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Many manufacturers will freely admit that there’s an easily followed temptation to populate their rep councils with their top-performing reps. One manufacturer, however, is contemplating a different approach.

According to the manufacturer, “We’ve made excellent use of our rep council for more than 20 years. The participation and input we receive from our reps is outstanding. Our past rep councils have been composed mostly of a spectrum of the reps that we work with, but by and large the participants that give us the best input are usually our top performers. We’ve actually given some thought, however, to putting together a second rep council that would be made up of our less-than-top performers. Here’s our thinking: Not all of our less-than-stellar performers are necessarily to blame. There may be something unique about the territory they work in and the customers they deal with. Or, perhaps it’s just that their part of the country isn’t as active as others. But I’d like their input. I’d like to know why their numbers don’t necessarily match up vs. others. Is it something we’re doing wrong? Could we have a misunderstanding regarding our mutual expectations? Or are they simply dropping the ball? This may sound a little strange but don’t be surprised if we give it a try.”

There’s Never Enough Time

A manufacturer recently contacted Agency Sales bemoaning the fact that he didn’t have enough time to get everything done that needed to be done. First, he noted he just doesn’t have enough time to spend working with his reps. To counter that he’s made it a priority to regularly communicate with them via a monthly electronic newsletter. He’s also let it be known that if any of his reps need him for something, they’ll get right through to him on his cell phone — no one acts as a gatekeeper between him and his reps. Then came the problem of getting enough of his reps’ time — certainly a concern that probably grew from his first problem. Some of his fellow non-competitive manufacturers that he’s met through MANA offered a few suggestions:

• “Qualify your leads before forwarding them to the reps.”
• “Always pay your commissions accurately and on time.”
• “Do a little something extra for your reps. You’d be surprised at how quickly you can get their attention.”

Finding Room on a Line Card

When a manufacturer was interviewing prospective reps, he offered a refreshing take on where he thought his position would be on the rep’s line card. “I know I’m not going to be your first or second line. As a matter of fact, I’m not overly concerned where you place me in terms of how much time you’re going to spend on my line. What I do want, however, are results. At the end of the month, if the sales figures are at or above where you and I have mutually agreed that they should be, that will be just fine with me. That shows me that we’re a good match and can have a future together.

He continued by explaining to the rep that even in the course of planning for a field visit, the rep didn’t have to go overboard by only talking about his product with customers. “I understand the rep sells other lines. That’s why I chose him. Many times it’s those other lines that get his foot in the door and provide him with an opportunity to talk about me and my products.”

The Value of Too Much Information

When it became a manufacturer’s turn to entertain some questions about relations with reps during an industry meeting late last year, he went on at length about how important it was to provide reps with as much information as possible. As a matter of fact, his presentation emphasized that’s there’s never too much information that you can provide your reps. “The manufacturer who goes to market with reps should hold nothing back from his outsourced sales force. Think about it for a moment — doesn’t it make sense that the more credible market information you provide them, the better the job they can do for you?”

Tightening his perspective a bit, he continued: “We’re speaking about a three-tiered effort here. It’s all about education, communication and information, and no one of those elements is more important than the other.

“For instance, let’s say we’re talking about a new product or service. It’s incumbent upon the manufacturer to let the rep know exactly whom he’s targeting in the marketplace. Once you’ve done that, then let the rep know what your target audience is doing right now and what your goal is for their behavior in the future.

“Remember that you’re doomed to failure if all you do is offer a product to the market with the hope that people will come to you. You’ve got to be sure you’ve armed your reps with all the market intelligence possible so they can answer all questions and overcome all challenges.”

Maximizing Time With the Customer

When one manufacturer was asked to describe the role of the rep and how his rep relationships have changed over the more than a quarter of a century that he’s been working with them, initially he said very little had changed. Given an opportunity to ponder the question he added: “If anything, the face-to-face contact our reps provide with our customers is probably more important today than ever before. Look back just a couple of years and think of the technological innovations that have changed the way we conduct business. Many of those changes (e.g., the Internet, voice mail, cell phones, video conference calls) may have made us, and our reps, more efficient and productive on the one hand; on the other hand, however, they’ve conspired to make us more dependent upon machines. That’s why when a rep shows me that he’s maximizing his time in front of the customer, I remain impressed and convinced that reps are the way we want to go to market.”

Database Mining

A conversation between a manufacturer and a sales consultant during an industry conference late last year confirmed the manufacturer’s opinion that he should expect more from his independent rep sales force when it comes to database management and mining. In all fairness, it should be noted that the consultant was in the business of promoting the use of a database product that allowed reps to identify product potential right down to the zip code level. But as the conversation progressed, the manufacturer noted that this area of database use was something he should be looking even more closely at for his reps. For instance, he noted that one of his top-performing reps regularly performed a very simple task via the Internet. What he does is check one of the major employment websites. He drills down into a specific geographic area that’s in his territory and sees what type of jobs — primarily engineering — are being offered. Since he knows the territory so well, he’s generally able to deduce exactly what companies are hiring. Then he calls his contacts in the company and asks what specific plant jobs are being planned. He admits that his reception isn’t always a warm one, and several times he’s been asked how he knew a major job was in the works. “But the fact he’s generated new business this way shows me that his creative approach truly works.”

In the end, the manufacturer noted that it’s this type of creative marketing that he appreciates when it comes to reps. “When they take this type of initiative, it lets me know that I made the right decision to market with them.”

The Evolving Pace of Change

“If past business practices were ever effective, they certainly aren’t today.” That’s the opinion one manufacturer put forth during an association roundtable discussion. “Once, we could generalize about the typical rep sales call as one where the rep would walk in with a dozen donuts and ask the purchasing agent ‘How about those Cowboys?’ That just can’t happen anymore. And, the fact that times have changed is something the manufacturer has to be especially aware of.”

He continued that the primary driving forces behind these changes are the pace of business and the speed with which technology has continued to evolve. “Manufacturers, reps and their common customers simply don’t have the time any more for the ‘social’ call. The customers’ personnel have whittled down their normal number of suppliers to a precious few, and they expect top-flight professional service from them. At the same time, reps and their manufacturers have generally put their arms around the technological tools that make us more productive and efficient. There isn’t one among us today who wants to waste time on matters not related to the bottom line.”

Cementing the Relationship

When one attorney’s views on the benefits of a manufacturer and a rep working together in the absence of a written contract were passed on to a principal, a far different opinion surfaced immediately. “We’re serious about our approach in finding and signing reps. We invest a lot of time, money and effort to get the job done properly. Once we locate the rep we feel is best for us, we like to formalize the agreement — in writing. A contract establishes the ground rules for the relationship. It draws the parameters within which each party will operate. Furthermore, if a rep ever approached me and said that a handshake agreement was fine with him, I don’t think I’d take him seriously. We view the contract as a means for formalizing the relationship, and as such we believe the reps should view the process as seriously as we do.”

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