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When a manufacturer that was considering switching from a direct to an outsourced sales team voiced misgivings about making the move for two major reasons, another manufacturer seated at the roundtable discussion was quick to jump in.

According to the first manufacturer, “I have some serious reservations about whether any rep firm is technically savvy enough to sell my products. On top of that, I’m used to exerting complete control over my direct salespeople. If I make the switch, I’m not going to have that same level of control and I believe that’s going to adversely affect our sales efforts.”

His fellow manufacturer, armed with years of experience working with reps, was quick to counter with this advice: “On the matter of whether the rep you choose can step up to the plate technologically, they’ll have the ability — if you choose the right reps. In addition, I’ve found that having the technological ability is going to be there if that ability is important to the sale. It all depends on you the manufacturer establishing the background criteria for the successful rep profile.”

On the issue of control, the manufacturer continued by asking the question “Why is that even a consideration? It’s you — the manufacturer — who creates and manufactures quality products or services. It’s you who establishes the level of support. You develop the tools and policies; you set the pricing and choose and manage the reps. Where in there does it say you lose control?”

He continued, “The manufacturer is always in control. Manufacturers call all the shots and they control the contract, which gives them a specific time frame in which they can terminate the rep agreement without all the legal hassles of terminating a direct employee.”

Keeping the Rep in the Loop

A hearty endorsement for complete communication was provided by a manufacturer who maintains she was forced to make one of her customers into a house account. Here’s how she explained what developed: “One of my major customers told me he wanted to be served by a factory direct salesman. This painted me into a corner I didn’t want to occupy.” She continued that the move wasn’t done quickly or willingly — nor was it done without input from the rep who had worked long and hard to develop the account. “I’m not saying what was done was what I wanted, but even if you contacted the rep involved, I know he’d tell you that through negotiations they were well taken care of. All I’m really trying to say there is that I did all I could to be up-front in all my dealings. There were no secrets, and I consulted with my rep at every step along the way before making a move.”

Finding the Right Fit

It’s hardly unusual to hear from reps that while they truly value and depend upon product training from their manufacturers, truth be told, no one way of training is effective for all reps. Included in that “not all” category are reps who are soundly put to sleep by training that really has no application for them. One manufacturer who is more than aware of this concern communicated with Agency Sales that there’s real value for him in the way that he’s been able to put his training programs together. “We couldn’t create training for each person in every one of our agencies. That’s simply out of the question for a number of reasons. First of all, that would be too costly and far too time-consuming. What we did to address this concern is to operate with the assumption that there is some basic level of knowledge that most agents had, and that a few knew more and a few knew less than anyone else. We prepared a written test which was administered to every one of the agents at each of our agencies. This test and the answers were all given anonymously. What we were after was an overall picture of what and how much each of our agents knew and what they didn’t. We didn’t want them to feel threatened by the test. When the results were thoroughly reviewed, we felt that we had a fairly clear picture of where we should pitch our product and application training in order for it to accomplish the most good for the largest number of our agents. Our training was put together to suit the needs of most of our agents. We feel that it is far more effective now than the old system that we used and which was probably used by the majority of manufacturers.”

Who’s in Charge of the Sales Call?

Some sage advice from a sales consultant came to mind when the subject of relegating the rep to the back seat during a joint sales call was brought up among a group of manufacturers. According to the consultant, “The manufacturer should be very careful that the customer knows that the rep is the one handling the sales call — not the manufacturer. Be sure to let the salesperson take care of all introductions and do most if not all of the talking. As a result, the customer will follow up with the salesperson, not the manufacturer. In addition, the rep should stay in control of the call. If the sales manager does most of the talking, the customer is actually receiving a mixed signal and he really won’t know who’s in charge. If the meeting with the customer reaches a point where a close is called for, the manufacturer should make sure the rep takes care of the closing. Once more, it’s a matter of letting the customer know who’s really in charge and who has the relationship with the customer.”

Gaining and Keeping the Rep’s Time

No manufacturers — regardless of size — should give up trying to gain and keep as much of his reps’ time and effort as he can. Here’s what one manufacturer does to accomplish that: “When we contract with a rep, the first thing we do is to make sure that he gets all the support material they want and need from us. We don’t question their requests and we don’t make them pay for literature. They ask for it — they get it.

“At the same time we begin our relationship, we share an annual schedule with them that shows when we’d like for them to take a trip to the factory. There are a number of reasons for these factory visits, including introduction to new products and product training, marketing updates, networking opportunities with new and existing factory personnel, and an opportunity to meet with their rep peers.

“Annually all of our reps receive a complete marketing guide that is regularly updated during the course of the year. The guide includes new product information, warranties, marketing programs planned for the year and all company policies.”

He added, “Since we’ve implemented this approach, our feeling is that we’ve enjoyed as much if not more of the reps’ time and effort than might be justified by our business in the territory. Maybe it’s a case of the ‘squeaky wheel getting the oil.’ Regardless, I don’t care because what we’re doing works for us.”

Importance of the Factory Visit

If the previous item describes the importance one manufacturer places on scheduling regular factory visits by his reps, here’s another manufacturer’s view on the same subject.

“We learned the hard way how important it was to let our reps know what’s going on at the factory. After taking a product to market without keeping the needs of our reps in mind, our effort failed miserably. After that failed effort, I began bringing all my agency owners into the factory annually. I did this for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was to avoid that previous mistake. In addition, however, I believe it’s critical for reps to get in here to meet any new people we have on staff and to strengthen their relationships with people who support them from here. Finally, and perhaps most important, during the course of their factory visits we make sure to devote at least a half day to bring them up to speed with new products and provide them with the training they need to deliver the products to market. We’ve followed this practice for a couple of years now and so far all we’ve had is cooperation from our reps and plenty of compliments.”

Motivation Is Key to Success

Over the years it’s not unusual for Agency Sales to hear the approaches that some manufacturers take to motivate their rep sales force. Those approaches obviously include timely and accurate compensation for reps coupled with honest and complete communication.

Earlier this year, one manufacturer wrote to us to second those approaches, but she added some others that have proven to be especially effective.

• “Have a company owner or president phone reps regularly to let them know how much their accomplishments are appreciated.
• “When a rep has gone above and beyond the normal effort (e.g., quickly and efficiently solving a customer’s problem) send them a ‘gotcha’ note to let them know you’re aware he accomplished something extraordinary.
• “Regularly send thank-you notes and e-mails. These let the rep know how much you value their contributions and that you’re aware of everything he’s doing on your behalf.”

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