Armed with several years as a manufacturer who worked extensively with reps, Craig Deerman was well prepared to open his own agency two years ago.

Shortly after Craig Deerman opened his own agency doors two years ago, he arrived at a couple of valuable observations learned while sitting on the manufacturer’s and rep’s side of the desk.

Deerman, Deerman Sales, Birmingham, Alabama, armed with 18 years of unique expertise in the residential, commercial and decorative plumbing products’ markets, noted that:

• Networking for reps is a bit of a different game from what he had previously experienced as a manufacturer.
• And, manufacturers aren’t always knowledgeable and appreciative of everything that reps do on their behalf.

Speaking of the former point, Deerman maintains, “From the manufacturer’s perspective, networking is a fairly different process in that you’re narrowly focused on specific targets of opportunity. From the rep’s perspective, however, your targets are much more diverse in that more times than not it will take you out of your comfort zone. You’ve got to make every effort you can in order to find and introduce yourselves to new customers that you haven’t worked with in the past.”

When the subject turns to manufacturers knowing what reps do for them, Deerman is equally opinionated: “I sometimes get the impression that manufacturers don’t believe reps are doing as good a job for them as they would like. Certainly this all depends upon the relationship between manufacturer and rep, but there’s not always an understanding of how much time, effort and money reps put into their networking and sales development efforts. For instance, just consider the cost of doing business. The majority of manufacturers just see the sales that reps generate. They don’t necessarily take the time to realize the effort spent on relationship building and the overall cost of running a business.

“I’m not sure there’s any right or wrong way to feel about this, but the rep should certainly make an effort to educate their principals as to how they work in the territory.”

Industry Experience

Deerman’s impressions are certainly based on a solid foundation of industry experience. “In 2008, during the housing crash, I was caught up in company restructuring. My first experience in the agency business was when Tim Morales with Tim Morales and Associates gave me an opportunity to work the Central and North Alabama markets for his company. That year was spent learning multiple lines and meeting an entirely new customer base. This really got my attention in that previously I thought that I knew everyone I needed to know in the market. Ultimately my customer base doubled in the time I spent at Tim Morales and Associates.

“After a year or so, I had another opportunity to rejoin the faucet manufacturer I had worked for, but that required a move to Northwest Arkansas. As a positive, this allowed me to expand my relationships into other parts of a larger territory.”

Deerman Sales was founded in June of 2018. “I spent 13 years working directly for a faucet manufacturer where I had several positions including area sales manager, regional sales manager and national builder manager. Early in 2018, the faucet company experienced a gap in representation in the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama, when two territory managers took on other roles. This unique chain of events opened the door for me to start my own business.”

Deerman notes that when he opened his agency doors, “Someone in the industry that I respected recommended that I join MANA. I did so and am glad I did. The amount of information that is available to the membership — whether recommended contracts, legal information, or articles in Agency Sales — has been extremely helpful. Everything you need is there — it’s just a matter of taking advantage of it.”

Like so many of his rep peers Deerman maximizes his time with manufacturers during trade shows. Here he’s seen with personnel from Bocchi Sinks (top), Pfister Faucets (left) and Western Pottery.

Small vs. Large Agency

As presently constituted, Deerman Sales is a one-man agency. “I’m well aware of the fact that I differ from a lot of the agencies out there. If you will notice I have three lines covering a large geographic area; that’s as opposed to the approach of having 20 lines in a smaller geographic area. I am not necessarily out there looking for new principals all the time. My focus is on building a solid foundation for long-term success with the principals I currently have. If I go out and grab two or three additional lines, my time will get stretched, thus putting a strain on what is working best for me, my customers and principals.

“However, if additional opportunities present themselves to me resulting in taking on more lines, I’m hardly going to turn down an opportunity to grow based on my desire to be a one-man show. What I’d do is simply take on more personnel in order to take advantage of the opportunity.

Having stated his philosophy, Deerman is very much aware of the pros and cons of working within the confines of a small agency. “I worked from the manufacturer’s side of the desk for more than 15 years. In that time, I worked with direct salespeople and reps. When I had the opportunity to start my own agency, I was convinced that I wanted to be different from some of the other reps out there. When I looked at what I was going to do, I decided to work primarily with my main principals and take on the large territory of four-and-a-half states. At the beginning, my strategy and thought process was that I would be dedicated to those manufacturers without being bogged down with multiple lines that would take a good deal of my time. I realize that strategy may be different from most who might have 15 lines in a smaller territory, but I knew what I wanted to do.

“Sure there are pros and cons to that approach. I’ve actually turned down several manufacturers because they didn’t fit what I wanted accomplish. I’m well aware of the fact there are a lot of things I could have done differently; however, I am much more equipped for success by doing or not doing things differently. My faith in my decisions is what keeps all this in check. What has happened throughout my career is what is supposed to have happened — regardless if that is the way I wanted it to happen.”

The Rep’s Changing Role

Staying on the subject of what has already happened in his rep career and what might happen in the future, Deerman notes that in the more than two decades of knowing who reps are and how they operate, he’s seen any number of changes. “I’m not sure we’re really like some other businesses in that we’ve been slow to react to the ever-changing world of e-commerce and the impact of Amazon. I have some theories on what the next several years will bring, but obviously only time will tell. For instance, some of the things I think about are:

• In the future are plumbers going to need distributors?
• Can plumbers operate their business if their distributors don’t have a physical location?

Naturally, it all depends on how manufacturers want to handle things in the future, but if we’re possibly going to operate where distributors don’t have their traditional brick-and-mortar presence and we’re talking about online purchases and drop shipments, is that going to alter the business model? If the rep is only dealing with distributors, they will get weeded out. However, if I — the rep — maintain the solid relations I have with builders and plumbers, there will certainly continue to be an important role for me. The game could change dramatically, and as reps, we’re going to have to change with it.”

Certainly one among the many changes Deerman has already experienced is the impact of social media. “I make use of Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn to facilitate networking efforts. I personally prefer LinkedIn over the other platforms because of the industry connections it affords you. It’s a great platform to use for prospecting, hiring, and gathering competitive information. I make use of Instagram and Facebook for promoting our manufacturers’ products.”

In terms of anything that might change in the future, he notes that he’s always concerned about possible economic slowdowns and the prospects of any of his principals getting purchased by other companies.

Given all the changes he’s already experienced and the prospect of the future presenting any number of challenges, Deerman doesn’t regret his decision to follow his career path to become a rep. “As a matter of fact, I wish I had done it earlier. I had the opportunity to do the same thing a number of years ago. I wish I had, but the timing then just wasn’t right.”

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