not really think about the management of their reps.

The “independent contractor” status of reps leads to a strange island effect. The reps are “out there on the island” doing their thing. The manufacturers are the smart, sophisticated, professional people who look to the reps to do the “dirty work” of selling and as long as a good amount of selling gets done, the manufacturer does not look too deeply into how the rep manages the process.

This laissez faire approach means that the manufacturer can say “Well, it’s their business. We just expect results in the territory.”

The hands-off approach to the rep firm’s internal management of their business may avoid conflicts and may avoid work, but is it the best approach to getting results for the manufacturer and helping the rep firm become a truly professional sales organization?

Reps Were Manufacturers

Many of the rep firm owners and senior managers have been employed by manufacturing companies. Many of the rep owners are highly skilled sales professionals who have chosen independent manufacturers’ representative as a career because they know that being associated with good lines in a multiple-line selling environment is a great way to have freedom and make a very good living.

For many of the rep owners the freedom from having to report much of anything to anyone is a real benefit. Again, is this the way to run the railroad?

Discipline makes all the difference!

In an organization where each of the salespeople have been “doing their thing” for years it is not easy to overlay a strict element of discipline on the sales “system.” There really is no system. Each salesperson likes to do it his way and why not? He gets results. And, that is really what being a rep is all about. Right?

No, there is a lot more involved. The results that salespeople provide have to be measured against the market in general and competition specifically. A successful rep firm is delivering more than just today’s sales. The really professional sales organization is building for the future.

Future Sales = Program vs. Product

The future-focused sales organization is working with customers to build a sales program that makes money for the customer or solves problems for an operating organization.

When reps approach the development of sales plans they should be looking at much more than the products a customer is buying today. What does the customer need from the rep firm today to build their business in the future? What can the rep do to significantly enhance the position of key products/manufacturers with the customer today to make tomorrow much more profitable.

One Customer at a Time — One Line at a Time

Reps must be prepared to work slowly and deliberately through their list of customers. Only the top customers need to be considered for this kind of planning. And, only the top producing lines need to be considered.

Once you have determined which customers are at the top you have to look at which lines these customers buy and what percent of total commissions for that territory (salesperson) they provide.

This sounds like a tedious process. It can be. Management has to lead the process. Success will come when the sales team works as a group. In larger rep firms there may be substantial numbers of personnel to do the planning regionally.

One large rep firm has six regions led by vice presidents who have very substantial industry experience. It is important to develop the process carefully so that the leaders completely understand the goal — plan for every significant customer for each line that the customer buys, and then ask if there are other lines the customer can be influenced to buy in good quantities.

Implementation of this process puts the rep firm in a strong, aggressive position with their key principals. The rep firm is controlling the selling process for now and the immediate future. The rep firm is demonstrating to its principals that it is about more than everyday sales. The rep firm is a professional, organized, dynamic sales organization that produces sales results that far exceed the average.

Taking on the sales process in this deep, studied manner is what running a professional sales organization is all about.

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