A self described old-fashioned rep, Marc Carver, Carver & Associates, LLC, traces his rep-career roots to working the booth at a number of industry shows with his brother-in-law.

When he’s asked to describe himself, Marc Carver maintains he’s simply “…an old-fashioned rep. If anything, I am old school. I want to see my customers eye-to-eye, face-to-face. I am just a people person and I love what I do. I think my personality is perfect for being a rep, as I like to be self-employed and have no one to answer to except myself along with my customers and vendors’ greatest needs.”

Today, with more than 35 years under his belt as an independent manufacturers’ rep, Carver heads Carver & Associates, LLC, located near Portland, in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The single-man agency sells a variety of general merchandise including cookware, umbrellas, incense, patio/beach chairs, hot/cold bags, and other GM products into mass merchandisers, supermarket chains, warehouse clubs, drug stores, wholesalers, and others throughout Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Boise, Idaho area, and Alaska.

Carver traces his rep-career roots to his time working the booth at a number of industry shows with his brother-in-law who was then a “super successful rep.” Prior to his move to Oregon, he began his rep career by partnering/learning with Ray Farris, “the best business partner ever,” in Los Angeles selling general merchandise. Growing weary of the LA environment, Farris, who remains a close family friend to this day, bought him out, setting him on the course to make the move to Oregon.

Any doubt to his belief in being an “old-school” rep can be put to rest after hearing how he chooses to conduct business. When it comes to conducting business, Carver quickly points to his company’s M.O. — “Going over and above the call of duty while exceeding customer expectations.”

Tackling a Problem

To illustrate that point, Carver offers the following description of his business philosophy: “Imagine a rep returns from the field and sees he’s got two important email messages. The first one concerns a big order, the second one describes a problem one of his customers is experiencing. Most of the time, the rep is going to jump on that big order. Not me. I’m going to solve the problem first. Bottom line, that’s how I run my agency. That approach has served me well for more than three decades. My loyal customers know that in our dealings, they are in the right hands. I will typically tell them sometimes not to order, now is not the right time to order, buy less, or buy more. I just move by what I perceive is in their best interest. Being straightforward has always been my strength. That doesn’t work for all customers but judging from many positive responses I consistently receive from customers’ emails, I’m on the right course.”

Carver adds, “I am a believer in quickly getting back to customers with accuracy. My buyers know that when I return a write-up or supply the solution to the customer’s immediate problem — it is done quickly and accurately so they (and I) can move on to the business of selling goods. For a skyscraper to be built strong and stand tall, it must have that strong foundation. Much of a rep’s work is in cementing that very foundation.”

Carver continues that his approach to business and dealing with his customers has been based on the premise that he strives to be “viewed by his customer base as a vendor partner, as he does his best to see through the lenses of the customer.”

When he is asked why he specializes in general merchandise products, he explains simply that “That’s the market I know — and it’s viable.” On new lines, Carver states, “Based on the experience I have gained over the years, I can look at a product line and make a determination as to:

• Can it fit a four-foot basic schematic?
• Is it relevant to my customer base?
• Is it new, fresh, cutting edge, or me too?
• How far away from the Pacific Northwest does it ship from?
• A sense of the quality of folks behind the line, which at the end of the day is everything.”

Decades Bring Change

Carver is quick to offer the observation that based on his decades of experience, there have been any number of changes in the way business is conducted. That is an observation he admits he shares with many of his rep peers from other industries. Among the changes in selling general merchandise that he commented on were:

• The Business Landscape and Relationships — “In the industry in which I work, I’m finding that the bigger customers keep on getting bigger and bigger and the mid-sized and smaller ones are just getting pushed out. And, as the larger customers continue to grow larger, they also become much more demanding.”
• Contacting Customers — “Add to that the fact that it’s getting harder and harder all the time to get in front of people. My strength has always been that I thrive when I am in front of the customer and not necessarily working on my computer. Put me face-to-face or on the phone with the customer, and I can really tell my story. In 2021, this remains a major challenge. The caveat though is in adapting, and I have found Zoom to be a workable substitution for both field calls and trade shows. Never thought I would miss trade shows!”
• Review Schedules — Carver feels it is of paramount importance to stay on top of yearly or bi-yearly “review schedules” as many key retailers will not look at categories 51 weeks of the year.
• Social Media/Technology — “I know that many people maintain how effective the use of social media can be for business, but it is not jiving for me. A dear friend of mine, who is the CEO of a technology company, recommended that I give LinkedIn Premium a try. I made use of their free trial, but I just did not get where I was going with it. Maybe part of it is that I am a Baby Boomer and most of my customer base is well north of 45 years old?” Carver hedges and says, realizing that he is not using social media to his advantage, “As long as I continue to bring value to the equation, there will always be a seat at the table for me.”
• The Impact of COVID-19 — “When I think back to March of 2020, I said to myself that I might as well write off the next six months. I actually worked the hardest I have ever worked in my entire life last year — 2020 turned out to be a strong year, and 2021 has started off very well.”
• What Has Not Changed — “I am dating myself, but thinking back to the Gulf War in the early ’90s…. I was in my last full business year in Los Angeles and up to that point, 1991 was my best year ever with an over 20 percent volume increase from 1990. I refused to listen to the ongoing group think that I heard from other reps through that period that business was bad because of the economy and war efforts, and nobody was writing business. I said to myself, somebody is going to be writing business and it is going to be Marc Carver! It sounds corny afterwards, but so much of this is in our mind and our visions of success.”

Carver maintains that he is glad that he chose to follow the rep profession path. “As I look back, I have to admit being a rep offers one a multitude of freedoms, and it has allowed me to make all my own decisions. Plus, I have an outstanding boss!”

The Carver & Associates File

• Location: Lake Oswego, Oregon
• Founded: 1983
• Territory Covered: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
• Products and Services: Cleaning products, closet & storage, consumer electronics, cookware & bakeware, gadgets, general merchandise, health & beauty, holiday, home decor, housewares, outdoor living, photo, school supplies, sewing, table top, textiles

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].