The February issue of Agency Sales magazine profiled a MANA-member firm that at its beginning was willing to take on any line it could secure. Once the agency turned the corner to profitability, however, the agency owner explained, “Now we keep our product focus narrow and limited so we can effectively serve the objectives of the manufacturer, designer, builder and distributor.”

And elsewhere in this issue of Agency Sales, we describe how at its inception one agency took on 60 lines of products to represent. Now that agency has whittled its representation to a dozen because there’s no way … Read the rest

The practice and the accompanying benefits of line productivity analysis are hardly new.

Consider the description of the process and the advice offered on the subject earlier this year by MANA’s Charles Cohon during the MANAchat described elsewhere in this issue of Agency Sales.

In addition, the subject was discussed and analyzed in depth in the Operations Manual for Manufacturers’ Representatives Firms, a lengthy publication produced with MANA’s assistance in 2006. In that manual the following endorsement for line productivity analysis was offered: “Regardless of the size of your representative firm, knowing and understanding each line’s profitability is … Read the rest

It’s been more than two decades since Agency Sales magazine visited with Maureen Ingram, owner of The M&M Sales Company, and while over the years change has remained a constant for her agency, there are three things that haven’t changed:

• Her adherence to the power of focus.
• Her belief that strong relationships serve as the foundation for her agency’s success.
• And finally, the maintenance of one of the agency’s core beliefs to provide POS (Positively Outrageous Service).

The Columbus, Ohio-based agency represents a variety of manufacturers that sell products to gift shops, grocery stores, pharmacies, hospital gift shops, major chains … Read the rest

We all know what we expect from customers — or at least we think we do.

We want them to give us their attention, give us a fair hearing, be open to our recommendations, and pay what they owe us. Some customers live up to this standard and some don’t make the cut. Just about everyone in sales also works at making sure customers like them, the cornerstone of a good relationship.

That’s not all. They also expect customers to be frank and open, even though some have an agenda they keep well hidden, leaving us guessing and suspicious.

Whether … Read the rest

Recently I was in a sales meeting in which the owner of the company passed out an article on habits.

We discussed good sales habits, how to acquire them, and what kind of habits it ultimately takes to be successful in sales. What was interesting was that we didn’t have any “ah-ha” moments or unearth anything new. Everyone had a pretty good idea of what it takes to be successful and yet, most weren’t doing those things.

Something I’ve noticed over the years is that most people who aren’t doing what they need to do blame it on a lack … Read the rest

“Thank you for the assistance provided to our agency as we explored the topic of liability insurance.”

As a small, relatively young, specialized firm supporting North American heavy duty truck OEMs, we went over 10 years without considering the issue of liability insurance. The topic came up negotiating with a new supplier, so we began looking for a broker and getting quotes. We soon learned that our business model was outside the norm for their industry, and as a result, some of the quotes we received were staggeringly high!

As a sanity check, we reached out to MANA. Charles Cohon … Read the rest

“Sandbagging kills our momentum and our belief in ourself and our future success!”

Momentum Is Power

If you watch any sports, you can see the effects of momentum. How many games have you watched where a team is losing, and one play changes the momentum so much so that the losing team comes back and wins the game? The only thing that changed was the momentum of the game. This is also true for us in business and sales. The key is to learn how to generate and keep the momentum.

So often in sales we have good intentions, but … Read the rest

Let’s talk in detail about how to have an effective demo call. I’ve broken it down into 10 things you can do to get better results.

1. Clear Outcomes

Make sure the customer is clear as to what the outcomes are at the end of the demo call. That means you have to be clear.

If you need to have a second demo call, then have a second demo call.

I commonly find salespeople going, “Well I’m just going to see where this goes.” No. I want you to have clear expectations because it’s going to help you stay focused.… Read the rest

Customer service is not very hard, but I think very few firms really try. There are four doors you need to use for effective customer service.

Door One — Physical Location

Your physical location is the most expensive. Your business needs to have hours convenient to the customer. Few firms do. Most banks are open hours and days convenient to the owner of the business. We call this banker’s hours. There are many people that prefer to go to a place of business and see people face to face. If your employees are rude and indifferent, it is the kiss … Read the rest

Although it first emerged in Mexico in the 1950s, outsourcing — the business practice of hiring a party outside a company to perform services and create goods that traditionally were performed in-house by the company’s employees and staff — was first recognized as a mainstream business strategy in Mexico in 1989 and became an integral part of business economics in Mexico throughout the 1990s.

MANA started in 1947 and outsourcing in the United States was well-established in the late 1940s.

As it developed, many companies employed outsourcing as a cost-cutting measure. It can affect a wide range of jobs, ranging … Read the rest