While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact business and the world of reps specifically, there are a number of positives that have developed over the course of the last 12 months. That, in general, was the tone of the conversation from a Manufacturers’ Agents of Cincinnati (MAC) meeting held late last year.

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In a luncheon meeting moderated by Jerry Leth, MANA’s, vice president and general manager, and Jack Foster, Agency Sales’ editor, a group of MAC members discussed how the pandemic has impacted their lives and the lives of their principals and customers.

Founded in 1971, MAC is a professional organization focusing on fostering the relationship between manufacturers and independent manufacturers’ representatives serving primarily in the OEM markets. The topic of the MANA-moderated meeting was “How have manufacturers’ representatives adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and what will it be like once that’s behind us?”

At the outset of the meeting, the greatest challenge reps were forced to face was their readiness to operate in an environment that had drastically changed. According to one rep, “I challenge anyone who said they were ready for this. Sure, we as reps, have been trained to adapt, respond and be quick to change, but we certainly weren’t ready. In all honesty, I’d have to admit I sat there for a week or so wondering what we’re going to do next. High on my list of concerns was what were we going to do in terms of being able to respond to principals when they posed questions about what we’re doing for them out in the field. How were we going to establish and maintain contact with customers and perform the functions we normally do to justify our commissions?”

How to Respond?

A second luncheon attendee echoed those concerns when he noted, “Initially we were scratching our heads as we considered how we should deal with our principals and customers. I think we’re going to be in this position for quite some time in the future.”

That begs the question of how long this situation will remain as it is. In response another rep offered, “I guess it all depends on how you define ‘quite a while.’ We’re still months away from things opening up. I’m not sure anything is going to return to normal until we get a vaccine into peoples’ hands.”

Another somewhat complicated issue was offered by a rep who observed that “What weighs heavy on each of us is our location. There are portions of the country that are more open than others. This will have an obvious impact on agencies that cover multiple states. There are some states that are much stricter when it comes to our ability to have access to customers. What it comes down to is that we’re going to have to have much better reasons to make in-person sales calls. And once in to see a customer, we’re going to have to work harder when it comes to seeing as many people as we can. It’s all a matter of making sure that we have our act together when we are able to make a sales call.”

Then there’s the question of sales reports. As one rep noted, “There are some manufacturers who are sitting around wondering what we’re doing during the pandemic. As a result, they’re putting pressure on us to provide them with sales reports. The obvious downside of that is that it takes our time away from what we should be doing — that is, making every effort to stay in touch with our customers.”

If those first few comments point out the obvious negative impact the pandemic has had on the lives of reps, there were some positive observations. Perhaps the most obvious are that “the price of gas and hotels have gone down, and my American Express bill looks a lot more favorable than it has in the past.”

Training Increases

Of perhaps more importance to reps is the fact that “We’re seeing a great deal more training being offered by our manufacturers. Thanks to technology we’ve already had any number of half-hour and one-hour training sessions that have served as great refreshers for us. Having the ability to throw information up on a screen for all to see has really enhanced our training and education. I’d say we get something like this from our manufacturers at least once a week.”

Another side benefit cited by a couple of the reps in attendance is the fact that manufacturer sales personnel are tightening their relationships with reps as a result of pressure being placed on them. “While we’re doing all we can to weather the storm, we’ve had several sales managers let us know that they fear losing their jobs during the course of the pandemic. As a result, they’re asking us for additional support. Typical of what we hear from them is something like ‘I’d like you guys to do all you can to help me.’ We comply to the best of our ability.”

Related to that last comment, another rep offered, “If anything, our efforts at backselling to our manufacturers have become turbocharged. I don’t normally brag to my principals about what I’m doing for them in the field, but now I’m being a lot more proactive about keeping in touch with them.”

As to what lasting change the pandemic will bring to reps and how they conduct business there were several opinions. According to one rep, “I know that post-Covid things are going to be different, but some things will never change. As beneficial as Zoom calls have become, nothing will ever replace the benefits of face-to-face contact with customers. It’s only then that you can truly gauge body language and firm up your relationships with customers.

“In addition, there’s going to be a lot of personnel movement among customers as a result of the pandemic. Individuals will have become comfortable working from home and we’re not going to find them at the office like we used to. People we’ve dealt with in the past will be moving on to other positions of responsibility. Many of these people are seasoned pros and have become our friends over the years. Thankfully, we have the benefit of establishing and maintaining firm relationships with our customers. That will help us when things return to normal.”

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