This month’s article is the ninth — and final — 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.

Reputable Reps as Innovators

“Sioux Chief is a line for hands-on reps. It requires a pioneering effort. We look for reputable reps who are comfortable on the job site with boots and a hard hat. We look for reputable reps who use our breadth of product to find solutions and solve problems for contractors in the field. A reputable Sioux Chief rep builds relationships to open doors with distributors, specifying engineers, and contractors. They have integrity and an innovative spirit. Their vehicles are always loaded with samples, that when demonstrated, tell the story of labor-savings.” — Michael Foster, Sioux Chief

When it comes to introducing new manufacturers into a market, launching new products of existing manufacturers, or broadening the scope of product offerings to innovating contractors, builders or distributors, reliable reps are the innovation juggernauts. Plumbing reps have become innovators when they sell Timex watches, construction boots or even bottled water through their wholesale plumbing distributors.

Reps innovate in a market seeking a clever angle to increase sales commissions. Innovating on the front side of these opportunities is the key. If the rep innovator is successful, distributors take note and want to be part of the new market created by the rep. In time the innovated product may become a commodity, driving down prices and commissions. When this occurs, the innovators move on to new innovating products. Innovators are sometimes called “pioneers” because they are the ones found with an arrow in their back. I, like many reps, have been on the receiving end of arrows that found a home in my back. But the wounds never prevented me from innovating. Signature Sales would not exist today if not for being an innovator with the Bradford White line in 1993. The majority of the lines on Signature’s line card were innovating projects that took hold and eventually became preferred products or commodities. My friend Robert Garcia is a human “Think Tank” thriving in the wholesale business.

“It’s all about ideas! I love to brainstorm with reputable reps to uncover the idea that will take my business with that rep to the next level.” — Robert Garcia, Plumbing Wholesale Outlet

This is not to say that all ideas are good and all innovating lines hit a home run. There are far more losers in this game than winners. But that doesn’t deter the innovating reputable rep who is always up for the challenge. My friend Bob Riggs, Winnelson, tells the story of an innovation that flopped:

“Through the ’90s, I worked at Westburne. My boss, Lynn, brought in a line of construction boots sold by his very close friend George, a rep legend who was both a character and an innovator. We had a large selection of the boots at all 14 of our branches. The hope, of course, was that contractors purchasing plumbing supplies at our counters would buy their work boots from us instead of at the shoe store. After six months the rep lost the line and our sales were dismal at best. A return of the product was denied. Lynn made it my job to resolve the issue. I accomplished it, not by selling them, but by making them a Christmas present for our employees.”

Industry Associations

All industries have trade organizations. Some thrive; many are in need of a blood transfusion. In plumbing, associations like the PHCC, ASPE and ASA have local chapters. Many reps get involved in these organizations, but the key is commitment….

“It’s not enough to join an organization. The reputable rep is not just involved, he is committed. When an organization loses relevance, the reputable rep is the change advocate. When the organization is complacent, he injects it with energy. He owns the organization.” — Nick Giuffre, President, Bradford White Corporation

The Bold Reputable Rep

“Step up or step aside.” — Kirk Livernash, Signature Sales

The bold reputable rep is confident without being cocky. When their customer makes an unfair request, they take the side of the factory; either diplomatically or boldly. Their personal relationship is critical to this strategy. Without it, the bold move should be left beneath the back seat of the car in a locked container. Always remember that the bold move is never made arrogantly. In the end, the cocky rep always loses.

Sometimes the reputable rep makes a bold move with his factory.

Story Time: The Letter

In the mid ’90s, before e-mail (God-forbid) I made a bold move that I feared would cause me to lose the Bradford White line. We were just beginning to get traction in our market with Bradford White, the new player in the water heater business. But then the inevitable hiccup. Out of nowhere, shipments stretched from mediocre to bad and then to horrible. The wholesalers we had worked hard to get were ready to jump off of the sinking ship — or so they said. I had made pleas up and down the chain of command but not to the very top. Nothing was working.

My bold move, believe it or not, was to send a handwritten plea to Bob Carnevale, President and CEO of Bradford White. My letter pointed out every deficiency in service levels I could muster up.

I was passionate, sincere and unmistakably desperate. I still recall placing the envelope into the mailbox slot and then wishing I had never done it. An equivalent today is that e-mail that really should have been thought through before pushing send.

Ten torturous days later, Carmen, Bradford White’s regional manager, called to tell me that Bob was flying into Palm Springs and requested I pick him up from the airport. Knowing well and good that this scenario had the “Fire the Rep” label written all over it, I was terrified.

I waited at the gate rehearsing my apology, praying I could throw myself on the mercy of the court. Perhaps plead insanity. I awaited his arrival, fidgeting, expecting that surely I was about to be the former rep of the line that kept my fledgling rep company in business.

We made eye contact. He smiled. I trembled. I will never forget his words to me, “Mr. Schmalhofer, I am very surprised to see you here at the airport.” My reply, of course, was that I was picking him up by his request. I braced myself for the other shoe to drop — for my termination. I believed, without question, that this would be the end of my career as a water heater rep, the death of my rep firm, and the unraveling of my life. His reply was slow and confident, “I thought…that perhaps…you were so angry at me…that you wouldn’t bother…to pick me up. I received…your heart-tugging letter. I was at the factory…this morning. Everything you said is 100 percent…on the mark. I’ve fixed the problem. End…of discussion.”

A critical note to all reputable reps: Bold moves are not recommended for the faint-hearted.

The Very Bold Move

The next scenario is a contribution from my longtime friend Russ Long Jr., Ferguson Enterprises. I’d like to take credit for making this bold move, but in fact it was made by a VP of marketing. I witnessed this bold move and I’ll never forget it:

“A great rep is not someone who tells you what you want to hear, but someone who tells you the truth — even when it hurts. We sometimes get caught up in believing we are the best at what we do: from customer service to buying at the best price. A great rep is one who is willing to tell you when you need to stop negotiating and start working on your own end of the partnership in providing world-class service. I witnessed the epitome of this when I watched a wholesaler make the statement to the vendor ‘Come on, look at the discount we are talking about. All I want to do here is at least feel like I am getting laid.’ To which the rep replied, ‘I know you want to feel like you’re getting laid, but I feel like I’m getting screwed!’”

After the bold move, time stood still for a torturous interlude, but following that agonizing introspection, a new resolve replaced the ugly exchange and the relationship between the factory and the wholesaler soared — with sales to match.

Story Time: Alexis Park

I was a Moen rep in the early ’80s when I was summoned by a man I’ll refer to as Gunslinger, a plumbing contractor from Las Vegas who was noteworthy for both his loyalty to my product and the handgun strapped in a holster just below his knee. Our meetings were always short and to the point. The answer-machine voicemail I retrieved at 5 p.m. on a Tuesday in the summer of 1980 was no different: “I’ve got a serious problem. Get up here.”

A joke, right? Oh no. Gunslinger never joked or smiled. Ever.

I immediately called him, but it was late, and there was no answer. In those days, there were no pagers, let alone cell phones (ancient times?).

Fearing he would hunt me down and kill me if I failed to respond to his beckoning call, I packed my bag and headed north on interstate 15 to Las Vegas. I checked into the Showboat Hotel (no-longer existing) just before midnight. After a short restless sleep, at 5:45 a.m. I was at the front door of his shop, which was locked. I went around the back to his yard. When Gunslinger spotted me, he glared angrily, but luckily didn’t shoot me. “It’s about time. Follow me to the Alexis Park job.”

The Gunslinger had helped me get Moen’s recently introduced two-handle tub shower valves on the job. Alexis Park still stands proudly on Harman Avenue. The project was presented to suppliers and contractors as a fast track 496-unit, all-suite hotel that was scheduled to be completed in record time. We went straight to a problem bathroom. He demonstrated the problem. When the tub spout diverter was lifted to divert the water to the shower head, about half the water came out of the spout and about half came out of the shower head. “We just did our water test! I’ve got the problem with about half of the valves on the job.”

I boldly asked, “Is it possible that your plumbers overheated the valves and fried the Venturis?”

“Hell no! We’re a lot smarter than that.”

Since I needed to buy some time to call the factory, I responded accordingly, “I’ll be back after I make some phone calls.”

“While you do that, I’ll be out here fixing your screw-up. We need to cut holes in the drywall to pull the valves out.”

“That’s fine. I need to inspect as many as possible. I’ll be back shortly.”

I drove to a truck stop that had pay phones at every table. I ordered breakfast and called Moen’s head of engineering. I explained the problem and told him from the looks of it valves were shipped and installed with Venturis that were inserted upside down. He responded, “You sound like a typical dumb salesman that doesn’t have the faintest idea what he’s talking about. It’s impossible to insert the Venturis upside down. I designed the machine that inserts them. They cannot be inserted upside down by my machine.”

My response, “I’ll verify my assessment when I return to the job site.

In the meanwhile, I suggest you get on an airplane and see for yourself what I’m dealing with.”

After I crammed down my omelet, I went back to the job.

Gunslinger showed me 36 valves that had been removed. They were not overheated by overzealous soldering by the plumber and they all had upside down Venturis.

To correct the problem, I instructed the Gunslinger to reverse the Venturis and re-install the valves.

The Gunslinger responded, “The labor costs for the drywall man and my men will cost you big time. I’ll have my foreman give me a count of problem valves. Your back-charge will be ready when I see you in the morning at six.”

I went back to the truck stop and called my engineer “friend” again. “The Venturis I inspected were not fried by overheating. About half of the 496 valves that are installed are upside down. The exact count is being verified. I will be handed a big bill to fix the problem in the morning.”

The engineer responded, “Maybe you weren’t listening when I told you it’s impossible for the Venturis to be installed upside down by my machine.”

“Perhaps you should get on an airplane and see for yourself. I’ve got a showcase 496 valves-unit job full of problems.”

“I’m busy. You better figure it out yourself. The one thing I’ll say — again — is that Venturis cannot be installed upside down by my machine. Period. You’d better get that through your hard head.”

I’ll sum up the entire dilemma. The bill for the repairs was for $30,000. When Gunslinger handed it to me, I hoped desperately that my feet shaking in my loafers wasn’t obvious. It was a huge labor bill. Easily the largest I had ever seen. I rationalized that given the size of the job, it might be okay — maybe. I stood motionless.

The handgun strapped to the Gunslinger’s leg was prominently visible. I stared at the infamous bill and then at the scowl on Gunslinger’s face. I thought about the field inspection I had done and the conversation with the engineer. Venturis danced in my head helter-skelter. The dollar amount of the request, right or wrong, was far beyond my level of authority. Nonetheless, I fired back boldly, with all the confidence I could muster up, “I’ll take care of it.”

I knew I had stepped far onto the edge of a limb, but hoped, given the circumstance, my decision was justifiable.

The bold (stupid?) move led to a call from my guardian angel and boss, Roger Garrison, and Bill Ficken, his boss. Based on the engineering report, Bill was sure I had lost my mind.

Were it not for my solid track record with the company, and more importantly, Roger’s vehement support of my decision, I surely would have been fired.

To soften the blow to the factory, I negotiated a program with my friend George Shoen, whose company supplied the job. Kelly’s Pipe and Supply would credit the Gunslinger’s account for the labor. Kelly’s would accept no-charge product as compensation. By doing that, Moen’s out of pocket expense was reduced 66 percent, which took some of the sting out of the bite.

Months later, I received a letter explaining that Moen’s review of the issue confirmed that, amazingly, both the engineer and I were correct.

Yes, it was impossible for the machine to install the Venturis upside down. And yes, some valves were shipped with upside down Venturis.

Explanation: To facilitate the rush on the order, the factory added a line that manually inserted the Venturis. The worker on the line was not trained to understand the critical nature of installing the Venturis a particular direction, so he installed them randomly; some right side up; some upside down. The unfortunate result was that the Gunslinger and I had an issue, causing both of us heartburn.

That explained just about everything except why the Gunslinger mysteriously disappeared after the completion of that project.

“A reputable rep is an extension of the manufacturer: conducting business with high ethics; caring about customers and solving their problems. They sell by relationship building…not just price.” — Tom Schoendorf, Highland Tank

Fundamentals of a Reputable Rep…

• Scheduling regular meetings to discuss opportunities.
• Working together as a team towards common goals.
• Creating workable plans to buy, promote and sell lines of products to the end-user.
• Promptly follow up.
• Being punctual to appointments.
• Knowing the market and how to serve it.
• Training our people.
• Creating pull-through business.
• Understanding our business model. All wholesalers are not alike.
• Building a partnership and relationship based on honesty and trust.

— Fred Laube, Director of Corporate Operations, Hirsch Pipe and Supply

The Sum of the Parts

Every rep, factory man or distributor salesperson has their own way of getting things done. We are all unique. My hope is that my stories, insights from industry leaders, and way of doing business will inspire people new to the business to make their own mark by exploring trails that are less traveled by their competitors. In keeping with plumbing industry humility, I’ll leave you with this nugget from my friend Joe Maiale, VP Sales, InSinkErator:

“Henry, a well-known manufacturers’ rep passed away. At the services someone asked, ‘What did Henry have’? The reply was from a manufacturers’ rep also attending the funeral, ‘Well, to name a few, Bradford White, Sioux Chief, Sharkbite and Jacuzzi.’”

Long live the reputable rep.

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