Years ago in the pages of Agency Sales magazine, a MANA member reiterated the oft-repeated simplistic view of what independent manufacturers’ reps do for a living: “Many people believe reps just make sales calls and follow up.” At that time, by describing the full range of products and services his agency provided, thankfully he went on to illustrate how wrong that description is.
While that rep did a good job of making his case, the three principals of Sales Solutions, Inc., have gone several steps further as they describe their initial attraction to the rep profession and how today they continue to work closely to anticipate and meet the needs of their manufacturers and customers in the safety products industry.
The partners of Sales Solutions, Inc., (left to right) Michael Costantino, George Stallings, Jack Padden with some of the personal protective equipment and work zone safety products they represent.
Headquartered in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Sales Solutions, Inc., specializes in the promotion and marketing of leading-edge work zone safety, traffic control, fall protection and personal protective products throughout the East Coast.
How and why each of the agency’s three principals was drawn to the rep profession describe differing career paths all leading to the same place.
According to Mike Costantino, president, “After college, my initial attraction to sales as a career grew because I liked the idea of being out of the office and dealing with people and not doing the same things over and over. Growing up and being familiar with my father’s restaurant business, I always had to work with a variety of different people and I think I developed a skill at reading them.”
If that was his attraction to sales, he says his introduction to the rep world came from working with reps and determining that reps “weren’t just salespeople; they were business people that put entire projects together.”
He adds, “I started with Sales Solutions 16 years ago with Jan and Andy Padden. All of us worked at another agency for about six years before trying the rep business on our own.”
George Stallings, the agency’s vice president of sales, reaches a bit into the past to describe his attraction to sales. According to Stallings, “When I was much younger I noticed one guy on our street who was always driving the biggest, nicest car. When I inquired what he did for a living, I was told it was sales. That got my attention. Then after I served in the Navy, I was running a safety products store in a Mobile refinery. While in that position, I had an account manager who sold and serviced a number of different accounts. That was something that interested me.”
His connection with the rep profession developed when he was working as a distributor and buying products from Mike Costantino. “Andy Padden, one of the agency’s original owners, was looking to retire. I bought his share and have been with the agency for 12 years.”
He continues, “I never wanted to be a desk jockey. What I really wanted to do was become an expert in my field and focus on the needs of the end user. Thankfully I’ve been able to do that.”
An Engineering Path
Equipped with an engineering background, Jack Padden, the agency’s CFO, explains that engineering is how he started his career. “It didn’t take long for me to determine I was having more fun dealing with customers than with the people who were making products. Thankfully I could easily understand the engineering talk but I found it was more interesting for me to be in front of customers and getting feedback from them concerning their needs. What attracted me to sales was the ability to go out in the field and identify and solve customer problems. I learned how to make friends and influence people at an early age. Fourteen years ago when I finally had the opportunity to partner with my parents and Mike, I took advantage of it.”
He adds that his initial experience as a rep was in covering an area where there were no sales. “It was a fascinating experience and it was a great opportunity to develop skills at being good at everything and being able to solve problems for distributors and customers.”
A visit to the agency’s website (www.salessolutionsinc.net) provides a view of the types of services the firm offers.
“Our Special Services at End Users are:
- Needs analysis.
- Presentation and demonstration of products.
- A review of national, state, and local regulations.
- Samples and trials.
- Specification development.
- Quotes from local distributors.
- Employee training on site.
- Confirming orders.
- Stocking for next-day delivery.
- Regular communications updates on standards and innovations.”
Positioned to Serve the Marketplace
Commenting on the list of special services offered, see box below, Costantino says, “The use of safety products and work zone safety products continues to grow in popularity as OSHA, liability, social responsibility for workers, and lowering insurance premiums continues to drive business.”
As those components drive business, Stallings notes that Sales Solutions is well positioned to serve the marketplace because, “we focus on products that have specific safety standards (e.g., American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), etc.) that we can be experts in. As distribution consolidates and on-line distribution takes market share, our expertise in this area is more important than ever before.”
The agency’s above-mentioned expertise leads directly to what the three rep executives maintain is their core competency — credibility. According to Costantino, “Gaining certifications and understanding state laws and standards all lead to us having credibility in the marketplace. Credibility is critical when it comes to training our own employees and our customers. We constantly stress the importance of being experts. That’s a monumental job and it’s something you can’t fake.”
Experts in the Field
That expertise in serving the market offers Sales Solutions a unique niche, according to Padden. “Everything in the business world is moving faster today. To meet the needs of the market, I’ve got to serve as a problem solver and consultant. That translates into me being in the people-saving business. Sure, I’m a sales guy that moves products, but there’s more to it than that.”
Buttressing that point, Costantino recalls that “I’ve got to admit that after being in the business for a number of years, saving lives wasn’t really a motivating factor. But then something clicked for me.” That something was the events of 9/11 and the agency’s involvement in providing safety equipment. “There we were standing on a pile of rubble talking with the head of safety for the FBI discussing how certain chemical protective materials were actually dangerous. It was that and probably a couple of other instances that really started me thinking about how great a profession I was involved with. We really do make a difference.”
Staying with the word “difference” for a moment, the agency executives stressed how over their close to 15 years of working together, there are a number of differences in how they conduct their business today vs. yesterday. Chief among those that they cited were relationships, technology and a change in the business philosophy from being proactive vs. being reactive.
The Impact of Technology
On the subject of how technological tools have impacted the way the agency conducts business, Costantino notes that while technology (e.g., cell phones, e-mails, texting, etc.) has certainly helped in adjusting to the rapid pace of business “It has resulted in considerably less time in front of the customer. I used to go on the road for a set number of days each week and have my office days scheduled in advance. Now, with the need for instant information and feedback, it seems I’m constantly on the run.”
Proactive vs. Reactive
Padden adds, “It’s interesting when you consider the concepts of technology and communication and then look at how fast the day goes by. As a rep, what you want to do is to operate on the proactive side anticipating customers’ needs. But as a result of changes in how we communicate and respond to customers and principals, we’re constantly being drawn over into the reactive side. As a result, you’ve got to work smarter and more efficiently. If you don’t, technology is just going to blow up your day.”
When it comes to developing the skills needed to work smarter and more efficiently, all three agency executives are quick to cite their long-standing membership in MANA as a contributing positive factor.
Costantino notes, “I’ve known about MANA for 23 years. My former boss was friends with former MANA Board Chairman George Hayward and he always gave me Agency Sales to read. In addition, we’re all CPMR, which has been very valuable for our agency. We’ve also used MANA’s legal assistance to locate rep-savvy attorneys and regularly participate in the association’s teleforums.” According to Stallings, “MANA has been huge for us and I have to credit my partners for finding the association. In addition to regularly reading Agency Sales, MRERF’s CPMR program has changed our agency from being just three guys running a rep group, to a 22-person professional rep agency.”
If Sales Solutions is a 22-person rep agency today, they don’t plan at maintaining the status quo for the future. According to Costantino, “One of our greatest challenges for the future is to grow our business. In order to accomplish that goal, we have to increase our revenues, place more feet the street and acquire more time in our day. We can only reach that point by growing.”
Stallings adds, “While we might be at a certain plateau right now, we continue to train our people better, manage our business better, and become more efficient and sophisticated as a sales organization.”
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